What you will study
You can choose from a range of modules to suit your interests. You also have the option to choose the module ‘Professional communication skills' where you will be able to select a workplace option to have the opportunity to experience working practices.
Modules
Year 1
Year 1 examines historical and contemporary developments in media and culture, looking at how our media usage has evolved from photography through video to Snapchat.
You will look at various media forms and understand how news stories are portrayed across different channels. You will also be introduced to production practice, as well as learning more about how media industries work, with lectures and talks from professionals working in the media industry.
Core modules
How Media Changed the World
30 credits
This module sets out to explore the historical development of media technologies over time spanning written, visual and electronic forms. It introduces key themes and concepts that frame the study of media and culture and locates these within their social, political and cultural contexts. The module also serves to identify and explore the essential skills required for successful undergraduate study.
Media@Work
30 credits
You will have the opportunity in this module to explore different media, their constituent parts and the interconnectedness between these. Media studied may include: film, television, advertising, public relations, the press and interactive media (games; interactive advertising; social media). You are also introduced to different ownership models; how this shapes different media markets; the consequences of these for content; and the positive or negative implications of these for society. The module then goes on to explore how governments and the industries themselves may seek to limit the negative effects of these while encouraging the positive contributions different media can make to a society. This may take the form of laws governing the media or professional codes of conduct. The module concludes with an overview of recent trends with the development of new technologies; the convergence of media industries and professions; and the challenges this poses for managing media organisations.
Media Now: Texts, Practices and Events
30 credits
This module enables you to understand the ways in which media events are constructed and grounded in a wide range of media environments (audio/ visual, print, broadcast, electronic and digital media). You will develop an understanding of how communicative content is scripted, staged, and portrayed as 'media events' and 'media narratives'.
The module is organised in two major blocks focused on: 1) the construction of media events through storytelling, headlines, hashtags, photojournalism, memes and media spectacles; 2) the second part of the module departs from Dayan & Katz's definition of media events as scripted ceremonial events (of contest, conquest and coronation) with an integrative function whose aim is to confirm the legitimacy of established power hierarchies, and provide a sense of social cohesion and belonging. The students will examine this theory and challenge the 'myths of the mediated centre' in shaping perceptions of the newsworthiness or noteworthiness of news stories by looking at alternative models of media events including disruptive events (catastrophe, conflict, and violence), media scandals, viral (new) media events, everyday life events (including tabloid, "trash" media, and confessional cultures).
Digital Media Foundations
30 credits
This module aims to acquaint you with historical and contemporary digital media practices and design principles as a basis for developing media communication skills. You will develop visual thinking, software skills and an understanding of the range of digital media production by selectively experimenting with digital form and content. The module also provides you with the opportunity to bring knowledge from other modules and apply it to your digital artefact.
In Year 2, you'll build on the theoretical and conceptual understandings developed in your first year on the core module Researching the Media: Key Theories and Methods. You will also study the legal requirements of journalism in Practical Journalism 2 and you can diversify through studies in global political communication and the history of journalism.
Year 2
In Year 2, the core module in Cultural Theories builds on the theoretical concepts introduced in the first year, looking in more depth at how these concepts emerged and developed in the 20th and 21st centuries. You will examine their use in understanding and analysis of contemporary media and communication cultures
Modules like Digital Media and Digital Storytelling will develop your digital production skills in websites, video, audio and images, encouraging you to think critically about online communication, media arts, digital culture, new documentary, narrative and audiences.
Core modules
Researching the Media: Key Theories and Methods
30 credits
This module builds on the theoretical concepts introduced via prior learning, looking closely and in more depth at how these concepts emerged and developed in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, and examines their utility in the understanding and analysis of contemporary media and communication cultures. It also introduces students to the research methodologies associated with the discipline of media and communication through a series of Research Methodology Workshops. These workshops will both re-cap on the relation between theory and practice explored in the module and prepare students for undertaking research using a methodology of their choice that address a particular topic or issue in the field of media and communication.
Digital Media Production
30 credits
This module aims to provide students with the skills and experience needed to plan and develop a creative digital media project working individually and in a team; taking different roles from creative director, designer, content manager, coder to project manager. Students will be able follow clients' briefs and create their own entrepreneurial pitch. Students research, plan and critically engage with online communication, design and coding for the web. They will learn how to use tools and techniques for generating new and creative ideas for projects and how to use industry standards tools to prototype and wireframe design solutions. This experience will give them an understanding of team-work which they will be able to take forward and build on in future projects and graduate employment.
Optional modules
Identity and Difference
30 credits
This module introduces major theories in media and cultural studies in order to explore the ways in which different social groups – different ‘identities'– are represented in the media. The module examines both mainstream and alternative media representations of gender and sexuality, ‘race' and ethnicity, social class and national identity, amongst others. These are approached through theories that focus on the significance of ideas of ‘identity', ‘difference', ‘culture', and ‘ideology' in these representations. The module also addresses the ways in which the media address different audience groups in terms of their gender/sexuality, class, and ‘race'/ethnicity and explores the extent to which the media define the interests, activities, and characteristics of these audiences.
The module is divided into three blocks. The first block provides a general introduction to theories of identity, representative examples of selected identity groups. The second block will concentrate in detail on selected identity formations: gender/sexuality and ‘race'/ethnicity. In the third block students will participate in a series of research methodology workshops, shared across all the media options, which will equip them with the skills required to conduct their own independent research assignment.
In summary, this module will examine:
- Concepts and theories concerning the study of identity in popular media
- The representations and ‘constructions' of identities in both mainstream and alternative media
- The way popular media target certain audiences in terms of different aspects of their identity
Digital Storytelling
30 credits
This practical module aims to develop your skills and abilities to produce digital products - audio, video, games, images - in a way that meets contemporary audiences' changing expectations. You will consider how digital technology can be used to deliver media in the most compelling ways, and analyse how digital storytelling is altering both audiences and the wider media industry. The module aims to provide you with the specialist vocabulary, concepts and skills required for the use of digital storytelling in a variety of professional contexts such as commercial and educational campaigns and the interactive media industries.
You will consider the short history and emergence of digital storytelling by looking at case studies from various media such as news, television and the internet. You will look at the role of digital storytelling in narrative theory, such as the representation of narrative action, plot and character, and the use of words, images and sound as narrative devices. You will learn how to apply this knowledge to your own media production projects.
Methods for the formal presentation of plans for digital stories such as storyboards and structure diagrams will be covered. You will learn skills in identifying a story with strong audio visual potential and how to grab the attention of the audience. You will further develop competence in recording audio, shooting photography and video, animation, building interactive games and incorporating powerful narrative into the production edit.
Screenwriting
30 credits
Film is often seen as a director's medium, rather than a writer's. This course doesn't debate the relative claims of either - it retains a strong commitment to the visual - but its primary focus is on the construction of script and, in particular, the screenplay of the mainstream narrative film. The cornerstone of the module is an exploration of what makes an effective screen story through analysis of dramatic structure. The tutors on this module, both experienced screenwriters, contend that all genres of screen narrative use essentially the same core principles of storytelling and that an understanding of how these principles work is a creative tool: we can use them to create our own stories and adapt them to different forms. First, through close study of several successful films - focusing in particular on structure and character - you will be taught the contribution of the screenplay to how a film is constructed and why it succeeds. Second, with particular emphasis on dialogue and the craft of visual storytelling, we will guide you to the creation and completion of your own short screenplay, providing you with models (in both film and script form) from a selection of short films, and teaching you how to present and format your script.
In your final year, you'll take the Dissertation module, enabling you to work in-depth on a topic of your choice under the supervision of a subject specialist.
Seminars provide a more intimate forum for the detailed exploration of texts, with student presentations and discussion.
Optional year
You will also have the chance to study abroad, which is a good opportunity to boost employability, gain language skills and experience a different culture.
Final year
In your final year, you will work on a major independent project, by selecting a written or practice-based dissertation. You will also have the opportunity to work together and organise a student-led symposium in January to present your Work-in-progress.
Your core module has different strands to choose from, they change: Consuming Cultures, Selfies, Creative Digital Environments, Celebrity Culture, Cult Media, Media Now, Multi-platform Political Communication, Art/Media Management and Production, Transmedia Horror.
Core modules
Issues in Contemporary Media and Culture
30 credits
This module provides you mini module strands. You will be able to choose two of these strands, one in each TB, where we will explore together issues related to contemporary media and culture. This module seeks to synthesise and draw together you understanding of theoretical and contextual approaches to the interpretation of media and culture. Furthermore, this module will enable you to apply your understanding of theory as well as practice, to analysis of contemporary issues, practices and debates which we will be reviewing in module strands.
Media Research Project
30 credits
This module integrates multidisciplinary creative practices, theories of media and communication and research methods while undertaking an extended piece of writing or practice-based research. In the process, you will become more aware of theoretical debates, review research strategies, analyse the findings, synthesise research, develop a coherent, structured argument and draw conclusions.
It fosters a deeper understanding of what it is to be a researcher and creative practitioner in the media industries and professions, in the arts and social sciences, media arts and technology, digital humanities and cultural studies. It is pretty much up to you! You come up with a topic that really interests you and start researching.
As well as attending the seminars, this module is about working independently and discussing your work with your supervisors so they can guide your research. In addition students will work together to organise a symposium and present their work. In doing so, they will develop their critical analytical and transferable professional skills.
Optional modules
Professional Communication Skills
30 credits
This module covers a broad range of topics to engage students in different genres of communication to develop both spoken and written skills necessary for employability. The topics, drawn from sociolinguistics, stylistics and discourse analysis, include analysing interaction in the professional setting, copy-editing, writing to a specific brief and presenting a professional brief. Through interactive lectures, guest talks, personal tutorials, and a workplace option where students have the opportunity to experience working practices, students are encouraged to develop skills and reflect on their own practices as a way of gaining an understanding of communication matters in real life and work contexts. The module's focus on professional interactional and writing skills as well as its links to Kingston's KU Talent activities and events guides students in planning their careers and developing their employability skills.
Marketing and Communication in Publishing
30 credits
This module considers the various individuals and communities (colleagues, shareholders, retailers, distributors, agents, customers and other stakeholders) involved in the business of content sale and delivery, and how to disseminate information and influence behaviour in order to promote effective marketing and sales.
The module will enable students to understand marketing and sales principles, and develop associated skills in applying them to meet the demands of modern publishing.
Box Set Television Drama
30 credits
Drama has always been a key TV genre - and with the rise of streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon we can binge-watch more than ever. In Boxset Drama, we'll explore how a successful series is created – and how to pitch one.
Television Production
30 credits
This is a practical module designed to enable students to experience and work in a professionally-focused industry environment, and develop television production skills such as multi-camera operation, sound, mixing and teleprompting. Students will learn how to work and operate a professional broadcast studio as well as developing TV production skills. In addition, students will build on and reinforce employability skills such as problem-solving, time management and dependability sought by employers looking to fill graduate positions. Students will be encouraged to reflect on their professional practice and critically evaluate their teaching and learning contributions.
