| CODE | ENG5043 | ||||||
| TITLE | English and Publishing | ||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 10 | ||||||
| DEPARTMENT | English | ||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit will tackle publishing from four main angles as indicated below: - Understanding the Process: This part of the unit will focus on building awareness and understanding of the processes that are in place for the production of a text in both print media and other media, namely radio, television and the web. The cultural and commercial structures underlying these processes in Malta and other European countries will be discussed and a discussion about the role of the key players amongst which publishers, editors, designers, producers, illustrators, proof-readers, agents will be held. Central concepts such as those of copy writing and copy editing, typesetting, branding, advertising, censorship, copyright will also be introduced through a stimulating mix of academic study and critical review. - A Focus on Print Media: The second part of the unit will focus on building skills related to the print industry. special attention will be given to the production and reviewing skills needed to publish a book, a magazine or a newspaper. these will include the ability to identify viable projects and the ability to develop a manuscript including its writing, editing, illustrating, copy editing and proof reading. The production process including printing, binding and packaging will also be covered. Various case studies and texts will be analyzed throughout this part of the course. - Radio and Television: The third part of the unit will focus on radio and television paying particular attention to the multimodal aspects of texts produced for these media. The requirements of scheduling and the importance of audience analysis as well as insight into the production process of particular programmes will be part of the discussion. Students will also learn more about the importance of station branding and broadcasting regulations as well as other important matters such as censorship. Different discourses and genres within these media, such as advertising, news, drama and so on will be considered and analyzed throughout. - Web Publishing: Since the web is a relatively new medium, which however, has provided some very new and exciting possibilities in terms of publishing, it will be discussed in detail. Notions such as citizen journalism and blogging will be analyzed and other more recent developments such as podcasts and social networks will be discussed from an academic perspective. Concepts of design, interfacing, collaborative writing and traffic will be amongst other skills that students will find useful in the working world of publishing and production. Study-unit Aims This study-unit aims to: - Complement an academic understanding of the discourse used in the main media, namely print, radio, television and the web, with a solid understanding of publishing processes. - To enhance understanding of different genres and their stylistic features. - To give students the professional language needed to produce and critique texts in different media. - Provide enough knowledge and skills to allow students to act as quality gatekeepers at the various stages of publishing in different media. - Raise questions about professional publishing both locally and internationally. - To expose students to local and foreign professionals working in the industry. Learning Outcomes 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Understand the processes and mechanics of the publishing industries. - Identify the stages of text production and publication in various media. - Identify and understand the role of key players in the publication process. - Understand the use and importance of the written, aural and visual components of textual production in the publishing landscape of today. - Understand the wider context in which texts get published. - Question degrees of professionalism in publishing processes as well as quality in textual production. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Produce more successful texts based on better understanding of their multimodal components. - Place texts more effectively based on better understanding of media, market and audience. - Contribute to the industry with a clearer understanding of publishing processes. - Act as quality gatekeepers drawing on both the academic and practical knowledge garnered through the course. - Analyze local and international media case studies in-depth. - Provide professional reviews. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings - Bennett, Linda, Going Digital (London: The Publisher’s Association, 2010) - Carter, Ronald, Working with Texts: A Core Introduction to Language Analysis (London: Routledge, 2007) - Clark, Giles and Phillips, Angus, Inside Book Publishing (Oxford: Routledge, 2008) - Cope, Bill and Phillips, Angus, ed., The Future of the Book in the Digital Age (Oxford: Chandos Publishing Ltd., 2006) - Davies, Gill, Book Commissioning and Acquisition (London: Routledge, 2004) - Haggard, Mary, Understanding Web Publishing (Washington: Microsoft Press, 1998) - Hendy, David, Radio in the Global Age (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2000) - Hutchby, Ian, Media Talk: Conversation Analysis and the Study of Broadcasting (Berkshire: Open University Press, 2005) - Kress, Gunther and Van Leeuwen, Theo, Multimodal Discourse: The Modes and Media of Contemporary Communication (London: Arnold, 2001) - Marshall, Lee, Bookmaking: Editing, Design, Production (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2004) - Nielsen, Jakob and Loranger, Hoa, Prioritizing Web Usability (Berkeley: New Riders, 2006) - Ritter, Robert, Oxford Style Manual (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003) - Tolson, Andrew, Media Talk: Spoken Discourse on TV and Radio (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press Ltd., 2006) |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Giuliana Fenech |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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