SC106-4-FY-CO:
Introduction to Media, Culture and Society
2015/16
Sociology and Criminology
Colchester Campus
Full Year
Undergraduate: Level 4
Current
30
03 March 2008
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)
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. 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.
No information available.
No information available.
Compulsory for:
BA Criminology & the Media, BA Media, Culture & Society
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.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
| Coursework |
ASSIGNMENT 1 |
|
50% |
| Coursework |
ASSIGNMENT 2 |
|
50% |
| Exam |
Main exam: 120 minutes 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 / Dr Michael Bailey / Ms Can Zuo / Ms Kristen Schaubhut
Rosa Chandler, First Year Administrator, email: rosa.chandler@essex.ac.uk, telephone 01206 874892
E-mail: socugrad@essex.ac.uk
Yes
No
No
Dr Lydia Martens
The University of Keele
Senior Lecturer
Available via Moodle
No lecture recording information available for this module.
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