Interdepartmental
        MA in Television Studies
        (W4839)

        THIS COURSE IS CURRENTLY SUSPENDED!

        Page contents

        • Bulletin
        • Introduction
        • Aims and Objectives
        • Course Structure
        • Assessment
        • Some General Reading
        • Timetable
        • Students and Staff

        Bulletin

        Introduction

        The MA in Television Studies is a one-year full-time master's degree course at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. It is a taught course rather than a research degree (MPhil and PhD research degrees can also be pursued here). This MA is an inter-departmental course currently involving the Department of Theatre, Film & Television Studies and the Department of Education. It is primarily an academic course seeking to develop a deeper understanding of television rather than a vocational training course for a particular job in the television industry.

        Aims and Objectives

          Aims

          To develop:

          • an awareness of appropriate academic research techniques;
          • competence in applying research techniques appropriate to their focal concerns;
          • a broad understanding of how the TV industry works;
          • background knowledge of the politics, sociology and psychology of television;
          • analytical techniques for critical viewing;
          • basic skills in practical production and editing.

          Objectives

          Students successfully completing this course should be able:

          • to reflect critically on their own viewing;
          • to demonstrate an awareness of key issues in academic television research;
          • to demonstrate an awareness of issues of current concern in the television industry;
          • to frame a research question and an appropriate and practicable research methodology;
          • to report findings in the research project undertaken;
          • to produce a short video demonstrating basic competence in video production.


        Course Structure

        Semester One

        • EDM0120 The Active Viewer;
        • EDM0310 Media Discourse;
        • Practical Television: Non-credit intro sessions.

        Semester Two

        • EDM0220 Television and Socialization;
        • TFM0230 Broadcasting Structures;
        • TFM0410 Television Programme Analysis;
        • TFM0330 Practical Television.

        Note: the credit status for each module is indicated by the last two digits. Contact hours are as follows: 10-credit modules, 7 hours; 20-credit modules, 14 hours; 30-credit modules, 21 hours. For practical modules contact hours may be considerably more.


        Assessment

        Coursework: Assessment prior to the dissertation will involve coursework only (no examination). 'Single' modules will involve one essay of at least 2,500 words (or an assessable task which is reasonably comparable). 'Double' modules will involve either two essays or one essay of at least 5,000 words (or an equivalent task). General guideliness for essays are offered on the Web at: http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Modules/writess.html. The Practical Television module will be assessed by a practical project rather than an essay. In other modules also, alternatives to essays may be offered: these may include appropriate resource production, script-writing, story-boarding, the development of briefing packs or the setting-up of World-Wide Web pages on appropriate topics. Some of these activities may be collaborative, and any such projects will be assessed in short oral presentations assessed by at least two of the course tutors.

        For our coursework grading and marking scheme see: http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Modules/MAinTV/grades.html

        Dissertation: 15,000-20,000 words (compulsory) on an agreed topic. To be completed within 2 years of initial registration.

        Some General Reading

        • Abercrombie, Nicholas (1996): Television and Society. Cambridge: Polity
        • Alvarado, Manuel & Oliver Boyd-Barrett (Eds.): Media Education: An Introduction. London: BFI/Open University
        • Brandt, George (1993): British Television Drama in the 1980s. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
        • Chater, Kathy (1995): Production Research: An Introduction. London: Focal
        • Condry, John (1989): The Psychology of Television. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum
        • Crisell, Andrew (1997): An Introductory History of British Broadcasting. London: Routledge
        • Curran, James & Jean Seaton (1997): Power Without Responsibility. (5th Edn.). London: Routledge
        • Eagle, Selwyn (1990): Information Sources for the Press and Broadcast Media. London: Bowker-Saur
        • Graham, & Davies (1997): Broadcasting, Society and Policy in the Multimedia Age. Luton: University of Luton Press
        • Fiske, John & John Hartley (1990): Reading Television. London: Routledge
        • Hartley, John (1982): Understanding News. London: Routledge
        • Hood, Stuart (1994): Behind the Screens: The Structure of British Television in the Nineties. London: Lawrence & Wishart
        • Kilborn, Richard & John Izod (1998): An Introduction to Television Documentary: Confronting Reality. Manchester: Manchester University Press
        • Livingstone, Sonia (1998): Making Sense of Television: The Psychology of Audience Interpretation (2nd Edn.). London: Routledge
        • Moores, Shaun (1993): Interpreting Audiences: The Ethnography of Media Consumption. London: Sage
        • Morley, David (1986): Family Television. London: Routledge
        • Seiter, Ellen et al. (1989): Remote Control: Television, Audiences and Cultural Power. London: Routledge
        • Watts, Harris (1992): Directing on Camera: A Checklist of Video and Film Techniques. London: Aavo

        The MA in Television Studies is registered as a Cultural Studies course with the World Lecture Hall (University of Texas at Austin).



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