SO254-15 Media, Audiences and Social Change
Introductory description
SO254-15 Media, Audiences and Social Change
Module aims
Media audiences are key to the production of changing forms of collectivity, belonging, exclusion and personhood. These dimensions of audience research will be explored through historical and contemporary research and examples. This module presents theories of audience reception alongside empirical approaches to understanding the relationship between media and society, and the production and stabilisation of meaning. The module provides frameworks for understanding the social significance of interaction between media and audiences, against the backdrop of historical changes in media popularisation and use, in interaction with social norms and existing inequalities.
Media, Audiences and Social Change provides insights into the benefits of employing interdisciplinary approaches and methods through drawing upon (in addition to sociology) the fields of media, cultural studies, gender studies, queer theory and critical race theory. Research and analytical skills will be developed through critical engagement with academic resources drawn from these fields, and application to real world examples. Skill development will also focus on critically analysing a range of examples of media theory and research based on conceptual and methodological criteria.
Outline syllabus
This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.
Week Lecture Topic
Week 1 Introduction to audiences in the 21st century
Week 2 Histories of audience research
Week 3 Theorising the relationship between reader and text
Week 4 The audience as ‘public’
Week 5 The audience-celebrity relation
Week 6 Reading week
Week 7 The savvy viewer: audience ‘literacies’, reality TV and cultures of judgment
Week 8 New audience relationalities: participatory culture
Week 9 Activist audiences
Week 10 The politics of the audience in polarised, datafied social worlds
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students should be able to:
- Demonstrate an intermediate level of understanding of key theoretical perspectives relevant to media audience research
- Identify shifts in the relationship between media and society through audience research in differing contexts
- Understand connections between social media and legacy in the construction of audiences
- Critically engage with debates about the role of media in society, and the role for different social groups.
- Critically appraise some of the approaches and methods of the empirical investigation of the relationship between media and society.
- Apply analysis to a range of resources and materials, including academic, journalistic, and other media texts, to inform understanding, argument and analysis.
- Engage confidently in oral and written analysis and debate and to present arguments in a coherent, structured, and balanced fashion, with critical introspection where appropriate.
- Address the aims and objectives of the module demonstrating close engagement with module materials
Indicative reading list
Reading lists can be found in Talis
Specific reading list for the module
Research element
Students are asked to develop their own audience case study in response to set essay questions.
Interdisciplinary
Module engages with feminist cultural studies, media studies, communication studies, critical race theory, gender studies, queer theory (in addition to sociology).
International
Examples and literature in the course engage extensively with global challenges and cases across a diverse range of national and supra-national contexts.
Subject specific skills
Media literacy
Literature review
Application of theory to real world examples
Methodological evaluation of empirical social research
Transferable skills
Critical thinking
Desk research
Ability to synthesise ideas
Time management
Critical introspection
Communication skills
Study time
| Type | Required |
|---|---|
| Lectures | 9 sessions of 1 hour (6%) |
| Seminars | 9 sessions of 1 hour (6%) |
| Private study | 132 hours (88%) |
| Total | 150 hours |
Private study description
132 hours of private study
Costs
No further costs have been identified for this module.
You must pass all assessment components to pass the module.
Students can register for this module without taking any assessment.
Assessment group A1
| Weighting | Study time | Eligible for self-certification | |
|---|---|---|---|
Assessment component |
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| Reflective and Analytical Essay | 100% | Yes (extension) | |
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This essay will test the students' ability to synthesise and apply the ideas they encountered during the module to a case study of their choosing. For this essay, students will choose and develop a case study of audience response. They will analyse this case study through critical engagement with relevant empirical and theoretical literature. |
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Reassessment component is the same |
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Feedback on assessment
Written or recorded verbal feedback provided on essay, following department procedures
Courses
This module is Core optional for:
- Year 3 of ULAA-ML33 Undergraduate Law and Sociology
This module is Optional for:
- Year 2 of USOA-L301 BA in Sociology
- Year 2 of USOA-L314 Undergraduate Sociology and Criminology
This module is Option list A for:
- Year 5 of ULAA-ML35 BA in Law and Sociology (Qualifying Degree) (with Intercalated year)
- Year 4 of ULAA-ML33 Undergraduate Law and Sociology
This module is Option list B for:
- Year 2 of UHIA-VL15 Undergraduate History and Sociology (with a term in Venice)
- Year 2 of UPOA-ML13 Undergraduate Politics and Sociology
This module is Option list D for:
- Year 2 of UHIA-VL13 Undergraduate History and Sociology
- Year 2 of UHIA-VL15 Undergraduate History and Sociology (with a term in Venice)