Course Title: Key Concepts in Media and Communication Research

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Key Concepts in Media and Communication Research

Credit Points: 12.00

Terms

Course Code

Campus

Career

School

Learning Mode

Teaching Period(s)

COMM2473

City Campus

Undergraduate

345H Media and Communication

Face-to-Face

 Sem 1 2017,
Sem 1 2018,
Sem 1 2019,
Sem 1 2020,
Sem 1 2021,
Sem 1 2022,
Sem 1 2023,
Sem 1 2024

Course Coordinator: Associate Professor Ramon Lobato

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 3680

Course Coordinator Email: ramon.lobato@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: Room 009.4.27

Course Coordinator Availability: Please email course coordinator


Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

None.


Course Description

This course is only available to Honours students enrolled in BH066 Bachelor of Media and Communication (Honours).   This course provides a critical survey of key concepts in media and communication research. The course supports Honours students to locate their work within the horizons of their discipline and to develop a working knowledge of conceptual frameworks used by media and communication scholars.   Close reading is an integral element of this course. We will read two types of texts: (a) foundational texts that have shaped the past and present of media and communication research, and (b) recent interventions that propose innovative pathways for future scholarship. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the discipline as a dynamic space of intellectual engagement and contestation.   If you are enrolled in this course as a component of your Bachelor Honours Program, your overall mark will contribute to the calculation of the weighted average mark (WAM).   See the WAM information web page for more information.


Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

You will develop and be assessed on the following program learning outcomes in this course:

  • develop deep knowledge of your field from international vantage points and exercise critical thinking to show its relevance to contemporary media and communication
  • evaluate the strengths and contributions of your own discipline and the value of other disciplines to research.


Upon successful completion of this course you will be able to:

  • research and analyse how critical theory can be used to understand media and communication locally and globally;
  • examine  social, cultural, political and critical theories in the broader context of media and communication;
  • compare and contrast past and present practices in the applications of critical theory, and argue the implications of critical theory to research and practice in media and communication; and
  • investigate emerging and predicted disciplinary and interdisciplinary implications of critical theory for practice and its implications in your field.


Overview of Learning Activities

The following learning activities will be used in this course: close reading of academic texts; group and small-group discussion; group presentations; Q&As with guest speakers; and independent academic research.


Overview of Learning Resources

A list of recommended resources will be provided by the lecturer, and will include books, essays, articles, and web resources.  You will be expected to find additional resources that are relevant to your own focus, with an emphasis on utilising the research tools available via the library. 


Overview of Assessment

Your grasp of course arguments, interdisciplinary knowledge of media and communication technologies, and ability to relate this to your disciplinary field of practice will be assessed through a mix of formative and summative tasks.  Tasks may include developed pieces of writing and presentations, individual and group work, and may involve negotiation of topics with the lecturer to enable connection to the concerns of your disciplinary field of practice.

Assessment Tasks

  1. Critical responses – 25% CLOs 1,2,3,4
  2. In-class presentation – 25%, CLOs 2,3
  3. Final research essay – 50%, CLOs 1,2,3,4

Feedback will be given on all assessment tasks.

If you have a long term medical condition and/or disability it may be possible to negotiate to vary aspects of the learning or assessment methods. You can contact the program coordinator or Equitable Learning Services if you would like to find out more.

Your course assessment conforms to RMIT assessment principles, regulations, policies, procedures and instructions.