This module introduces and applies ideas in critical, cultural and communications theory to debates and issues surrounding media and popular culture, focusing on such themes as cultural elitism, power and control, the formation of identities, the politics of representation, and the cultural circuit of production and consumption. It investigates the relationship between the development of contemporary society and societal values and the changing technological basis of mediated culture.
Total contact hours: 22
Private study hours: 128
Total study hours: 150
Core module for Cultural Studies/Cultural Studies and Media programmes including those listed below. Optional module for other SPSSR programmes
Cultural Studies and Media BA
Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature BA
Cultural Studies and Journalism BA
Cultural Studies with Journalism BA
Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature BA
Criminology and Cultural Studies BA
Cultural Studies and Social Anthropology BA
Film and Cultural Studies BA
Main assessment methods
Assignment 1 (essay) - 45%
Essay/assignment 2 (essay) - 45%
Seminar – 10%
Reassessment methods
100% coursework
Gill, R. (2006) Gender and the Media. Polity
Hall, S. (1997) Representations: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices. Sage
Hjarvard, S. (2013) The Mediatization of Culture and Society. Routledge
Hodkinson, P. (2001) Media, Culture and Society. Sage
Jenkins, H. (ed.) (2006) Convergence Culture: where old and new media collide. New York University Press
Long, P., Wall, T. (2012) Media Studies: Texts, Production and Context. Pearson
Storey, J. (2012) Cultural Theory and Popular Culture. Routledge
See the library reading list for this module (Canterbury)
The intended subject specific learning outcomes.
On successfully completing the module students will be able to:
8.1 Use various theoretical approaches to popular culture, media and mediated communications.
8.2 Engage in a range of critical debates surrounding media and popular cultural production and consumption.
8.3 Examine how social critique and media culture interact and cross-inform each other.
8.4 Understand a number of social and cultural issues concerning the integration of media technologies into everyday life.
8.5 Develop a critical understanding of processes of mediation and remediation in the narrative construction of personal and collective
identities.
The intended generic learning outcomes.
On successfully completing the module students will be able to:
9.1 Critically evaluate varied multidisciplinary theoretical and analytical approaches to the subjects and materials examined.
9.2 Analyse and contextualise theoretical and empirical case studies within both the module's key themes and a broader academic discourse.
9.3 Draw on relevant materials and analytical tools to develop considered arguments and evaluations, and be able to present these clearly in
oral and written forms.
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