Module Identifier
TFM1230
Module Title
MEDIA DISCOURSE
Academic Year
2008/2009
Co-ordinator
Dr Jamie Sexton
Semester
Intended for use in future years

Course Delivery

 

Assessment

Assessment Type Assessment length / details Proportion
Semester Assessment CLASS PRESENTATION and SHORT ESSAY  Students will be required to present a ten-fifteen minute paper on a topic related to a weekly seminar session, and then to write this up into a more formal 3000 word essay. They will be marked on presentation style, and the extent to which they open up productive questions for discussion, in addition to more traditional essay-writing skills.  34%
Semester Assessment 5000 WORD CRITICAL ESSAY:  on any aspect within the chosen topic, but must reflect adequate knowledge of the critical literature, and be based on appropriate primary source research.  66%
Supplementary Assessment RESITS OF SEMESTER ASSESSMENTS  100%

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:

*Critically discuss the academic and popular literature surrounding the specific topic chosen for that year.

*Conduct small-scale research into the chosen topic.

*Critically apply the academic and popular literature to their own research.

Content

7 x 2- hour seminars. Topics will change from year to year but should always include seminars on the following: literature review, methodology and analyses of specific cases.

For example, on the topic of television fandom and ethnography, the seminar topics are as follows : an introduction to fandom and fan studies; ethnography and ethnographic practices; the active audience member; interpretive communities; poaching/fan creativity and virtual ethnography.

Each topic would be concluded by a summing up session wherein students are expected to reflect on the previous sessions and how their knowledges have developed and can now be applied to their major assignment.

Module Skills

Skills Type Skills details
Communication Students wil be expected to contribute to in-class discussions and relate their own research progress orally.
Improving own Learning and Performance Throughout the module, there will be points when students will be asked to think reflexively on their own readings/viewings, as well as how their own research is progressing.
Information Technology Students will be expected to make active use of the web for their own research. Increasingly students are expected to be aware, of the unlimited resources available to them on the internet in the field. These resources can be quite beneficial to them in an educational context where the demand for references seem unending, but their availability is definately finite.
Problem solving This element is developed through the students' questioning how (i.e. what are the appropriate methodologies) to access the kinds of research questions the chosen topic favours
Research skills This element is developed in two ways: one, through the students' own investigations into what existing materials are available to them and their application for their own research; and two; through a particular focus on doing original primary source research themselves.
Team work Although there is no group work independently assessed, it is hoped that in seminars students will work together as a group in order to make the best possible use of their sessions. To aid group activity, the module co-ordinator will encourage students to utilise the Blackbaord environment, specifically the message boards, to discuss issues beyond the lecturers or seminars.

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 7