SC106-4-FY-CO:
Media, Culture and Society
2020/21
Sociology and Criminology
Colchester Campus
Full Year
Undergraduate: Level 4
Current
Thursday 08 October 2020
Friday 02 July 2021
30
07 October 2020
Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
BA LP33 Media and Digital Culture,
BA LP34 Media and Digital Culture (including Placement Year),
BA P300 Media and Digital Culture (Including Foundation Year),
BA PL33 Media and Digital Culture (including Year Abroad),
BA QP10 English Language with Media Communication,
BA QP11 English Language with Media Communication (Including Year Abroad),
BA QP12 English Language with Media Communication (Including Placement Year),
BA W350 Art History, Visual Culture and Media Studies,
BA W351 Art History, Visual Culture and Media Studies (including Year Abroad),
BA W352 Art History, Visual Culture and Media Studies (including Placement Year),
BA W353 Art History, Visual Culture and Media Studies (Including Foundation Year)
The topics studied will cover some of the high profile areas of popular debate including the media and violence, the media and persuasion, the media and objectivity. In parallel, the module also develops some of the central concerns of intellectual debate, including:
* The relationship between popular aesthetics, technology and society.
* The role of the media in the construction and contestation of values and meanings.
* The progressive or regressive tendencies of an increasingly mediated society.
Students will receive a foundation in the major theoretical approaches to mass media, the premises of which will be established using examples from cinema, photography, newspapers and, in particular, television. In the process, students will encounter many of the disciplinary strands contributing to contemporary media analysis: sociology, cultural studies, semiotics, cultural and political economy, history, mass communications and anthropology. Students will also consider the basics of practical methodologies for doing media research, including content analysis, research interviews and ethnography. The module is intended to be accessible to entry-level students in the humanities and social sciences, and will support further study of contemporary media in a number of disciplines.
The aim of this module is to encourage students to understand the modern media as a social terrain, as a systematic order of communication and as a domain of ideas.
Students will receive a foundation in the major theoretical approaches to mass media, the premises of which will be established using examples from cinema, photography, newspapers and, in particular, television. In the process, students will encounter many of the disciplinary strands contributing to contemporary media analysis: sociology, cultural studies, semiotics, cultural and political economy, history, mass communications, and anthropology. Students will also consider the basics of practical methodologies for doing media research, including content analysis, research interviews and ethnography. The module is intended to be accessible to entry-level students in the humanities and social sciences, and will support further study of contemporary media in a number of disciplines.
No additional information available.
A range of teaching and learning methods will be used, including one-hour weekly lectures, seminars and personal tutorials (as required). Lectures are used to introduce an overview of the key theoretical issues and debates. Seminars provide an opportunity to review the lecture material through illustrative readings, group discussions and activities. Please let your tutor know if you are unable to attend a lecture or seminar. Personal tutorials will provide students with guidance about and feedback on assessed work and any other academic problems you are encountering on the module.
This module does not appear to have any essential texts. To see non-essential items, please refer to the module's reading list.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
| Coursework |
Moodle Quiz (week 3) |
|
5% |
| Coursework |
Moodle Quiz ( week 9) |
|
5% |
| Coursework |
Moodle Quiz ( week 17) |
|
5% |
| Coursework |
Moodle Quiz (week 22) |
|
5% |
| Coursework |
Autumn Essay |
|
40% |
| Coursework |
Spring Essay |
|
40% |
| Exam |
Main exam: 24hr during Summer (Main Period)
|
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Dr James Allen-Robertson, email: jallenh@essex.ac.uk.
Dr Michael Bailey, email: mbailey@essex.ac.uk.
Dr Michael Bailey and Dr James Allen-Robertson
Cydney Barrows, Student Administrative Assistant, Telephone: 01206 873052
E-mail: socugrad@essex.ac.uk
Yes
Yes
No
No external examiner information available for this module.
Available via Moodle
Of 3517 hours, 0 (0%) hours available to students:
3517 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s).
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