Digital Media and The World of Work

Learning Outcomes

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• critique digital media designs, policies, and practices and review their impact on industry processes
• locate, synthesise, evaluate and organise evidence as part of the process of addressing issues within media studies.
• demonstrate the ability to analyse and synthesise complex information and work with a variety of intellectual and professional processes.
• analyse, apply and critically evaluate various aspects of digital media theory.
• comment on the agenda and priorities of professional practitioners.

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• manage an independent research project effectively.
• communicate effectively in variety of modes
• start developing your skills in decision-making and time management.

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• how to apply the skills and techniques studied during your degree to the benefit of industry and society.
• historical and contemporary debates about media technologies.
• how to engage critically in the analysis of digital media technologies.
• how the social media industries are organised, the cultural, political, and economic contexts in which they operate, and their social significance.
• the production, distribution, exhibition, reception, and consumption of digital media texts.

The module is designed to help students understand theories related to the emergence of digital labour, as well as the political, historical and technological context in which it takes place. Real world case studies will focus attention on the place of digital technologies as crucial factors in the evolution of contemporary work as well the material and ideological configurations of work in a digital economy. It aims to give students the critical thinking skills needed for addressing some of the key ethical, economic, and cultural issues facing media industries today related to labour, representation, and political economy.

The module may cover a range of media sectors, including film, television, video games, and social media, and/or address pressing issues as dictated by current events and scholarship. Discussions may focus on a single sector or issue for the duration of the term or address a range of concerns, depending on what labour issues are most pressing in contemporary media industries at the time of delivery.

Teaching methods will include:

• Lectures – introducing key themes, debates, concepts and case studies
• Seminars – allowing you to debate and clarify key themes, debates, concepts and materials
• Screenings – engaging with digital media texts and objects relevant to an understanding of weekly themes, lectures, and readings
• Tutorials – allowing you to discuss module content and assignment details with the lecturer and seminar tutor

Learning activities will include:

• Classroom discussion and activities in seminars, critical thinking, peer engagement
• Teacher-led learning in lectures, with an interactive element
• Independent research, home viewing and reading

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.