Aims

This module aims to deepen students' knowledge of the key themes associated with the relationship between media and gender from a feminist perspective, using key theoretical concepts such as patriarchy, framing and agenda- setting to explore the varied forms of gendered media relations, with a focus on fact-based media forms and formats. We will look at the ways in which versions of masculinity and femininity (gender constructs) as well as other identities such as non-binary and trans identities, are routinely circulated in popular media through a discussion of examples drawn from legacy media such as newspapers, TV and radio as well as digital and social media platforms. We will also explore the kinds of gendered relations which exist within media industries themselves, looking at the gendered political economy of the sector as well as the gendered newsroom. Who speaks in the media says important things about voice, agency and authority and we will be looking at the ways in which citizens, as both public and private figures, are encouraged to or prevented from speaking in the media. We will also discuss the ways in which citizens have subverted mainstream media’s agenda by developing their own media artefacts from both within mainstream media but also via online sites and social media platforms. Gender is more complicated than simply biological differences between women and men and turns on the constructed and normative nature of those differences and the module will aim to unpack this casual term by interrogating the implicit forms of difference such as ‘race’, disability, sexuality, class and age which are also constructed and contested terms, taking into account research and scholarship which focuses on intersectionality as well as gendered identities.

Importantly, module content and the readings (and other resources) associated with each topic are historically grounded in research-informed theory and practice and draw on current research practice and findings as disseminated through discipline-based journals with an international focus. Constructed notions such as gender, identity, sex and ethnicity are all both culturally and geopolitically situated and it is important to understand local, regional, national and international contexts when exploring gender and media, not least because so much media is now globally accessible and distributed. You are expected to use electronic databases and other bibliographic resources to access contemporary examples of current research in a global context.

Outline Of Syllabus

During the module, lecture topics may include:
- Theories of gender in/and media
- The disciplined body
- Disruptive identities
- Race and sex
- Ageing bodies
- Gendering media industries
- Gender in/and the news
- Shifting masculinities
- Interplay between crime and media
- Gender and digital media

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

The lectures constitute the primary building blocks to develop knowledge and deepen understanding and seminars provide opportunities for students to discuss the key issues presented each week, using their own readings and their own research around a particular media example they have chosen, to better understand theory, practice and research and how current social issues have a gendered dimension and impact on our lives in different ways. The combination of lectures and seminars enables the learning outcomes to be met and the two drop-ins provide opportunities for consolidation and clarification. The fieldwork provides the opportunity to see feminism at work in practice.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

Providing two different assessment tasks enables students to demonstrate a range of skills, both practical and intellectual. Encouraging students to engage with the literature and/or contemporary media examples enables them to participate in small group teaching in a more meaningful and thoughtful way and embeds learning in a way more likely to be internalised and understood. Spreading the assessment load across the module’s time span is especially helpful in a third-year module, when students are also likely to be undertaking large-scale assessments such as dissertations. Although the portfolio assignment is to be submitted in the final week of the module, students are strongly encouraged to write up the weekly research reports in the form of a PPT presentation or similar, on each week’s topic, so they can be (potentially) presented and discussed during the small group teaching, so that by the end of the module, all the components of the portfolio assignment would have been completed.

A1 (70%) - case study (equivalent to 2,500 words) on a topic covered in the module. The focus of the case study should be a contemporary media example which should be analysed in depth (text, image, sound or any combination), using appropriate methods and discussing relevant literature to provide context.

A2 (30%) - portfolio of short research ‘reports’ produced on each week’s lecture topic – each report to be produced in Powerpoint (or similar) comprising at least 3 and no more than 5 slides, excluding the title and the final slide which should include a list of all references mentioned or quoted. The report can either focus on a contemporary example relevant to the topic or summarise one of the readings in the module's reading list or a reading identified by the student. At the end of the module, the reports must be composited into ONE document and submitted as ONE piece of coursework. Each report must be self-contained and tell its own story without the need for an oral presentation.