Swinburne University of Technology - Melbourne Australia
Future Students - Courses
Duration
Contact Hours
Campus
Prerequisite
Corequisite
1 Semester
3 Hours per Week
Hawthorn
Nil
Credit Points: 12.5 Credit Points
A unit of study in the Bachelor of Arts (Media and Communications), Bachelor of Design (Multimedia Design), Bachelor of Film and Television, Bachelor of Multimedia (Media Studies), Bachelor of Multimedia (Games and Interactivity)/Bachelor of Science (Computer Science and Software Engineering) and an elective unit of study in the Bachelor of Science (Biotechnology/Biochemistry) / Bachelor of Arts (Media & Communications) .
Through the examination of texts drawn from literature, film, television, video and new media forms, this unit of study introduces students to key concepts that are central to both literary and media studies. Students will be encouraged to re-think assumptions about how we read and to scrutinise the 'common sense' critical methods we customarily use to assess what we watch and read. Students will acquire an insight into the notion of representation, a term that applies not only to works of art, but also to critical practice and to the formation of both texts and criticism into disciplines or objects of study. Central to this theme are the following objectives: An understanding of basic concepts such as text, context, narrative, medium and image. Flexibility in discussing and analysing texts across different media and the ability to comment on their similarities and differences. An appreciation of oneself as a reader with an ability to think independently about texts and the variety of contexts in which it is possible to place them. An awareness of form and the conditions that make representations intelligible or otherwise. As this unit of study is a core unit for both the Literature and Media majors, it is expected that students will acquire a solid grounding in analytical and theoretical skills and will develop the intellectual curiosity required of both courses of study.
Through the examination of texts drawn from literature, film, television, video and new media forms, this unit of study introduces students to key concepts that are central to both literary and media studies. Students will be encouraged to re-think assumptions about how we read and to scrutinise the 'common sense' critical methods we customarily use to assess what we watch and read. Students will acquire an insight into the notion of representation, a term that applies not only to works of art, but also to critical practice and to the formation of both texts and criticism into disciplines or objects of study. Central to this theme are the following objectives:
As this unit of study is a core unit for both the Literature and Media majors, it is expected that students will acquire a solid grounding in analytical and theoretical skills and will develop the intellectual curiosity required of both courses of study.
Lectures and Tutorials
Essays, classwork., participation.
How do we represent ourselves in contemporary society? How do we make sense of these representations both in Australian and international contexts? In an age increasingly dominated by electronic art and global communications, how do we understand the complex interrelationships between traditional representational forms (such as novels and plays), mass-media forms (film, television and radio) and emergent new media (hypertext and interactive multimedia)?
Lacey, N, Image & Representation: Key Concepts in Media Studies, Macmillan, Basingstoke, 1998.Chandler, D, Semiotics: The Basics, Routledge, London, 2002.
