Media, Communications and Culture
School of Humanities
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Last Updated 23 January 2012

Principal Course Timetable Blocks 1


Media, Communications and Culture (MCC) is an interdisciplinary, dual honours programme based in the School of Humanities. It brings together a range of core contributions from Media, Sociology and English, with an opportunity to study film and music as electives. By combining theory and practice, MCC provides an understanding of how the media have come to dominate our contemporary world, visually and digitally as well as in print. On this basis students will proceed to acquire practical skills of production and presentation, with their chosen projects in photography, magazines, broadcasting and making dvds.

Media, Communications and Culture Dual Honours - Level 1 Modules

Semester 1 C/O TYP ECTSCATS
ENG-10024 Reading Film EA C 7.5 15
Of all forms of communication, film often seems the most obvious, pleasurable and self-explanatory. With an emphasis on variety of film practice, this module aims to introduce students to the essential elements of film narrative and engage them in thinking critically about the choices made by film-makers in constructing the look and sound of their films. We will be asking, therefore, how meaning is created in the cinema, as well as what ideas and arguments such meanings may generate among critically aware spectators of it. In doing so we will be exploring the richness and complexity of cinema's potential to communicate with its spectators through a carefully selected variety of films. Represented amongst these will not only be the classic Hollywood model with which we are all most familiar, but also films from other national and artistic traditions. These will be examined in the context of both fortnightly lecture/workshops and weekly small group classes.
MDS-10008 Mediated World C M 7.5 15
Mediated World aims to introduce students to some of the main theories and debates found in contemporary media, communication and cultural studies. In this course we examine how the mass media has come to dominate our everyday life $ú from the spaces we inhabit, to the beliefs we hold and values we share $ú while analyzing our individual and collective role in this complex relationship. By looking at how and why the tools developed by societies $ú from the first printing press to today&©s high speed internet $ú have been used for mass communication, we will probe how power is constructed in media messages and ask whether the consumers of such messages can ever wrest back control over meaning.
MDS-10009 Digital Video EP C 7.5 15
This module focuses on the creation of a short film. You will learn the fundamentals of video production, including the techniques and the aesthetics of screen writing, shooting, composition and editing. Most importantly you will learn by doing. This is a hands on course that encourages you to familiarise yourself with digital video equipment, consider the work of other film and documentary makers, experiment with and develop your own filmmaking style and begin acquiring a knowledge of film language and terminology. The key areas of focus are: - Film language and terminology (critical analysis of films and conventions) - Pre-production (scriptwriting, storyboarding, schedules and planning) - Production (camera operation, directing) - Post-production (editing) Assessment will be by a group project, 3-5 minute short film (50%) and a workbook (50%).
MDS-10013 Popular British Cinema: From the 90s to the present day EA C 7.5 15
Of all forms of communication, film often seems the most obvious, pleasurable and self-explanatory. With an emphasis on popular British cinema from the 1990s to the present day, this level 1 module aims to introduce students to the dominant thematic and aesthetic issues/representations addressed in a selected number of contemporary British films. Alongside this, we will also analyse how filmic aesthetics intersect with themes such as identity, race, social class, nationality and gender.
Semester 2 C/O TYP ECTSCATS
ENG-10025 Approaches to Film EA C 7.5 15
Who is the author of a film? How do we categorize and make sense of films in relation to each other? How is the meaning of a film shaped by the historical period or national culture that produced it? What sorts of ideas and ideologies about gender and race do films include or exclude? This module provides an introduction to all these questions addressed within film theory. Like any other discipline of enquiry, Film Studies has generated a set of debates about value and meaning that revolve around some key questions, concepts and terms. Through a series of fortnightly two hour workshop lectures and weekly small group classes, this module will examine the development of critical thinking on the cinema and will invite students to debate, question and apply ideas on: film authorship; film genre; history; film politics. Each of these critical areas will be investigated with reference to an exciting range of films, chosen for the way they have shaped film history and challenged cinema's potential as a form of art and entertainment. Indicative study texts may include: 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' (Dir. Sharman, 1975), 'Modern Times' (Dir. Chaplin, 1936) and 'Breathless' (Dir. Godard, 1960).
MDS-10010 Understanding Culture EP M 7.5 15
What is culture? Where is it and who particpates in it? How has our understanding of it developed historically? What's the difference between high and low culture? How does literature, film, photography and advertising encourage us to behave in particular ways? This course will introduce some of the key concepts and issues in the historical and contemporary study of culture. It will introduce theories, approaches and methodologies for the study of a range of cultural $ùtexts&© from Shakespeare to magazine advertisements. We will start by looking at literary culture from the past and focus on the relationship between $ùclassic&© literary texts and their audiences, both now and when they were first produced. We will go on to look at popular contemporary culture in both visual and written form, including film, photographs and advertisements.
MDS-10011 The Photographic Message C C 7.5 15
The Photographic Message In this module students will look at the impact of photography as a mode of mechanical reproduction through to contemporary hyper real digital image production. Students will be introduced to semiotic analysis and study the work and roll of photographic practioners in both a contemporary and historical context. Each student will produce a photomontage and workbook based on notions of cultural identity and/or stigma and discrimination. Assessment will be by a visual project photomontage (50%), a workbook (50%), and a compulsory oral presentation.
MDS-10012 Introduction to European Cinema EA M 7.5 15
From the end of the Second World War until the 1970s, European Cinema enjoyed a Golden Age which saw directors across Europe produce many of the Classics of World Cinema. From Great Britain to France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and beyond, many countries reached the height of productivity and artistry in their national cinemas, with $ùnew waves&© in most countries, especially in the key period from the end of the fifties to the end of the sixties. This module seeks to introduce students to some of the great works of world cinema produced in these countries in these decades. Directors central to this module will include some of the $ùgreats&© of world cinema - Fellini, Bertolucci and Antonioni from Italy, Godard and Truffaut from France, Fassbinder, Herzog and Wenders from Germany, as well as Ingmar Bergman, and key representatives from the British New Wave. The module will not presume any knowledge of the cinematic history of a given country, but will seek to introduce students to currents, trends and techniques which cut across national boundaries, as well as to the specifics of national cinemas, and the uniqueness of the work of particular auteurs.
SOC-10013 Modernity and its Darkside EA C 7.5 15
The idea of the modern individual and society is tied to wider social and political understandings about the world that we live in. As our understandings of the world change, so do ideas of who we are and what our place in the world is. In this module we examine some of the key themes and concepts associated with the $ùmodern&© individual and the wider context within which some are labelled as modern and others traditional. Key themes include a study of the enlightenment period, the birth of commercial society, modern state and the idea of citizenship. We then turn to look at the dark side of modernity - what is classed as abnormal, supernatural and irrational and societies attempt to control the pathological and paranoid desires of its members. Who is the modern individual? Can a group of individuals, composed of different ideas and beliefs, avoid conflict and rule themselves? What is classed as abnormal, supernatural and irrational by society and what attempts does society make to control this? Have the ideas developed in modernity been used to destroy rather than develop society? The lectures will focus on Modernity and Individualism The Enlightenment Individual The Political Individual The Economic Individual The Sociological Individual The Irrational Self The Consumer The Holocaust and the Irrational Individual Normalisation and Contemporary Individualism The Post Modern Individual Formative Assessment and Tutorial Activities Students each week, with guidance from the group tutor, will write a creative paragraph outlining the significant themes of the lecture/seminar, as they have undertood them. This will be added to each week with each lecture so that a narrative is reflexively constructed illustrating how the student has pieced together the course and what they have understood.

Media, Communications and Culture Dual Honours - Level 2 Modules

Semester 1 C/O TYP ECTSCATS
ENG-20036 Twentieth Century Novels into Films EA C 7.5 15
Film has always had a close relationship to the novel through both literary adaptation and novelists who have also been screenplay writers. It has, nonetheless, frequently been framed as the poor relation of the two in terms of cultural value. By examining the distinctiveness and complexity of film language and the relative parameters of literary and film modes of narration, this module will examine some of the key but distinctive questions that need to be addressed when thinking about how film and literature make meaning. The module is specifically focused on the construction of history within narrative and will investigate how the categories of personal and collective memory, political conflict, change, national identity and gender are articulated in three novels and their film adaptations.
MDS-20005 Media Comm and Culture - Study Abroad I EP C 7.5 15
This is a module that is automatically allocated to the records our Keele level II students who are going to Study Abroad at a partner University for a semester of their second year and cannot be selected by any other level II students.
MDS-20006 Media Comm and Culture - Study Abroad II EP C 7.5 15
This is a module that is automatically allocated to the records our Keele level II students who are going to Study Abroad at a partner University for a semester of their second year and cannot be selected by any other level II students.
MDS-20020 Making the News EP C 7.5 15
This module introduces a broad range of theoretical debates and issues involved in the making of contemporary TV news programmes. At the beginning of the module we study journalism and news values. In order to gain a balanced understanding of the news and its impact on society we will analyse its forms, motives, methods and conventions. You will then develop and create your own news report items. Finally, you will work as part of a team to create an 'as-live' news programme in a television studio. Throughout the module you are encouraged to develop skills and professional practice in the use of a television studio and audiovisual production equipment. Over the course of this module there will be a variety of lectures, seminars and practical sessions. Assessment is based on a workbook at 50% (development, reflection and short essay) plus a practical piece at 50% (news report + final programme).
MDS-20023 Creating Awareness Campaigns C C 7.5 15
This module will give students experience of solving communications problems by producing documents and artefacts. Students will be required to work in production groups and will address tutor negotiated communications goals by making $ùdocuments&©, which may include desk top published materials, photography and video. Students will examine contemporary media issues which may include advertising, journalism, press coverage, design and the impact of the world wide web. They will work with various modes of practice including industry standard software such as Adobe Photoshop, Quark Xpress and Final Cut Pro. The outcome of this module is one finished practical project per production group and an individual student practice evaluation. Previous projects have been based on issues such as Domestic Violence, Binge Drinking, Student Protest and Student Debt.
MDS-20025 Gender and the Cinematic Gaze EA M 7.5 15
This module will explore and evaluate the significance of gendered representation in film focusing specifically on theories of gendered spectatorship, voyeurism and the dis/pleasure of looking. Students will be introduced to a number of significant theorists such as Laura Mulvey, Judith Butler, Claire Johnston and Sue Thornham in order to gain an understanding of gender as a cultural and social construction (differentiated from $ùsex&©) and influenced by political movements such as feminism. Students will consider if, how and to what extent notions of gender are culturally determined. In addition, they will consider the complexities associated with representations of gender on-screen and study how filmic audiences have traditionally identified with specific gender positions leading to a consideration of notions of subjectivity and objectivity in film spectatorship. Via analysis of a range of filmic texts that may include 'Rear Window' (Hitchcock, 1954), 'Beauty and the Beast' (Trousdale and Wise, 1991), 'Fight Club' (Fincher, 1999) and 'Caramel' (Labaki, 2007), this module will explore the ways in which gender representations are negotiated in-line with other areas of identity politics such as sexuality, ethnicity, race and class. Through theoretical and illustrative lectures and contextualised screenings, this module will allow students to explore the ways in which notions of self are linked to social and cultural representations of gender on-screen. Students will question gender identities on-screen as representations that may shape and organise the ways in which we see and find pleasure in seeing.
MDS-20027 From Nosferatu to Saw: Horror Cinema in Social Context EP C 7.5 15
In this module we study horror cinema in social and cultural context. In order to introduce the module we start by thinking through the meaning of horror and exploring the function of horror cinema. What is it that horror cinema communicates? Following this introductory class, we begin our exploration of the horror genre by analysing the classic film Nosferatu and the sub-genre of the vampire movie. Beyond our study of the vampire, we move on to examine Frankenstein, the archetype of the mad scientist, and the critique of promethean man in the horror genre. Remaining in the 1930s, we look at Jekyll and Hyde and the horror of self / other, before focusing on Wolfman and the figure of the werewolf in western culture. If Jekyll and Hyde introduced the figure of the other in horror cinema, and Wolfman developed the idea of the other as animality, the classic 1950 B-movie, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, created the notion of the other as a social alien, in this case the communist infiltrator. In classes that follow we extend our study of the other in horror cinema through discussions of the figure of the zombie, the Devil, and the monstrosity of the wilderness. Moving away from an analysis of the horror of the wilderness, we consider horror much closer to home, the trope of the haunted house, the suburbs, the psycho-killer, and the idea that everyday life is horrific. Finally, and in order to conclude the module, we examine mock realism in the horror genre through a consideration of the Blair Witch Project and the sadistic ultra-violent turn in horror cinema represented by the torture porn sub-genre and in particular the movie Saw.
MUS-20047 Unheard Melodies? Music in the Narrative Film EA C 7.5 15
Why do films have music? How does music help a film to tell its story? Do we actually hear film music? Does music make perceivers more receptive to a film's ideological content? This module will explore questions along these lines, while enabling students: &· to acquire an understanding of the uses and history of music in the narrative film (and, by extension, in other screen media, e.g., television, computer games) &· to develop the ability to analyze instances of film/screen music, and to critique its narrative and ideological purposes &· to learn a basic vocabulary of music analytical tools &· to gain a basic understanding of narrative theory, and &· to develop analytical and other scholarly skills through written assignments, classroom contributions and independent research. Students interesting in composition or sound editing will also have an opportunity to rescore an existing passage of film as part of their portfolio assessment. The first half of the module will proceed by building up a theoretical base for understanding and analyzing filmic narrativity and, crucially, music's place within the filmic discourse; the second half of the module will then progress through a series of case studies exploring examples from Hollywood and non-Hollywood scoring practice. A basic knowledge of music theory and some practical musical ability would be advantageous to students taking this module, but is not strictly necessary.
Semester 2 C/O TYP ECTSCATS
ENG-20031 French Cinema EA C 7.5 15
Known as 'the seventh art', cinema in France occupies an important place in terms of practise, criticism and spectatorship in that country. This module looks at key moments within the history of French cinema, namely the Golden Age of the 1930s, the New Wave of the 1950s and 1960s, postmodern and postcolonial films of the 1980s and1990s. and trends such as the de-eroticised erotic, blockbusters, and social realism of the 2000s. In so doing, it considers questions around genre, auteurship, stars, social contexts, cinematography, and narrative, as well as issues around class, gender, sexuality and national identity.
MDS-20007 Media Comm and Culture - Study Abroad III EP C 7.5 15
This is a module that is automatically allocated to the records our Keele level II students who are going to Study Abroad at a partner University for a semester of their second year and cannot be selected by any other level II students.
MDS-20008 Media Comm and Culture - Study Abroad IV EP C 7.5 15
This is a module that is automatically allocated to the records our Keele level II students who are going to Study Abroad at a partner University for a semester of their second year and cannot be selected by any other level II students.
MDS-20016 DIY Broadcasting: Internet television and the YouTube generation. EP C 7.5 15
Although initially developed as a method of military and scientific communication in the 1960s, since the early 1990s internet use has become increasingly popular, with the majority of households in developed countries now connected to high-speed broadband. The internet age has bought about changes in modern society and the way that we communicate - perhaps most notably in the form of increased access to information, culture and the global marketplaces. With the advent of Web 2.0, the separation of form and content, the digital video revolution and increasingly growing bandwidth, video is no longer the future of the internet; it is the present. And users are not merely the consumers; they are the broadcasters. What does this mean to the evolution of the internet, the media and to society at large? Over the course of this module there will be a variety of lectures, seminars and practical sessions. We aim to look at the basic technologies of webcasting and video compression. Students will create their own audiovisual material and broadcast it live on the internet. In doing so we will consider the questions this so-called democratisation of media raises. Can media truly be owned any more? What is the role of copyright? Where, if at all, do the boundaries between the amateur and professional lie? Perhaps most importantly, have the masses finally found their voice in modern society though collaboration and communication on a mass scale, or are we increasingly distracted and confused by a cacophony of anonymous and indistinguishable chatter? Assessment is based on a portfolio at 50% (comprising of selected contributions to collaborative workspace and a critical evaluation), plus a practical project at 50% (webcasting of channel ident and final programming).
MDS-20017 Politics and Cinema EP M 7.5 15
This module seeks to introduce students to some of the great works of world cinema and to investigate the major ideological tendencies of the twentieth-century and key moments in modern and contemporary politics as these have been reflected in film. Topics central to this module include revolution, totalitarianism, nationalism and terrorism. The scope is international and settings include North and South America, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Films studied on the course are likely to include: Alan J. Pakula&©s All the President&©s Men; Francis Ford Coppola&©s Apocalypse Now; Michael Moore&©s Fahrenheit 9/11; Eisenstein&©s Battleship Potemkin; Askoldov&©s Commissar; Mikhalkov&©s Burnt by the Sun; The Lives of Others; Goodbye Lenin!; Ken Loach&©s The Wind that Shakes the Barley; Neil Jordan&©s Michael Collins; Richard Attenborough&©s Cry Freedom; Pontecorvo&©s The Battle of Algiers; Kevin Macdonald&©s One Day in September; Spielberg&©s Munich (2005). The module will not presume any knowledge of film, but will nevertheless regard the films as cinematic works. The main focus will be on events, ideas and political developments, and how they are reflected cinematically. A general background knowledge of the twentieth century will be important although this module will not require deep specialist knowledge of any given country.
MDS-20018 Thinking Photography EP C 7.5 15
Thinking Photography is an elective module for second year students and will be of particular interest to those studying Media, Culture and Communications. The module places an emphasis on both photographic theory and practice. We will look at how ideas about photography have evolved and how theory can inform your own practical work. Alongside this we will be looking at different genres of photography and individual photographer's work and asking pertinent questions about the definition and intent of the work as both artefacts and modes of communication. You will be able to advance both your critical understanding of photographic practice, your own photographic practice and Photoshop software skills.
MDS-20019 Analysing Culture C C 7.5 15
In Analysing Culture we consider how culture enables people to make sense of their personal and social lives. The first session of the course refers to Geertz&©s classic paper on Balinese society to introduce the concept of culture. The key question we want to ask through our study of Geertz essay is $ùwhat is culture?&© Following this example of an anthropologically strange culture we move on to think about the construction of national identity through a consideration of Hall&©s work on western identity, Said&©s essay on orientalism, Anderson&©s notion of imaginary communities, and various representations of contemporary nationality. Although the nation has provided a strong cultural map for people since the middle of the 17th century, the rise of modern urbanism has challenged this cultural form through its embrace of privacy and a culture of alienation. In week 3 we consider urban culture, read Simmel&©s classic essay on the metropolitan mind, and think about the ways in which the city is represented today. In the next session we show how people have sought to relate culture to the problem of alienation in modern culture. In week 4 we think about the notion of consumer culture through Adorno and Horkheimer&©s idea of mass culture and Klein's theory of branding and consider how commodities might work like narcotics that numb our senses to the impoverished reality of our one-dimensional society. Our key cultural texts here is Danny Boyle&©s film Trainspotting. In the second part of the course we begin by thinking about cultural politics. In week 5 we focus on Bourdieu&©s idea of distinction and think about how far his theory reflects popular uses of culture in the contemporary world. For Bourdieu culture is not simply a form of deception, but rather a tool that people use in order to try to distinguish themselves from other people in the endless struggle that is competitive capitalism. Although Bourdieu suggests that people use culture for their own purposes, he thinks that they use it unimaginatively and strictly within the confines of capitalist ideology. Thus we may say that Bourdieu is essentially a Marxist. In week 6 we try to extend the Marxist theory of culture through an exploration of the works on the key writers on everyday life. In particular we refer to the idea of contested culture expressed in the works of the French theorists of constructed space and everyday life, Lefebvre and de Certeau. The purpose of this exercise is to suggest that culture may be a space of negotiation, contestation, and confrontation, rather than simply a mechanism of deception or distinction. In week 7 we extend our exploration of this idea of cultural resistance through a discussion of the theory of sub-culture. This theory shows how new communities are able to emerge through consumer relations and cultural performance. We address this theory through a consideration of the classic example of punk, the more contemporary case of gangsta rap, and a reading of the works of the cultural sociologists of performance, Goffman, Garfinkel, and Mead. In the final three weeks of the course we move on to focus on theories of post-modernism, the culturally constructed body, and globalisation. In week 8 we explore the idea of post-modern culture through Dominic Strinati&©s essay on the topic, David Lynch&©s cinema, and Fredric Jameson&©s influential paper, Post-modernism, Or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism. For Jameson culture is the dominant form of identification in post-modern society. He thinks that people no longer worry about economics or politics, but rather understand these categories through culture. What does this mean? We will try to find out week 10 when we consider the ideas of global culture and anti-capitalism. But before we consider global culture, we examine the post-modern concern for the body and in particular Bordo's theory of the economic body. In week 9 we approach Bordo's theory through a cultural history of thinking about and imaging the body, taking in the Greek God body, the modern super-hero body, and the post-modern techno body, represented by both Haraway's cyborg, Bordo's metabolic body, and various science fiction bodies. Our study of the body, and body image, allows us to think about the ways that politics and economics are subsumed in culture in global society. Shifting from a study of the microcosm of the body to the macrocosm of the globalised world, in week 10 we refer to the works of contemporary writers, such as Giddens and Beck, who dispute the claims of the conflict theorists, such as Adorno and Horkheimer, by arguing that there is no monolithic centre of power that imposes meaning upon people&©s lives in global society. Rather Giddens and Beck argue that contemporary culture is characterised by risk, chance, and freedom of choice. In this session we think about their suggestion that traditional power structures no longer hold in post-modern / global society through an exploration of the idea of the new social movement and in particular anti-capitalist cultural politics. Our core text for this session is the recent film, Fight Club, which connects visions of the body and globalised consumer capitalism to issues of revolutionary cultural politics.
MDS-20026 Film Genre, Narrative and the Star EA M 7.5 15
This module will explore the significance of generic categorisation, narrative order and the position of the Hollywood star in association with filmic constructions of identity and dis/pleasure. Generic classification will be studied in order to consider not only the purpose of such categorisations in terms of spectator expectations but further, to situate cinematic and filmic texts as part of a predicated economy. In terms of film narrative, this module will explore the cause-and-effect relationship associated with mainstream Hollywood film, distinctions between story and plot and the significance of cinematic codes in order to shape preferred meanings for filmic audiences. The module will also analyse the significance of the contemporary filmic star in terms of their positioning as both subjects and objects of desire. As such, the module will address pertinent questions such as: what is the relationship between performance and stardom and moreover, why are we as filmic spectators, so interested in film stars? The purpose of this module is to convey to students the significance of these areas individually and collectively to the discipline of Film Studies as well as to encourage students to recognise the different theoretical approaches to genre, narrative and star studies by leading academics. Specific texts will be studied in order to explicate the differing modes and ways in which these three pertinent areas help to shape meaning in film and to consider how these areas relate to spectator gratification and pleasure. Through theoretical and illustrative lectures and contextualised screenings, this module will allow students to explore the ways in which certain genres, narrative structures and film stars operate. Indicative study texts may include 'The Battle of Orgreave' (Figgis, 2001), 'Gladiator' (Scott, 2000) and 'Memento' (Nolan, 2000).
SOC-20034 Crime, Morality and the Media EA C 7.5 15
Crime, Morality and the Media will introduce students to the main theories and debates surrounding the factual and fictional representations of crime and deviance. Students will be asked to consider past and present media portrayals of criminality and deviance in order to unpack how and why the tales of morality implicit in their representation continue to hold resonance for audiences. Reflecting upon both media examples and theoretical debates, in this course students will consider the view that representations of criminal and deviant acts help to communicate a dominant view of class, ethnicity, gender, and age, and work to secure the consensus of the mass audience. As well as looking at factual news reports into events such as the disappearance of Madeleine McCann or the War on Terror, we will also examine entertainment forms and ask why certain genres of music, film and videogame incite moral outrage from large sections of the mass media and its audience. To situate these ideas about the social construction of meaning we will look at Stanley Cohen&©s classic study on folk devils and moral panics and attempt to unpack debates about morality, fear and risk. We will also apply the theoretical perspectives put forward by key thinkers including Stuart Hall, Michel Foucault, and Rene Girard to further our understanding of important ideas such as Self / Other, knowledge and power, and the scapegoat mechanism in relation to media representations of crime and deviance. The lectures will focus on Theories of moral panics, fear and risk The fear of the $ùmob&© - representations of class conflict Constructing the nation - the ethnic Other as scapegoat Deviant women - nature versus culture Children in the news - transgressing innocence Violence on film - social commentary and the slasher flick True-crime TV - blurring the boundaries between fact and fiction Music and mayhem - deviant subcultures Videogame nasties - virtual reality and the embodiment of violence Formative Assessment and Seminar Activities Students will be expected to work on their own and as part of a group by: - reading key theoretical texts in preparation for class - critically analysing and commenting on media and cultural texts - critically analysing and commenting on key theoretical texts - engaging in small group discussion and whole of class debates - preparing for and discussing assessments (case study, poster and formative tests) In addition to traditional lectures and seminars there will be occasional screenings, KLE-based activities and student-led research. Students will be asked to complete two take-home tests over the course of the module. The tests will comprise of a page of short answer and multiple choice questions where students will be required to research a breadth of material independently.

Media, Communications and Culture Dual Honours - Level 3 Modules

Semester 1 C/O TYP ECTSCATS
MDS-30006 British Society through the Eyes of British Film: 1960s to the Present O M 7.5 15
For economic reasons British Cinema has had a chequered history, especially since the 1960s. At all times, however, British directors have sought engagement with social issues, and many leading directors have striven to cast a critical eye on contemporary social and political events. This module will seek to track the development of British society as it has been reflected in the British movie over the last five decades. It begins with a concentration on the pioneering films and directors of the 1960s, before moving through later decades to focus on the most recent developments. Participants on this course will be introduced to key social themes: working class culture (Saturday Night &Sunday Morning, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner and Kes), the swinging sixties centred on London and popular culture (Antonioni&©s Blow-Up) and dystopian anxiety about the implications of social and cultural change (If ... and A Clockwork Orange). Later films will concentrate both on the depiction of the underside of British society in My Beautiful Laundrette, My Name is Joe and This Is England, while multicultural modern Britain will also feature in My Beautiful Laundrette, Secrets and Lies, East is East, Bend it Like Beckham, Dirty Pretty Things and It&©s a Free World. At the same time students will be introduced to the work of some of the most important directors working in Britain over the last 40 years, including Lindsay Anderson, Ken Loach, Stanley Kubrick, Mike Leigh, Stephen Frears and Shane Meadows.
MDS-30006 British Society through the Eyes of British Film: 1960s to the Present EP M 7.5 15
For economic reasons British Cinema has had a chequered history, especially since the 1960s. At all times, however, British directors have sought engagement with social issues, and many leading directors have striven to cast a critical eye on contemporary social and political events. This module will seek to track the development of British society as it has been reflected in the British movie over the last five decades. It begins with a concentration on the pioneering films and directors of the 1960s, before moving through later decades to focus on the most recent developments. Participants on this course will be introduced to key social themes: working class culture (Saturday Night &Sunday Morning, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner and Kes), the swinging sixties centred on London and popular culture (Antonioni&©s Blow-Up) and dystopian anxiety about the implications of social and cultural change (If ... and A Clockwork Orange). Later films will concentrate both on the depiction of the underside of British society in My Beautiful Laundrette, My Name is Joe and This Is England, while multicultural modern Britain will also feature in My Beautiful Laundrette, Secrets and Lies, East is East, Bend it Like Beckham, Dirty Pretty Things and It&©s a Free World. At the same time students will be introduced to the work of some of the most important directors working in Britain over the last 40 years, including Lindsay Anderson, Ken Loach, Stanley Kubrick, Mike Leigh, Stephen Frears and Shane Meadows.
MDS-30012 Creative Magazine Production O C 7.5 15
This module will provide you with the experience of working in a planning and production team in the layout of an envisaged $ùmagazine&© or $ùjournal&© concerned with culture. Each student will write one main article which will be negotiated with the publishing group plus smaller mini articles such as music reviews etc. Successful completion of the module will enable you to gain sophisticated skills in the analysis of writings on art and/or culture and cultural issues. It will also allow you to gain confidence in your own abilities to plan and complete similar work in the context of the demands of journal production. The group will negotiate a 'house style' and design, using both text and image with Adobe Photoshop and Quarkxpress software to produce both a print version of their journal and an electronic version. This module incorporates employability skills which are highly desirable within media industries.
MDS-30012 Creative Magazine Production EP C 7.5 15
This module will provide you with the experience of working in a planning and production team in the layout of an envisaged $ùmagazine&© or $ùjournal&© concerned with culture. Each student will write one main article which will be negotiated with the publishing group plus smaller mini articles such as music reviews etc. Successful completion of the module will enable you to gain sophisticated skills in the analysis of writings on art and/or culture and cultural issues. It will also allow you to gain confidence in your own abilities to plan and complete similar work in the context of the demands of journal production. The group will negotiate a 'house style' and design, using both text and image with Adobe Photoshop and Quarkxpress software to produce both a print version of their journal and an electronic version. This module incorporates employability skills which are highly desirable within media industries.
SOC-30025 Streets, Skyscrapers, and Slums: The City in Social, Cultural, and Historical Context EA C 7.5 15
In this module we trace the cultural politics of the city from Ancient Athens to contemporary mega-cities, such as Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Lagos. Following the introductory lecture, which examines the meaning of the original cities of the ancient world, the first part of the module, modern cities, offers a consideration of the late 19th century / early 20th century European metropolises. After an exploration of the ideas of metropolitan psychology, fashion, and the department store in the works of Georg Simmel and Walter Benjamin, we move on to think about the city in the late 20th century. Here we think about the situationist city, the spectacular city, and the surveillance city and consider the ideas of Guy Debord, Henri Lefebvre, and Michel Foucault. In the second part of the module, post-modern cities, we study the American mega-city. For writers such as Fredric Jameson, Jean Baudrillard, and Mike Davis cities such as Los Angeles and Las Vegas are strange surreal places. In this section of the course we explore the post-modern city through the ideas of simulation, informationalism, urban violence, the ghetto, and the obsession with security. After our exploration of the post-modern city, the final section of the module examines contemporary third world mega-cities. We begin with a consideration of Mike Davis&©s recent study of the third world slum and then move on to think about the ideas of pollution and danger in mega-cities. Other topics in this section of the course include the situation of the occultism in the African city, corruption and crime in South Africa, and the mythology of the werewolf in one of Africa&©s most populous cities, Lagos. The aim of the module is to explore the cultural politics of the city in history.
SOC-30026 Risk and Society EA M 7.5 15
Everyday we are bombarded by media reports about all kinds of risks and experts are constantly suggesting various strategies to ensure people are as safe as possible. For example, there are concerns over the link between mobile phones and brain tumours, whether we can trust our doctors and environmental pressure groups are busy highlighting the disastrous effects of global warming and the depletion of the ozone layer. Risk anxiety about food, crime, health and terrorism, together with an endless variety of new risks, now seem to be associated with nearly every mundane human experience. But to what extent are people increasingly worried about risks? Are we really living in a $ùrisk society&©? If so, why do some individuals actively seek out high-risk pursuits (skydiving, base jumping, rock climbing etc) that could result in serious injury and even death? These are just some of the questions this module will be concerned with. The first part of the module will explore the main theoretical perspectives that have emerged on risk in the social sciences. This will mainly concentrate on the work of Mary Douglas, Ulrich Beck, Anthony Giddens and Michel Foucault. The second part of the course will address debates surrounding risk that have come to dominate public, political and private arenas. Substantive areas covered include crime, health, sexuality, terrorism and voluntary risk taking. The overall aim of the course is to enhance a sociological understanding of the phenomenon of risk and the role it plays in contemporary society.
Semester 1-2 C/O TYP ECTSCATS
MDS-30011 Dissertation in Media, Communications and Culture - ISP O C 15 30
The dissertation module offers the opportunity for students to produce a substantial piece of work that engages in independent and original study in one of the many fields of Media and Cultural Studies. The dissertation project will be based on a topic agreed between the student and the supervisor. It will draw on the interests of the student as developed during the three years of the Media, Communications and Culture degree programme and will benefit from the research expertise of relevant supervisors in the Schools of Humanities and Social Sciences. The successful completion of the dissertation will represent a substantial piece of final year undergraduate work that will enable the student to go on either to do further advanced academic research at masters level, or to pursue a career in a relevant area of the media and culture industries.
MDS-30011 Dissertation in Media, Communications and Culture - ISP EP C 15 30
The dissertation module offers the opportunity for students to produce a substantial piece of work that engages in independent and original study in one of the many fields of Media and Cultural Studies. The dissertation project will be based on a topic agreed between the student and the supervisor. It will draw on the interests of the student as developed during the three years of the Media, Communications and Culture degree programme and will benefit from the research expertise of relevant supervisors in the Schools of Humanities and Social Sciences. The successful completion of the dissertation will represent a substantial piece of final year undergraduate work that will enable the student to go on either to do further advanced academic research at masters level, or to pursue a career in a relevant area of the media and culture industries.
MDS-30013 Sustained Media Practice - ISP O C 15 30
Sustained Media Practice is an independent study programme intended to enable you to develop, synthesise and enhance the range of aptitudes, abilities and theoretical frameworks learned within all the modules previously undertaken in Media, Communications &Culture. Although the module leader will offer you assistance, as well as monitor and review your progress over the two semesters, the initiation, development, and completion of the project will be your own responsibility. The Media Project is an important part of the Media, Communications and Culture degree because it is intended to enable students to show how they can orchestrate, creatively and systematically, both the theoretical and practical aspects of their work within a major independent project. This independent project will accumulate into an exhibition of student work. The projects are always varied and you can choose to develop any area of Media Communications and Culture which interests you. Previous projects have been narrative films, documentaries, photographic projects, installations and performance pieces.
MDS-30013 Sustained Media Practice - ISP EP C 15 30
Sustained Media Practice is an independent study programme intended to enable you to develop, synthesise and enhance the range of aptitudes, abilities and theoretical frameworks learned within all the modules previously undertaken in Media, Communications &Culture. Although the module leader will offer you assistance, as well as monitor and review your progress over the two semesters, the initiation, development, and completion of the project will be your own responsibility. The Media Project is an important part of the Media, Communications and Culture degree because it is intended to enable students to show how they can orchestrate, creatively and systematically, both the theoretical and practical aspects of their work within a major independent project. This independent project will accumulate into an exhibition of student work. The projects are always varied and you can choose to develop any area of Media Communications and Culture which interests you. Previous projects have been narrative films, documentaries, photographic projects, installations and performance pieces.
Semester 2 C/O TYP ECTSCATS
ENG-30053 Postmodernism: Fiction, Film and Theory O C 7.5 15
Postmodernism represents an important body of critical theory that developed in the second half of the twentieth century, and continues to have relevance in the twenty-first. It crosses a range of disciplines, but emphasizes an interrogative, reflexive and eclectic challenge to many philosophical and aesthetic values and practices. On this module, you will explore the relevance and meaning of some of the ideas associated with postmodernism with respect to selected novels and films. You will assess the influence of key ideas on writers and directors and you will study the main themes and techniques used in postmodern fiction and film. The module also encourages a critically-informed assessment of the implications of postmodern thinking for contemporary notions of history, identity, sexuality, politics and consumer society. Fiction and film likely to be studied on the module include Julian Barnes, A History of the World in 10½ Chapters; Jeanette Winterson, Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit; Martin Amis, Money; J. G. Ballard, Kingdom Come; The Hours (dir. Stephen Daldry); The Company of Wolves (dir. Neil Jordan); The Matrix (dir. Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski); and Mulholland Drive (dir. David Lynch).
ENG-30053 Postmodernism: Fiction, Film and Theory EP C 7.5 15
Postmodernism represents an important body of critical theory that developed in the second half of the twentieth century, and continues to have relevance in the twenty-first. It crosses a range of disciplines, but emphasizes an interrogative, reflexive and eclectic challenge to many philosophical and aesthetic values and practices. On this module, you will explore the relevance and meaning of some of the ideas associated with postmodernism with respect to selected novels and films. You will assess the influence of key ideas on writers and directors and you will study the main themes and techniques used in postmodern fiction and film. The module also encourages a critically-informed assessment of the implications of postmodern thinking for contemporary notions of history, identity, sexuality, politics and consumer society. Fiction and film likely to be studied on the module include Julian Barnes, A History of the World in 10½ Chapters; Jeanette Winterson, Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit; Martin Amis, Money; J. G. Ballard, Kingdom Come; The Hours (dir. Stephen Daldry); The Company of Wolves (dir. Neil Jordan); The Matrix (dir. Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski); and Mulholland Drive (dir. David Lynch).
MDS-30014 Representing the Self, Family and Society on Contemporary British and American Television EA M 7.5 15
Television Studies interlinks with important areas of media, communication and cultural studies analyses. Focusing in particular upon contemporary British and American televisual texts, this module keys out the significance of televisual representation in the twenty-first century - focusing theoretically on key television studies theorists such as Jonathan Bignell, John Corner and Glen Creeber. Linking televisual representation to theories of culture, popularity, reception, generic categorisation and desire, you will explore the meanings encoded in TV texts not only via a study of aesthetics, but also through the study of televisual 'grammar'. Thematic areas of interest such as representations of self, the family and society are to be interrogated via close analysis of specific texts which may include: 'The Royle Family', 'Dexter', 'Gavin and Stacey', 'The Wire' and 'Shameless'.
SOC-30032 Home: belonging, locality and material culture EA C 7.5 15
This module will critically explore the idea of home as a socio-cultural concept. Using an interdisciplinary approach, broadly located in sociology, but appealing to students interested in geography, english, marketing, psychology and media/cultural studies, it asks a number of difficult but fascinating questions about why we are all so obsessed with home cultures. Why are we obsessed with the homes of celebrities? What dreams are we pursuing when we seek to nosy around their wine cellars and their marble bathtubs? Is this dream telling us something about our own narratives of belonging, or do we realise we will never achieve what they have? And how can we understand this obsession with homes in a social context: have we always been like this, or is this only since home buying became a central part of the British economy? What is the significance of stuff? We're surrounded by it, but it is often mute and difficult to understand. We will be exploring the relationship of people to their things - displaying, collecting, disposing: the objects that make up home have enormous social, personal, cultural and psychological significance which needs unravelling. Is it true that the only good music and art comes from 'running away from home'? From the Modernist avant garde, to punk, to Hirst and Emin, to grime - it seems that inspiration comes not from the stifling normality of homely life, but from city streets. Home spaces are often seen as the evil 'other' of creativity, yet they are as much a part of the modern city as shiny glass buildings and exciting public spaces. What does the idea of home do to obscure the real social relations that go on behind closed doors? In what ways does the concept of the 'domestic' shelter us from the gritty reality of home life? And how is this ideology promoted and defended? The dark, uncanny side of home will be explored and themes from sociology, geography and cultural studies blended to examine how home is a key motif in notions of evil.

Media, Communications and Culture Minor - Level 1 Modules

Semester 1 C/O TYP ECTSCATS
ENG-10024 Reading Film EA C 7.5 15
Of all forms of communication, film often seems the most obvious, pleasurable and self-explanatory. With an emphasis on variety of film practice, this module aims to introduce students to the essential elements of film narrative and engage them in thinking critically about the choices made by film-makers in constructing the look and sound of their films. We will be asking, therefore, how meaning is created in the cinema, as well as what ideas and arguments such meanings may generate among critically aware spectators of it. In doing so we will be exploring the richness and complexity of cinema's potential to communicate with its spectators through a carefully selected variety of films. Represented amongst these will not only be the classic Hollywood model with which we are all most familiar, but also films from other national and artistic traditions. These will be examined in the context of both fortnightly lecture/workshops and weekly small group classes.
MDS-10008 Mediated World C M 7.5 15
Mediated World aims to introduce students to some of the main theories and debates found in contemporary media, communication and cultural studies. In this course we examine how the mass media has come to dominate our everyday life $ú from the spaces we inhabit, to the beliefs we hold and values we share $ú while analyzing our individual and collective role in this complex relationship. By looking at how and why the tools developed by societies $ú from the first printing press to today&©s high speed internet $ú have been used for mass communication, we will probe how power is constructed in media messages and ask whether the consumers of such messages can ever wrest back control over meaning.
MDS-10009 Digital Video EP C 7.5 15
This module focuses on the creation of a short film. You will learn the fundamentals of video production, including the techniques and the aesthetics of screen writing, shooting, composition and editing. Most importantly you will learn by doing. This is a hands on course that encourages you to familiarise yourself with digital video equipment, consider the work of other film and documentary makers, experiment with and develop your own filmmaking style and begin acquiring a knowledge of film language and terminology. The key areas of focus are: - Film language and terminology (critical analysis of films and conventions) - Pre-production (scriptwriting, storyboarding, schedules and planning) - Production (camera operation, directing) - Post-production (editing) Assessment will be by a group project, 3-5 minute short film (50%) and a workbook (50%).
MDS-10013 Popular British Cinema: From the 90s to the present day EA C 7.5 15
Of all forms of communication, film often seems the most obvious, pleasurable and self-explanatory. With an emphasis on popular British cinema from the 1990s to the present day, this level 1 module aims to introduce students to the dominant thematic and aesthetic issues/representations addressed in a selected number of contemporary British films. Alongside this, we will also analyse how filmic aesthetics intersect with themes such as identity, race, social class, nationality and gender.
Semester 2 C/O TYP ECTSCATS
ENG-10025 Approaches to Film EA C 7.5 15
Who is the author of a film? How do we categorize and make sense of films in relation to each other? How is the meaning of a film shaped by the historical period or national culture that produced it? What sorts of ideas and ideologies about gender and race do films include or exclude? This module provides an introduction to all these questions addressed within film theory. Like any other discipline of enquiry, Film Studies has generated a set of debates about value and meaning that revolve around some key questions, concepts and terms. Through a series of fortnightly two hour workshop lectures and weekly small group classes, this module will examine the development of critical thinking on the cinema and will invite students to debate, question and apply ideas on: film authorship; film genre; history; film politics. Each of these critical areas will be investigated with reference to an exciting range of films, chosen for the way they have shaped film history and challenged cinema's potential as a form of art and entertainment. Indicative study texts may include: 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' (Dir. Sharman, 1975), 'Modern Times' (Dir. Chaplin, 1936) and 'Breathless' (Dir. Godard, 1960).
MDS-10010 Understanding Culture EP M 7.5 15
What is culture? Where is it and who particpates in it? How has our understanding of it developed historically? What's the difference between high and low culture? How does literature, film, photography and advertising encourage us to behave in particular ways? This course will introduce some of the key concepts and issues in the historical and contemporary study of culture. It will introduce theories, approaches and methodologies for the study of a range of cultural $ùtexts&© from Shakespeare to magazine advertisements. We will start by looking at literary culture from the past and focus on the relationship between $ùclassic&© literary texts and their audiences, both now and when they were first produced. We will go on to look at popular contemporary culture in both visual and written form, including film, photographs and advertisements.
MDS-10011 The Photographic Message C C 7.5 15
The Photographic Message In this module students will look at the impact of photography as a mode of mechanical reproduction through to contemporary hyper real digital image production. Students will be introduced to semiotic analysis and study the work and roll of photographic practioners in both a contemporary and historical context. Each student will produce a photomontage and workbook based on notions of cultural identity and/or stigma and discrimination. Assessment will be by a visual project photomontage (50%), a workbook (50%), and a compulsory oral presentation.
MDS-10012 Introduction to European Cinema EA M 7.5 15
From the end of the Second World War until the 1970s, European Cinema enjoyed a Golden Age which saw directors across Europe produce many of the Classics of World Cinema. From Great Britain to France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and beyond, many countries reached the height of productivity and artistry in their national cinemas, with $ùnew waves&© in most countries, especially in the key period from the end of the fifties to the end of the sixties. This module seeks to introduce students to some of the great works of world cinema produced in these countries in these decades. Directors central to this module will include some of the $ùgreats&© of world cinema - Fellini, Bertolucci and Antonioni from Italy, Godard and Truffaut from France, Fassbinder, Herzog and Wenders from Germany, as well as Ingmar Bergman, and key representatives from the British New Wave. The module will not presume any knowledge of the cinematic history of a given country, but will seek to introduce students to currents, trends and techniques which cut across national boundaries, as well as to the specifics of national cinemas, and the uniqueness of the work of particular auteurs.
SOC-10013 Modernity and its Darkside EA C 7.5 15
The idea of the modern individual and society is tied to wider social and political understandings about the world that we live in. As our understandings of the world change, so do ideas of who we are and what our place in the world is. In this module we examine some of the key themes and concepts associated with the $ùmodern&© individual and the wider context within which some are labelled as modern and others traditional. Key themes include a study of the enlightenment period, the birth of commercial society, modern state and the idea of citizenship. We then turn to look at the dark side of modernity - what is classed as abnormal, supernatural and irrational and societies attempt to control the pathological and paranoid desires of its members. Who is the modern individual? Can a group of individuals, composed of different ideas and beliefs, avoid conflict and rule themselves? What is classed as abnormal, supernatural and irrational by society and what attempts does society make to control this? Have the ideas developed in modernity been used to destroy rather than develop society? The lectures will focus on Modernity and Individualism The Enlightenment Individual The Political Individual The Economic Individual The Sociological Individual The Irrational Self The Consumer The Holocaust and the Irrational Individual Normalisation and Contemporary Individualism The Post Modern Individual Formative Assessment and Tutorial Activities Students each week, with guidance from the group tutor, will write a creative paragraph outlining the significant themes of the lecture/seminar, as they have undertood them. This will be added to each week with each lecture so that a narrative is reflexively constructed illustrating how the student has pieced together the course and what they have understood.

Media, Communications and Culture Minor - Level 2 Modules

Semester 1 C/O TYP ECTSCATS
ENG-20036 Twentieth Century Novels into Films EA C 7.5 15
Film has always had a close relationship to the novel through both literary adaptation and novelists who have also been screenplay writers. It has, nonetheless, frequently been framed as the poor relation of the two in terms of cultural value. By examining the distinctiveness and complexity of film language and the relative parameters of literary and film modes of narration, this module will examine some of the key but distinctive questions that need to be addressed when thinking about how film and literature make meaning. The module is specifically focused on the construction of history within narrative and will investigate how the categories of personal and collective memory, political conflict, change, national identity and gender are articulated in three novels and their film adaptations.
MDS-20005 Media Comm and Culture - Study Abroad I EP C 7.5 15
This is a module that is automatically allocated to the records our Keele level II students who are going to Study Abroad at a partner University for a semester of their second year and cannot be selected by any other level II students.
MDS-20006 Media Comm and Culture - Study Abroad II EP C 7.5 15
This is a module that is automatically allocated to the records our Keele level II students who are going to Study Abroad at a partner University for a semester of their second year and cannot be selected by any other level II students.
MDS-20020 Making the News EP C 7.5 15
This module introduces a broad range of theoretical debates and issues involved in the making of contemporary TV news programmes. At the beginning of the module we study journalism and news values. In order to gain a balanced understanding of the news and its impact on society we will analyse its forms, motives, methods and conventions. You will then develop and create your own news report items. Finally, you will work as part of a team to create an 'as-live' news programme in a television studio. Throughout the module you are encouraged to develop skills and professional practice in the use of a television studio and audiovisual production equipment. Over the course of this module there will be a variety of lectures, seminars and practical sessions. Assessment is based on a workbook at 50% (development, reflection and short essay) plus a practical piece at 50% (news report + final programme).
MDS-20023 Creating Awareness Campaigns C C 7.5 15
This module will give students experience of solving communications problems by producing documents and artefacts. Students will be required to work in production groups and will address tutor negotiated communications goals by making $ùdocuments&©, which may include desk top published materials, photography and video. Students will examine contemporary media issues which may include advertising, journalism, press coverage, design and the impact of the world wide web. They will work with various modes of practice including industry standard software such as Adobe Photoshop, Quark Xpress and Final Cut Pro. The outcome of this module is one finished practical project per production group and an individual student practice evaluation. Previous projects have been based on issues such as Domestic Violence, Binge Drinking, Student Protest and Student Debt.
MDS-20025 Gender and the Cinematic Gaze EA M 7.5 15
This module will explore and evaluate the significance of gendered representation in film focusing specifically on theories of gendered spectatorship, voyeurism and the dis/pleasure of looking. Students will be introduced to a number of significant theorists such as Laura Mulvey, Judith Butler, Claire Johnston and Sue Thornham in order to gain an understanding of gender as a cultural and social construction (differentiated from $ùsex&©) and influenced by political movements such as feminism. Students will consider if, how and to what extent notions of gender are culturally determined. In addition, they will consider the complexities associated with representations of gender on-screen and study how filmic audiences have traditionally identified with specific gender positions leading to a consideration of notions of subjectivity and objectivity in film spectatorship. Via analysis of a range of filmic texts that may include 'Rear Window' (Hitchcock, 1954), 'Beauty and the Beast' (Trousdale and Wise, 1991), 'Fight Club' (Fincher, 1999) and 'Caramel' (Labaki, 2007), this module will explore the ways in which gender representations are negotiated in-line with other areas of identity politics such as sexuality, ethnicity, race and class. Through theoretical and illustrative lectures and contextualised screenings, this module will allow students to explore the ways in which notions of self are linked to social and cultural representations of gender on-screen. Students will question gender identities on-screen as representations that may shape and organise the ways in which we see and find pleasure in seeing.
MDS-20027 From Nosferatu to Saw: Horror Cinema in Social Context EP C 7.5 15
In this module we study horror cinema in social and cultural context. In order to introduce the module we start by thinking through the meaning of horror and exploring the function of horror cinema. What is it that horror cinema communicates? Following this introductory class, we begin our exploration of the horror genre by analysing the classic film Nosferatu and the sub-genre of the vampire movie. Beyond our study of the vampire, we move on to examine Frankenstein, the archetype of the mad scientist, and the critique of promethean man in the horror genre. Remaining in the 1930s, we look at Jekyll and Hyde and the horror of self / other, before focusing on Wolfman and the figure of the werewolf in western culture. If Jekyll and Hyde introduced the figure of the other in horror cinema, and Wolfman developed the idea of the other as animality, the classic 1950 B-movie, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, created the notion of the other as a social alien, in this case the communist infiltrator. In classes that follow we extend our study of the other in horror cinema through discussions of the figure of the zombie, the Devil, and the monstrosity of the wilderness. Moving away from an analysis of the horror of the wilderness, we consider horror much closer to home, the trope of the haunted house, the suburbs, the psycho-killer, and the idea that everyday life is horrific. Finally, and in order to conclude the module, we examine mock realism in the horror genre through a consideration of the Blair Witch Project and the sadistic ultra-violent turn in horror cinema represented by the torture porn sub-genre and in particular the movie Saw.
MUS-20047 Unheard Melodies? Music in the Narrative Film EA C 7.5 15
Why do films have music? How does music help a film to tell its story? Do we actually hear film music? Does music make perceivers more receptive to a film's ideological content? This module will explore questions along these lines, while enabling students: &· to acquire an understanding of the uses and history of music in the narrative film (and, by extension, in other screen media, e.g., television, computer games) &· to develop the ability to analyze instances of film/screen music, and to critique its narrative and ideological purposes &· to learn a basic vocabulary of music analytical tools &· to gain a basic understanding of narrative theory, and &· to develop analytical and other scholarly skills through written assignments, classroom contributions and independent research. Students interesting in composition or sound editing will also have an opportunity to rescore an existing passage of film as part of their portfolio assessment. The first half of the module will proceed by building up a theoretical base for understanding and analyzing filmic narrativity and, crucially, music's place within the filmic discourse; the second half of the module will then progress through a series of case studies exploring examples from Hollywood and non-Hollywood scoring practice. A basic knowledge of music theory and some practical musical ability would be advantageous to students taking this module, but is not strictly necessary.
Semester 2 C/O TYP ECTSCATS
ENG-20031 French Cinema EA C 7.5 15
Known as 'the seventh art', cinema in France occupies an important place in terms of practise, criticism and spectatorship in that country. This module looks at key moments within the history of French cinema, namely the Golden Age of the 1930s, the New Wave of the 1950s and 1960s, postmodern and postcolonial films of the 1980s and1990s. and trends such as the de-eroticised erotic, blockbusters, and social realism of the 2000s. In so doing, it considers questions around genre, auteurship, stars, social contexts, cinematography, and narrative, as well as issues around class, gender, sexuality and national identity.
MDS-20007 Media Comm and Culture - Study Abroad III EP C 7.5 15
This is a module that is automatically allocated to the records our Keele level II students who are going to Study Abroad at a partner University for a semester of their second year and cannot be selected by any other level II students.
MDS-20008 Media Comm and Culture - Study Abroad IV EP C 7.5 15
This is a module that is automatically allocated to the records our Keele level II students who are going to Study Abroad at a partner University for a semester of their second year and cannot be selected by any other level II students.
MDS-20016 DIY Broadcasting: Internet television and the YouTube generation. EP C 7.5 15
Although initially developed as a method of military and scientific communication in the 1960s, since the early 1990s internet use has become increasingly popular, with the majority of households in developed countries now connected to high-speed broadband. The internet age has bought about changes in modern society and the way that we communicate - perhaps most notably in the form of increased access to information, culture and the global marketplaces. With the advent of Web 2.0, the separation of form and content, the digital video revolution and increasingly growing bandwidth, video is no longer the future of the internet; it is the present. And users are not merely the consumers; they are the broadcasters. What does this mean to the evolution of the internet, the media and to society at large? Over the course of this module there will be a variety of lectures, seminars and practical sessions. We aim to look at the basic technologies of webcasting and video compression. Students will create their own audiovisual material and broadcast it live on the internet. In doing so we will consider the questions this so-called democratisation of media raises. Can media truly be owned any more? What is the role of copyright? Where, if at all, do the boundaries between the amateur and professional lie? Perhaps most importantly, have the masses finally found their voice in modern society though collaboration and communication on a mass scale, or are we increasingly distracted and confused by a cacophony of anonymous and indistinguishable chatter? Assessment is based on a portfolio at 50% (comprising of selected contributions to collaborative workspace and a critical evaluation), plus a practical project at 50% (webcasting of channel ident and final programming).
MDS-20017 Politics and Cinema EP M 7.5 15
This module seeks to introduce students to some of the great works of world cinema and to investigate the major ideological tendencies of the twentieth-century and key moments in modern and contemporary politics as these have been reflected in film. Topics central to this module include revolution, totalitarianism, nationalism and terrorism. The scope is international and settings include North and South America, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Films studied on the course are likely to include: Alan J. Pakula&©s All the President&©s Men; Francis Ford Coppola&©s Apocalypse Now; Michael Moore&©s Fahrenheit 9/11; Eisenstein&©s Battleship Potemkin; Askoldov&©s Commissar; Mikhalkov&©s Burnt by the Sun; The Lives of Others; Goodbye Lenin!; Ken Loach&©s The Wind that Shakes the Barley; Neil Jordan&©s Michael Collins; Richard Attenborough&©s Cry Freedom; Pontecorvo&©s The Battle of Algiers; Kevin Macdonald&©s One Day in September; Spielberg&©s Munich (2005). The module will not presume any knowledge of film, but will nevertheless regard the films as cinematic works. The main focus will be on events, ideas and political developments, and how they are reflected cinematically. A general background knowledge of the twentieth century will be important although this module will not require deep specialist knowledge of any given country.
MDS-20018 Thinking Photography EP C 7.5 15
Thinking Photography is an elective module for second year students and will be of particular interest to those studying Media, Culture and Communications. The module places an emphasis on both photographic theory and practice. We will look at how ideas about photography have evolved and how theory can inform your own practical work. Alongside this we will be looking at different genres of photography and individual photographer's work and asking pertinent questions about the definition and intent of the work as both artefacts and modes of communication. You will be able to advance both your critical understanding of photographic practice, your own photographic practice and Photoshop software skills.
MDS-20019 Analysing Culture C C 7.5 15
In Analysing Culture we consider how culture enables people to make sense of their personal and social lives. The first session of the course refers to Geertz&©s classic paper on Balinese society to introduce the concept of culture. The key question we want to ask through our study of Geertz essay is $ùwhat is culture?&© Following this example of an anthropologically strange culture we move on to think about the construction of national identity through a consideration of Hall&©s work on western identity, Said&©s essay on orientalism, Anderson&©s notion of imaginary communities, and various representations of contemporary nationality. Although the nation has provided a strong cultural map for people since the middle of the 17th century, the rise of modern urbanism has challenged this cultural form through its embrace of privacy and a culture of alienation. In week 3 we consider urban culture, read Simmel&©s classic essay on the metropolitan mind, and think about the ways in which the city is represented today. In the next session we show how people have sought to relate culture to the problem of alienation in modern culture. In week 4 we think about the notion of consumer culture through Adorno and Horkheimer&©s idea of mass culture and Klein's theory of branding and consider how commodities might work like narcotics that numb our senses to the impoverished reality of our one-dimensional society. Our key cultural texts here is Danny Boyle&©s film Trainspotting. In the second part of the course we begin by thinking about cultural politics. In week 5 we focus on Bourdieu&©s idea of distinction and think about how far his theory reflects popular uses of culture in the contemporary world. For Bourdieu culture is not simply a form of deception, but rather a tool that people use in order to try to distinguish themselves from other people in the endless struggle that is competitive capitalism. Although Bourdieu suggests that people use culture for their own purposes, he thinks that they use it unimaginatively and strictly within the confines of capitalist ideology. Thus we may say that Bourdieu is essentially a Marxist. In week 6 we try to extend the Marxist theory of culture through an exploration of the works on the key writers on everyday life. In particular we refer to the idea of contested culture expressed in the works of the French theorists of constructed space and everyday life, Lefebvre and de Certeau. The purpose of this exercise is to suggest that culture may be a space of negotiation, contestation, and confrontation, rather than simply a mechanism of deception or distinction. In week 7 we extend our exploration of this idea of cultural resistance through a discussion of the theory of sub-culture. This theory shows how new communities are able to emerge through consumer relations and cultural performance. We address this theory through a consideration of the classic example of punk, the more contemporary case of gangsta rap, and a reading of the works of the cultural sociologists of performance, Goffman, Garfinkel, and Mead. In the final three weeks of the course we move on to focus on theories of post-modernism, the culturally constructed body, and globalisation. In week 8 we explore the idea of post-modern culture through Dominic Strinati&©s essay on the topic, David Lynch&©s cinema, and Fredric Jameson&©s influential paper, Post-modernism, Or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism. For Jameson culture is the dominant form of identification in post-modern society. He thinks that people no longer worry about economics or politics, but rather understand these categories through culture. What does this mean? We will try to find out week 10 when we consider the ideas of global culture and anti-capitalism. But before we consider global culture, we examine the post-modern concern for the body and in particular Bordo's theory of the economic body. In week 9 we approach Bordo's theory through a cultural history of thinking about and imaging the body, taking in the Greek God body, the modern super-hero body, and the post-modern techno body, represented by both Haraway's cyborg, Bordo's metabolic body, and various science fiction bodies. Our study of the body, and body image, allows us to think about the ways that politics and economics are subsumed in culture in global society. Shifting from a study of the microcosm of the body to the macrocosm of the globalised world, in week 10 we refer to the works of contemporary writers, such as Giddens and Beck, who dispute the claims of the conflict theorists, such as Adorno and Horkheimer, by arguing that there is no monolithic centre of power that imposes meaning upon people&©s lives in global society. Rather Giddens and Beck argue that contemporary culture is characterised by risk, chance, and freedom of choice. In this session we think about their suggestion that traditional power structures no longer hold in post-modern / global society through an exploration of the idea of the new social movement and in particular anti-capitalist cultural politics. Our core text for this session is the recent film, Fight Club, which connects visions of the body and globalised consumer capitalism to issues of revolutionary cultural politics.
MDS-20026 Film Genre, Narrative and the Star EA M 7.5 15
This module will explore the significance of generic categorisation, narrative order and the position of the Hollywood star in association with filmic constructions of identity and dis/pleasure. Generic classification will be studied in order to consider not only the purpose of such categorisations in terms of spectator expectations but further, to situate cinematic and filmic texts as part of a predicated economy. In terms of film narrative, this module will explore the cause-and-effect relationship associated with mainstream Hollywood film, distinctions between story and plot and the significance of cinematic codes in order to shape preferred meanings for filmic audiences. The module will also analyse the significance of the contemporary filmic star in terms of their positioning as both subjects and objects of desire. As such, the module will address pertinent questions such as: what is the relationship between performance and stardom and moreover, why are we as filmic spectators, so interested in film stars? The purpose of this module is to convey to students the significance of these areas individually and collectively to the discipline of Film Studies as well as to encourage students to recognise the different theoretical approaches to genre, narrative and star studies by leading academics. Specific texts will be studied in order to explicate the differing modes and ways in which these three pertinent areas help to shape meaning in film and to consider how these areas relate to spectator gratification and pleasure. Through theoretical and illustrative lectures and contextualised screenings, this module will allow students to explore the ways in which certain genres, narrative structures and film stars operate. Indicative study texts may include 'The Battle of Orgreave' (Figgis, 2001), 'Gladiator' (Scott, 2000) and 'Memento' (Nolan, 2000).
SOC-20034 Crime, Morality and the Media EA C 7.5 15
Crime, Morality and the Media will introduce students to the main theories and debates surrounding the factual and fictional representations of crime and deviance. Students will be asked to consider past and present media portrayals of criminality and deviance in order to unpack how and why the tales of morality implicit in their representation continue to hold resonance for audiences. Reflecting upon both media examples and theoretical debates, in this course students will consider the view that representations of criminal and deviant acts help to communicate a dominant view of class, ethnicity, gender, and age, and work to secure the consensus of the mass audience. As well as looking at factual news reports into events such as the disappearance of Madeleine McCann or the War on Terror, we will also examine entertainment forms and ask why certain genres of music, film and videogame incite moral outrage from large sections of the mass media and its audience. To situate these ideas about the social construction of meaning we will look at Stanley Cohen&©s classic study on folk devils and moral panics and attempt to unpack debates about morality, fear and risk. We will also apply the theoretical perspectives put forward by key thinkers including Stuart Hall, Michel Foucault, and Rene Girard to further our understanding of important ideas such as Self / Other, knowledge and power, and the scapegoat mechanism in relation to media representations of crime and deviance. The lectures will focus on Theories of moral panics, fear and risk The fear of the $ùmob&© - representations of class conflict Constructing the nation - the ethnic Other as scapegoat Deviant women - nature versus culture Children in the news - transgressing innocence Violence on film - social commentary and the slasher flick True-crime TV - blurring the boundaries between fact and fiction Music and mayhem - deviant subcultures Videogame nasties - virtual reality and the embodiment of violence Formative Assessment and Seminar Activities Students will be expected to work on their own and as part of a group by: - reading key theoretical texts in preparation for class - critically analysing and commenting on media and cultural texts - critically analysing and commenting on key theoretical texts - engaging in small group discussion and whole of class debates - preparing for and discussing assessments (case study, poster and formative tests) In addition to traditional lectures and seminars there will be occasional screenings, KLE-based activities and student-led research. Students will be asked to complete two take-home tests over the course of the module. The tests will comprise of a page of short answer and multiple choice questions where students will be required to research a breadth of material independently.

Media, Communications and Culture Minor - Level 3 Modules

Semester 1 C/O TYP ECTSCATS
MDS-30006 British Society through the Eyes of British Film: 1960s to the Present EP M 7.5 15
For economic reasons British Cinema has had a chequered history, especially since the 1960s. At all times, however, British directors have sought engagement with social issues, and many leading directors have striven to cast a critical eye on contemporary social and political events. This module will seek to track the development of British society as it has been reflected in the British movie over the last five decades. It begins with a concentration on the pioneering films and directors of the 1960s, before moving through later decades to focus on the most recent developments. Participants on this course will be introduced to key social themes: working class culture (Saturday Night &Sunday Morning, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner and Kes), the swinging sixties centred on London and popular culture (Antonioni&©s Blow-Up) and dystopian anxiety about the implications of social and cultural change (If ... and A Clockwork Orange). Later films will concentrate both on the depiction of the underside of British society in My Beautiful Laundrette, My Name is Joe and This Is England, while multicultural modern Britain will also feature in My Beautiful Laundrette, Secrets and Lies, East is East, Bend it Like Beckham, Dirty Pretty Things and It&©s a Free World. At the same time students will be introduced to the work of some of the most important directors working in Britain over the last 40 years, including Lindsay Anderson, Ken Loach, Stanley Kubrick, Mike Leigh, Stephen Frears and Shane Meadows.
MDS-30012 Creative Magazine Production EP C 7.5 15
This module will provide you with the experience of working in a planning and production team in the layout of an envisaged $ùmagazine&© or $ùjournal&© concerned with culture. Each student will write one main article which will be negotiated with the publishing group plus smaller mini articles such as music reviews etc. Successful completion of the module will enable you to gain sophisticated skills in the analysis of writings on art and/or culture and cultural issues. It will also allow you to gain confidence in your own abilities to plan and complete similar work in the context of the demands of journal production. The group will negotiate a 'house style' and design, using both text and image with Adobe Photoshop and Quarkxpress software to produce both a print version of their journal and an electronic version. This module incorporates employability skills which are highly desirable within media industries.
SOC-30025 Streets, Skyscrapers, and Slums: The City in Social, Cultural, and Historical Context EA C 7.5 15
In this module we trace the cultural politics of the city from Ancient Athens to contemporary mega-cities, such as Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Lagos. Following the introductory lecture, which examines the meaning of the original cities of the ancient world, the first part of the module, modern cities, offers a consideration of the late 19th century / early 20th century European metropolises. After an exploration of the ideas of metropolitan psychology, fashion, and the department store in the works of Georg Simmel and Walter Benjamin, we move on to think about the city in the late 20th century. Here we think about the situationist city, the spectacular city, and the surveillance city and consider the ideas of Guy Debord, Henri Lefebvre, and Michel Foucault. In the second part of the module, post-modern cities, we study the American mega-city. For writers such as Fredric Jameson, Jean Baudrillard, and Mike Davis cities such as Los Angeles and Las Vegas are strange surreal places. In this section of the course we explore the post-modern city through the ideas of simulation, informationalism, urban violence, the ghetto, and the obsession with security. After our exploration of the post-modern city, the final section of the module examines contemporary third world mega-cities. We begin with a consideration of Mike Davis&©s recent study of the third world slum and then move on to think about the ideas of pollution and danger in mega-cities. Other topics in this section of the course include the situation of the occultism in the African city, corruption and crime in South Africa, and the mythology of the werewolf in one of Africa&©s most populous cities, Lagos. The aim of the module is to explore the cultural politics of the city in history.
SOC-30026 Risk and Society EA M 7.5 15
Everyday we are bombarded by media reports about all kinds of risks and experts are constantly suggesting various strategies to ensure people are as safe as possible. For example, there are concerns over the link between mobile phones and brain tumours, whether we can trust our doctors and environmental pressure groups are busy highlighting the disastrous effects of global warming and the depletion of the ozone layer. Risk anxiety about food, crime, health and terrorism, together with an endless variety of new risks, now seem to be associated with nearly every mundane human experience. But to what extent are people increasingly worried about risks? Are we really living in a $ùrisk society&©? If so, why do some individuals actively seek out high-risk pursuits (skydiving, base jumping, rock climbing etc) that could result in serious injury and even death? These are just some of the questions this module will be concerned with. The first part of the module will explore the main theoretical perspectives that have emerged on risk in the social sciences. This will mainly concentrate on the work of Mary Douglas, Ulrich Beck, Anthony Giddens and Michel Foucault. The second part of the course will address debates surrounding risk that have come to dominate public, political and private arenas. Substantive areas covered include crime, health, sexuality, terrorism and voluntary risk taking. The overall aim of the course is to enhance a sociological understanding of the phenomenon of risk and the role it plays in contemporary society.
Semester 2 C/O TYP ECTSCATS
ENG-30053 Postmodernism: Fiction, Film and Theory EP C 7.5 15
Postmodernism represents an important body of critical theory that developed in the second half of the twentieth century, and continues to have relevance in the twenty-first. It crosses a range of disciplines, but emphasizes an interrogative, reflexive and eclectic challenge to many philosophical and aesthetic values and practices. On this module, you will explore the relevance and meaning of some of the ideas associated with postmodernism with respect to selected novels and films. You will assess the influence of key ideas on writers and directors and you will study the main themes and techniques used in postmodern fiction and film. The module also encourages a critically-informed assessment of the implications of postmodern thinking for contemporary notions of history, identity, sexuality, politics and consumer society. Fiction and film likely to be studied on the module include Julian Barnes, A History of the World in 10½ Chapters; Jeanette Winterson, Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit; Martin Amis, Money; J. G. Ballard, Kingdom Come; The Hours (dir. Stephen Daldry); The Company of Wolves (dir. Neil Jordan); The Matrix (dir. Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski); and Mulholland Drive (dir. David Lynch).
MDS-30014 Representing the Self, Family and Society on Contemporary British and American Television EA M 7.5 15
Television Studies interlinks with important areas of media, communication and cultural studies analyses. Focusing in particular upon contemporary British and American televisual texts, this module keys out the significance of televisual representation in the twenty-first century - focusing theoretically on key television studies theorists such as Jonathan Bignell, John Corner and Glen Creeber. Linking televisual representation to theories of culture, popularity, reception, generic categorisation and desire, you will explore the meanings encoded in TV texts not only via a study of aesthetics, but also through the study of televisual 'grammar'. Thematic areas of interest such as representations of self, the family and society are to be interrogated via close analysis of specific texts which may include: 'The Royle Family', 'Dexter', 'Gavin and Stacey', 'The Wire' and 'Shameless'.
SOC-30032 Home: belonging, locality and material culture EA C 7.5 15
This module will critically explore the idea of home as a socio-cultural concept. Using an interdisciplinary approach, broadly located in sociology, but appealing to students interested in geography, english, marketing, psychology and media/cultural studies, it asks a number of difficult but fascinating questions about why we are all so obsessed with home cultures. Why are we obsessed with the homes of celebrities? What dreams are we pursuing when we seek to nosy around their wine cellars and their marble bathtubs? Is this dream telling us something about our own narratives of belonging, or do we realise we will never achieve what they have? And how can we understand this obsession with homes in a social context: have we always been like this, or is this only since home buying became a central part of the British economy? What is the significance of stuff? We're surrounded by it, but it is often mute and difficult to understand. We will be exploring the relationship of people to their things - displaying, collecting, disposing: the objects that make up home have enormous social, personal, cultural and psychological significance which needs unravelling. Is it true that the only good music and art comes from 'running away from home'? From the Modernist avant garde, to punk, to Hirst and Emin, to grime - it seems that inspiration comes not from the stifling normality of homely life, but from city streets. Home spaces are often seen as the evil 'other' of creativity, yet they are as much a part of the modern city as shiny glass buildings and exciting public spaces. What does the idea of home do to obscure the real social relations that go on behind closed doors? In what ways does the concept of the 'domestic' shelter us from the gritty reality of home life? And how is this ideology promoted and defended? The dark, uncanny side of home will be explored and themes from sociology, geography and cultural studies blended to examine how home is a key motif in notions of evil.
C Compulsory Core Module
O Optional Core Module
EP Programme Elective Module
EA Approved Elective Module
EF Free-Standing Elective Module
M Mixed Assessment e.g. a mixture of essay(s) and examination, with the latter's weighting below 90%.
E Examination, providing 90% or more of the mark.
C Continuous Assessment e.g. essay(s) or practical work (as appropriate).
+ Available to qualified non-principal, Erasmus, Exchange and Study Abroad students but there may be a restriction on the number of places available
~ Specific pre-requisite(s) needed by non-principal, Erasmus, Exchange and Study Abroad students wishing to take these modules
# Not normally available to Erasmus, Exchange and Study Abroad students (except by prior negotiation with Departmental Tutor)
Note: Modules not marked with a # are available to suitably qualified Erasmus, Exchange and Study Abroad students.