Dr Myria Georgiou STC. S119a

This course is compulsory on the MSc in Media and Communications and MSc in Media and Communications (Research). This course is available on the MSc in Culture and Society, MSc in Gender, Media and Culture, MSc in Global Media and Communications (LSE and Fudan), MSc in Global Media and Communications (LSE and USC), MSc in Management, MSc in Management (CEMS MIM), MSc in Media and Communications (Media and Communications Governance), MSc in Media, Communication and Development, MSc in Political Sociology and MSc in Politics and Communication. This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.

This course examines key concepts and critical perspectives on the processes of communication that underpin social, economic and institutional relations across diverse spheres of modern life. It takes an interdisciplinary and theoretical perspective, comparing the claims and contribution of selected key theories of communication in order to understand and critique the symbolic and material power of communication media. With a substantive focus on the shifts from mass to networked media and from national to globalised communication processes, the course is divided into two parts. First, it offers a selective introduction to key theories in communication. Second, it examines a series of critical perspectives, drawing on current research debates in the field of media and communications and beyond. The course is team taught by active researchers in the field of media and communications and aims to enable students to develop their critical understanding of the communication processes central to the contemporary media and communications environment.

10 hours of lectures and 15 hours of seminars in the LT. 1 hour of lectures and 1 hour and 30 minutes of seminars in the ST.

All students are expected to complete advance reading, prepare seminar presentations, and submit an essay of 1,500 words. In addition, there will be a one-hour theories and concept mapping exercise in class in last week of term.

A reading list will be provided for each topic. General works relevant to the course include:

Braman, S. (ed.) (2003), Communication Researchers and Policy-Making, MIT Press; Castells, M. (2009) Communication Power, Oxford University Press; Gill, R. (2007) Gender and the Media, Polity Press; Hall, S. (ed.). (1999) Representation: Cultural representations and signifying practices, Sage; Jenkins, H. and Thorburn, D. (eds) (2003) Democracy & New Media, MIT Press; Mansell, R., et al. (eds) (2007) The Oxford Handbook of Information and Communication Technologies, Oxford University Press; McLuhan, M. (2001[1964]); Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, Routledge; Meyrowitz, J. (1985) No Sense of Place, Oxford University Press; Routledge; Silverstone, R. (2007) Media and Morality, Polity Press; van Dijk, J.A.G.M. (2006) The Network Society: Social Aspects of New Media, Sage.

Essay (100%, 3000 words) in the ST.

This course offers a critical understanding of processes of communication and the ways they shape political, cultural and economic life.

A stimulating and challenging entry point to theories and concepts associated with processes of communication, this course provides students with tools to understand the formation and consequences of communication for social, political and cultural life.

Students' comments

"Theories are useful for dissertation/other classes on the course."