Media Audiences

How does our media consumption shape our opinions, actions, identities and lives? How do audiences influence the production and circulation of media? How do we create our own media presence online, and act as an audience for each other? This course examines the relationship between audiences and media. We discuss theory and research that represents audiences as passive consumers of media products, active decoders of media texts, producers of our own representations online, and participants in interactive media production. The course looks at a broad range of media forms and content to reflect and build on your own experiences of being media audience members. "Media Audiences" will encourage you to reflect on your own relationship with media, and to consider the broader contexts that shape your listening, viewing, reading, and interaction. This course has on-campus and distance options. It has a one hour lecture and a two-hour workshop each week. The course includes group work in classes and for assessments, and requires active in-class engagement. You will advance core skills in reading and carrying out research, with reflection, collaborative work, networking, creativity, writing and presentation.

15 points

Any 15 points at 100 level from COMS or CULT, or any 60 points at 100 level from the Schedule V of the BA.

CULT201

Advertising and Cultural Consumption

Advertising has become a central component of our contemporary cultural environment that finances all of the communication industries. However, the effects of advertising may lie far outside only the funding of media systems. This course explores the relationship between advertising, consumerism, identity, the environment and citizenship. You will learn be deconstructing the system, analysing advertisements, examining the effects of advertising on identity, and looking into the rise of ethical brands and sustainability. Then will study advertising from an insider perspective, finding out how advertising agencies work and ads are created. This course has on-campus and distance options. It includes group work and requires active engagement in class, or online for distance students, to create and share work with others, in order to learn from and support each other.

15 points

Any 15 points at 100 level from COMS, or any 60 points at 100 level from the Schedule V of the BA.

Media and Politics

The course provides an understanding of the role of the media in domestic and international politics. It does this by analysing key theoretical assumptions and debates on the role of media institutions in the struggle for power domestically and internationally. This course includes group work and requires active in-class engagement. It has on-campus and distance options. It features internationally-recognised top experts in the field of political communication as our guest speakers. Research, critical debate, collaborative work, networking, creativity, writing and presentation are among the core skills this course aims to advance.

15 points

Any 15 points at 100 level from COMS or POLS, or any 60 points at 100 level from the Schedule V of the BA.

POLS232

Social Media

This course contains practical work in the community and groupwork. The course prepares students to do public communication in a rapidly changing media environment. The first half of the course explores how a range of social media platforms work and how professional communicators are attempting to use it. Topics include networks, online community, social media analytics and social media campaigns. In the second half of the course students apply these ideas in small-group projects for a community organisation or company. This course is available only to students enrolled in the Bachelor of Communication.

15 points

15 points COMS or 60 points BC Schedule V. Subject to approval by the Head of Department.

COMS222 (2008-2012), DIGI207

Politics and New Media

A Facebook profile is required to take part in this course. This course is being offered at two universities at once in Finland and Aotearoa New Zealand. Students will take part in discussions with students from the other university and will be taught by academics from each university, with a tutor and lecturer at Canterbury coordinating the local version of the course. The course studies the latest developments on how public life and politics are being shaped by web-based communication. You will be asked to think critically about the globalisation of politics online, about the divisions between haves and have nots and about the ways different groups pursue their agendas online.

15 points

ny 15 points at 100 level from COMS, or any 60 points at 100 level from the Schedule V of the BA.

Digital Media Production

This practical course teaches some of the core production skills that all communication practitioners need. You’ll be introduced to basic digital media skills and shown how to produce and package content for online and mobile platforms. As well as being asked to create work, you’ll be asked to reflect on it in the context of broader trends in media practice and the ethical responsibilities of digital communication. Please note, this course has a strongly practical focus and requires active in-class engagement for hands-on activities (such as photographing, filming and editing) and sharing and discussing work with others. It is not a distance course. This course is restricted to students enrolled in the Bachelor of Communication or Graduate Diplomas in Journalism or Strategic Communication.

15 points

15 points COMS or 60 points BC Schedule V. Subject to approval by the Head of Department.

Risk and Crisis Communication

This applied course introduces students to a major area of the planning of communication, the management of risk. Theories of risk, crisis and the risk society are described, before the course focuses in detail on the practice of risk communication, including communication planning, crafting messages and involving communities in collective risk decision-making. Risks explored range from individuals' health and safety, disasters, reputational crises and pervasive risks such as climate change. This course has on-campus and distance options. You will learn from professional guests, and from each other, to develop skills in evaluating and planning crisis response.

15 points

Any 15 points at 100 level from COMS, or either ENVR101 or GEOG106, or any 60 points at 100 level from the Schedule V of the BA.

Media Law for Journalists

This course aims to give you the foundational knowledge you need to practice ethically and legally as a journalist. By the end of the course you’re expected to have developed a basic understanding of the range and impact of laws and regulations restricting the media and journalists in New Zealand, as well as practical skills in court reporting. You will be required to attend a courts field trip, and to create and share work with others in order to learn from and support each other. Please note, the course’s practical focus requires active in-class engagement. It is not a distance course. Note: This course is restricted to students enrolled in the Bachelor of Communication (Journalism) or Graduate Diploma in Journalism.

15 points

Limited Entry: Subject to admission to the Journalism Major and permission from the Head of Department.

LAWS396