Digital Media, Language and Communication

Module overview

This module will deepen your theoretical and practical insights into communication through digital media, as well as how these media both influence language and language use. You will gain an understanding of how technological developments since the late-twentieth century have influenced digital media practices and how, in turn, those practices contribute to shaping the modern world. Through this knowledge, you will be able to engage critically with a variety of digital media and discuss the ethical implications of working with digital media.

Linked modules

This is the core final year module for the new BA Language Culture and communication

Aims and Objectives

Learning Outcomes

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

understand, apply and evaluate different methodologies used in the study of language, culture and communication.
define, present and exemplify concepts in media studies and linguistics.
identify concepts and data relevant to the task at hand.
engage with subject matter and opinion in both breadth and depth.
formulate and defend personal judgements clearly and persuasively on the basis of evidence.
apply knowledge, understanding and analysis critically to different topics; formulate and clarify key critical questions in the area of cultural studies, media studies and linguistics.
plan a small-scale research investigation.

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

take notes and keep records; abstract and synthesise information and organise the results appropriately.
plan and organise your learning through self-management; exercise independence and initiative.
analyse data, and to express results of that analysis cogently and concisely.
communicate effectively and confidently through a long and complex piece of writing.
set and monitor goals, reflect on your own learning, and learn from feedback.
work effectively to solve problems and/or carry out a task.
produce writing in appropriate genres and to required conventions, including referencing and identification.

Knowledge and Understanding

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

key concepts related to theories of digital media, communication and language and their application to the study of contemporary societies.
the role of language, culture and the media within the broader field of applied linguistics and communication, including its role in constructing individual and group identities.
the ethical issues and challenges of working with digital media data.
how language produces and reflects cultural change and difference; the implications of language choices in media contexts, for example in constructing particular registers and styles.

Learning and Teaching

Teaching and learning methods

There will be a lecture and a seminar each week. The lectures will introduce the key elements of each research method and the seminars will cement this knowledge through group discussions, readings and practical tasks. Learning activities include: - Completing specified preparatory reading tasks; - Individual and collaborative critique of literature in the field of digital media, language and communication; - Written and oral presentation of findings; - Practical exercises, group discussions and class debates on selected topics; - Written design of research projects (assessed)

Study time
Type	Hours
Independent Study	126
Seminar	24
Total study time	150

Resources & Reading list

Journal Articles

Baron, Naomi S (1998). Letters by Phone or Speech by Other Means: The Linguistics of Email. Language & Communication , 18(2), pp. 133-70.

Lauer, J. (2012). Surveillance history and the history of new media: an evidential paradigm. . New Media and Society, 14(4), pp. 566-582.

Peters, C.; Allan, S. (2021). Weaponizing Memes: The Journalistic Mediation of Visual Politicization. Digital Journalism , 10(2), pp. 217-229 .

Baker, James; Geiringer, David (2019). Space, text and selfhood: encounters with the personal computer in the mass observation project archive, 1991–2004. Contemporary British History , 33, pp. 293-312.

Textbooks

Herman, E.S. & Chomsky, N. (1988). Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media. . New York: Pantheon.

Zuboff, S. (2019). The age of surveillance capitalism . London: Pofile Books.

Bernays, E.L. (1928). Propaganda. New York: Boni and Liveright.

Jones, R. H,; Jaworska, S.; Aslan, E. (2021). Language and Media: A Resource Book for Students . Abingdon: Routledge.

Rheingold, H. (1993). The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier. . Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley Pub. Co..

Fairclough, N. (1995). Media Discourse. London: Hodder.

Kirschenbaum, M.G. (2008). Mechanisms: New Media and the Forensic Imagination. . Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.

Salawu, A.(Ed.) (2018). African Language Digital Media and Communication. London: Routledge.

Veszelszki, A. (2017). Digilect: The Impact of Infocommunication Technology on Language . Munich: De Gruyter .

Barthes, R. (2009). Mythologies. New York: Vintage Classics.

Lakoff, G. & Johnson, M (1980). Metaphors we live by. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

Turkle, S. (1995). Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Blommaert, J. (2010). The Sociolinguistics of globalisation. Cambridge University Press.

Page, R. (2018). Narratives online. Shared stories in social media. . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Assessment

Summative

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

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Data analysis project	70%
Case study	30%

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	30%
Data analysis project	70%

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	30%
Data analysis project	70%

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal & External