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AMST40580

Academic Year 2024/2025

News Media Today (AMST40580)

Subject:
American Studies
College:
Arts & Humanities
School:
Centre For American Studies
Level:
4 (Masters)
Credits:
10
Module Coordinator:
Professor Scott Lucas
Trimester:
Autumn
Mode of Delivery:
Blended
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

This is an advanced academic-professional module, further developing the skills of students both as analysts and as practitioners in 21st-century media. The module will review the history and technologies of media before in-depth consideration and application of concepts such as framing, priming, and agenda-setting. It will establish and navigate the interaction between media, politics, and culture in both US and international contexts. Students will then establish their professional skills through critique of sources, development of analysis, and the consideration of journalistic v. academic style. This will culminate in the submission of a professional as well as academic assignment for assessment.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the module, students will produce original analysis of the 21st-century media system and how it is evolving in content, networks, and negotiations of politics and culture. They will assess and work with media in global and regional as well as national contexts, not being dependent on a “nation-first” approach to international and trans-national issues. Students will be fluent in the critique of multiple sources --- textual, oral, and audio-visual --- to produce original content, as suitable preparation for further development in the related module Narrative and Digital Media.

Indicative Module Content:

History of media up to present day
Technologies of media
Concepts of media, such as framing, priming, and agenda-setting,
Propaganda, misinformation, and disinformation
Media and Politics
Collection and critique of sources

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Autonomous Student Learning

176
Lectures

24
Total

200

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Weekly, interactive seminars following student engagement with pre-recorded lectures. Development of skills through group and individual presentations and “thinkpieces”. Assessment through the academic (essay) with preparation for the professional (“deconstruction” of a source).

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Assignment(Including Essay): One source critique (35% of course mark) of up to 2,000 words critiquing source text with attention to authority, reliability, & significance of source, including provenance, outlet, context, & impact Week 15 Graded No
35
 No
Assignment(Including Essay): One essay (65% of course mark) of about 4,000 words on academic question about media and international relations, to be taken from list provided by tutor or on student's imitative with tutor approval Week 15 Graded No
65
 No

Carry forward of passed components
No
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Spring No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Feedback on draft work and post-assessment.

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
Autumn Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - Autumn: All Weeks Fri 13:00 - 14:50
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