COMS101-25S1 (C) Semester One 2025

Media and Society

15 points

Details:
Start Date: Monday, 17 February 2025
End Date: Sunday, 22 June 2025
Withdrawal Dates
Last Day to withdraw from this course:
  • Without financial penalty (full fee refund): Sunday, 2 March 2025
  • Without academic penalty (including no fee refund): Sunday, 11 May 2025

Description

COMS101 explores the relationship between society and media - including social media, print, broadcasting, and all kinds of online spaces. It asks how our understandings of the world and people around us are mediated, how media have shaped society, and how society is reflected and produced through media. We will explore topics like media audiences, technologies, ownership and work; the frames of representation, power, and identity; and analytical tools like semiotics, discourse, and narrative. COMS101 is a stage one course that does not require any prior media study, but it builds on everything you have ever watched, listened to, interacted with, and produced. This course has on-campus and distance options. It includes weekly written exercises and requires active in-class engagement on campus, or in the distance stream to develop core university skills and learn effectively from the teaching staff and from each other.

Learning Outcomes

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attributes specified below:

Critically competent in a core academic discipline of their award

Students know and can critically evaluate and, where applicable, apply this knowledge to topics/issues within their majoring subject.

Timetable 2025

Students must attend one activity from each section.

Lecture A
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Tuesday 09:00 - 10:00 A2 Lecture Theatre
17 Feb - 6 Apr
28 Apr - 1 Jun
Lecture B
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Thursday 10:00 - 11:00 E8 Lecture Theatre
17 Feb - 6 Apr
28 Apr - 1 Jun
Tutorial A
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Tuesday 11:00 - 12:00 Psychology - Sociology 210
24 Feb - 6 Apr
28 Apr - 1 Jun
02 Tuesday 14:00 - 15:00 Jack Erskine 235
24 Feb - 6 Apr
28 Apr - 1 Jun
03 Wednesday 09:00 - 10:00 Ernest Rutherford 225
24 Feb - 6 Apr
28 Apr - 1 Jun
04 Wednesday 11:00 - 12:00 Psychology - Sociology 210
24 Feb - 6 Apr
28 Apr - 1 Jun
05 Wednesday 14:00 - 15:00 Psychology - Sociology 210
24 Feb - 6 Apr
28 Apr - 1 Jun
06 Thursday 12:00 - 13:00 Ernest Rutherford 260
24 Feb - 6 Apr
28 Apr - 1 Jun
07 Thursday 15:00 - 16:00 Jane Soons 602
24 Feb - 6 Apr
28 Apr - 1 Jun
08 Friday 09:00 - 10:00 Jack Erskine 240
24 Feb - 6 Apr
28 Apr - 1 Jun
09 Friday 12:00 - 13:00 Ernest Rutherford 460
24 Feb - 6 Apr
28 Apr - 1 Jun

Course Coordinator

Zita Joyce

Assessment

Assessment Due Date Percentage  Description
Library exercise 08 Mar 2024 5% This exercise will test your knowledge of accessing and retrieving information through online library resources.
Weekly Learn Questions 10% A short answer each week to develop regular engagement with the course content
Tutorial participation 10% Completing activities in tutorials in class or online
Short essays 20% Due March 15, April 26, May 6, May 24 20% 500 word essays to extend writing and analysis skills worth 5% each
Essay 27 Mar 2024 25% 1500 word essay to develop research skills and depth
Final Exam 30% 2 hours, scheduled during University exam period

Indicative Fees

Domestic fee $894.00

International fee $4,100.00

* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.

For further information see Language, Social and Political Sciences .

All COMS101 Occurrences

  • COMS101-25S1 (C) Semester One 2025
  • COMS101-25S1 (D) Semester One 2025 (Distance)