MDS-10027 - Module Specification
School of Humanities
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Programme/Approved Electives for 2024/25

Available as a Free Standing Elective

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2024/25

Does the media influence how people see the world? Does it have positive or negative effects on audiences? What are the roles of different media technologies - from cinema screens to smartphones - in shaping our everyday lives? This module will offer a critical overview of some of the responses to these questions that have been offered by research in Film and Media Studies over the 20th and 21st centuries. We will move from early research that saw audiences as passive dupes of the cultural industry, to more recent work that has seen audiences as having the capacity to critique, reject, or transform the meaning of media texts. We will also examine key theoretical approaches and methods for making sense of media audiences, drawing on a range of historical and contemporary case studies: from moral panics over the media's (alleged) influence on teenagers, to fan cultures and digital activism.

This module aims to provide students with an understanding of shifting academic conceptions of media audiences over the 20th and 21st centuries, in the context of Film and Media Studies.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Articulate how conceptions of media audiences have transformed throughout the 20th and 21st centuries: 1,2
Critically evaluate key theoretical and methodological approaches for conceptualising media audiences, in the context of Film and Media Studies: 1,2
Identify key characteristics that have been attributed to different types of media audiences: 1,2
Critically analyse the relationship(s) between media audiences and particular media technologies, including cinema, television, print, and digital media: 1,2

Study hours

11 lectures
11 seminars
2 hours tutorial time
50 hours independent study
50 hours essay preparation/writing
26 hours reflective diary preparation/writing

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment