ATS2315 - Journalism and global change in Europe - 2018

The unit will explore the significance of people power to journalism through the lens of one of the biggest stories of our time: the migration crisis in Europe. By focusing on the story that has seen hundreds of thousands of migrants cross the continent in search of asylum since 2014, students will explore the theory and practice of less-conventional forms of reporting that are raising issues of advocacy, agency and accountability in journalism. Of particular interest are: peace and development journalism, civic or participatory journalism, and environmental reporting. Students will explore the rationale behind each of these news forms, the values that inform them, and their capacity to humanise and localise the victims of the fissures of geography, ethnicity and wealth. Through case studies in mainstream and alternative European and global news coverage, students will learn to approach news not as a series of discrete violent events but rather as part of complex, ongoing, global processes of social and environmental change. Further, by drawing from scholarly literature in Journalism and Media Studies, field trips and practical research techniques, students will evaluate the significance of people power to journalism while producing in-depth investigations of their own.

Upon successful completion of the unit students will be able to:

1. demonstrate a sound understanding of the global dimensions of environmental, development and peace reporting;
2. demonstrate an advanced ability to research, discuss and analyse issues of journalism and global change in the European context;
3. demonstrate a satisfactory knowledge and capacity to make effective use of the scholarly literature in Journalism and Media Studies;
4. use skills in journalism research to scrutinise news content;
5. collaborate constructively with fellow students in learning and discussion processes, including online forums;
6. produce written work and oral presentations to deadline, making effective use of the conventions of scholarly presentation.

Within semester assessment: 100%

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

Communications and media studies

Film and screen studies

Journalism