Teaching Responsibility
LJMU Schools involved in Delivery:
Humanities and Social Science
Learning Methods
Lecture
Workshop
Module Offerings
New-SEP-MTP
Aims
- To explore the history and theory of the relationship between the media and social change, with special reference to platform capitalism, social media ownership and critical theories of digital inequality.
- To compare research case studies (e.g. BLM) examining the internet’s capacity to enhance participative democracy and challenge societal power dynamics.
- To develop a ‘guerrilla’ documentary-film praxis to illustrate some of the arguments and modes of questioning of the module.
Learning Outcomes
1.
The student will be able to offer a theoretically informed analysis of late capitalism and its relationship to media, social change, and inequality.
2.
The student will be able to evaluate research case studies examining the role of digital media in expanding, supporting, or challenging democracy.
3.
The student will be able to create a critical-political media output illustrating some of the arguments of the module.
Module Content
Outline Syllabus:
Block I: Week 1-4: Communicative Capitalism
A history of media’s role in social change and the theories that connect the two; a review of critical theories dealing with issues of Communicative Capitalism; Ownership, Big Data, AI, Power and Democracy.
Block II: Week 5-8: Digital Democracy
A review of different forms of digital political activism examined through several research case studies. A selection of case studies will be covered in lectures (eg. BLM movement, #MeToo). Students will also have an opportunity to choose specific case studies to review as part of their seminar work to ensure the content is relevant to their own experiences. These case studies will be evaluated for how they demonstrate the efficacy of digital activism in terms of democracy.
Block III: Week 9-12: Creating alternative media
Lectures will offer a methodological and theoretical overview of activist documentary making; Seminars will offer workshops on digital production of activist documentary as a means of equipping students to take agency in creating short media outputs using free online software and accessible hardware.
Block I: Week 1-4: Communicative Capitalism
A history of media’s role in social change and the theories that connect the two; a review of critical theories dealing with issues of Communicative Capitalism; Ownership, Big Data, AI, Power and Democracy.
Block II: Week 5-8: Digital Democracy
A review of different forms of digital political activism examined through several research case studies. A selection of case studies will be covered in lectures (eg. BLM movement, #MeToo). Students will also have an opportunity to choose specific case studies to review as part of their seminar work to ensure the content is relevant to their own experiences. These case studies will be evaluated for how they demonstrate the efficacy of digital activism in terms of democracy.
Block III: Week 9-12: Creating alternative media
Lectures will offer a methodological and theoretical overview of activist documentary making; Seminars will offer workshops on digital production of activist documentary as a means of equipping students to take agency in creating short media outputs using free online software and accessible hardware.
Module Overview:
Module Overview: This module offers students a chance to examine the social significance of digital media in contemporary society. Beginning with an overview of the relationship between media and social change, the first part focuses on capitalism in its communicative form and develops a broad critique of digital power and inequality. The second part looks at the challenges encountered by social movements in contesting inequality by way of digital activism. A sample of research case studies will be considered as a means of evaluating the impact of online activism on participative democracy (eg. BLM). The third part of the module will be dedicated to combining theory, practice and social critique, offering the students a chance to develop a ‘guerrilla’ documentary praxis in producing a short activist documentary of their own.
Module Overview: This module offers students a chance to examine the social significance of digital media in contemporary society. Beginning with an overview of the relationship between media and social change, the first part focuses on capitalism in its communicative form and develops a broad critique of digital power and inequality. The second part looks at the challenges encountered by social movements in contesting inequality by way of digital activism. A sample of research case studies will be considered as a means of evaluating the impact of online activism on participative democracy (eg. BLM). The third part of the module will be dedicated to combining theory, practice and social critique, offering the students a chance to develop a ‘guerrilla’ documentary praxis in producing a short activist documentary of their own.
Additional Information:
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