Syllabus, valid from 2024-08-26
Syllabus, valid from 2024-08-26
Title
Media and Communication Studies: Digital Technologies, Activism, and Social Movements
Swedish title
Medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap: Digitala teknologier, aktivism och sociala rörelser
Course code
KK652A
Credits
15 credits
Grading scale
UA / Excellent (A), Very Good (B), Good (C), Satisfactory (D), Pass (E) or Fail (U)
Language of instruction
English
Decision-making body
Faculty of Culture and Society
Establishment date
2023-05-15
Syllabus approval date
2023-09-06
Syllabus valid from
2024-08-26
Level
Advanced level
Entry requirements
45 cr. advanced level studies, and the equivalent of Swedish higher secondary school English 6.
No main field.
Progression level
AXX
Progression level in relation to degree requirements
The course is an elective in Media and Communication Studies: Culture, Collaborative Media, and Creative Industries, Master's programme (Two-Year) HAMKV, and may be part of a degree at advanced level.
Course objectives
The aim of the course is to train students in developing advanced analytical and theoretical insights into the complex relationship between media and activism across a range of social movements and political contexts.
Course contents
The course explores the complex relationships between media technologies, communication processes, and social movements. We will delve into the growing body of scholarship on new forms of digitally-enabled activism, exploring the role of technology in organising, mobilising, and building collective identities around various social causes and political projects.
The course brings together theories from different fields to critically examine contemporary forms of activism action facilitated by media, as well as to trace historically how social movements and communication technologies have developed in tandem to create significant social and cultural changes.
Learning outcomes
On completion of the course students shall be able to:
1. critically discuss and compare key theoretical perspectives and concepts of activism in relation to the field of Media- and Communication Studies.
2. demonstrate an understanding of scholarship addressing the role of media in activism and social movement mobilisations
3. analyse the role and impact of media within a given social movement, social cause, or activist campaign by applying theoretical and methodological tools.
Learning activities
Learning activities consist of lectures, seminars, presentations (in groups) of readings, and independent work on an exam paper. Groups will give oral presentations, online seminar assignments will be submitted continuously throughout the course, and the individual written paper is handed in at the end of the course.
Assessment
1. An individual written exam paper on a selected thematic area (7.5 cr.; A-U grading scale; LO1-4)
2. Weekly written seminar assignments submitted online (5 cr.; pass/fail grading scale; LO 1-2).
3. In-class group presentation of selected readings reading (2.5 cr.; pass/fail grading scale; LO 3-4).
Three opportunities for examination are offered during the academic year. Students who have not finished the course, have the opportunity to take part in examinations the next time the course is offered. Under such circumstances, assignments are carried out according to the literature and assignments that are valid during the time the examination is carried out.
Course literature
- Foucault Welles, Brooke, Moya Bailey, and Sarah J. Jackson. #HashtagActivism: Networks of Race and Gender Justice. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2020.
- Kaun, Anne. Crisis and Critique. A Brief History of Media and Participation in Times of Crisis. London: Zed Books, 2017.
- Tufekci, Zeynep. Twitter and Teargas. The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2017.
A selection of journal articles and book chapters available via the University library's full-text databases will be added to the list of mandatory readings each term.
Course evaluation
Malmö University provides students who participate in, or who have completed a course, with the opportunity to express their opinions and describe their experiences of the course by completing a course evaluation administered by the University. The University will compile and summarise the results of course evaluations. The University will also inform participants of the results and any decisions relating to measures taken in response to the course evaluations. The results will be made available to the students (HF 1:14).
Interim rules
If a course is no longer offered, or has undergone significant changes, the students must be offered two opportunities for re-examination based on the syllabus that applied at the time of registration, for a period of one year after the changes have been implemented.
Additional information
If a student has a Learning support decision, the examiner has the right to provide the student with an adapted test, or to allow the student to take the exam in a different format. The syllabus is a translation of a Swedish source text.