Media and Society

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2015:

Total expected time commitment is 170-hours across the semester, including class time.

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100-100 Introduction to Media and Communications; MECM20007 Media and Society

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements of this entry. The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison Unit website: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

This subject provides students with a thematic overview of the study of media and communications. The subject addresses the production and distribution of media and the work of media audiences in historical and contemporary contexts. It engages students in debates over the relative analytical power of such approaches as the economics of the media industry and the relations between media, politics and public life. It encourages students to develop their critical capacities by enlarging their understanding of both the empirical nature of the media and the range of theoretical approaches to them.

On completion of the subject students should be able to:

• demonstrate an introductory-level knowledge of, and a capacity to apply, a key theories, approaches and perspectives on the role and significance of media in social life;
• apply analytical approaches to produce critical readings of media texts;
• deploy critical and analytical skills to critically consider the role played by media institutions, texts and practices within changing social and cultural contexts;
• clearly communicate an understanding of different perspectives, arguments and approaches by applying conventions and protocols of academic presentation;
• reflect independently on their own learning and take responsibility for organising personal study;
• engage in communal scholarship through participation in class discussion, and respectfully engaging with the participation of others.

A short engagement with key foundational ideas for the study of media and society, comprising 1000 words, (due early in the semester) 25%; a textual analysis, comprising 1500 words, (due mid-semester) 35%; and a final essay, comprising 1500 words, (due in the examination period) 40%.

A subject reader will be available.

This subject potentially can be taken as a breadth subject component for the following courses:

• Bachelor of Biomedicine
• Bachelor of Commerce
• Bachelor of Environments
• Bachelor of Music
• Bachelor of Science
• Bachelor of Engineering

You should visit learn more about breadth subjects and read the breadth requirements for your degree, and should discuss your choice with your student adviser, before deciding on your subjects.

Students who successfully complete this subject will:

• be able to prepare and present their ideas in both verbal and written mode and in conformity to conventions of academic presentation;
• be able to reflect on their own learning and take responsibility for organising personal study;
• be able to participate in discussion and group activities and be sensitive to the participation of others.

This subject is not available to students enrolled in 105-MC Bachelor of Arts (Media and Communications)