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2011/2 Provisional Module Catalogue - UNDER CONSTRUCTION & SUBJECT TO CHANGE
 Module Code: SOC2052 Module Title: MEDIA, AUDIENCES AND IDENTITY
Module Provider: Sociology Short Name: SOC2052
Level: HE2 Module Co-ordinator: SANDVOSS C Dr (Sociology)
Number of credits: 15 Number of ECTS credits: 7.5
 
Module Availability
Semester 2
Assessment Pattern

Unit(s) of Assessment

 
Weighting Towards Module Mark( %)

 

Two hour unseen examination

 

100

 

Qualifying Condition(s) 

 

A weighted aggregate mark of 40% is required to pass the module.

 
Module Overview
The study of media audiences lies at the heart of the study of contemporary media. In seeking to assess the cultural, social and political implications and consequences of media and forms of communication on contemporary life, studies of media have turned to the processed of reading, negotiation and appropriation of media texts. In the media saturated world of late modernity such meaning in turn forms both articulations and manifestations of identity.
Prerequisites/Co-requisites
None
Module Aims
The module aims to explore the relationship between media consumption, popular texts and identity by studying the question of power and resistance in the consumption of popular media, the social and cultural shaping of media consumption practices and tastes, and the forms of audience activity and performance through which audienceship is not only articulated but becomes constitutive of identity in the late/liquid modern world. The module examines these themes by studying the particular emotional bound between audiences and fans and their favourite texts.
Learning Outcomes

On completion of this module, students are expected to be able to:

 

·         Demonstrate an understanding of a wide range of theoretical questions regarding audience theory

 

·         Demonstrate awareness of paradigm shifts within audience theory

 

·         Critically evaluate different empirical approaches to the study of media audiences and popular culture

 

·         Analyse the social, cultural and economic context of media consumption

 

·         Develop and defend a theoretical position with regard to the study of media consumption

 
Module Content
  • Typologies of Media Audiences

     

  • Media Audiences and Empowerment

     

  • Taste and identity formation

     

  • Identities and Communities in Media Consumption

     

  • The Spectacle/Performance Paradigm

     

  • Media consumption and place
Methods of Teaching/Learning

11 hours of lectures and 11 hours of seminars

 

Weekly reading and seminar preparation

 
Selected Texts/Journals

Reading

 

Students are required to complement lecture and seminar attendance with substantial weekly reading.

 

 

Abercrombie, N. and Longhurst, B. (1998) Audiences: A Sociological Theory of  Performance and Imagination, London: Sage

 

Bailey, S. (2005) Media Audiences and Identity, Houndmills: Plagrave

 

Fiske, J. (1989a) Reading the Popular, Boston : Unwin Hyman, reprinted in 1991, London : Routledge

 

Fiske, J. (1989b) Understanding Popular Culture, Boston : Unwin Hyman

 

Gillespie, M. (eds.) (2005) Media Audiences, New York: Open University Press

 

Jancovich, M. and Lyons, J. (eds) (2003) Quality Popular Television, London: British Film Institute.

 

Jenkins, H. (2006) Convergence Culture: when new and old media collide, New York: New York University Press

 

Longhurst, B. (2007) Cultural Change and Ordinary Life, Maidenhead: Open University Press

 

Ruddock, A. (2007) Investigating Audiences, London, Sage

 

Sandvoss, C. (2005) Fans: The Mirror of Consumption, Cambridge: Polity Press

 
Last Updated
April 2011