Media and Development MA

This module provides guidance on how to conduct a major piece of independent research, supplemented by group work and individual supervision. Group work during Semester One orients students towards identifying and refining their individual research topic, which must be specific to their MA course and route. Dissertation/project supervisors are assigned at the start of Semester Two. Supervision takes place in Semester 2 and 3. The dissertation/final project is submitted by the end of August.

This module will provide you with a theoretical view of the concept of development and with the foundation for analysis of development policies in the communication sector. The course will consider the traditional role of communications in developing countries and analyse the spread of western corporations in telecommunications and mass media into the middle and lower income countries.

The module is intentionally eclectic. You will cover (in a loosely historical way) the arguments, advantages and problems of the main sociological, cultural and psychological theories about the media. It aims to provide a comprehensive introduction to the most important ways of approaching the fundamental issues posed by the relationships between the media of communication and social and economic life. It will also enable you to understand the problems posed by different intellectual traditions, and to place those theories in their proper contexts. 

This module focuses on different theories and approaches to development. It considers key development theories and approaches such as modernisation, dependency and neo- liberalism and will provide you with an opportunity to critically assess their relevance to specific contexts in developing countries. 

The module examines the various theoretical attempts to make sense and deal intellectually with social and cultural diversity, from assimilationism to liberal universalism, integration theories, liberal multiculturalism and the various strands of multiculturalism. It examines the concepts of pluralism, universalism, cosmopolitanism, tolerance and respect as they have developed in various theoretical contexts and assesses their implications in contemporary policy, politics and culture. The use of contemporary examples form media, politics and culture are an important aspect of learning throughout the module as students are expected not only to engage critically with concepts, but to also to reflect on the social and political realities of their own societies.

A course for students new to content production in English for a global audience and those new to producing professional content with the aim to go viral and have an impact, particularly content with an industry focus or development purpose. The module enables you to develop skills in creative writing with the purpose of adding value or advancing a business. You will build a profile, reach out, research and analyse data about the market and performance of media businesses to place their content strategically for development or business purposes. Your focus will be on evaluating the strategic responses to market and technological changes, user habits and crowd connectivity/engagement while looking at medium and large corporate media platforms and businesses. Individually, you will write short creative pieces targeting fixed audiences and aiming to be published on specific platforms. Working in teams, you will develop a proposal for a new digital media start-up to take advantage of market changes and crowd connectedness. Finally, your group will pitch your ideas to a panel of industry experts for feedback.

In this module, you will learn how to plan and implement fundraising techniques for progressive social change. The module will look at the range of techniques and platforms used for fundraising. You will produce an evidence-based fundraising plan for a social justice issue, plus supporting digital fundraising content for social media platforms. You will consider the role of fundraising and how this integrates with campaign communications. This is a practical, hands-on module taught through a series of workshops with masterclasses by leading international fundraisers.

This module examines key developments in the media and communications industries associated with the logic of globalisation. You will explore the complex nature of the globalisation process, focusing on the emergence of both supra-national and sub-national developments and explore the relationship between new contexts of production and questions of collective culture and identity. 

This module offers a comprehensive introduction at postgraduate level to the dynamics and processes that shape communication policy. It examines key theories and concepts of policy-making and uses case studies from both national and international level, focusing on media, telecommunications, the Internet and platforms.

This module introduces students to the political economy approach to analysing the structure and performance of communication industries in capitalist economies. It identifies distinctive economic features of media and relates these to trends in the organisation of specific media industries, taking account of ways in which the economics of media have been affected by the spread of digital technologies. 

This module offers a comprehensive introduction at postgraduate level to the politics of communication technologies, and the role policy plays in shaping their development, deployment and usage. It examines various issues, factors and stakeholders relevant to television, telecommunications, the Internet, platforms and Artificial Intelligence.

This module explores the challenges facing media organisations in the fields of strategy and innovation. It addresses the contextual nature of strategy formation, identifies and analyses key drivers of change within media industries, and examines the application of structured methods of planning in media product and service development. The module applies management concepts and tools to business and strategic challenges confronting public and private media enterprises across the globe. 

This module will present information for critical thinking and discussion about media representation of gender, sexual orientation, age and disability. The module will discuss ways of improving journalism practice in order to bridge social and cultural divisions. You will study and research the stereotypes of youth and the elderly, men and women, gay and lesbian communities and people with disabilities. The course will look at the influence, responsibility, and power of journalism in reporting these diversity issues. As part of the learning, students will have to produce their own documentary film on a topic relevant to the issues discussed in the module, and for this we offer training in the use of video-cameras, sound and editing.

This module offers a critical assessment of the role of media in political mobilisation, social movements, dissent, wars, conflicts, elections, and political and social crises. The module considers the impact of different forms of censorship and regulation on social, political and cultural expression in the media. It also looks at the impact of the internet and new means of transparency and communications on journalism and activism in a range of circumstances from secure democracies through different kinds of political systems. 

The first part of the module reviews a range of interdisciplinary perspectives, focusing on and critiquing key debates on media audiences. Using a global perspective and different genre-based case studies, the second part of the module is devoted to discussions of digital media, post-modernity and identity.

Students will be encouraged to take work experience during the course. With the number of charities and NGOs dealing with development in London, we expect students will get a placement with an organisation and we envisage them working in a communications role. Students on the media and development MA have the option to join the C4D network and each can do a fellowship/internship with the network during the course. 

This module will introduce you to the main methods of communication research. We shall look at how to undertake selective quantitative and qualitative methods, understanding and exploring the different stages of the social science research process, from a definition of a research hypothesis, to data collection and analysis. We shall also look at the theoretical reasoning behind different methodological approaches to media and society, in particular the politics of social research and diversity issues. 

Campaigning in the last century saw the mobilisation of large numbers of people to bring about political and social change. The political landscape has changed and the ways to influence it have grown. Major changes in society and technology now enable concerned citizens from around the world to come together online and take action on issues that concern them. Is there still a role for civil society organisations in this new environment or is online activism mapping out a new model for social change? Campaigning non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are, in some areas, the natural voice of dissent, but they too run the risk of being seen as part of the establishment. As trust in institutions declines, how can NGOS maintain their influence and change their techniques to deliver successful campaigns? What does the new political and campaigning landscape look like, what are the current techniques and how can you decide which is the best technique to use for your campaign? 

A critical study of the news media in the context of current society. Looking into news creation and the history of journalism, the module aims to link the broader patterns of social change to a critical study of mass media and the techniques to steer them (spin doctors) and thereby explores contemporary journalism and its ethics from a historical and conceptual perspective.