Learning outcomes

• Discuss and assess the theoretical frameworks within which a study of children and the media is located
• Critically evaluate the validity of the major ''concerns'' that are voiced about the child''s relationship with and use of the media
• Apply their knowledge of the theoretical underpinnings (and various ''concerns'') to describe and explain how far the child experiences of the media can be described as ''educational''
• Demonstrate general study skills

Brief description

This module introduces students to the major theories that underpin academic investigations of children's relationships with and uses of the mass media, together with a balanced view of adult 'concerns' about the media in the context of child-audiences and the media as 'educational' tools.

Aims

• To introduce students to the (media-specific) theoretical frameworks that are frequently employed in the academic study of the child's relationship with and use of the media.
• To provide students with insight into some of the major 'concerns' that are voiced about the child's relationship with and use of the media.
• To demonstrate to students how media use can be underpinned by development and sociological 'benefits' that can be described as 'educational'.
• To develop general study skills in the process of achieving the above aims.

Content

• Introduction: Children and the Media
• 'Media literacy': Children's understanding of the media
• TV: An alternative curriculum
• Gender (1): Polarised media worlds
• Gender (2): Advertising
• Children's media uses and the marketability of childhood 'needs'
• Violence (1): Blood and Guts - The main 'concerns'
• Violence (2): Video nasties and computer games
• Children and new media: Internet at home and in school
• Media constructed social worlds: TV Nation

Reading Lists