This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2016 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

ATS1279 - Media and culture

6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL

Undergraduate - Unit

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

Faculty

Arts

Organisational Unit

Communications and Media Studies

Coordinator(s)

Dr Elizabeth Coleman

Offered

Caulfield

First semester 2016 (Day)

Clayton

First semester 2016 (Day)

Synopsis

This unit introduces students to the core concepts and theoretical traditions within media studies including political economy, textual analysis, empirical studies and cultural studies. These are aligned with historical and contemporary examples of social, economic and political debates about media industries and audiences. Students also examine the ways in which power and influence are exercised through media in cultural and social life.

Outcomes

In this unit teaching staff aim to provide you with a range of conceptual frameworks for understanding the relationships between media, culture and society.

On successful completion of this unit students should be able to:

demonstrate an appreciation of the historical development of media industries;
recognise and be able to apply available frameworks for critically understanding the relationships between media, culture and society;
demonstrate an understanding of the social, economic, political and cultural factors that shape the production, distribution and consumption of media;
demonstrate an appreciation of the ways that the mass media contributes to understandings of the world.

Assessment

Within semester assessment: 65%
Exam: 35%

Workload requirements

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. A unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.