Media and Communications BSc (Hons)

Compulsory

• SC1601 - Fundamentals of the Social Sciences

  This module will introduce students to key concepts, theories, thinkers and approaches in the social and political sciences and history. Students will also learn the techniques used by a range of disciplines within the social and political sciences and history for gaining and validating knowledge of the social and political world.

• SC1604 - Special Subjects A

  This module will introduce students to the underlying concepts and principles associated with their area(s) of study in relation to other areas of the social and political sciences; to provide students with the opportunity to evaluate and interpret these within the context of that area of study. It will also develop students’ ability to present, evaluate and interpret qualitative and/or quantitative data, in order to develop lines of argument and make sound judgements in accordance with basic theories and concepts of their subject(s) of study.

• SC1605 - Special Subjects B

  This module will introduce students to the underlying concepts and principles associated with their area(s) of study in relation to other areas of the social and political sciences; to provide students with the opportunity to evaluate and interpret these within the context of that area of study. It will also develop students' ability to present, evaluate and interpret qualitative and/or quantitative data, in order to develop lines of argument and make sound judgements in accordance with basic theories and concepts of their subject(s) of study.

• SC1603 - Contemporary Challenges

  This module will introduce students to applications of social and political sciences, providing students with the opportunity to practice the skills needed to communicate the results of their work accurately and reliably, and with structured and coherent arguments.

Compulsory

• CO2606 - Media Genres

  This module will introduce you to the workings of various media genres and how these relate to themes of power, identify and culture and wider societal contexts.

• CO2605 - Researching Your World

  This module provides an advanced understanding of research methodologies, with a particular focus on data analysis. Equipping students with an understanding and appreciation of the important theoretical paradigms that underpin qualitative and quantitative social and communications research traditions. Furnishing students with the tools and skills required to conduct and evaluate their own empirical social and communications research.

Optional

• SO2611 - Digital Cultures

  This module will examine some of the key transformations that are taking place through digital culture. Key aims of the module include:

  • an introduction to debates on digital culture and society;
  • conceptual, analytical and practical resources to understand contemporary issues on digital culture;
  • the use of case studies to focus on debates around digital culture;
  • to consider the extent to which digital culture is changing social relations at local and global levels. 
• SO2610 - Colonialism, Migration and Global Racism

  This module explores the concept, meaning and practices of ‘race’, ethnicity, racialization, and global racisms. It identifies how ‘race’ and racism have evolved over time, and in different contexts - both in the UK as well as in other parts of the world. It examines how ‘race’, racialization and racism are expressed in relation to colonialism and migration, and through dilemmas over national belonging, ethnic and racial representation, identity and difference. 

• JR2619 - Cross Platform Journalism

  This module aims to look at how journalists report on stories and issues about politics, arts and culture, including the use of data for researching stories of these kinds. It will develop skills and advance learning techniques in video, written, audio and photojournalism, and layout and design, as well as using equipment and software to competently produce stories that cut across politics and arts-based content across all platforms.  

• SO2609 - Gender, Sexuality and Feminism

  This module will introduce students to core ideas in feminism via the key concepts of gender and sexuality. It will develop students’ understandings of social structures, human cultures, and economic inequalities and political relationships. The course will offer theoretical tools and historical insights into gendered, feminised, and sexualised socio-cultural worlds.

• CO2608 - Global Communication

  On this module, students will examine the ways in which the globalisation of communication has transformed social, political and economic relations. 

• JR2615 - Media Law, Ethics and Regulation

  This module will develop an insightful working knowledge and critical appreciation of law and regulation necessary to practise professional journalism. Students will learn how to craft news reports within appropriate legal and ethical frameworks and navigate the potential conflicts and pressures journalists can face. Students will also gain an understanding of the law, court processes, and the hierarchy of the courts as they affect professional journalists.

• CO2607 - Popular Culture and Creative Industries

  This module explores how meanings are developed through contemporary cultural representations, practices and processes, with a focus on creativity and the creative industries sector. It examines popular culture and the rise of the creative and cultural sector in late modernity drawing on relevant sociological, media and cultural studies debates and theories. 

Compulsory

• SC3602 - Advanced Research Skills for Social and Political Sciences

  This module introduces you to the research and writing process for your dissertation or Major Final Project, helping you build the reading, writing and analytical skills you’ll rely on throughout. It also guides you through the techniques for designing and carrying out a research project in your discipline, encouraging you to engage critically with the topic you choose.

• CO3610 - Media and Communications Major Project

  This module enables you to plan, design and deliver a media practice‑based final project, showing what you can do from concept to completion. It also supports you to research, gather and analyse the right information, communicate your ideas clearly and evaluate how well your project works.

• SC3601 - Dissertation

  This module develops your ability to plan, design and deliver a research project in your subject area, communicate your ideas clearly and critically evaluate how well your project works.

Optional

• CO3xxA - 21st Century Media Bodies
• JR3xxA - AI for Journalists, Campaigners and Activists
• SO3625 - Cities, Culture and Social Change

  This module introduces you to urban sociology and builds your understanding of how cities develop, how they’re lived in and how they’re represented. You’ll explore the relationship between space, culture and social life in contemporary cities, using theoretical tools and practical examples to bring those ideas to life.

• CO3615 - Digital Media Career Development

  This module will provide students with the opportunity to gain a critical overview of working in the media and cultural industries from direct encounters with creative industry professionals, companies or institutions. It will support students’ understanding of, competence and confidence in working independently in a professional manner appropriate to the media and cultural industries.

• CO3617 - Digital Media, Social Movements and Change

  This module gives you an in‑depth, critical understanding of how social movements emerge, succeed or fail to create social or political change, using real‑world cases to explore media tools, leadership, collective identity and governmental or international responses. You’ll build strategic thinking by analysing how historical and contemporary movements organise, mobilise and coordinate in the digital age.

• JR3612 - Fake News, Images and Websites

  The module aims to provide postgraduate students with a critical knowledge and understanding of how different disciplines have sought to make sense of political hoaxes, fake news or images and disinformation in as well as the contexts in which they flourish and are challenged. 

• SC3600 - Making the Social

  An introduction to core concepts in social theory. The emphasis is on concepts through which students can relate to the worlds they inhabit and the lives they live, connecting these to a broad canvas: the diversity of social existence and the sweep of human history. The focus is on basic building blocks of social existence.

• CO3xxB - Media Production as Activism
• PP3623 - Media, Politics & Power in America

  This module seeks to familiarise students with the contemporary issues agenda in American politics. It seeks to demonstrate the ways in which politicians and institutions adapt policy stances and organisational strategies to accommodate changes in the nature, content and direction of political debate.

• CO3xxC - Political Satire and Comedy
• CO3xxE - Political and Strategic Communication
• CO3xxD - Politics and Digital Cultures