Authorised by Academic Registrar, April 1996
Synopsis The subject considers nineteenth and twentieth-century accounts of the relations between media, culture and power, in particular as these amount to theories of mass communications. These accounts, or the frameworks from which they arise, are examined as both forming and contextualising various social and cultural practices. Such analysis enables discussion of the way media contribute to the organisation of social relations and the government of populations. Students will examine arguments from a range of writers, including Arnold, Eliot, Leavis, Adorno, Brecht, Althusser, Hall, Foucault, Bourdieu, Woollacott, Johnson and Hunter, and the different approaches they offer to cultural issues such as television, radio, the economy and public opinion.
Assessment (Internal students) Essay one (2500 words): 40% + Essay two (3000 words): 50% + Oral communication contribution: 10%
Assessment (Distance education students) Essay one (2500 words): 40% + Essay two (3500 words): 60%