MP5033 - Media and Society Special Topic

You will learn via a variety of mechanisms. These include lectures, seminars, online activities (where appropriate) and independent learning.
Lectures will provide the contextual and theoretical information you need to understand the module’s themes and approaches. The lecturer will provide examples that will demonstrate how to apply relevant critical techniques, and to stimulate your engagement with the course material (by, for example, presenting various challenges and conflicts raised in the field).
Seminars will provide space for you to interrogate and discuss the ideas raised in the lectures, both with your peers and with the tutor. Seminars are oriented around discussion questions and activities to stimulate your engagement.
Outside of the taught sessions, you will be expected to engage with module-relevant reading in preparation for the sessions. An electronic reading list is supplied via the e-Learning Portal, which will guide you towards appropriate resources, although you are encouraged to explore the wider library catalogue to engage with additional sources too. During your independent working time, it is also expected that you will apply the ideas raised in the reading and the taught content to contemporary media examples beyond those cited in the lectures.
Where appropriate, additional materials will be supplied on the eLearning Portal. These independent activities will facilitate your development as you progress through the module, laying a foundation for your assessed work.

You will be supported by the module lead; they will introduce the module at the start of the semester and offer advice and guidance throughout. Your learning is mapped out via documentation on Blackboard Ultra, the Northumbria University online electronic learning portal; this is accessible online on and off campus. The e-Learning Portal will include guidance notes and key dates to help you organise and plan your time. It will also include teaching materials, announcements and updates, and detailed information on assessment. You will have a university email that we contact you through.
We support your learning by providing on-going feedback (Formative and Summative) through the range of teaching and learning approaches offered. We ask you to submit your work electronically, and we will supply feedback via Turnitin. You will be able to compare your feedback across modules so that you can assess your development as you progress through the programme.
Formative assessment is offered throughout the module, and summative assignments will receive written feedback within 20 working days of assignment submission. Every tutor has set weekly feedback and tutorial drop-in hours, wherein you can seek advice on your academic progress.

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:
• You will be able to demonstrate specialist knowledge of the issues, themes and scholarly debates that characterise the study of media and society in relation to key social concerns.
• On completion of the module you will possess detailed knowledge of the media under consideration in relation to broader media industries

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
• You will be able to demonstrate analytical and interpretive skills required to formulate and justify independent critical viewpoints regarding media’s engagement with complex social issues
• You will be able to demonstrate an enhanced ability to select from an array of appropriate research methods, theories, and concepts relevant to media and society, and deploy said approaches in order to produce appropriately sophisticated written work

Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
• You will be able to display the attitudes and skills needed to engage and work constructively, sensitively and ethically in conjunction with people from various socio-cultural backgrounds and with divergent skill-sets

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
1 x 3000-word essay worth 100% of the overall module grade

You will receive formative feedback from your peers and the module tutor during the seminars throughout the course, allowing you to apprehend how your critical skills are developing. You will receive a detailed commentary and a summative mark on your written work in accordance with the assessment criteria (supplied on the eLP). Under normal circumstances, you will receive written feedback on your summative submissions within 20 working days. The feedback will normally be supplied electronically as part of the ESAF process. This feedback will provide a detailed account of your skills, critical engagement and communicative ability, as well as supporting future learning by indicating areas for development. You can also request additional verbal feedback on your submissions by arranging a meeting with the module tutor.

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In this module, you will critically examine the relationship between a specific cultural institution with a pronounced media presence and its social significance. The institution under scrutiny can vary from year-to-year, and the module might address, for example, one of the Creative and Cultural Industries (such as film, news, advertising, sport), and said industry’s engagement with prominent social issues including, for example, issues pertaining to identity, war and other crises, policy decisions and their social impact. You will be required to read and reflect on specific theoretical and empirical academic work by leading scholars and commentators and, using your analytical and interpretive skills, relate this work to the issues raised in class and by any accompanying activities, such as, for example screenings and demonstrations. The module is assessed by a 3000 word essay which is designed to test your knowledge of the cultural institution and its role in society, to evidence a sophisticated understanding of the issues under scrutiny, and your ability to work to a deadline.