Critically explore some of the ways in which political actors have exploited new developments in the media to further their aims.
This unit critically examines a range of interconnected institutional and technological developments and practices in contemporary media. The focus is on case studies which illustrate specific aspects of contemporary media scapes and which open up and expand on issues we have looked at in other areas of the course. The unit explores theoretical considerations of the role and function of contemporary media and its complex relationship to social, cultural and political developments.
In particular, it looks at questions of power and form in relation to social context and at ideas about media’s own determining role in influencing public opinion, pushing ethical boundaries and exploring the political economy of emerging platforms. In specific case studies, the unit considers questions around extreme television in the light of the transformation of intimacy and questions about the ‘feminisation’ of the public sphere; the unit goes on to look at political propaganda and marketing as common practices used in political communication nowadays. We also explore digital media as ‘immersive’ media experiences and the question of how we critique media in terms of one of the most cogent critical expositions of the relationship between media and society. We will also look at the institutional context of new developments in media and specifically at questions of media ownership, the emergence of copyright as a key means of maintaining profitability in changed technological circumstances. Furthermore, we question the proliferation of sexual imagery in modern media and take a close look at the theories surrounding the modern networked self. Throughout the unit the emphasis is on the interplay between technology, aesthetics, social context, social agency and the way that these relationships have been theorised. Assignment information – Students will write an essay/report following the normal rules and practices of an academic essay, fully researched and argued and accompanied by clear and appropriate bibliography. • You are expected to make use of extended examples and case studies
• You are expected to read widely and engage in a sustained way with relevant literature and ideas