Module Information
Course Delivery
Assessment
Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
---|---|---|
Semester Assessment | Essay 2500 Words | 50% |
Semester Exam | Essay 2500 Words | 50% |
Supplementary Assessment | Essay 2500 Words | 50% |
Supplementary Assessment | Essay 2500 Words | 50% |
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
1.Demonstrate an understanding of, and engagement with, some of the key theoretical approaches to political communication;
2. Demonstrate a clear understanding of the history of the relationship between media and the political sphere;
3. Write an essay which is informed by, and grounded in, some of the key scholarly work in the field;
4. Apply theoretical concepts to case study examples of political communication.
Brief description
This module explores the relationship between politics and the media, predominantly in the UK, but with reference to other nations and global trends. It considers a number of theoretical approaches to thinking about political communication and considers the mediated communication processes that take place between the political ‘actors’ and citizens. It also considers the role played by the media in war and in specific political events (which are studied in detail as case studies) before closing with a consideration of where real power lies.
Content
What is political communication?: theoretical approaches
A history of political communication
Media ownership and control
The Media and the State
The impact of technology on political communication
The Media and War
Case Study 1: The Scottish Independence Referendum 2014
Case Study 2: Brexit, Trump and Cambridge Analytica
Case Study 3: UK General Elections 2017 and 2019
Where does real power lie?
Module Skills
Skills Type | Skills details |
---|---|
Application of Number | |
Communication | |
Improving own Learning and Performance | Developed through a critical engagement with the mediatized political processes being studied. |
Information Technology | This will be developed through the use of electronic information sources used for research purposes in relation to the written assignment. |
Personal Development and Career planning | There will be a requirement for students to reflect on their own learning through the formative feedback. Given the nature of the module, this module will develop a sense of the real work and will allow them to engage with the real world through the assessment methods. |
Problem solving | This will be developed within seminar discussions and will be assessed through the essay and examination |
Research skills | Developed through reading and in seminar discussions and assessed in both the written assignment and examination |
Subject Specific Skills | The module will develop and assess skills related to political communication and will enhance students’ critical skills in relation to the way political ‘actors’ and the media interact on a local and global scale. |
Team work | There is no group work involved in this module and this skill is not developed beyond participation in seminar discussions. |
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 5