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This course provides an introductory guide to current debates in mass communication and media studies and to the thinking and research that communications researchers and critics have brought to bear on them. This is an introductory course that does not assume any prior knowledge.
COMS101 is your introduction to the the academic study of media and communication. The courseestablishes the major concepts, theories and tools we use to study media texts, industries, technologies,and audiences. COMS101 lays the foundation for further specialised studies in our programme and beyond. It is taught through a weekly two hour lecture and a one tutorial hour each week. You are expected to attend each lecture and doing so will ensure you get most from the course.
By the end of the course, you should be able to demonstrate your knowledge gained, by being able to: - understand the value of media literacy- recognise the continuities and discontinuities between 'old' and 'new' media forms- recognise the critical possibilities of media analysis- describe how media construct versions of the real- identify the understanding of audiences underlying arguments about media- define what is meant by the ideological role of media- recognise the role of media in producing and circulating ideas about identity, culture, and nation- produce arguments over media concentration and global ownership- identify arguments for a free media and individual choice- identify the ownership of NZ media- identify processes in the construction of newsBy the end of the course, you should be able to demonstrate the skills you've gained, by being able to: - research media issues using books, journals, and online sources- analyse a media text- write a well structured academic essay confidently and with clarity- discuss the ideals and processes shaping the media- discuss the link between media and democracy- explain impacts of ownership on media- discuss the challenges of expanding media perspectives- interpret media content in terms of production processes, audiences, and technologies- relate critical theories of society to media content- read media critically using semiotics and discourse theories
Zita Joyce
Branston, Gill. , Stafford, Roy; The media student's book ; 5th ed; Routledge, 2010.
Domestic fee $717.00
International fee $2,913.00
* 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 .