Short Course - Public Relations: the Game We Play, 15-26 January 2018, AUA

This course examines Public Relations as a complex of tools and mechanisms with the high focus on showcasing the potential of their applicability. It explains what PR is and how it differs from Advertising and Propaganda. The course will explore the models of communications, media relationships, media literacy, basics of speechwriting, basics of rhetoric and argumentation, scope and specificities of press-services’ work, and present a large number of case studies.

One of the course’s advantages is the comparative PR. The students will be introduced to the American and European techniques with their adaptability to Armenian reality. They also will be offered with the wide scope of references and case studies from Armenian reality.

The course offers a unique method of students’ engaging. Prior to every class the students will be provided with a set of home readings (covering the authors and topics from ancient times to modern publications), which are implicitly interconnected with the same topic. Each student is challenged and obliged to be maximally focused on the lesson to reveal the connection, ‘knot the rich ornament of his takeaways’, realize the historical roots of Public Relations.   

Each class will be teased by presenting either a well-known video piece (movie episode, famous speech, etc.) or a famous painting that implies the topic of the day. The quest “why this particular piece is on the board” will be solved at the end of the class. The key to the solution is the content and discussions of the day.

At the end of the course, participants will have a clear idea of the role and importance of Public Relations. The ones who will successfully complete the course will be able to implement the tools and skills learnt.

Start Date: January 15, 2018

End Date: January 26, 2018

Schedule: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 18:30-21:30

Duration: 18 hours

Fee: 55,000 AMD

Language of instruction: English

About the Instructor: Zaruhi Saribekyan is a Communications Manager at Yerevan Brandy Company (Pernod Ricard Group). With the Master’s Degree in Linguistics, she is the author of the few publications on manipulative and pragmatic potential of Language and its application in media. The publication «Metaphor as a communicative loop» has been recommended for the Yerevan State University Students studying the relevant disciplines. It explores the Linguistic and Cultural background of the media recipient and ways of building successful communication depending on the linguistic/cultural perception of the recipient. In 2015 Zaruhi successfully accomplished the Course of Political Communication at Harvard University. Zaruhi Saribekyan accomplished a number of successful projects at Yerevan Brandy Company and participated in a number of Forums & Conferences. The latest one is Davos Communication Forum of 2017.

Enrollment: To enroll in AUA Extension courses, please go through the following steps (see below for the Armenian version):

• Visit im.aua.am.
• Create an account by clicking New User Registration.
• If you are not a new user and already have an AUA account (having previously taken the AUA e-Math Test or applied to AUA), you should log into the account that you had created at that time.
• If you just registered as a new user, you will get an email asking to activate your account.
• Now, for registering to take a course, choose the Extension tab, then Extension Applications, and apply for the course(s) you choose.
• After you register online, your application will be reviewed and you will receive an email acknowledging your application.
• Closer to the course start date, you will receive another email confirming your enrollment, requesting that you make payment before the course start date. The fee can be paid online via credit card or through the EasyPay terminal (located at the entrance to AUA). Alternatively, you may pay the fee via bank transfer to American University of Armenia Fund, account 001-006402-001, HSBC Bank Armenia, indicating your full name (as in the registration) and the course you are paying for.
• The completed application together with the record of payment completes your enrollment.

Steps-for-online-registration_Armenian