Journalism: Conflict and Society

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2009:

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

This subject examines the diverse roles that journalism plays in communicating conflicts in different national and international contexts. It focuses mainly upon the news media, both broadcasting and the press, though occasionally other forms of journalism and media such as TV current affairs and selected documentary programs as well as online news and the Internet will also be examined. The subject aims to engage with a wide range of scholarly studies of different mediatised conflicts, their informing theoretical frameworks and methodologies. Case studies of media reporting will include, for example, demonstrations, riots and civil unrest; war (from the Crimea to Iraq and beyond); international terrorism and the events of September 11 2001; deviance, crime and criminal justice; 'race', racism and ethnicity; political scandals; and the environment and 'risk society'. Through this case study approach, the subject opens up a sophisticated theoretical understanding of production processes, professional practices, political contingencies and media performance and how these impact on the representation of major public issues and concerns. Students will also be invited to engage in detailed analysis of current mediatised conflicts as they arise throughout the course and reflect on their own findings and research strategies. On completion of this course, students should be able to demonstrate critical understanding of the forms and dynamics of conflict reporting, appreciate the role of theory and methodology in academic media analysis, and have deepened their understanding of the role/s performed by journalism in conflicted societies both past and present.

• be able to demonstrate understanding of key studies and major theoretical frameworks deployed in the analysis of journalism and representations of war and diverse conflict situations;
• be able to identify how changing frameworks of analysis prompt different questions and forms of analysis deployed in the study of journalism, conflict and society;
• be able to deploy frameworks and methods of analysis in their own studies of mediatized conflict and reflect on the adequacy of these for improved understanding of media performance.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

• demonstrate competence in advanced library searches and information retrieval;
• demonstrate proficiency in the application of selected methods of media analysis;
• demonstrate conformity to academic protocols of presentation and research procedures;
• critically analyse journalism's representation of current conflicts.