Media, Culture and Everyday Life Assessment 3: Research
ARTS1090 – Media, Culture and Everyday Life Assessment 3: Research
described below.
Student Learning Outcomes Assessed
1. Competencies in foundational concepts in media theory;
2. The ability to critically analyse and interrogate the social and cultural dynamics
of media technologies and their uses and impacts on everyday life;
3. Skills in scholarly inquiry, specifically: critical thinking, analytical reading and
writing, independent learning and intellectual autonomy;
4. Preliminary skills in conducting research and information literacy.
Task Description
One of the main aims of this course is to identify key concepts and theories that
help us to understand the social and cultural implications of media. Concepts are
theoretical tools that help us to think about and explain real world examples of
media. The aim of this assessment is to develop skills in understanding what
makes a theory or a concept important to a discipline and to trace how they
develop and evolve over time. You will also develop skills in locating how
theories of media are deployed in research and evaluating how well the concepts
they generate meet the “reality test” in terms of being relevant to understanding
contemporary media forms.
To complete this assignment you must select a media theorist from one of the
first 5 weeks of the course. Stick to the main scholars we discuss (E.g. Paddy
Scannell, Marshall McLuhan, Manuel Castells, Nicholas Couldry). If you are
unsure as to who would make a good case study for this assignment, just ask
your tutor. However, you may not choose Roger Silverstone (Week 2 Lecture),
as he will be our example for discussing the assignment in lectures and tutorials.
The goal of your essay is to assess the relevance of your selected theorist for
understanding contemporary media. Using the academic resources discussed in
the lectures, you will need to research the impact of your selected scholar’s ideas
by locating at least four recent research articles from academic journals and
books that apply them to understanding contemporary examples of media. By
recent, we mean that the articles must be published from 2009 onwards. These
sources should come from outside the course readings and be a product of your
own research on the topic.
In your essay critically assess the theories that your scholar is associated with.
What are the main ideas and concepts your scholar is associated with? How
have transformations in media challenged the utility of these ideas? How
valuable are they in helping us explain contemporary media forms?
While the structure of your essay may vary, it might be useful to think of your
essay as including at least three distinct sections:
? Introduce the scholar and discuss their relevant ideas and concepts for
understanding media. What aspects of media do they attempt to explain or
focus on? Is the scholar closely associated with a particular approach or
group of scholars? Can you describe the intellectual milieu they are
working in?
? How have the theories and concepts been applied in current research?
Review the four research articles you uncovered in terms of how they
develop and apply the concept as well as how they advance our
understanding of contemporary media.
? Lastly, critically assess the value of the scholar’s ideas and concepts.
Identify what it helps us explain about contemporary media. How is it
useful in understanding the relationship between contemporary media and
everyday life? How might the concept need to develop to increase its
utility?