Media and Culture BA (Hons): XJTLU 2+2 programme

This module will enhance students’ understanding of academic research in the field of communication and media studies. It is the first of a series of two modules that will equip students with the skills and techniques needed to analyse, execute, interpret, and present academic research. The module will also prepare them for advanced academic projects such as their final-year projects/academic dissertations. This module will introduce students to the basics of academic research – from the key elements in a research study to the difference between primary and secondary, and quantitative and qualitative research. Students will be taught how to write literature reviews and what ethical considerations to bear in mind when designing a research study.

This module will enhance students’ understanding of academic research in the field of communication and media studies. It is the second of a series of two modules that will equip students with the skills and techniques needed to analyse, execute, interpret, and present academic research. The module will also prepare them for advanced academic projects such as their final-year projects/academic dissertations. This module will introduce students to specific quantitative and qualitative research methods for the study of media texts, audiences and producers, continuing on from the semester 1 Research Methods module. These will include textual analysis, content analysis, thematic analysis, discourse analysis; surveys, interviews, focus groups, ethnography; as well as archival research and digital research. Students will also be taught how to formulate research questions, what makes a good student dissertation/final year project and how to communicate their research. They will then be required to prepare research proposals for their final year projects/dissertations.

Introduction to Cultural Studies provides a foundational understanding of the key approaches, methods and theoretical perspectives in the interdisciplinary field of cultural studies. The module starts with an historical overview of the development of cultural studies and explores its links with related fields such as anthropology, sociology, and everyday life studies. Blocks 2-4 are organised around core thematic areas of focus which provide, respectively, an introduction to perspectives in the study of contemporary visual cultures; an introduction to urban cultural studies and the spatial humanities; and critical reflection on ‘future cultures’ and the shifting boundaries that define understandings of ‘nature’ and ‘culture’ in the age of the posthuman and the Anthropocene. Engaging with theoretical perspectives and debates that address a broad range of contemporary issues in the study of culture, media and everyday life, the module draws extensively on ethnographic, text-based and other qualitative methods, with a particular emphasis towards understandings of culture and media as forms of social, embodied and political practice and the everyday ‘doingness’ of cultural experience.

The objective of the module is to promote an understanding of the forces that shape the human-made environment and the role played by design professionals. It aims to help students as future designers to understand that the city is a complex and dynamic system. It also aims to stimulate their active thinking and positive responses to various urban phenomena in order to generate appropriate strategies that can effectively solve design problems and facilitate the city’s sustainability. Through a series of lectures on urban history, case studies, urban design theories and methodologies, as well as debates on urban sustainability, this module is to enhance students’ awareness of the nature of cities, the formation and transformation of their urban forms and to obtain basic urban design skills.

This module examines the transformation of Hollywood cinema as a distinct mode of film practice with its own codes and conventions to a complex and multifaceted global media enterprise that now encompasses film, television, the internet and other screen-based media. With film being increasingly consumed away from the theatres, and with the talent that is involved in entertainment media circulating fluidly across different media and markets, Hollywood is not only about cinema but about a number of entertainment industries that are controlled by a handful of giant conglomerates. The module is organised in two blocks. The first block examines the key characteristics of Hollywood cinema as these were crystallised in the earlier decades of the 20th Century. Concepts such as the studio system, the classical narrative and style, modes of representation, film genres, stardom, technology and performance are discussed in detail. The second block deals with the transformations that started taking Hollywood by storm especially from the 1970s onwards, including: the emergence of the blockbuster film culture, the conglomeration of the film industry, the rise of franchise entertainment, the links to independent film production, Hollywood’s relationship to television (cable and online/streaming) and others.

This module introduces students to feminist media studies. Throughout the module, they will become familiar with key concepts and debates relating to gender and its interaction with media and cultural practices. The module will refer to a wide range of media, such as television, journalism, and digital platforms to bring to life the character of gender relations in contemporary media cultures, as well as in historical perspective. Students will consider the power relations which characterise media production environments, the gendered nature of representations, and the political contestation of these by feminist activists. The module adopts an intersectional approach, ensuring that gender is considered alongside other identity markers such as race, class, disability and sexuality.

The second-year module Immersive Media and Virtual Worlds explores the histories, theories, and industries related to the production of immersive experiences, digital technologies and virtual realities and worlds. In particular, the module will focus on video games and cinema.

The media are now central to any discussion of contemporary war and conflict while global news reporting is supposedly in decline. How can we understand the interplay between global news, media and war in the context of rapidly evolving communication technologies and journalistic practices? This module explores the broader context of global news focusing on media in different parts of the world and the way they report on global issues. It considers the professional practice of foreign reporting and the challenges that notions of ethics, objectivity and attachment present for journalists. Then it engages with both the responses of states, including the use of media management and persuasion, and those of audiences who are often conflicted in reaction to distant conflict. The module concludes with an investigation of specific wars of recent years and a look at the future of reporting war and beyond.

This module will explore theoretical perspectives on Public Relations, including critical perspectives on its role in media and digital society and the professional practice of promotional writing, a key skill within and beyond PR. Students will develop understanding of what it means to be a creative professional in the PR industries by learning to organise their time effectively, to produce work to specific briefs and to ensure attention to detail in the delivery of projects.

Converged Media and Screen Entertainment B examines key ideas and arguments in the broader field of media industry studies with a view to provide students with wide-ranging account of how the screen industries produce and distribute commercial entertainment within a converged media environment, while operating as part of organizational arrangements and professional practices that separate them from industries with an information focus. The module accounts for the local, national and global dimension of screen entertainment with case studies and examples taken from a variety of geographical contexts and covers a number of industries, mainly film and television, but also with references to games and social medial.

Organised around 4 blocks – Terms of Reference, The Global Spectre of Entertainment, The Production of Entertainment and Entertainment Labour – the module kicks off with some conceptual issues and definitions around what entertainment is and how the landscape in which it is produced and disseminated is defined by media convergence and – increasingly – deconvergence. With these terms of reference accounted for, the second block surveys some key characteristics related to the global nature of screen entertainment: the issues at stake in regulating its circulation across different geographical, political and cultural environments; the ways in which its production tends to be clustered around particular hubs and networks, the ways in which it contributes to global media flows organised around distribution power and the ways it is also disseminated through informal or piracy networks.

After an independent study week that enables students to catch up with reading and prepare for their first assignment, the module continues with a block on the production of entertainment, with an emphasis there being on some of the textual characteristics of entertainment products as these are influenced by marketing and brand integration, by intellectual property management and the increasing reliance on narrative universes and world-building, and by promotional content designed to move swiftly across media platforms and to attract online interaction. Some of these characteristics distinguish clearly entertainment media from media that revolve around information. Finally, the last block deals with issues relating to working in screen entertainment industries, focusing primarily on issues relating to unions and crafts and the ways they try to control entertainment with an environment where the power of the unions has declined as well on issue of diversity in the screen industries work force.

This module examines the role of the media and cultural industries in shaping the narratives that define who – and where – we are in relation to our past(s). As an examination of media and the past, the module acknowledges that the study of the mediation of history is closely bound up with the history of media itself as a set of technologies, discourses and practices. The weekly lectures each focus on a specific topic, although there is considerable overlap between ideas and themes that run throughout the module. As well as gaining a theoretical understanding of some of the core issues relating to the representation and mediation of the past, the module also incorporates a practical element in the form of a museum field trip. The module provides a detailed overview of themes and critical perspectives on heritage and cultural memory, including: media and historiography; heritage and nostalgia; the relationship between media, memory and forgetting; museums and the curating of memory; identity, imagined communities and post-memory; and the impact of digital cultures on archival practices.

In this module, students will learn about Artificial Intelligence algorithms that influence the development of digital media systems and content. Students will critically address key questions around the social, political and economic consequences of online platforms’ use of AI systems and how they are or could be regulated.

Besides introducing you to a variety of remarkable and sometimes rare documentary texts, this module examines the key purposes, forms and approaches employed at different moments in the history of documentary, how documentary represents the “real world”, and notions of “truth”, ethics and audience engagement. The module also focuses on how documentary form and content can be analysed.

​This course examines the ongoing relationship between technological development, popular music and the cultures which surround it. Students are introduced to major perspectives on popular music and technology in order to examine social, aesthetic and historical issues.

This module considers issues of race and racism from a philosophical perspective. Given the philosophical breadth of the topic, this module will cover a wide range of philosophical approaches. These include aesthetics, phenomenology, critical theory, politics, epistemology, language, metaphysics and science. Students will be introduced to these topics in lectures. These lectures provide background context to understanding the topics. Students then read prescribed readings and do independent research in preparation for seminars. This will help students learn how to engage in constructive debate on controversial social topics

At mid-term students will submit an opinion piece in the form of a blogpost. At the end of term students will submit an essay.

Students taking this module will improve their skills in reading and writing philosophy. Students will gain skill in explaining complex information in a concise manner to an audience, in practising the intellectual virtues associated with philosophy, in conducting their own independent research and in critically discussing important social ideas.

Digital technology now permeates our social, cultural, political, and economic institutions, so much so that we have increasingly come to take it for granted. There are very few – if any – aspects of our day to day lives that are not in some way mediated or augmented by digital technology, a situation that is markedly distinct from that of the 20th century. The significance of this digitisation should not be over looked. This module involves critical exploration of the place and role of digital technology in society, engaging theoretically and empirically with important questions regarding the implications of digitisation in social, political, economic and cultural life. As well as engaging with key ideas and debates, students are encouraged to reflect critically on their own digital lives, practice and experience.

The majority of the world’s population can now be said to be urban and the most acute social challenges of the age to centre on cities. This module provides a comprehensive introduction to classical and contemporary social scientific studies of urban contexts. Tracing the development of theories of urban life – and the empirical studies that have accompanied them – this module is concerned with the variety of ways in which social scientists have sought to understand the complex and contested social spaces of cities.

SOCI 252 is a module that introduces students to the core sociological understandings of deviance in both a domestic and international context. The module is designed to provide a critical insight into the concept of deviance, connecting significant past and present issues in the construction of deviants with sociological analyses and broader social, legal and cultural changes.

The module aims to prepare students for a smooth transition into a work placement year and, more broadly, to develop lifelong skills, attitudes and behaviours and support students in their continuing professional development. This will help students lead flexible, fulfilling careers working as a professional in their field, and enable them to contribute meaningfully to society.

This module focuses on debates about the nature, cultural television practices and significance of ‘cult’ television. Students will critique the idea of ‘cult’ from textual, industry and audience perspectives, as well as considering its relationships with the rise of ‘quality’ TV forms in the US and UK and with fan studies, including tracing shifts in representation and audience practices related to marginal groups and identities.

This module examines the concept of news, how it is constructed and disseminated, and the implications this has for society. Students will be introduced to key debates related to the historical development of journalistic norms and ideals such as the rise of objectivity and impartiality. The module also considers key theories which help to explain how news is selected and produced such as ‘news values’ and ‘agenda-setting’, and furthermore, the potential implications for audiences as citizens. The module will also consider the political and economic pressures which journalists face when reporting the news. We will also consider the future of journalism in a digital age, examining the challenges of producing news in times of declining revenue and the rise of the Internet and social media platforms.   

This module explores the role of the media during electoral and other campaigns. It explores the relationships between media, politics and the democratic process. We will study the evolution of the electoral campaign and changes to the form and content of campaigns might have impacted broader democratic concerns. We consider some of the key concepts and theories which seek to conceptualise the communication and mediatisation of public and political mechanisms. We will assess whether campaigns matter, whether the system put in place to oversee campaigns is fit for purpose, and how well the media report on and scrutinise campaigns.

This module examines the significant contemporary media phenomenon of stardom and celebrity. It investigates fame and public identity across a range of media contexts, platforms and public spheres, including film, television, social and digital media, music and advertising. Students will analyse the way in which stardom and celebrity is constructed by producers, consumers and users through film texts, marketing discourses, multimedia platforms, and national/transnational contexts and specific historical circumstances. They will embark on research projects that develop an understanding and application of critical and cultural theory to their own case studies. The module offers a critical insight into the history of stardom within mainstream and alternative media from early media personalities and Hollywood stardom, to powerful international cross-media stars or ‘ordinary’ celebrities in reality and social media. It will explore conceptual approaches to celebrity culture and star images, including the democratisation of stardom through the everyday performance of self, ideas of authenticity and identification, and portraiture. It will consider the financial value of stars and celebrity to global media industries and networks, including branding, labour studies and media control. And it will analyse the interplay between the economic, the political and historical, the theoretical, and the formal elements that inform our ongoing engagement and fascination with public personalities.

Queer Film, Video and Documentary explores the different ways in which ‘queers’, specifically lesbian, gay, and transgender people, have been represented in moving images, produced their own films, videos, and documentaries, and shaped reception practices, politics and moving image cultures specific to them. The module will introduce students to queer theory alongside advanced moving image analysis paying particular attention to key theoretical debates and texts in queer politics and film, video and documentary, that demarcate shifts in knowledge, representations, sexual identities, cultures, and practices related to ‘queerness’. The module will be structured around three conceptual blocks. The first block is an overview of the foundational theories, debates and concepts in queer theory including their relationship to canonical films and documentaries. The second block on the AIDS crisis addresses the historical trauma’s centrality to the development of queer theory and the politics of queer identity. The final block examines particular moments in queer moving image history from underground cinema to multiplex acceptance. 

Games and Algorithmic Culture investigates how videogames are responding and contributing to the current technological and cultural changes in the use of AI, data mining, procedurally generated content, metrics and automation. The module provides a fundamental knowledge of the videogame industry and its new markets and trends, such as eSports, live streaming, independent productions, casual and mobile gaming. It explores how these new social, cultural and aesthetic trends of game culture are framed around a broader algorithmic culture that pervades our contemporary technics of digital production and distribution. The module will enable students to understand the specificity of games as new media, to critically analyse the technical, economic and social factors that frame contemporary digital culture, and identify areas of intervention within the global entertainment industry.

The module explores how popular culture can be political by examining a range of popular cultural commodities discursively. The module surveys a range of views on how to examine popular culture in order to contextualise discourse analysis. This is examined and then used to critically consider the political potential of popular culture. Successful students will be able to critically analyse a range of popular cultural commodities such as film, television programmes, digital popular culture, popular music and the tabloid press. The module is delivered in the forms of lectures and more hands-on analysis during seminars. Students are assessed by an essay, which is an analysis of a popular culture commodity.

Investigating both early and contemporary photography, this module examines the role photography plays in remembering private and public events, particularly those that test the limits of visual representation. It will unpack contemporary debates among photographers, journalists and art historians on topics such as photographing suffering and the relationship between photography, affect and emotions. We will discuss the difference between analogic photography and digital photography; ID pictures and family photos; artistic photography and journalistic photography; and personal and public pictures. Students will also learn to read, discuss and critically write about how the different components of a photograph (such as framing, montage, lighting and materiality) serve as a tool of expression and means to interpret events.

This module will provide students with the opportunity to work on a final year project. The nature of the project will be negotiated between the students and their supervisors. It might include: working on live academic research projects or working on live projects in collaboration with academic staff and external partners or working on practical outputs related to a specified (research) task.

This module offers students a blend of theoretical knowledge and practical production skills enabling the design, production and marketing of ‘viral videos’. Students develop their own creative practice and take a highly active role in designing, presenting and producing their own videos, and promoting them through video-sharing and social media networks.

Viral videos are an important and rapidly evolving cultural phenomenon. As yet there is little consensus on a definition but essentially they are videos that gain popularity by being shared and recommended through online and offline sharing and recommendations (France et al 2016: 20).

The module is aimed at students considering a career in digital communications, public relations and corporate, political and third sector communications.

France, S., Vaghefi, M. and Zhao, H. (2016) Characterizing viral videos: Methodology and applications. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications 19: 19–32.

A dissertation is a self-contained piece of original research. It is your chance to study a topic that interests you in depth, guided by a member of the Department’s academic staff who will act as a supervisor for your research. While it is not expected that the dissertation will achieve the standard of a published article, a general idea of the length, format and style of presentation envisaged can be obtained by scanning academic articles in the area that the dissertation will deal with. In terms of presentation, dissertations must be word-processed, double spaced and bound.

This module is suitable for anyone who is interested in the role of music in everyday life, ie people’s quotidian engagement with music. Students will develop a practical understanding of music’s ability to support individual and social functions, the ability to engage in current debates in the research literature and the capacity to explore new directions to advance research in this field. The module is interdisciplinary, drawing on perspectives such as music, psychology and sociology, however no prior knowledge of any specific discipline is necessary.

The module includes a series of lectures, seminars and individual tutorials. Lectures support the students in identifying pertinent topics concerning the uses of music in everyday life and how to approach these topics from a research perspective. Seminars place a strong focus on the gradual development of enquiry skills through guided engagement in various research activities. Individual tutorials will be scheduled with students to support the preparation of coursework.

Assessment takes the form of a written research proposal (100%) on a subject chosen by the student themselves. Students will have the opportunity to receive formative feedback on an early version of their proposal.

This module introduces students to the major philosophical issues associated with play, games (especially digital games) and virtual worlds. It examines both the philosophical literature around play and contemporary concerns expressed in relationship to the growth of the video games industry, including addiction, violence, ‘gamification’ and the use of play and software for education and therapy. Students will learn to challenge common assumptions, including their own, about the triviality of play in relation to modern constructions of labour and value, and develop an understanding of how these assumptions underpin both popular and academic discussions of games.

The module is taught by lecture (1 hour per week) and seminar (1 hour per week). Assessment consists of a 3-part project: a formative pitch meeting with the module leader in the first 5 weeks of the course, a short report on that meeting (500 words, 30%) including a research plan, and a final essay (2,500 words, 70%).

This module considers the links between the rise of urban forms of living, economic change, and the place of ‘culture’ within society. It asks questions such as why cities are at the heart of cultural development, why culture is seen by some as having a role to play in dealing with urban social problems, how the nature of cultural expression changes as dominant economic forms change, whether cultural and economic values are really opposed, what the role of culture is in a ‘new economy’, and how governments seek to intervene in this area.

This module looks at the impact of colonialism on patterns of migration to Britain in the post war period. It examines the changing nature of racism as an ideology by exploring and contextualising scientific and institutional forms of racisms. You will look at the conflictual relationship between the state and minority ethnic communities through an examination of various struggles including anti-immigration ones. The module will also seek to unpack constructions of ethnic and national identity in the context of post-colonial Britain

This module is an opportunity for you to undertake a placement in a setting which matches your academic and possible career/industry interests, develop materials and/or undertake tasks within a practical or vocational context, apply academic knowledge from your degree, and develop your personal and employability skills within a working environment. SOTA300 is not open to students who have taken SOTA600.

This is an opportunity to spend the third year of your studies working as part of your degree programme. The placement year is not just about gaining work experience, it is also about deepening your academic understanding in your subject. Whatever modules you have taken previously, your prior studies in Years 1 and 2 will have given you some appreciation of general issues and theoretical concerns in your subject area. Your placement will give you some real-world experience against which to compare that academic knowledge. The experience will in turn inform your studies in your final year, providing you with material to discuss in such modules as the Independent Project or the Dissertation. You will have the opportunities to learn and practise a range of intellectual, interpersonal and technical skills relevant to your chosen industry. You will be encouraged to think creatively and to develop skills in adapting and responding positively to changing circumstances. Ultimately, your academic learning will be enhanced in the final year of study through this opportunity to contextualise your studies in the workplace. Students who have taken SOTA600 are not allowed to take SOTA300.