Related Course/s:

A unit of study in the Cultural Studies, Communications and Philosophy and Cultural Inquiry Co-Majors.

Aims & Objectives:

To enable students to understand the psychological, social, cultural and political transformations brought about by the development of new media, from the beginnings of literacy through to recent developments in electronic media, and their implications

 Learning Objectives

After completing this unit of study students are expected to understand the significance of the recent developments in media, what benefits might accrue and what problems might arise, and what is required to reap the benefits while avoiding the problems.

Students should also have developed their skills in:

• Using historical imagination;
• Analysing concepts and theories;
• Constructing arguments which are logical and coherent;
• Adopting new, creative perspectives on problems;
• Analysing arguments;
• Thinking critically;
• Communicating ideas and theoretical information in a clear, concise, and coherent way - both orally and in writing

Teaching Methods:

Lectures (2 hours), tutorials (1 hour) and independent study.

Assessment:

• Seminar paper (40%)
• Essay (60%).

Generic Skills Outcomes:

The graduate attributes which relate to this unit help to produce graduates who are:

• Capable in their chosen professional, vocational or study areas
• Entrepreneurial in contributing to innovation and development within their business, workplace or community
• Effective and ethical in work and community situations
• Adaptable and able to manage change
• Aware of local and international environments in which they will be contributing (eg socio-cultural, economic, natural)

Content:

The subject examines the evolution of media through the development of literacy and print media to electronic media, showing how this evolution has been associated with radical transformations in cognition, identity formation, and social and political relations. It examines the major social, economic and political changes generated by the new media, and the fundamental rethinking of what it means to be human, how we should live, and how society could be organised, that this is bringing about. The nature of these possible changes is analysed using Bourdieu's notion of "field" and examining the relationships between different fields.

Reading Materials:

Hobart, Michael E., and Schiffman, Zachary S. Information Ages: Literacy, Numeracy, and the Computer Revolution, Baltimore: JohnHopkinsUniversity Press, 1998.
Ong, Walter, From Orality to Literacy, Routledge, London: Routlege, 1988.