ATS2454 - Media audiences - 2017

This unit addresses the key issues of: media audiences and audience activity; the relations between media, citizenship and community; and the impact of new communication technologies. Most importantly, it makes available to you the techniques and theoretical frameworks for researching and analysing audience activity and interactivity. It also helps you learn how these frameworks can be deployed in research design. The unit is organized in three blocks: ways of being an audience, ways of theorizing audiences, and ways of researching audiences.

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

1. demonstrate a basic grasp of the social conditions, material practices, products and outcomes of various media
2. demonstrate an awareness of the connections between communications technologies and the formation of audiences, citizens and communities
3. utilise the understandings in Objectives 1 and 2 to describe and analyse historical, current and likely future trends in audience formations
4. identify and evaluate a range of theoretical approaches to understanding audiences 5)demonstrate basic knowledge of some audience research techniques, issues and choices

5. utilize the understandings in Objectives 4 and 5 to design a basic research project.

Within semester assessment: 60% + Exam: 40%

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.

See also Unit timetable information

Dr Susan Yell

Twelve credit points of first-year Arts units.

ATS3454, COM2423, COM3423, GSC3402, GSC3423