BA English and Media & Communications

EAS1035: Beginnings: English Literature before 1800

This module selects texts that represent some of the richest sources and most complex moments of English cultural history before 1800. These texts, and the cultural elements they combine, went on to have afterlives of great significance for English language, literature and other media. In other senses, they offered legacies that were not taken up, and what has been lost in cultural transformations will also be considered.

The module aims to

• introduce you to these major literary texts. In doing so, we aim to cultivate modes of reading and critical analysis broadly informed by an attention to history and context. Such analysis will include ideas of subjectivity, identity, conflict, community, myth, the transmission of stories, storytelling, translation, transformation, and influence. This module will emphasise essay-writing skills that are fundamental to research and communication in English literature.

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CMM1001: Perspectives on Communications

This module will develop your analytical skills as you engage with communications narratives, from propaganda to reportage and social media. By reflecting on how these narratives inform representations of power and constructions of identity, you will consider how cultural consumption and production has adapted and transformed in response to digital communications. Through the application of relevant theory, and by engaging with empirical case studies, you will develop your understanding of differing methods and models of communication and apply them to a range of contemporary contexts.

This module aims to:

• Explore the historical development of a range of communication technologies
• Encourage you to consider the potentials and limitations of different forms of communication in their particular socio-historical contexts
• Motivate you to critically analyse the potential of 'new' media technologies to challenge historical structures of power and to create 'active' audiences.

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CMM1004: Communications Research Methods

This module introduces the main research techniques that are employed in researching media texts, institutions, and audiences, both in their contemporary and historical contexts. You will be introduced to research practices in different traditions of communications research, such as cultural studies, critical media studies, ethnography, content analysis, and other forms of qualitative and quantitative research. Many of these methods are used in professional industry contexts and will be vital skills when you enter the job market. On completing this module, you will be able to choose which research methods are most appropriate in developing your own research questions and be fully prepared to undertake your own research. There are no pre-requisites or co-requisites for this module, and no specialist knowledge, skills, or experience are required to take it.

This module aims to:

• Introduce you to a range of research techniques used in different traditions of communication studies, broadly conceived.
• Enable you to develop a deep understanding of methods in media research
• Support you in applying critical judgement in the selection of research techniques
• Help you identity an appropriate research method to address a particular research question, problem, or topic.

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EAS1016: Digital Cultures: Narrative, Creativity, Industry

Digital technology has transformed almost every area of human life over the last sixty-five years, and the written word remains at the core of this ongoing transformation. This module will introduce you to some of these developments across literary cultures, and you will gain an understanding of how phenomena such as interactive storytelling, artificial intelligence and the Internet have come to influence literature's subject matter as well as its modes of publishing and production. Alongside critical readings and discussions, you will conduct practice-based research by learning to use some of the technologies and software that define modern literary cultures..

This module aims:

• To consider how digital technology makes itself apparent in modern literary, visual and creative cultures.
• To introduce you to a diverse range of authors, poets, artists, technologists, theorists and critics both commenting upon and using digital technologies to explore new possibilities in literature.
• To explore the historical relationship between literary cultures, visual cultures and emerging technologies, grounding students' understanding of current debates in this field.
• To enable you to create a diverse portfolio of creative and critical responses to the topics explored in class, including both traditional written outputs and digital prototypes.

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EAS1037: The Novel

This module will introduce you to an exciting range of novels representative of diverse narrative styles drawn from different historical periods and national contexts. The module covers the development of this important genre from the birth of the novel in eighteenth-century England through the nineteenth-century and modernist periods into the present day. It provides an invaluable foundation for future study in a number of literary fields.

• To introduce students to an exciting range of novels representative of diverse narrative styles drawn from different historical periods and national contexts. The module covers the development of this important genre from the birth of the novel in eighteenth-century England through the nineteenth-century and modernist periods into the present day.
• To address the emergence and reception of the novel in relation to its historical and literary contexts and to its adoption, and adaptation, of particular voices and forms. Close readings of chosen novels will be supplemented by theoretical and critical analysis. Stylistic changes - such as the move from nineteenth-century realist fiction to modernist experimentation - will be explored alongside specific texts which illuminate the impact of cultural change on fictional form.
• In looking at a variety of examples of prose fiction, to examine the pleasures of the novel, as well as the historical conditions and textual strategies which underpin those pleasures.

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EAS1038: The Poem

Despite its strong oral traditions and origins, poetry is the origin of all written literature. It is the base on which all that literature - drama, novels, non-fiction prose - is built. Many of its formal elements are used in common and rhetorical speech. This module is designed to introduce you to the mechanical aspects of poetry and to its history; in addition, it offers you insight into the history and influence of important poetic eras, as well as into how understanding of it may be enriched by literary theory. By the end of the module, you will have a firm grounding in the poem as a form and as a literary force.

The aim of the course is to cultivate skills of formal analysis which can be used in combination with other interpretive and creative techniques later in the degree. There will thus be a close focus in seminars on details of language in particular examples of poetry.

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EAS1040: Academic English

Academic English introduces you to the techniques needed to write successful, university-level analytical essays on literary texts and topics. Using model essays and articles, seminar discussions, your own essay writing, and guided readings, you will learn how to write well structured, clearly argued persuasive analytical essays, with a focus on some of the fundamentals of writing: arguments/thesis statements, paragraphing, clarity of expression, essay formatting and accurate referencing. You will also learn how to locate, evaluate, and use secondary (critical) sources that support your essay's argument, as well as how to cite those sources correctly. There will also be attention to ways of analysing literature effectively.

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EAS1041: Rethinking Shakespeare

This module explores Shakespeare's plays from a wide range of perspectives. You will study in depth some of the plays and examine the contexts of their production and reception; the plays' print history; early modern performance practices, and how other writers and film directors have adapted Shakespeare's plays. Through engaging with the sources and precursors to Shakespeare's plays, the intricacies of textual production and editorial history, as well as how these plays have been reimagined by other writers, you will be asked to rethink notions of textual stability in relation to the 'Shakespearean text' and encounter the nuances and richness available within Shakespeare Scholarship.

The module aims to explore the processes by which Shakespeare's plays came into existence, how they achieved their unique status in English literature and culture, and how Shakespeare's dominance has been and continues to be challenged. The module illuminates the role (and texts) of other writers involved in the legacy of Shakespeare's plays, from the Restoration to the twenty-first century, and encourages you to examine these often neglected influences within modern understandings of Shakespeare. Throughout, the module pays close attention to the particular possibilities of theatre as a mode of cultural production.

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EAS1044: Imagine This: Prompts for Creative Writing

This module will ask you for a creative writing response to whatever 'prompt' is suggested - whether it's a newspaper headline, the Ted Hughes archive in The Old Library, or a geographical feature. It will invigorate your entrepreneurial spirit, and will include expressions written in both poetry, prose and dramatic forms. Working across a wide range of writing styles and genres, you will make literature that works for the ear and the body and the page. The assessment will be entirely creative, and in that sense the module complements the other term-2 compulsory module on the Combined Honours English and Creative Writing degree programme, 'Critical Reflections', for which the assessment will be wholly critical/academic.

This module has a clear set of learning strategies, offering you a series of stepping stones that navigate the creative process in different forms. You will develop learning strategies that will encourage self-starting intelligence and invention, an entrepreneurial spirit. It will explore the notion of the 'good idea' and its relationship with form - whether poetry, prose, or dramatic expression, as well as strategies for successful drafting/rewriting. The overall intention of the module is for you to develop an individual creative process that might be carried forward into a writing life.

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CMM2002: Communications in the Workplace

In preparation for this module, you will secure and undertake one or two work placements, totalling at least 40 hours. Through a series of talks with media and communications professionals, the module will allow you to develop an understanding of how the skills and knowledge acquired as part of a Communications degree are applicable to the workplace and to extend relevant work-based skills and knowledge in a reflective way. The module provides an opportunity for you to develop an understanding of a business or work environment through practical activities and to gain experience in the use of technologies and applications commonly used in organisations.

This module aims to:

Enable you to undertake a work placement, paid internship, volunteer position or other vocationally-relevant activity.

Provide you with opportunities to engage with the University's Career Zone and familiarise yourself with the services and support they can offer.

Offer you a range of industry perspectives from guest speakers from the media and communications sector.

Equip you with a working understanding of different media and communications jobs via industry speakers.

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EAS2026: Desire and Power: English Literature 1570-1640

This module introduces you to a wide range of literature written during a crucial turning point in the English Renaissance, when society was undergoing enormous change and upheaval at every level. It covers the work of dramatists, such as Shakespeare, Marlowe, and Webster; poets, including Queen Elizabeth I, Mary Wroth, Spenser, Sidney, and Donne; and inventive prose writers like Thomas Nashe and John Stow. It deals with constructions of race, sexuality, and disability; explores issues of cultural contact and migration; examines the role of literature in upholding and subverting authority; and investigates the representation and meanings of violence.

The module aims to familiarise you with the breadth and depth of the literature of the English Renaissance, its fascinating contexts, complexities, and contradictions. You will engage with the ways in which Renaissance writers address eroti-cism, religion, race, class, authorship, social change, and anxiety about the power of the monarchy. You will learn about theoretical and critical landmarks in Renaissance Studies, as well as recent, cutting-edge critical perspectives on the Re-naissance, its cultural discourses and current resonances.

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EAS2036: Theatrical Cultures in Early Modern England

Theatrical Cultures in Early Modern England focuses on the 'golden age' of English drama from the Elizabethan period through to the Civil War which produced the works of Shakespeare and other playwrights who continue to influence our understanding of this period and its drama today. Each week, you will explore a new performance environment, so that over the course of the term you will acquire a nuanced understanding of the performance culture that shaped the work of Shakespeare, Jonson, Middleton, Cary and their fellow playwrights.

Through the prism of theatre history, the module explores how gender, sexual, national and racial identities were constructed not just through the written texts but also through theatrical conventions and technologies such as cross-dressing, blackface performance and the use of stage space, lighting and costuming. The study of both texts and their performance contexts will shed light on how popular and elite culture responded to immigration and the beginnings of colonial expansion and the slave trade.

The module's texts furthermore illuminate how increasing opportunities for women's participation in theatrical culture, foreign policy under Elizabeth I and James I and the growth of a mercantile middle class are related to the development of English drama.

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EAS2071: Chaucer and His Contemporaries

This module introduces you to late medieval English literature. You will have the chance to explore some exceptionally inclusive poetic imaginations and a world of devotion, brutality, exclusion, chivalry, urbanity, misogyny, piety, courtly sophistication, sharp minds and some very bodily bodies.

We will look at religious and secular, and courtly and popular traditions, and themes such as 'courtly love', that adores women and puts them on a pedestal, arguably the better to ignore them; the constructions of femininity and masculinity in a Christian chivalric culture; the ways in which a tension-riven society went about presenting a harmonious vision of itself; and a Christianity that approached its God with a mixture of familiarity and awe. The module is split more or less equally between the works of Chaucer and the anonymous literature of the late Middle Ages.

The module aims to provide an introduction to the literature of the late Middle Ages in England.

The syllabus is split more or less equally between the works of Chaucer and the anonymous literature of the late Middle Ages. You will also consider the particular nuances of Middle English as a vehicle for literary expression and explore late-medieval culture.

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EAS2080: Renaissance and Revolution

This module introduces English literature written during the most violent and turbulent period of English history: the seventeenth century. The module traces literature from Shakespeare to Milton, exploring literary culture at the courts of the Stuart kings James I, Charles I, and Charles II, as well as literary reactions to the civil war, the execution of the king, and the rule of Oliver Cromwell. It includes drama, poetry, and prose, and studies major male and female writers within their wider literary and historical landscape.

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EAS2102: Satire and the City: English Literature 1660-1750

The period 1660 to 1750 was politically and culturally tumultuous. The Stuart dynasty was restored to the throne, and then deposed again. London expanded massively, becoming the largest city in Europe and a centre for financial and criminal activity. The theatres - closed during the civil war and interregnum - reopened, and actresses appeared on the English stage for the first time. The spread of literacy and growth of the press led to the emergence of many new literary genres - above all the periodical and the novel - and of the first professional authors, many of whom were women. Satire and polemical writing flourished in the period, as writers reacted against (or celebrated) these seismic shifts. This module offers an in-depth look at the writing of this period.

The long eighteenth century is a key period in British history and literature, when many of the cultural productions that inform our contemporary modernity - the novel, the periodical, the marketplace for a new, expanded print culture - emerged and started to take shape. You will read a broad range of texts, drawn equally from the poetry, prose and drama of the period, and learn to identify how these relate to the revolutionary times in which they were written.

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EAS2029: Revolutions and Evolutions 19C Writings

Revolutions and Evolutions explores a wide range of literature written during the Victorian period. You will study literary texts by writers such as Charles Dickens, Charlotte Brontë, and Thomas Hardy in relation to central historical, social, and cultural developments in the nineteenth century. The texts on this module are thematically arranged in order to illuminate a number of the important and exciting conceptual developments of the nineteenth century including industrialisation and progress; class consciousness and democracy; globalisation and colonialism; developing notions of the self and subjectivity; and conceptions of nature , ecology and evolution.

As well as studying a selection of major Victorian texts in depth, to consider these texts in their historical, social, and cultural contexts. The use of a course reader will introduce you to a range of texts beyond the core reading that will give you a broad understanding of the major themes that influence the literary production of the period. Such themes include imperialism, industrialisation and urbanisation; gender and identity, religion, secularism and the rise of science; liberalism; the emergence of the mass market; and the development of new literary forms such as the short story

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EAS2103: Modernism and Modernity: Literature 1900-1960

Modernism and Modernity explores a wide range of British, American and Irish authors from the first half of the twentieth century (1900-1960). In different ways, these authors sought to challenge established ways of using language and reinvent literature itself. You will study the texts in relation to their political, aesthetic and critical contexts. Particular attention is paid to innovation and experimentation, to the emergence and development of literary and cultural movements and to literatures' perceived responsibility in a time of change. You will learn skills in contextual and historical analysis, and independent research.

• As well as studying literary texts in depth, this module aims to strengthen your skills in contextual and historical analysis and research. Lectures and seminars will introduce key concepts and provide advice on further independent research. Study group meetings and prepared seminar presentations will give you the opportunity to develop your own approaches to the syllabus texts and other materials.

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EAS2106: Romanticism

The Romantic movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries transformed European culture, and had profound implications for a modern understanding of the self, nature, feeling, gender, imagination, the sublime, freedom and the role of the artist as an interpreter of all these. This module introduces some of the key canonical texts of British Romanticism produced during the years 1780-1830, in order to understand the phenomenon of Romanticism, its relation to historical, political, and aesthetic developments, and its legacy in today's world. The module is essential study for an understanding of literary history as a whole, and prepares you for more in-depth study of Romantic topics in Year 3 and beyond.

In addition to the primary literature, we will pay close attention to the central concepts and concerns of the era; the visual arts; Romantic experimentation with poetic forms; and the intertextual literary circles that formed between key Romantic figures. The early weeks of the module will introduce key Romantic concerns. At the centre of the module will be an exploration of writings by leading authors of the period, including Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Mary Wollstonecraft, John Keats, Lord Byron, and Charlotte Smith.

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EAS2116: Empire of Liberty: American Literature of the Long Nineteenth Century

This module explores key literary texts of the United States during the long nineteenth century. You will study a broad range of major contributions - including poetry, the novel, the short story, slave narratives, and autobiography - as well as the intersections of literature with broader contextual issues, such as literary nationalism, the literature of enslavement and the American Civil War, and the Gilded Age.

You will learn how the turbulent social and political development of the US during this time is reflected through literature, considering contexts such as the constitution of the democratic state, the fraught history of ethnic and race relations, the changing gender politics of US society, and how transnational models of culture have affected our understanding of the US literary canon.

Module aims:

• To consider major artistic forms and styles such as the American gothic, poetry, the tale and the short story, the autobiography, the slave narrative, and the American novel

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EAF2520: Adaptations: Text, Image, Culture

The process of adapting material between media, including literary forms, such as scripts, short stories, novels and plays and visual forms, including film, television, graphic novels, webtoons, and games is one of the oldest, most dominant and most ubiquitous strategies in the creative industries. By analysing a wide range of adaptations in different forms you will be able to understand the rich and complex relationships between textual and visual media at distinct historical moments and in specific cultural contexts. This module introduces key issues in transmedia studies and offers you the opportunity to understand adaptation as a creative process and adaptations as cultural products.

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EAS2031: Creative Writing: Building a Story

The module develops a toolbox of writing techniques and approaches for contemporary short fiction. It will prepare you for the contemporary writing world by focusing on the kinds of writing that are being published at the present time, while examining the production of literary texts within their traditions and lineages. Through practical exercises and seminar discussions, you will explore a variety of techniques, styles and content and build towards a portfolio of short stories and an accompanying critical essay that will show how you have reflected on and implemented the concepts and techniques taught on the course.

The course comprises a fortnightly lecture on key aspects of short story writing, as well as technical material on the set texts; a weekly 2-hour seminar that helps you develop the techniques introduced in the lectures, and fortnightly 'Workshops' to further develop and give and receive critical feedback on creative work and critical reading in progress. These approaches are designed to enhance the understanding of the practice, as well as the historical, social and critical contexts that produce short story writing and writers.

Only B.A. English and Creative Writing students and Creative Writing majors on the Liberal Arts programme are permitted to take BOTH EAS2031 AND EAS2032: Making a Poem.

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EAS2032: Creative Writing: Making a Poem

The module develops a toolbox of writing techniques and approaches for writing contemporary poetry. It will prepare you for the contemporary poetry world by focusing on the kinds of 'page poetry' that are being written and published at the present time, while examining the production of literary texts within their traditions and lineages. Through practical exercises and seminar discussions, you will explore a variety of textual form and content.

The course comprises lectures on key aspects of poetry writing technique, as well as material on the set texts; seminars that help you develop the techniques introduced in the lectures, and workshops to receive and give detailed criticism and feedback on works in progress. These approaches are designed to enhance the understanding of the practice, as well as the historical, social and critical contexts that produce poetry and poets.

Only students enrolled on the B.A. English and Creative Writing programme and who are Creative Writing majors on the Liberal Arts programme may take BOTH this module and EAS2031: Building a Story.

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EAS2033: British Cultures: The Exeter Seminar

This module is especially designed for inbound study abroad students and will enhance your experience of visiting Britain by providing you with a critical introduction to British Culture from the medieval period through to the present day. The module covers a variety of cultural forms (including literature and film) and genres (including drama, fiction and poetry) and encourages you to reflect on the processes by which - sometimes competing - ideas about national identity have been created, disseminated and interpreted in Britain. Teaching is by regular seminars and assessment is by a reflective learning log, a presentation, and an independent study.

This module aims to provide inbound study abroad students with a distinctive critical introduction to British Cultures, including national legends, icons, beliefs and values. It will provide you with the opportunity to study some familiar texts in depth and will introduce you to some that you might not yet have encountered. The aim is to equip you with skills that will enable you to interpret examples of British Culture in relation to their contexts. The module is taught by a convenor with frequent guest contributions from specialists in the department who have research interests in this area.

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EAS2037: Comics Studies: Histories, Methodologies, Genres

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EAS2089: Creative Industries: Their Past, Our Future

Creative Industries: Their Past, Our Future tracks the profound changes that the creative industries have gone through during the 20th and early 21st centuries. The module, which focuses on the publishing industry, museums, film and theatre, looks at how each of these industries has become increasingly focused on 'users', tracking how the industries have worked with emergent technologies, including social media and AI, to shape new forms of engagement; how they have widened participation and redefined access; reinvented values (aesthetic, economic, social); and dealt with generational and social divides.

You will learn about how the creative industries operate as organisations; how they design their relationships to readerships, visitors and audiences; how they use a range of technologies to reach out to different communities; how they produce novel forms of aesthetic, social, and economic value; and how they usually operate through shrinking budgets.

The module requires no prior knowledge or skills and is open to anyone with an interest in the current and future developments of the creative industries.

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EAS2090: Humanities after the Human: Further Adventures in Critical Theory

Humanities After the Human considers how critical theory - a constellation of writing that includes philosophy, sociology, political manifesto, and cultural commentary - has decentred the (white, heterosexual, able-bodied, cisgender, male) human subject as the privileged site of meaning, knowledge, and creativity. In so doing, this course tries to imagine those yet-to-be-enumerated possibilities of being and relating to others and the world around us that models of subjectivity in late consumer capitalism tend to foreclose. You will build on concepts introduced in Approaches to Criticism and reflect on the challenges that critical theory poses for the study of literature, the limits of the self, possibilities of kinship, and the organisation of social life. It is advantageous for you to be familiar with the material in Approaches , although it is not a prerequisite.

On this module we will interrogate the assumptions bound up with white Euro-American neoliberal subjectivity, such as interiority, individualism, private property, and naturalised partitions. How have critics deterritorialised the received coordinates of self and world, public and private, mind and body, man and woman, human and non-human? What happens when familiar myths of being are left behind in favour of new utopian communalities, queer and trans futures, and rhizomatic connections? And what does this mean for how we read literature and other cultural texts?

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EAS2113: Culture, Crisis and Ecology in a Postcolonial World

This module offers an introduction to World Literatures and film focused on Africa, the Caribbean, Middle East and South Asia, assessing how texts inscribe the social, historical and environmental impact of colonialism and new and adapted forms of imperialism. Focussing on issues such as development and disaster, conservation and animal rights, resource exploitation, and the effects of neoliberalism and global tourism, the module will introduce you to a range of texts - essays, films, novels, poems, and short stories - to investigate the cultural representation of the consequences of global crisis. While considering stylistic and thematic features, the module will map the convergences and divergences of postcolonial and environmental perspectives. This focus enables you to explore the deep connections between imperial power relations and contemporary issues of globalization.

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CMM2010: Professional Writing

In this module, you will learn how to create compelling narratives across forms, from journalism to blogging, and then apply these techniques to contemporary communications challenges. You will learn how to adapt your tone of voice according to the audience you are writing for, and to present complex content effectively for a range of platforms, channels and publications. This module will enable you to develop your professional skillset within a reflexive, theoretically informed communications framework.

The module aims to:

• Explore recent trends in the production and consumption of different forms of journalism and other professional writing since the rise of digital outlets and social media platforms
• Encourage students to be adaptable, creative and reflexive in producing content for specific audiences across a variety of digital outlets and social media platforms
• Develop writing skills that enhance the employability of graduates wishing to enter digital publishing, journalism, social media management, and/or other such areas of the cultural industries
• Identify best practice within the field of professional writing, from journalism to brand narratives.

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CMM2017: Internet Foundations and Frontiers

'Internet Foundations and Frontiers' invites you to explore the social, cultural, and political dimensions of the Internet's development and its impact on contemporary society. This module examines not only the foundational technologies and protocols but also the human choices and social forces that have shaped the evolution of digital platforms, news distribution, social media, and artificial intelligence. You will approach these topics through a mix of theory, historical case studies, and hands-on experience to gain a well-rounded understanding of the Internet's role in society and future directions. There are no pre-requisites or co-requisites for this module, and no specialist knowledge, skills, or experience are required to take it.

This module aims to:

• Provide you with a comprehensive understanding of the foundational technologies and protocols that underlie the Internet, from its inception through to present-day applications and future directions
• Enable you to investigate the transformative impacts of digital platforms on media, communications, and public discourse, highlighting the roles of search algorithms, social media, and AI.
• Equip you with the critical tools to analyse the cultural, social, and political forces that have shaped the Internet and the Web as we know them today.
• Help you in applying interdisciplinary perspectives to assess the ongoing transformations of the web, positioning them within broader contexts of media, communications, and societal change.

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CMM2025: Design Thinking

Design thinking is an approach to developing innovative solutions to problems. It is widely used across a range of commercial, public, and charitable sectors. This module will introduce you to the principles of design thinking and explore how they can be used to address issues in media and communication. Through a range of activities this module aims to introduce you to key skills in design thinking: framing problems; understanding stakeholders and users; envisaging users and determining key emotional drives for users; problem solving; prototyping and testing; using feedback and dissemination strategies. There are no pre-requisites or co-requisites for this module, and no specialist knowledge, skills, or experience are required to take it.

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CMM2026: Communications and the Climate Crisis

The climate crisis is one of the defining issues of our era, threatening the future viability of human life on planet Earth. This module critically examines the media’s role in framing the parameters of climate change debates and how it represents visions of the natural world. It also interrogates some of the ways that the communications technologies and the media industries contribute to the climate crisis themselves, in terms of carbon footprints and digital (un)sustainability. Topics may include mapping the history of environmental awareness, the impact of digital technologies on the natural world, fictional and non-fictional stories about environmentalism, celebrity activism, and exploring a range of critical approaches to thinking about the climate crisis. No specialist knowledge, skills, or experience are required to take this module. It is suitable for all students in Humanities and on interdisciplinary pathways.

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CMM2027: Communications in the 21st Century

This module explores some of the most pertinent issues of communications in the contemporary digital landscape, including the uses and abuses of new media, debates about politics and citizenship, new media and identity, digital exhaustion, and security, surveillance, and safety. One of the key threads of this module will be to encourage self-reflection about how individuals engage with new media and digital communication technologies and the implications of this practice on everyday life, including new media’s overdetermined construction of our social realities.

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CMM2028: Media and the Law: Regulation, Governance, Ethics

This module explores the concept of media governance and regulation, focusing on the legal, ethical, and political frameworks that shape the production, distribution, and consumption of media content. We will critically examine the roles of governments, regulatory bodies, and industry stakeholders in ensuring that media systems operate in ways that serve public interests while balancing freedom of expression, commercial interests, and societal values. Through case studies and contemporary examples, you will gain insights into the challenges and complexities of regulating emerging media technologies, including social media, streaming platforms, and artificial intelligence. There are no pre-requisites or co-requisites for this module, and no specialist knowledge, skills, or experience are required to take it.

This module aims to:

• Introduce you to contemporary debates around media regulation, with a key focus on social media and big tech.
• Provide you with a comprehensive understanding of the principles and practices of media regulation and governance.
• Equip you with the critical tools to assess and engage with debates on media policy and governance in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.
• Enable you to analyse and critique the ethical and practical implications of media regulation in today's global media environment.
• Situate contemporary debates about media regulation in a wider historical context.
  

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CMM2029: Media Production

Working on a live industry project, this module introduces you to technical media production skills and methods in a specific industry area. You will work closely with industry-facing media professionals to build your practical skills through a range of technical demonstrations and workshops, and apply these to the development of a client-focused media project. In doing so you will garner industry experience while developing soft skills in project management, client messaging, workflows, and procedures. This will help you to start building production skills for your future employment. The technical skills this module focuses on will change from year to year depending on the live industry project and client brief that is running.

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CMM2030: Politics and the Media

This module will critically examine the media’s role in one of the defining political developments of the contemporary era: the global rise of populism and the crisis of democracy. Underpinning the module will be the changing nature of political and media institutions as they continue to grapple with rapid technological change. Topics may include: theories and definitions of populism; the role of legacy media in the age of digital media; debates about public service broadcasting; post-truth politics; techniques of propaganda and spin; media impartiality; the rise of partisan news outlets; surveillance and whistle-blowing; the potentialities and limitations of citizen journalism; the rise of AI; and the efficacy of political satire in the new media environment. You will have opportunities to engage with specific historical case studies, such as the Brexit referendum campaigns, the emergence of Donald Trump, and the rise of ‘Tech Bros’, while being encouraged to engage with issues pertaining to the main aims of the module that arise in the media as the module progresses. The module will encourage global perspectives and examine case studies from around the world.

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HAS3999: Study Abroad

The Study Abroad programme enables you to undertake a year-long study placement at a partner university outside of the UK, as part of your degree programme.

This module serves as the administrative mechanism for recording the Study Abroad assessment results of students within the Faculty of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (HASS). Students participating in the Study Abroad programme and based in a HASS department (except for the Law School, the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, Modern Languages, and the School of Education) will be registered on this module during their Study Abroad placement year.

The Study Abroad programme widens the range of modules available to you during Stage 3 of your degree programme; enables you to broaden your academic horizons by studying in a different learning culture and (where relevant and appropriate) in languages other than English; and aims to promote resilience, independence, cultural awareness, and communication skills.

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HAS3998: Employment Experience

This module allows you to undertake and to learn from an extended work placement during the third year of a four year “with Employment Experience” programme. You will use one or more work placements to gain skills that equip you to work in the employment market and to improve your knowledge of the work environment. You are encouraged to think about the intercultural competence and the employability skills that you acquire during your year.

To progress to this module, you will have secured a suitable placement for a minimum of 26 weeks.

Having developed the skills necessary to find relevant roles and apply for roles in the graduate labour market, this is an invaluable opportunity to develop work-related skills and experience that will further enhance your success in the graduate labour market and support your future career choices.

During your placement year you will be supported by the Module Convenor and Placement Team.

The module assessment structure provides opportunity and support for you to evaluate your skills and achievements using personal development techniques.  You will also write an Employer Report to showpiece the culmination of your academic and business skills.

This module aims to:

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CDF3000: Dissertation

This module gives you the opportunity to undertake an

in-depth research project, either in the form of a traditional written

dissertation or by bridging academic scholarship and practical application. You

will develop critical thinking and independent research skills, and will have

the opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge in real-world contexts should

you wish. You can choose between an 8,000-word scholarly dissertation or a

career-oriented portfolio, allowing you to tailor the project to your interests

and future goals. The module offers preparatory workshops, group supervision,

individual supervision and, where appropriate, reflective practice activities,

helping you explore topics of professional or academic interest. The module is

designed to enable you to enhance both your intellectual rigour and career

readiness and can be tailored to your individual skill sets and strengths.

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CMM3003: Communications: Practical Research Project

This module provides the opportunity to demonstrate your command of subject-specific skills by pursuing a sustained practical project within the field of Communications. The Practical Research Project should take the form of a portfolio evidencing an individually completed communications campaign, product, service or series of media materials from conception to completion;

In addition, you will produce a written critical commentary that draws upon theory to reflect on the creative process, demonstrate the appropriate use of resources and methods, explain the decisions taken during the execution of the project, and to signal, as appropriate, any aspects which were commissioned by external experts and / or completed as part of a wider team.

You will receive guidance from a supervisor and receive support through a series of lectures. The Practical Research Project module teaches you time management skills and gives you the flexibility to devise and follow your own area of professional interest, extending your knowledge in a specialism that you have particularly enjoyed or that is targeted towards your future career.

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EAS3003: Dissertation

The dissertation is an independent research project, which enables you to operate autonomously and responsibly, and take a positive and active role in your learning. You will plan and produce a sustained piece of critical work that highlights the skills you have learnt over the course of your degree programme, incorporating a range of research methods and methodologies.

You will receive guidance from a supervisor and receive support through a series of workshops and lectures. The dissertation module teaches you time management skills and gives you the flexibility to devise and follow your own research questions, extending your knowledge in a specialism which you have particularly enjoyed.

• To enable you to operate independently and responsibly, and take a positive and active role in your learning, in the service of the production of a sustained piece of critical work. It allows you to devise your own research questions and to pursue these lines of inquiry. You will work under the guidance of an academic supervisor, with extra support provided by occasional workshops and lectures to develop key skills for researching a chosen subject and preparing a finished manuscript.

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EAS3122: Creative Writing Dissertation

This module gives the opportunity to pursue a sustained piece of original writing of your choosing. You will have the chance to develop both your imaginative and critical abilities through the completion of a portfolio of creative work and reflective commentary. Possible project forms include an extract from a novel, a sequence of short stories, a collection of poetry, a combination of poetry and prose or a screenplay.

You will choose your project in consultation with academic staff and then write the dissertation, along with a related self-reflexive essay, under appropriate academic supervision.

The dissertation provides the opportunity to gain skills in active learning, research and writing.

• This module aims to provide the opportunity, at the end of your BA programme, to pursue a sustained piece of creative writing. A project is chosen by you, in consultation with an academic member of staff, and thereafter you write the dissertation, along with a related self-reflexive essay, under appropriate academic supervision. The module therefore develops qualities of independence, active learning, research and writing.

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EAF3107: Queering British Screens

You will encounter a range of dynamic film and television texts from the post-war period to the present day, which you will analyse in the light of your wide reading in classic and contemporary queer theory. Using both the screen texts and the theories, you will consider the question of whether ‘the queer must insist on disturbing’ as Lee Edelman argues. You will debate film and television’s contributions to both reinforcing and disturbing heteronormative myths, and the radical impact that both media have had on the political positioning of LGBT+ subjects. Far from privileging British culture as a special case, the module will consider how Britishness itself is an identity open to interrogation, considering how homonationalism has linked notions of ‘the good LGBT+ subject’ with ideas of the nation. The module will provide opportunities to build on some of the theoretical and critical insights of earlier modules, as well as developing a precise critical vocabulary for writing on the moving image.

The module aims to:

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EAF3524: American Independent Film

This module gives you an in-depth look at the contemporary American independent film sector, tracing major developments, and studying some of the key films and filmmakers to have emerged over the last few decades. You will look at the rise of the Sundance film festival, study Hollywood’s investment in ‘specialty’ or ‘indiewood’ productions, examine key directors and genres, and develop an understanding of the different artistic and political approaches employed by filmmakers working in the field. You will also think about how the emergence of digital production, distribution and exhibition has changed the independent film sector, and the challenges to create new modes of storytelling in this era.

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EAF3526: Cinema in the Anthropocene

This module seeks to interrogate the role of cinema in the Anthropocene: the rapidly overheating, manmade, geological epoch that we all inhabit. Divided into three sections (Origins, The Myth of Progress, Navigating the Anthropocene), the module will engage with film’s relationship to the environment since the silent era, pursuing intersectional approaches that seek to understand the Anthropocene through considerations of capitalism, gender, colonialism, race and class. Films from across the globe will be analysed and consideration will be given to sustainable filmmaking practices. There are no pre-requisites or co-requisites for this module.

This module is suitable for specialist and non-specialist students.

This module is recommended for interdisciplinary pathways.

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EAF3527: Film, Philosophy, and the Internet

Film is an empathy machine. It puts us into others’ shoes and behind their eyes. This window on the world enables us to learn different philosophical concepts, thereby understanding that world more fully. This module will enable you to grasp ideas about aesthetics, logic, ethics and uncertainty from a creativity-focused perspective. Art and media are increasingly constructed, consumed and distorted by digital disruptions. You will examine core notions of philosophy including identity, agency, and value, in relation to a world changed and changing through the Internet. There are no pre-requisites or co-requisites for this module, and no specialist knowledge, skills, or experience are required.

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EAF3528: Perspectives on Animation

The module will explore the historical development of animation and select studios as well as relevant contexts and animation techniques. Topics might include: critical and theoretical perspectives, questions of national identity, studies of individual animators’ work, and the evolution of animation as a technology. Case studies might include animation from the early 20^th-century modernist period, films and series produced by established studios, arthouse productions, European and Asian productions, and animations made and exhibited outside family-oriented contexts.

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EAF3531: Something to See: War and Visual Media

This interdisciplinary module investigates the dynamic connection between visual media and industrialized warfare, making it suitable for students across a wide range of subjects. It will offer you the opportunity to interrogate how visual media shape the ways war is understood, remembered and waged. Bringing together approaches from media, history, conflict studies and visual culture, it critically examines both fictional and non‑fictional representations of warfare and investigates the blurred boundaries between the two. Starting with photography and film in early industrialized wars, and moving on to television, videogames and digital media, you will explore the evolution of visual conventions for representing conflict and analyse their relationship to political, cultural and ideological contexts. Throughout, you'll develop a critical understanding of how media technologies and texts don't just represent warfare, but actively participate in how conflicts are fought, felt, and understood. At the same time, the module supports you in building the analytical, research and communication skills that are valued across a wide range of careers, from media and cultural industries to policy, journalism and military roles. Through working with diverse sources, producing digital outputs and crafting clear, well‑evidenced arguments, you will strengthen your ability to navigate complex information environments and to communicate insightfully in professional and academic contexts.

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EAS3128: Writing the Short Film

Writing The Short Film is a practical module that teaches - in a hands-on way - the important principles behind any form of dramatic writing, but with specific reference to the short film. It requires no previous knowledge or experience, but those students who do best will already have a strong interest in drama and screen drama in particular. Short films are used as a training ground for the film and television industries and this module is designed to give students the craft skills necessary to write powerful film and television dramas of whatever length.

• To introduce you to the practice of writing fiction for the screen, focusing on the short film form. It develops key screenwriting skills appropriate to the short film and relevant to other narrative screen media formats, and encourages you to explore and develop your individual voices as screenwriters.
• The module introduces a range of approaches to the short screenplay from the traditional to the innovative, and uses examples from a variety of genres and geographical origins. It also examines the relationship between the screenplay, film production, and audience. Through practical exercises and critical discussion, you explore the creation of meaning through form and content within short films, and become aware of the processes involved in screenwriting, including the development of ideas, drafting, re-writing and editing.
• The module explores current developments in short film, both creative and in terms of the industry, and enables you to develop a critical appreciation of screenwriting.

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CMM3005: Gender, Sexuality and Media

Media play a powerful role in both constructing and challenging local and global understandings of gender and sexuality. On this module you will focus on how practices and norms of gender and sexuality are represented, complicated, and resisted across different forms of media. This inter-disciplinary module draws on insights from media/communication, anthropology, and queer and feminist theory to examine historical and contemporary media production, consumption, and circulation across nations, with a special emphasis on the Global South and look at a series of case studies. There are no pre-requisites or co-requisites for this module, and no specialist knowledge is required to take it.

MODULE AIMS

This module aims to:

• Provide you with a critical understanding of the roles that media play in constructing and challenging the norms of gender and sexuality.

• Provide you with an in-depth knowledge of the roles of gender and sexuality at the intersection of race and class in shaping media designs, production, and consumption.

• Historicise the construction of gender and sexuality from de-colonial perspectives.

• Help you contextualise and understand feminist and queer theories.

• Help you diversify and de-colonise your views of gender and sexuality by learning about media practices in the Global South.

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CMM3006: Digital Inequalities

This module will adopt a global perspective to enable you to explore the digital inequalities that have surfaced and gained prominence due to the rapid development of digital technologies in recent years. On this module you will examine the various forms of digital inequalities observed, encountered, and experienced in our daily interactions with digital media and technologies. There are no pre-requisites or co-requisites for this module, and no specialist knowledge, skills, or experience are required to take it.

This module aims to:

• Provide you with a comprehensive understanding and knowledge of the various types of digital inequalities prevalent in an increasingly digitalised society.
• Introduce key concepts and theories essential for the study of digital inequalities.
• Explore classic and current approaches and methods for studying topics related to digital inequalities.
• Help you develop a critical perspective for viewing, reflecting upon, and examining pressing social issues associated with digital inequalities.
• Assist you in cultivating an interdisciplinary and intersectional perspective for understanding and studying digital inequality issues.
• Foster an understanding of the connections and intersections between digital media, society, and real-world inequalities.

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CMM3008: Imagining Tech Futures for the Common Good

This module analyses AI, data, algorithms and social media with a focus on imagining better tech futures for the common good. To achieve this, we ask: what does the common good mean? And how can digital technologies be used as tools for the common good? When asking these questions, we draw from perspectives on decolonial imagination, intersectionality, and critical data/AI studies. We also build upon notions of autonomy, the commons, and pluriversality, employing participatory pedagogies and applying them to future tech scenarios. Such scenarios are framed in line with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). At the end of the term, we will set up a Digital Media Museum of the Future, working in groups to devise creative artefacts and connecting them to these concepts. This museum can be used as a creative portfolio in which students can showcase their digital media skills as well as critical thinking. There are no pre-requisites or co-requisites for this module, and no specialist knowledge, skills, or experience are required to take it. This module is recommended for interdisciplinary pathways.

This module aims to:

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CMM3015: Crisis Communication: Managing Risk and Reputation

This module examines how organisations anticipate, respond to, and recover from crises in an era of interconnected global risks, heightened scrutiny, social media amplification, and stakeholder activism. It brings theory into dialogue with real-world practice to explore why crises escalate, how backlash forms, and what effective communication strategies look like under pressure. You will analyse high-profile case studies across corporate, political, cultural, and non-profit contexts, assessing leadership decisions, media dynamics, and public response. You will develop strategic thinking, crisis response message framing, and rapid-response communication skills. The module equips you with the analytical and practical tools required to manage crises credibly, ethically, and effectively in complex and volatile communication environments.

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CMM3016: Celebrity Culture

This module will assess and critique from an academic perspective contemporary celebrity culture, exploring the ways conceptions of fame have in recent years exceeded their traditional origins in Hollywood due to the expansion of the media industries and developments in technology. It will, therefore, engage with the growing historiography of celebrity by locating modern versions of fame and stardom in Classical Hollywood and chart developments through the twentieth century, before focusing particularly on the production and consumption of celebrity in the contemporary milieu of social media and convergence culture. The module will explore a range of methodologies, including textual analysis, semiotics, political economy, and post-structuralism. Key topics will include history and historiography, ethics, technology, propaganda and public relations, branding, fan cultures, and the various affective functions of celebrity in terms of class and identity issues, including nation, gender, sexualities, and ‘race’.

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CMM3017: Gaming in Everyday Life

The last two decades have seen the emergence of video games as one of the world's "go to" leisure time activities. An activity that is inherently digital, acts of digital play have emerged globally as a widely prevalent and heterogenous practice that is rich in nuance and detail. Accompanied by an industry that has steadily grown through financial recessions, reports indicate that two out of three people in the world have engaged with the medium at some point in their lives. This module will allow you to engage with video games as a medium and then look at various ways in which constituents and elements from video games have reshaped aspects of our lives. The module will introduce you to ideas like gamification, building of layered narratives, decision and choice-based progression, and other ways in which games have shaped the way we understand the lives we lead. From fitness trackers to service-based algorithms, dimensions of the gaming experience are no longer limited to just acts of leisure. By adopting a global perspective, this module will allow you to grapple with the many intersections of gaming across contexts.

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CMM3018: Media and Nostalgia

This module examines nostalgia as a powerful cultural force shaping how media texts are produced, circulated, and consumed. Focusing on film, television, music, digital platforms, and popular culture, we will explore how representations of the past are mobilised to construct identities, emotions, and collective memory. The module introduces key theoretical perspectives on nostalgia, including cultural memory, affect theory, and media archaeology, and situates them within contemporary debates about retro aesthetics, reboots, and remakes. Through a range of case studies and examples we will critically assess the political, economic, and ethical dimensions of nostalgic media. Attention is given to questions of authenticity, loss, longing, and power, particularly in relation to nationalism, race, gender, and class. By the end of the module, you will be equipped to analyse how nostalgia functions not simply as a backward-looking sentiment, but as an active and contested force in shaping present and future media cultures.

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