BA Media and Communications

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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CMM1002: Communications Challenges

This is a challenge-led module, which explores how media strategies and technologies are used to communicate about social inequality. The module will introduce you to key aspects that define social inequality, such as media representation, histories of under-representation and omission, the relationship between politics and language, uneven access to technologies and other resources, and unjust and exclusionary infrastructures. Drawing on theories of media activism and recent research into collective action strategies, the module will help students understand how various types of media are used to communicate and protest social justice issues. Using a combination of lectures (including guest lectures from industry professionals), and seminars, students will work in small groups to devise a campaign to address a specific, current problem or issue of social inequality. These campaigns could for example discuss issues such as: diversifying the representation of the female body in the local media; raising awareness of mental health issues amongst young men locally (18-21); a campaign to address gender stereotypes in university sports societies; a campaign to raise awareness of rural broadband initiatives. The module will guide students step-by-step in developing practical media design skills and applied skills including identifying a target audience, social media campaign strategies, determining appropriate voice and language, and how to judge the ethics of campaigning.

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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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CMM1005: Social Media and Society

This module explores the impact of social media platforms on contemporary culture, communication, and social dynamics. You will critically examine the role of social media in shaping public opinion, identity, and social movements, while also analysing issues of privacy, ethics, and digital citizenship. The module adopts a historical perspective, tracing the emergence and development of social media platforms. Through a combination of theoretical frameworks and case studies, the module encourages you to assess both the positive and negative consequences of social media on individuals and society at large. 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 the field of critical social media studies, equipping you with knowledge of key concepts in this field.
• Situate social media platforms within a broader history.
• Analyse the social, economic, cultural and political factors shaping the design of social media and their diffusion into society.
• Critically evaluate social media's ambiguous nature as both surveillance tools and artefacts for social expression and creativity.
• Enable you to develop a deep understanding of social media platforms in relation to current and longstanding debates in media and communication studies.
• Help you develop a nuanced understanding of social media's pervasive influence in the modern world.

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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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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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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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