FS20220 Everyday Experiences and Digital Media

Academic Year 2023/2024

It has become equally significant to understand individual media users in specific social and cultural contexts as it is to understand owners, designers and regulators of the media. Digital Media and Everyday Experiences examine the uses and social consequences of the internet, social media, games and virtual reality. It analyses how digital technologies are socially shaped, reshaped, experienced and consumed. The module explores the dynamic interaction between the ‘logics’ and values of new and old media and the enduring cultural norms that shape the processes of localisation, appropriation, and domestication. During the module, students will develop an appreciation of the range of experiences affected by digital media, including the increasing expansion of life online, the growing intimate relations between life online and off and global divisions of labour. Students will investigate daily routines that often go unnoticed in the discussion of media such as media devices and digital objects, e-waste, digital economy and racial/gender bias in algorithms. Throughout, the module will be attentive to issues of gender, race, sexuality, and other categories of sameness and difference related to media use.

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

• Demonstrate an understanding of key theories and concepts in the study of digital media.
• Critically assess the consequences of new communication technologies on daily routine practices and experiences.
• Analyse the relationship between digital media developments and their consumption.
• Connect with peers in pre/post lecture discussion platforms to expand on classroom learning.

Indicative Module Content:

Introduction to the module
Everyday approach and digital media
Fan cultures
Memes in digital culture
Play as work, boredom and gamification in everyday life
Consumerism and planned obsolescence
Self-representation and identity
Big data: surveillance, privacy and control
Digital inequalities
Mobile technology, ubiquitous computing and the post-digital era

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

12
Small Group

12
Specified Learning Activities

28
Autonomous Student Learning

48
Total

100
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Lectures
Reflective learning
Engaged and critical reading
In-class peer/group activities
Social media use and engagement
 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Assignment: 5 mins Podcast or Video reflection: to include a thoughtful analysis of a crucial question raised by digital media transformations. Personal experiences to be supported by research evidence. Throughout the Trimester n/a Graded No

30
Attendance: Brightspace and seminar discussion contributions. Throughout the Trimester n/a Graded No

10
Essay: Reflective Journal: to include a critical reflection of any 4 lecture topics across the module. Each piece should be no less than 400 words (excluding bibliography). Coursework (End of Trimester) n/a Graded No

60

Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 
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?

Not yet recorded.

Name Role
Mr Eoin O'Gaora Tutor
Miss Lorna Watters Tutor
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 Wed 11:00 - 11:50
Tutorial Offering 1 Week(s) - Autumn: All Weeks Wed 16:00 - 16:50
Tutorial Offering 2 Week(s) - Autumn: All Weeks Thurs 11:00 - 11:50
Tutorial Offering 3 Week(s) - Autumn: All Weeks Thurs 12:00 - 12:50
Tutorial Offering 4 Week(s) - Autumn: All Weeks Wed 15:00 - 15:50
Autumn