MP6050 - Event Cultures

You will be taught via a weekly two-hour lecture, supplemented by a one-hour seminar. The emphasis on student-centred learning means that a lecture-seminar format is the most effective means by which to receive directed learning whilst also engaging in peer-to-peer explorations on a number of critical concepts. Each seminar will be structured around a particular theme and will focus upon a particular case-study designed to develop your comprehension and evaluation of practical and theoretical approaches to media events.

The seminar sessions will begin by introducing you to core concepts. The main part of each seminar will focus upon group tasks and discussion of the theme, events or set texts. Seminar discussions are also intended to develop your communication skills and your ability to develop and respond to ideas in a collaborative environment. You are expected to prepare for the sessions by studying the set text(s) for each week, and also by carrying out additional recommended reading/viewing (which will be indicated in the module guide and on the e–Learning Portal).

The module tutor has weekly office hours during which you can drop in for academic support. All students are also provided with an academic tutor who also has hours to support your learning. The seminars will allow you to engage in group discussion and problem-solving with the module tutor and your peers, thus developing a constructive support network. The delivery of the module will be supported with learning and lecture materials that are accessible via the e-learning portal.

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. The reading list for this module can be found at: http://readinglists.northumbria.ac.uk
(Reading List service online guide for academic staff this containing contact details for the Reading List team – http://library.northumbria.ac.uk/readinglists)

Knowledge & Understanding:

• An understanding of the key critical and theoretical debates about specific media events

• An ability to contextualise and critically interrogate events within the social and cultural contexts within which they are formed

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:

• An ability to articulate, evaluate and apply theoretical and critical scholarship on the concept of media events

• Demonstration of analytical and communication abilities through verbal and written means.

Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):

• An appreciation of the global and cultural contexts of media events

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

To prepare you successfully to undertake the summative assessment(s) on this module, formative assessments will be set by the module team. These may take the form of in-class tasks or projects, developmental activities undertaken between classes, or learning exercises/activities set over a longer period. Feedback (written and/or oral) will be provided to help you learn from, reflect on, and develop in light of these formative assessments.



SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT

The summative assessment strategy for this module is to encourage you to develop a critically and contextually informed understanding of media events, their organisational dynamics and management. Assessment takes and the form of a 3,000-word individual summative written event proposal (100 %).

The individual event proposal (3,000 words) tests your ability to reflect upon relevant critical material and to persuasively develop and propose a specific media event. It addresses all of the MLOs relating to knowledge/understanding, intellectual/professional skills and personal values attributes, in testing: an understanding of key debates, an ability to contextualise, an ability to articulate, evaluate and apply theoretical/critical ideas in relation to specific examples, and the communication of these abilities. Submission and receipt of feedback is via Turnitin.

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Ever wondered what the point of something like a film festival really is and how it works? Ever thought about why awards ceremonies like the Oscars take place and what their real value is? Ever considered how things like media publicity stunts shape the way we think about the world? Or, even, just how things like film festivals, awards ceremonies, conventions or film marketing campaigns are put together and what dynamics shape the way they function and their success or failure? Using a case approach study, this module looks at how a specific film-based event is organised, what its effect on the film industry is and how, as academics, we might conceptualise and make sense of these dynamics. The stress in Event Cultures is upon a holistic approach that looks at an event from the bottom up, examining its dynamics, creation, operationalisation and – ultimately – what it achieves. The assessment task encourages you to conceptualise, develop and propose your own hypothetical media event in relation to the case study the module examines, allowing you to demonstrate how the knowledge you gain on the module might be put into practice in the real world.