FS20220 Digital Media & Everyday Experiences

Academic Year 2022/2023

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.

Show/hide contentOpenClose All

Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

Demonstrate a comprehension 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.

Identify, summarise, reflect on, and present key arguments and evidence in literature.

Connect with peers on social media, and be able to communicate about research in a brief and succinct manner.

Indicative Module Content:

Introduction to the module
Everyday approach and digital media
Participatory cultures
Memes and popular culture
Consumerism and planned obsolescence
From mobile technology to ubiquitous computing
Play as work, boredom and gamification in everyday life
Self-representation and identity
Big data: surveillance, privacy and control
Localising technology: digital practices in the global South
Inequality, content bias and information gaps

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: Annotated Bibliography of 4 texts. Each annotation must include a text summary, key arguments, contributions to knowledge and student personal reflections (1000 -1500 word length). Throughout the Trimester n/a Graded Yes

40
Essay: Essay: 2000-2500 word essay based on the concepts, issues and theoretical frameworks covered over the course of the module. Coursework (End of Trimester) n/a Graded Yes

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
Ms Ciara Dempsey 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 15:00 - 15:50
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
Autumn