2024/25 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

COMM1960 Studying Media

20 creditsClass Size: 120

Module manager: Allison Cavanagh
Email: A.E.Cavanagh@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable

Year running 2024/25

This module is not approved as a discovery module

Module summary

This module offers students an introductory survey of media and communication studies. It examines the social, cultural, technological, political, and economic forces that shape the media. It does so by engaging with critical scholarship on media industries, texts, audiences, and histories. Key concepts and debates are explored in relation to various media institutions and forms, including news media, television, advertising, film, popular music, digital gaming, and the internet.

Objectives

The purpose of this module is to:
- Introduce students to a range of media and communication studies approaches, drawing on scholarship on media industries, texts, audiences, and histories;
- Examine critical perspectives on and debates regarding the production, circulation, and reception of media;
- Facilitate the development of independent research skills; and
- Familiarise students with the fundamentals of academic argumentation and critical analysis.

Learning outcomes
On completion of this module, students will be able to:
1. Identify how key concepts, critical perspectives, and methodological approaches are used in contemporary media and communication scholarship
2. Critically evaluate scholarly arguments and research methods
3. Apply media and communication theory to the analysis of a chosen media text, industry, or audience
4. Use theory and media analysis to present an argument about media texts, industries, audiences, histories, and/or the importance of internationalising media studies
5. Present research findings in the form of an academic essay

Skills learning outcomes
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes:
5. Academic writing: the ability to write in a clear, concise focused and structured manner, supported by relevant evidence from the field of media and communication
6. Critical thinking: the ability to weigh up different arguments and perspectives from media and communication scholarship, using supporting evidence to form opinions
7. Research skills: the ability to locate a range of scholarship from the field of media and communication and evaluate its importance

Syllabus

Details of the syllabus will be provided on the Minerva organisation (or equivalent) for the module

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Lecture	10	1.00	10.00
Seminar	9	1.00	9.00
Private study hours			181.00
Total Contact hours			19.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			200.00

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Students will receive ongoing formative feedback via participation in seminar discussions and activities and peer feedback on their precis assignments.

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Assignment	Critical Review 200-300 words per precis x 5 (1000-1500 words).	40.00
Assignment	Essay 2500 Words	60.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		100.00

Resit available via original assessment method.

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 03/04/2024

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