Undergraduate study

Overview

• Interdisciplinary study based on the specialist skills and expertise of staff from a range of subjects including Media and Cultural Studies, English, Sociology, Visual Arts, Music and Music Technology, co-ordinated and administered by the School of Humanities
• Both theoretical approaches and practical, hands-on experience
• The opportunity to study a variety of cultural forms including film, television, photography, literature, music and the internet
• A challenging combination of subjects and teaching styles carried out in a lively and friendly learning environment
• An emphasis on creative skills vital in the contemporary employment sector
• Study abroad for a semester at one of our international partners

Media, Communications and Culture form a central part of our contemporary living experience: from the way we access the news to the way meaning is produced in cultural forms such as television, film, literature and music. We rely on media technology to sustain our everyday social relationships as well as to engage in the worlds of business, politics, and international affairs. Communications media have become key motors of social and cultural change. Great industries, new art forms, and novel ways of thinking about society have arisen through the transformations that literature, radio, cinema, television, and computing have introduced to our world. But how did our world become so media-rich? Why is effective communication so valuable in the contemporary world?

On this course you will study the ways in which Media, Communications, and Culture have become central to every aspect of our lives. Students will study a range of cultural forms such as films, novels, plays, art, photography, advertisements, magazines and news production. They will investigate the way in which historical and cultural movements developed and continue to influence media production in the present. Students will also get the opportunity to produce cultural artefacts of their own through our series of practical modules that range from the art of photography and news production through to producing video and magazines.  We can provide opportunities to enter work placements through our links to the creatie and media industries.

This combination of critical thinking about media and culture, and engaging creatively in their practical production, form the unique heart of Media, Communications and Culture at Keele.

Combinations

Given its interdisciplinary nature, Media, Communications and Culture combines well with many other academic disciplines, in particular English, Sociology, History and Music.  MCC also works especially well in combination with Marketing, Music Technology, and Film Studies.

Course Content

On the programme you will take a series of modules, some of which are compulsory, some of which can be chosen from a list of available elective options. In each year you will study four modules, two per semester. In the first year, you will take two compulsory core modules that reflect the cultural theory and practical aspects of the programme. These core modules provide the skills necessary to move into the second year. In addition to the core modules you will have the opportunity to select two further elective modules in digital video, film or cultural studies.

As you work through the degree programme you will begin to discover the particular areas that you want to pursue and will be most helpful in your future careers. Some students prefer to concentrate on the critical and theoretical study of Media, Communications and Culture, while others prefer the practical, hands on approach to the subject. Either way, students will develop skills that will be useful in a wide range of careers.

You will have the opportunity to engage in work placement schemes in the second and third years. These are popular and open to competition among our students, but they are not compulsory. You will also have the opportunity, if you wish, to study abroad for one semester in the second year. Under this scheme you can study in universities in Europe, North America, Australia or South Africa, or should you prefer to spend a shorter time abroad, there is an extremely popular month's placement in South Korea on offer.

First year

Core modules:

Mediated World examines how our contemporary mediated world has developed and offers perspectives on its problems and possibilities. It also shows how the media impact on our everyday life.

The Photographic Message looks at the impact of photography from its early days to contemporary hyper-real digital image production. You will study the way in which photography produces meaning, and study the work of photographers in both a contemporary and historical context.

Elective modules:

Understanding Culture introduces some central ways of thinking about culture: for example, how is meaning created and shared? How do we assign value to cultural products? What are the relations between ‘high’ and ‘low’ culture? It takes these questions as a basis for the critical analysis of a range of literary texts, films and media images.

Digital Video provides hands-on experience of both pre-production, digital video, and post-production techniques. It also aims to introduce a range of debates relating to the new role in technologies, and in particular how identities are produced and maintained by the media.

Second year

Core modules:

Analysing Culture builds upon the perspectives encountered in the first year to compare and assess major theories of culture. It asks how we can use these theories to think about topics such as nationhood, globalisation, and consumerism.

Creating Awareness Campaigns focuses on solving communications problems by making documents and artefacts. It considers the issues of contemporary media forms such as advertising, journalism, press coverage and the impact of the World Wide Web. You will then pursue communications goals by making media ‘documents’ that engage with these issues.

Elective modules:

You can choose two special topics in Media, Communications, and Culture from a range of modules that includes introductory socio-linguistics, print culture, film, television, cultural history, and web development.

Third year
You may choose core modules from an approved list, which will include a double-module independent study project. This may take the form of either a conventional 10,000-word dissertation (a research exercise designed and completed by you in consultation with a supervisor), or a supervised practical project aimed at devising a strategy for solving a real-world communication problem encountered by an identified individual or organisation. Single module choices will include options on magazine production, film, television, fiction and the urban landscape.

Codes and Combinations

Students are candidates for the degree of Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) (BA Hons) if their two Principal courses are in humanities and/or social science subjects.

All students who study a science subject are candidates for the degree of Bachelor of Science (with Honours) (BSc Hons).

Dual Honours Course can be combined with:

For overseas students who do not meet direct entry requirements, we offer the opportunity to take an intensive International Year One in Media leading to second year degree entry

Foundation course available:

Teaching and Assessment

This course is concerned with both the theoretical and the practical dimensions of Media, Communications, and Culture. Therefore, as well as familiar lecture and seminar formats, there is a strong emphasis on making, doing, and performing, both individually and in groups. Right from day one, we want students to use their imagination to make things happen. But we also ask students to study theories of media and think about what makes for successful communication. Methods of assessment therefore reflect the creative nature of contemporary Media, Communications and Culture. Students complete traditional essays and examinations, but are also assessed by a range of individual and practical group projects, such as photo montage, film making, television news documentary, print editing tasks, and website creation.

Programme specifications (new window)

Skills and Careers

By the time Media, Communications and Culture students graduate, they are ready to take up an active and creative role in today’s media-rich world. Graduates are exceptionally well qualified for various kinds of work and postgraduate study. They have acquired skills of analysis and written expression and have experience of a variety of individual and teamwork media. They also have experience of producing documents and artefacts of diverse kinds, and possess many of the skills required for work in contemporary creative industries. Our graduates have found employment in a range of careers such as television production, the film industry, journalism, publishing, web design, teaching and acting, as well as postgraduate study.

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The South Korean summer school, at Dongguk University, offers an opportunity to make a video in this fascinating environment, on the basis of a month’s stay: study abroad but without committing an entire semester.