Dr Philip Seuferling

The course will also feature guest lectures covering various topics from the field of media and communications, presented by faculty from the Department of Media and Communications.

This course is available on the BA in Social Anthropology and BSc in Social Anthropology. This course is available as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit. This course is not available to General Course students.

The course is open to final-year students from all undergraduate programmes, where regulations permit.

This course will offer an opportunity to develop knowledge and expertise in the media and communications industries, how they operate in contemporary societies, their social, political and cultural impact on the world around us and their role as a powerful mode of public engagement and knowledge creation. Students will be able to reflect on how industries associated with their ‘home’ discipline (e.g. the policy sector, the international development sector, the climate adaptation industry, the financial industry) are narrated, justified and understood as a result of the way they communicate, and the way media represent them.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

1. Critically reflect on the social, political and cultural impact of media and communication industries and practices on the world around us and its role as a powerful mode of public engagement and knowledge creation.
2. Describe and analyse the use and impact of a variety of media and communication tools and techniques.
3. Synthesise and critically reflect on different aspects of their learning from the different theoretical, methodological and epistemological perspectives introduced in this course and across their studies.
4. Demonstrate resilience, creativity and adaptability in their approach to their studies.

10 hours of lectures and 10 hours of seminars in the WT.

This course includes a reading week in Week 6 of the AT and the WT.

Annotated bibliography, 5 sources reviewed, total of 1000 words in the WT.

Hodkinson, P. (2024). Media, Culture and Society. An Introduction. 3rd edition. London: SAGE.

Exam (100%, duration: 2 hours) in the spring exam period.