2023/24 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

COMM3925 War and Media

20 creditsClass Size: 45

Module manager: Katy Parry
Email: K.J.Parry@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2023/24

Module replaces

COMM3920 Communications and Conflict

This module is not approved as a discovery module

Module summary

This module examines the role of the media during wartime. Using both historical and contemporary case studies, the module looks at how media-military relationships developed through the 20th century, and how rapid changes in communication technologies have transformed the way audiences engage in distant wars. The 10 lectures will cover relevant themes such as propaganda, popular culture in world politics, the gendered nature of war coverage, and iconic images.

Objectives

The module aims to provide students with an informed understanding of the main theoretical and critical debates associated with war and media. Students will explore the political and historical contexts, which shape both the media reporting of war and how audiences engage with distant conflicts. The module includes a range of media, including news, film, documentary, and social media. Students can work to their strengths and interests, choosing to critically analyse any form of media in its representation of war for their second assignment. The module will enable students to evaluate and contribute to ethical, aesthetic and theoretical debates about the role of media in war.

Learning outcomes
On completion of the module you should be able to:
1. Demonstrate a knowledge of the academic literature on war and media in the widest sense (journalism, film, photography);
2. Demonstrate an understanding of how media and military agendas intersect during wartime;
3. Demonstrate an understanding of the concepts of propaganda, media-policy interaction, image warfare and mediatisation of war;
4. Evaluate a range of scholarly texts on a specific case study, in the form of a discussion essay;
5. Apply research techniques, theoretical concepts and academic conventions introduced in this module to a specific research question, in the form of a research essay.

Skills outcomes
Students will be given the opportunity to develop the following skills:
- absorb and filter complex information
- access and make effective use of bibliographical and electronic sources of information
- argue effectively and persuasively in a written form
- communicate and argue effectively in an oral form, through a general contribution to small group discussion
- study independently
- meet deadlines and work under time constraints

Syllabus

Through a series of case studies from twentieth century to the present time, the module examines significant issues of military-media strategies and journalistic relationships during wartime, with students gaining an understanding of key factors believed to shape war coverage and cultural understandings of war. Students will gain knowledge and reading skills which enable a critical appraisal of the scholarly literature on concepts such as the 'mediatisation' of conflict, 'witnessing’, and war in the age of the smart phone: ‘radical war’. We will draw upon the historical developments in the relationship between media and war to evaluate how intertwined media technologies and war operations are in the current era. The module syllabus covers issues such as propaganda and disinformation, the gendered nature of war coverage, how films and TV shows contribute to cultural understandings of war, drone technology and new ways of visualising war, bearing witness and ethical spectatorship, and how wars are remembered through the media. Seminars will consist of activities and discussions developed to ensure students’ understanding of lecture material and assigned readings. Please note that the module syllabus was updated in 2023-24.

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Lecture	10	1.00	10.00
Seminar	10	1.00	10.00
Private study hours			180.00
Total Contact hours			20.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			200.00

Private study

Seminar preparation: 50 hours
Essay preparation: 130 hours (researching, preparing and writing the two essays).

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

The assessment regime outlined below is designed to allow a staged development of skills and knowledge throughout the duration of this module, and to allow for ongoing feedback via the seminars and Minerva.
Student can submit a one-page essay plan to the module leader for feedback, either by email or in office hours.
Essay 1 (2,000-2,500) words is set in Week 7, so that feedback can be returned before the second essay.

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Essay	1 x 2,000-2,500 words	40.00
Essay	Research Essay 1 x 3,000 - 3,500 words	60.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		100.00

Resits: For Essay 1: students will choose from the list of essay questions in the module handbook. For Essay 2, they will need to agree an appropriate research question with the module leader.

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 28/04/2023 14:38:12

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