This module will explore what it means to be a media scholar. Why is it important to study the media? Almost everyone feels qualified to comment on the role, effect, production, value and meaning of the press, computer games, popular music, photographs, TV programmes and so on. This degree will give you the tools to make comments which are based on research and theory, not just on hunches and ill-informed opinion.

On completion of the module you will have three types of skills:

Intellectual Skills

• You should be able to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of:
  • the main types of media research
  • key media theorists and the ways they have influenced media research
  • the difference between qualitative and quantitative research methods
  • the areas in media research which have been under-studied
• You will demonstrate this knowledge in your discussions in seminars, your Blackboard postings, your group presentation and your literature review.

Practical Skills

• You will be able to produce a professional looking group presentation design based on academic research.
• You will learn how to create a blog to document the process of creating your group project.
• You will be able to assess and critique published research on the basis of knowledge gained about media research methods.
• You will learn how to access and use published research both off and online, which will allow you to write an academic literature review.

Transferable Skills

• You will be able to discuss your ideas about media research in front of your peers, as part of the seminar participation requirement.
• You will be able to work effectively in groups as part of the group presentation
• You will develop advanced research and academic skills which you will demonstrate in your skills portfolio.
• You will be able to evaluate published media scholarship and synthesize your ideas in the Blackboard postings.

Learning Controlled by the Lecturer:
Weekly two-hour interactive lectures with an expectation that you will contribute to the lecture, and will demonstrate your learning and understanding of the material being covered.

Learning Controlled by the Seminar Leaders:
Weekly one hour seminars which will use hands-on approaches to explore different areas of media scholarship. You will work independently as well as in groups, and you will report back on your findings and experiences.

Learning Controlled by You:
You will have reading to complete on the different areas of media scholarship. You will also be part of a study group and you will meet independently. This group is extremely important for two reasons: 1) as a group you will create a presentation for all staff and your fellow students in Week 6 and 2) you will need to work as a group to complete your weekly skills portfolio tasks.

Seminar Participation (10%)

Group Presentation and Blog (20%)

Weekly assignments and skills portfolio (30%)

Week 1 Introduction & organising study groups

Week 2 What differentiates media scholars from media commentators?

Week 3 What are the main ways of studying the media?

Week 4 How to write an Essay? (And: What is particularly special about academic writing and referencing?)

Week 5 What are the main philosophical positions that impact the way scholars carry out their research?

Week 6 What are the differences between qualitative and quantitative research methods?

Week 7 Case Study: What is Textual Analysis?

Week 8 Case Study: What is Journalism Studies?

Week 9 Case Study: How do you study social issues in the media?           

Week 10 Case Study: How has the internet impacted mass media?

Week 11 Final conclusions

Cottrell, S. (2003) Chapter 10 'Critical Analytical Thinking' in The Study Skills Handbook' Basingstoke, Hants: Palgrave Macmillan 2nd Edition pp 221 - 238.

[FOR HELP AND INFO] Kitzinger, J.(2004) ‘The Debate About Media Influence’, Framing Abuse: Media Influence and Public Understanding of Sexual Violence Against Children, (pp.11-27)  London: Pluto Press.

Witchalls, C. (2004) ‘Cruising for a Bruising’ Observer, 15 February, p. 57.

Huesmann, L.R and L.D. Taylor (2003) in D. A. Gentile (Ed.), Media violence and children. (p107-130). Westport, CT: Praeger Publishing.

[READ ONE OF THESE THREE]

White, D.M. (1950), "The ‘gate keeper’: A case study in the selection of news", Journalism Quarterly, Vol. 27 No.1, pp.383-90 [reprinted in Reader from D. Berkowitz (1997) Social Meaning of News: A Text-Reader, (pp.63-72) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.]

Mulvey,L. (1973) ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’, Screen, 16(3) Autumn pp. 6-18

Katz, E., J. Blumler & M. Gurevitch (1974) ‘Utilization of Mass Communication by the Individual’ (pp.19-32) The Uses of Mass Communication. Newbury Park, CA: Sage

Grindstaff, L and E.West (2006) “Cheerleading and the Gendered Politics of Sport”, Social Problems, 53(4): 500-518

Jones,R., A.J. Murrell, and J. Jackson (1999)‘Pretty versus Powerful in the Sports Pages: Print Media Coverage of U.S. Women’s Olympic Gold Medal Winning Teams, Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 23(2), p.183

Ellison,N.B., C.Steinfield & C.Lampe(2007) ‘The Benefits of Facebook "Friends:" Social Capital and College Students' Use of Online Social Network Sites’ Journal of Computer Mediated Communication , 12 (4), pp. 1143 – 1168.

Klein, B. and C. Wardle (2008) “These Two Are Speaking Welsh on Channel 4!”: Welsh Representations and Cultural Tensions on Big Brother 7, Television and New Media

Schauer, B. (2005) Critics, Clones And Narrative In The Franchise Blockbuster, New Review of Film and Television Studies, 5(2): 191-210.

[FOR HELP AND INFO] Branston, G. and R. Stafford (2006) Chap 2 in The Media Student’s Book, London:Routledge

Allan, S. (2006) ‘Citizen journalists on the scene: the London bombings and Hurricane Katrina’, Online News, London: Open University Press.

Davin, S. (2003) Healthy Viewing: the reception of medical narratives 25(6), Sociology of Health and Illness, pp.662-679.

Ruddock, A (2008) Media Studies 2.0? Binge Drinking and why Audiences Still Matter, Sociology Compass, 2(1), pp.1-15