181MC Contemporary Theories Module Handbook

Sabina Pasaniuc Gemma Commane 9:30am to 3pm Lecture: 9:30-10:30am ET130 Seminar Set Up: 10:30-11am ET130 Seminar: 1:30pm to 3pm Group 1 ET130 Group 2 ET135

181MC Contemporary Theories: A. Module aims and outcomes

This module introduces you to some of the key theoretical approaches that have shaped and informed the character of contemporary themes, issues and debate within the field of study of culture and media. The module traces how particular approaches to the analysis of culture, media and communication have emerged and attained importance historically, what these various approaches provide us with as a means of understanding out cultural and media world, and discusses how these various approaches have interacted to give us the multi-faceted academic field we have today. The module will look at a variety of theoretical approaches to the analysis of media and culture and consider these in relation to contemporary topics and themes.

B. Seminar work
Group work Group blog (wordpress) Presentations Informal non-assessment

Blogs will be monitored by Gemma and Sabina. Blogs are not formally assessed but you are required to submit the group blog as part of your appendix in your individual essay.

C. Assessment: an individual 1,500 word essay.

Your bibliography IS NOT included in the word count. It is a requirement to submit a copy of your group blog in the appendix of your essay. The blog is NOT included in the word count and is NOT assessed but it provides evidence of group work. It is also a requirement to reference correctly. There will be a detrimental impact to your result if you fail to comply with the requirements.

Deadline / submission date: Tuesday 19th November Submission: one copy via Turnitin and one hard copy to ET reception

D. Syllabus and Lecture Outline:

4th October: Lecture 1 Introduction (SP / GC) Lecture: Outline of module: lecture, seminars and assessment. The lecture will also include a sample of critical thinking demonstrated through the application of contemporary theories to a current issue, to illustrate the necessity of studying contemporary theories. Seminar: Icebreaker, setting up blog and tasks. 11th October: Lecture 2 Social Construction: The Mechanics and Logics of Culture (GC) Lecture: many theorists see the social world as a site that has been constructed to order individuals and to structure a certain type of society. How meanings are produced and how social values are maintained are central focuses of social constructionist theory. As every aspect of life is seen to be logical and pre-set, the extents to which we can understand the world beyond prearranged meaning structures will be measured. The lecture will examine social constructionism and the impact / consequences this theory has on how we see culture, society and identity. Seminar: An interactive session exploring the issues surrounding social construction. Reading: Burr, Vivienne (2003) Social Constructionism (2nd Ed.). Hove: Routledge Chapter 1: What is Social Construction? Chapter 3: The Role of Language in Social Construction Chapter 4: What is Discourse? Further Reading: Burkitt, Ian (1999) Bodies of Thought: Embodiment, Identity and Modernity. London: Sage Foucault, Michel (1977) Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. Ney York: Random House Press Nietzsche, Fredrick (2008) On the Genealogy of Morals. New York: Oxford University Press 18th October: Lecture 3 Semiotics: The Dynamics of Creating Meaning (SP) Lecture: The lecture will introduce you to semiotics and its key thinkers, as well as situate the discipline within structuralism (as well as give you information on poststructuralism, which will bring you up to date with the current). Central to this session will be theorists such as Claude Levi-Strauss and Ferdinand de Saussure. You will be introduced to concepts such as the sign, connotation/denotation, encoding/decoding, syntagm, paradigm, myth, intertextuality to name but a few. These will be the tools for you to use in semiotic analyses, which will help you go further and uncover deeper levels of meaning in your interactions with the media. Seminar: An interactive session exploring semiotics and the creation of meaning. Reading: Barthes, Roland (1972) Mythologies. Cape: London Fiske, John (1982) Introduction to Communication Studies. London: Routledge Chapter 3: Communication, Meaning and Signs Chapter 4: Codes Chapter 5: Signification Chapter 8: Ideology and Meanings

Further Reading: Nth, Winfried (1990) Handbook of Semiotics. Bloomington: Indiana University Press 25th October: Lecture 4 Gender: Youre performing it! (SP) Lecture: This lecture will continue the theme of social construction, further applying it onto the concept of gender. We will be, once again, confronting theories of a biologically defined, fixed gender against ideas of a more fluid identity: constructed, learned and adapted as a result of social processes. Central to the lecture will be theorists such as Michel Foucault and Judith Butler. Within this session, you will consolidate key concepts such as hegemony, representation, binary oppositions, etc., as well as familiarising yourself with discourse, performativity and heteronormativity to name but a few. Our aim is to move beyond the obvious (or what is considered the obvious) and develop a critical stance regarding gender. Seminar: An interactive session exploring the issue of gender and identity. Reading: Butler, Judith (1990) Gender Trouble. Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. New York, London: Routledge Preface Chapter 1: Subjects of Sex/Gender/Desire Gill, Rosalind (2007) Gender and the Media. Cambridge, Malden: Polity Introduction Chapter 1: Gender and the Media Further reading: McRobbie, Angela (2009) The Aftermath of Feminism: Gender, Culture and social Change. London, Thousand Oaks, New Delhi: Sage Sullivan, Nikki (2003) A Critical Introduction to Queer Theory. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press 1st November: Lecture 5 (De)constructing Sexuality in Contemporary Society: Bad Girls and Dirty Bodies (GC) Lecture: the lecture will explore the history of sexuality and will critically examine the impact normative values have on maintaining discrete sexual categories. The lecture will also focus on changing attitudes on how female sexuality and non-normative sexualities are presented in popular culture. The extent to which these changes can challenge a restrictive history - a history that is socially constructed - will be explored through the visibility of women being addressed as sexual consumers and a range of sexualities gaining positive political and social ground. Seminar: An interactive session exploring the issue of sexuality and identity Reading: Weeks, Jeffrey (1986) Sexuality. London: Tavistock Chapter 1: The Languages of Sex Chapter 2: The Meanings of Sexual Difference Attwood, Feona (2005) Fashion and Passion: Marketing Sex to Women, in Sexualities, Vol 8, Issue 4, pp395-409. http://shura.shu.ac.uk/54/1/fulltext.pdf Further reading: Dworkin, Andrea (1994) Pornography. Men Possessing Women. London: The Womens Press, Ltd Foucault, Michel (1998) History of Sexuality Vol 1: The Will to Knowledge. London: Penguin Walter, Natasha (2010) Living Dolls: The Return of Sexism. London: Virago

Millett, Kate (1977) Sexual Politics. London: Viraco Mort, Frank (2000) Dangerous Sexualities: Medico-Moral Politics in England Since 1830. 2nd Edition. London: Routledge. 8th November: Lecture 6 Race: The Politics of Colour (SP) Lecture: The lecture will aim to draw on the idea of social construction, explored in the previous week. Within this session, concepts such as biological race and social/cultural race will be confronted. Along with a brief outline of race in history, you will be introduced to key concepts such as racial fetishism, stereotyping, representation, otherness/othering, hegemony, binary oppositions and orientalism among others, which will be correlated to cast a different light onto the issue of race. Seminar: An interactive session exploring the topic of race. Reading: Dyer, Richard (1997) White. London: Routledge Introduction Chapter 1: The Matter of Whiteness Chapter 2: Coloured White, Not Coloured Bhabha, H. (1983) The Other Question Screen 24 (6): 18-36 Further Reading: Said, Edward (1979) Orientalism. New York, Toronto: Random House 15th November: Lecture 7 Representations of Deviancy and Subculture (GC) Lecture: the lecture will establish the key concepts surrounding subcultural resistance and will explore the following: what a subculture is, what subculture means to subculturalists, how subculture is portrayed in mainstream culture and why parts of subculture are used in popular culture to create mediated differences. The lecture will examine the value of deviancy in both rejecting and sustaining dominant ideological values. Seminar: An interactive session exploring the topic of subculture and an essay workshop. Reading: Hebdige, Dick (1979) Subculture: The Meaning of Style. London: Methuen Part Two, Chapter 5 Part Two, Chapter 7 Part Two, Chapter 8 Williams, Patrick (2011) Subcultural Theory: Traditions and Concepts. Cambridge: Polity Press Chapter 1: Subcultural Theory Chapter 2: Theoretical and Methodological Traditions Further reading: Bennett, David (2004) After Subculture: Critical Studies in Contemporary Youth Culture. London: Palgrave Macmillan Gelder, Ken (2005) The Subcultures Reader (2nd Ed.) London: Routledge Hodkinson, Paul (2002) Goth: Identity, Style and Subculture. Oxford: Berg. Holland, Samantha (2004) Alternative Femininities: Body, Age and Identity. Oxford: Berg Muggleton, David (2002) Inside Subculture. The Postmodern Meaning of Style. Oxford: Berg.

22nd November: Lecture 8 Contemporary Theories: Reflecting Contemporary Life? Sum up (SP / GC) Lecture: Lecture: The final lecture will give you an overview of the theories studied throughout the term. This will be a good opportunity to consolidate your knowledge, ask questions and debate the issues the module discusses. In this lecture we will also look at the implication of these theories within various fields as well as daily life. Last, but not least, we will be exploring ways of taking this knowledge further and developing it. Seminar: Group task and screening

Reading List:
Attwood, Feona (2005) Fashion and Passion: Marketing Sex to Women, in Sexualities, Vol 8, Issue 4, pp395-409. http://shura.shu.ac.uk/54/1/fulltext.pdf Barthes, Roland (1972) Mythologies. Cape: London Bennett, David (2004) After Subculture: Critical Studies in Contemporary Youth Culture. London: Palgrave Macmillan Bhabha, H. (1983) The Other Question Screen 24 (6): 18-36 Burr, Vivienne (2003) Social Constructionism (2nd Ed.). Hove: Routledge Butler, Judith (1990) Gender Trouble. Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. New York, London: Routledge Burkitt, Ian (1999) Bodies of Thought: Embodiment, Identity and Modernity. London: Sage Dworkin, Andrea (1994) Pornography. Men Possessing Women. London: The Womens Press, Ltd Dyer, Richard (1997) White. London: Routledge Fiske, John (1982) Introduction to Communication Studies. London: Routledge Foucault, Michel (1977) Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. Ney York: Random House Press Foucault, Michel (1998) History of Sexuality Vol 1: The Will to Knowledge. London: Penguin Gelder, Ken (2005) The Subcultures Reader (2nd Ed.) London: Routledge Gill, Rosalind (2007) Gender and the Media. Cambridge, Malden: Polity Hall, Stewart (1997) Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices. Lomdon: Sage Hebdige, Dick (1979) Subculture: The Meaning of Style. London: Methuen Hodkinson, Paul (2002) Goth: Identity, Style and Subculture. Oxford: Berg. Holland, Samantha (2004) Alternative Femininities: Body, Age and Identity. Oxford: Berg McRobbie, Angela (2009) The Aftermath of Feminism: Gender, Culture and social Change. London, Millett, Kate (1977) Sexual Politics. London: Viraco Mort, Frank (2000) Dangerous Sexualities: Medico-Moral Politics in England Since 1830. (2nd Ed). London: Routledge. Thousand Oaks, New Delhi: Sage Muggleton, David (2002) Inside Subculture. The Postmodern Meaning of Style. Oxford: Berg. Nietzsche, Fredrick (2008) On the Genealogy of Morals. New York: Oxford University Press Nth, Winfried (1990) Handbook of Semiotics. Bloomington: Indiana University Press Said, Edward (1979) Orientalism. New York, Toronto: Random House Sullivan, Nikki (2003) A Critical Introduction to Queer Theory. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press Walter, Natasha (2010) Living Dolls: The Return of Sexism. London: Virago Weeks, Jeffrey (1986) Sexuality. London: Tavistock Williams, Patrick (2011) Subcultural Theory: Traditions and Concepts. Cambridge: Polity Press