Media, culture, power: theories of mass communications
Cathy Greenfield
8 points
* Second semester
* 3 hours per week (1-hour lecture,
2-hour tutorial)
* Gippsland/Distance
* Prerequisites: One of GSC1901,
GSC1401 plus GSC1402 or with permission of subject adviser; GSC2411 is
available for the English and mass communication majors
Objectives On successful completion of the subject students should be able to demonstrate an understanding of the significance of theories of mass communications and culture and the basic assumptions and arguments of these theories; the relations between mass communications and social relations of power. Students should be able to utilise particular approaches to the description and analysis of cultural and media texts and activities, and articulate the strengths and weaknesses of the approaches.
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 (3000 words): 50%
* Journal work: 10%
Prescribed texts
McQuail D Mass communications theory: An introduction 3rd edn, Sage, 1994
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