This humanities module considers a range of issues in relation to screen media, focusing in particular on the contexts in which such media are entangled, and the way media in turn intervenes in the world. Discussing topics such as representation, decolonisation, materiality, ethics, labour, and more, the module asks you to reflect on the power of media, and the significance of the various choices that are made at the levels of production, distribution, and discourse.
Module will run
Occurrence
Teaching period
A
Semester 2 2024-25
Module aims
Module aims:
to provide a more detailed understanding of moments of significant aesthetic, social, and technological change in the development of various screen media (including, but not limited to, film and television).
to demonstrate the embeddedness of screen media within wider cultural, political, technological, and social contexts.
to furnish you both with analytical techniques for the investigation of the ways that screen media react to and shape the world, and also the communication competencies to describe these processes in detail.
Module learning outcomes
By the end of the module, you will:
be familiar with some significant concepts and debates within Film Studies, Television Studies, and New Media as they emerged (and continue to emerge) at key points of change in media history, and to apply these appropriately
be able to confidently explore the relationship between a media text and some of its contexts of production.
be able to reflect critically on the way the media texts discuss or comment upon a range of issues.
Indicative assessment
Task
% of module mark
Group
Essay/coursework
100
A
Essay/coursework
100
B
Special assessment rules
None
Indicative reassessment
Task
% of module mark
Group
Essay/coursework
100
A
Essay/coursework
100
B
Module feedback
You will receive written feedback in line with standard University turnaround times.
Indicative reading
Bennett, J and Strange, N (eds). (2011). Television as Digital Media. London: Duke University Press.
Erigha, M. (2019). The Hollywood Jim Crow: The Racial Politics of the Movie Industry. New York: NYU Press.
Fisher, M. Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative? Winchester: Zero.
Railton, D and Watson, P. (2011). Music Video and the Politics of Representation. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Stam, R. (2000). Film Theory: An Introduction. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Stariosielski N, and Walker, J. (2016). Sustainable Media: Critical Approaches to Media and Environment. New York: Routledge.