MFC4022 - Analysing Media and Culture

Objectives:

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
demonstrate knowledge and understanding of key concepts, theories and theorists relevant to the field of study;
use these in the analysis of media/cultural texts and practices;
demonstrate skills in textual analysis and academic essay writing.

Content:

The module aims to make students aware of how the media are situated within culture, introduce them to key theoretical concepts and make use of these in analyses of a wide range of cultural texts and practices including those texts and practices that they themselves produce and engage with.
The concepts introduced will include semiotics and significatiion, structuralism and poststructuralism, anti-essentialism, myth, ideology, discourse, modernity, identity, multiculturalism and globalisation. Subjects for analysis could include advertising, news, social media, television, fashion, music, sport, identity, and everyday rituals.
Students will also be instructed in the skills of academic essay writing.

Learning and Teaching Information:

The concepts, theories and approaches relevant to the analysis of media and culture are introduced in weekly lectures that apply them to a multitude of examples across a wide range of cultural forms. This is then followed up by guided independent learning. In the first semester this then enables the students to apply the concepts in the course of a textual analysis. Some of these analyses will be of images they themselves have produced thus encouraging them to become accustomed to critiquing their own production practices from a theoretically informed perspective. In the weekly seminars they then share their analyses and give and receive feedback on them. This encourages students to both practice constructive criticism and also become used to receiving and learning from it. The analyses are presented as a portfolio as the assignment at the end of the semester.
In the second semester the weekly lectures introduce and explore some of the key themes and issues within the study of media and culture. Students follow this up with guided independent learning which prepares them for the seminars in which the topics are explored. The preparation for the weekly seminars also equips the students with the skills necessary for academic essay writing thus enabling them to complete the second assignment.
The module is taught across the whole year because this enables more time for students to come to an understanding of the material being explored each week. Delivery involves a weekly lecture and a weekly seminar. These two are separated by several days and this enables students to do reading and other research before doing the required tasks in time to bring to the seminar for feedback.

Lectures
Contact hours: 20
Intended group size: 75

Seminars
Contact hours: 20

Intended Group size: 6 x 12

Guided independent study
Hours: 160

Further details relating to assessment
Directed activities: these consist of weekly tasks that must be completed and submitted for inspection at timetabled sessions each week. The assessment will be assessed on a pass/fail basis with a pass requiring at least 75% of all weekly tasks to be completed successfully. A pass will lead to the full award of 10% towards the final module mark. A fail in directed activities will contribute 0% to the final mark.
The Portfolio for assessment in semester 1 consists of a collection of textual analyses. These are produced every week and enable students to learn how to apply the theoretical concepts to which they have been introduced to a range of media texts including their own work e.g. photographic images. Formative feedback on these is given in the weekly seminars to enable students to adjust their work before final submission at the end of the semester.
Students permitted to take a half-module for the award of 10 credits (ECTS: 5) will be assessed on the basis of the assignment relevant to the semester of study:
Semester 1 - Portfolio of textual analyses 2,000 words
Semester 2 - Essay 2,000 words.

Assessment:

001 Directed activities semester 1 & 2 10%
002 Portfolio 1 x 2000 words equiv during sem 1 45%
003 Essay 1 x 2000 words equiv end of sem 2 45%
200 Portfolio 2000 words equiv - Visiting students only 100%

Fact File

Module Coordinator - Mr John R Poulter
Level - 4
Credit Value - 20
Pre-Requisites - NONE
Semester(s) Offered - 4YL4S1

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