| CODE | LAS1030 | |||||||||
| TITLE | Empowering Media Audiences | |||||||||
| UM LEVEL | I - Introductory Level | |||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | |||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | |||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Centre for the Liberal Arts and Sciences | |||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | If people live by the sea it is more sensible to teach them how to swim than to build a dyke to protect them from the ocean. The same applies for the inhabitants of the contemporary media dominated culture. This Unit aims at empowering media users by giving them the basic information about the role of media technologies and structures in contemporary society and the skills needed, mainly in the area of media literacy, to navigate in the media dominated environment. The Unit will do this by familiarizing students with the main media theories while using different products of the audio-visual culture, mainly films, to effectively communicate the information needed. For example: - The Truman Show will be used to discuss the concept of the active audience; - The Net will help students focus on the networked society and the problems of privacy; - Network and Mad City will provide the background for the understanding the theories connecting media ownership structures with media content as well as the effects of market driven journalism on society; - Decalogue 1 will lead to a discussion on the use of media as cultural metaphors and the relationship of technology with the questions of ultimate meaning; - Through The Enemy of the People we will explore the concept of audience ethics; - Good Night and Good Luck will explore the relationship of politics and the media. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the Unit the student will: - Be better understand the dynamic relationship between media culture and society; - Know about the influence of ownership structures on media content; - Apprehend that audiences are very active when it comes to media use; - Be better informed of the effects of media technology on contemporary culture; - Familiarize themselves with the language of different media and use them well. 2. Skills: By the end of the Unit the student will be able to: - Analyse media products and their contents particularly the use of bias and stereotyping; - Take action to counter-balance the influence of the media on society. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: - Stafford, R and Brandson, G. (2010) The Media Student’s Book (5th Edition). - Croteau, D., Hoynes, W. and Milan, S. (2012) Media/Society. Industries, images, and audience. (4th. Ed.) London: Sage Publications. - Borg, J., & Lauri, M.A. (2009) “Empowering Children in a Changing Media Environment. Media Education in the Maltese Educational System.” Pp. 113 – 136. In Marcus, L. (Ed.) (2009) Issues in Information and Media Literacy. Criticism, history and policy. Santa Rosa, Calif.: Science Press. - Silverblatt, A., Ferry, J and Finan, B. (2009). Approaches to Media Literacy: A Handbook (2nd Edit.) Armonk, N.Y.: M. E. Sharpe. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Presentation | |||||||||
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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 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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