Critical Media Practice

Module overview

This module will introduce you to the creative practices, technical skills and conceptual frameworks required to produce critical media projects in a range of media (for example, video, photography, web) in a digital environment. It will explore the ways in which contemporary media production, participation and consumption are shaped by their historical, technological and everyday contexts. Through practice workshops, exploring key examples from alternative and experimental media, you will be encouraged to produce work that is analytical and critical of established media conventions.

Aims and Objectives

Learning Outcomes

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

application of media skill techniques in different socio-cultural settings.
concepts, debates and case studies related to media practice;

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

demonstrate critical and analytical thinking in relation to media practice;
critically evaluate complex problems and apply reasoned thinking and ideas.

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

demonstrate effective time management of multiple project elements.
articulate complex ideas at an advanced level through a variety of media formats;

Learning and Teaching

Teaching and learning methods

Teaching methods include: • Lectures • Seminars • Tutorials • Practice-research workshops Learning activities can include: • Reflection on verbal or written feedback: this may be verbal or written offered during seminars, tutorials, group activities • Evaluation of feedback: this may take the form of reflective formative tasks • Group and collaborative projects and tasks • Independent research and investigation • Online reference material research • Peer group learning and peer assessment tasks • Problem-solving activities • Class discussion/critiques • Student presentations

Study time
Type	Hours
Teaching	26
Independent Study	174
Total study time	200

Resources & Reading list

Internet Resources

Blackboard.

Library.

Journal Articles

Journal of Media Practice. Journal of Media Practice.

Culture Machine. Culture Machine.

Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies.

Afterall: A Journal of Art, Context and Enquiry. Afterall: A Journal of Art, Context and Enquiry.

Digital Culture and Education. Digital Culture and Education.

Flow Journal. Flow Journal.

Fibreculture. Fibreculture.

Photomediations Machine. Photomediations Machine.

Cultural Studies. Cultural Studies.

Media, Culture and Society. Media, Culture and Society.

Textbooks

Hargreaves, I. and Hartley, J. (2016). The Creative Citizen Unbound. Bristol: Policy Press.

Gauntlett, D. (2015). Making Media Studies: The Creativity Turn in Media and Communications Studies. Oxford: Peter Lang.

Dewdney, A. and Ride, P. (2013). The Digital Media Handbook. Abingdon: Routledge.

Ratto, M. and Boler, M. (2014). DIY Citizenship. MIT Press.

Gauntlett, D. (2012). Media Studies: Texts, Production, Context. Abingdon: Routledge.

Gauntlett, D. (2007). Creative Explorations: New Approaches to Identities and Audiences. Abingdon: Routledge.

Barker, C. and Jane, E. (2016). Cultural Studies. London: SAGE.

Ott, B.L. and Mack, R.L. (2014). Critical Media Studies: An introduction. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.

Gauntlett, D. (2011). Making is Connecting: The Social Meaning of Creativity, from DIY and Knitting to YouTube and Web 2.0. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Bennett, P. and McDougall, J. (2016). Doing Text: Media after the Subject. Auteur.

Assessment

Formative

This is how we’ll give you feedback as you are learning. It is not a formal test or exam.

Group presentation

Assessment Type: Formative
Feedback: Formative feedback will involve group presentations in seminars. Verbal and written feedback will be provided by tutors. Verbal feedback through seminar discussions and tutorials.
Final Assessment: No
Group Work: Yes

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Case study	100%

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Case study	100%

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Case study	100%

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal & External