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Module Specifications

Archived Version 2021 - 2022

Module Title Media Audiences and Consumption
Module Code CM536
School School of Communications

Online Module Resources

Module Co-ordinatorDr Barbara O'ConnorOffice Number
NFQ level 9 Credit Rating 10
Pre-requisite None
Co-requisite None
Compatibles None
Incompatibles None
Description

Students undertaking this module will gain an understanding of the importance of audience analysis and research in contemporary media and communication studies. It aims to familiarise students with a broad range of theories and methods used in the study of media effects and audiences in both historical and contemporary contexts. Drawing on a range of media texts, the module will examine the ways in which meanings are generated for, and interpreted by audiences, and examine the issues, trends and patterns of media effects, influences and pleasures.

Learning Outcomes

1. Demonstrate a detailed understanding of a range of key theoretical approaches to audience studies
2. Identify the range of relationships that exist between the media and their audiences.
3. Evaluate different theoretical and methodological approaches to the academic study of audiences.
4. Apply abstract knowledge of media audiences to empirical contexts.



Workload Full-time hours per semester
Type Hours Description
Lecture24Theories and methodologies of film and television audiences
Class Presentation12Students are required to prepare and present an end of module presentation to class.
Independent Study66No Description
Assignment Completion148Preparation, research and completion of final module essay.
Total Workload: 250

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

Overview of debates, issues and trends in contemporary audience studies
Power, Ideology and Meanings: Encoding/Decoding: The 'active audience': reading and resistance: The Pleasures of the Text: Women's Genres; Cultural Public Sphere, Counter Publics and Fan theory; Contexts of viewing: domesticity and home: 'New Media' and modes of consumption.

Assessment Breakdown
Continuous Assessment100% Examination Weight0%
Course Work Breakdown
TypeDescription% of totalAssessment Date
Reassessment Requirement
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories;
1 = A resit is available for all components of the module
2 = No resit is available for 100% continuous assessment module
3 = No resit is available for the continuous assessment component
Unavailable
Indicative Reading List

  • Gillespie, M (ed): 2005, Media Audiences, Open University Press,
  • Brooker, W. and D. Jermyn: 2003, The Audience Studies Reader, Routledge, London,
  • Abercrombie, N and B. Longhurst: 1998, Audiences: A Sociological Theory of Performance and Imagination,
  • Ruddock, A.: 2001, Understanding Audiences: Theory and Method, Sage, London,
  • Staiger, J.: 2000, Perverse Spectators: The Practices of Film Reception, New York University Press,
  • Kuhn, A.: 2002, An Everyday Magic: Cinema and Cultural Memory, I.B. Tauris, London,
  • Askew, K. and R.R. Wilk: 2002, The Anthropology of Media: A Reader, Blackwell, Oxford,
  • Morley, D.: 1980, The 'Nationwide' Audience, British Film Institute, London,
  • Morley, D: 1986, Family Television: Cultural Power and Domestic Leisure, Comedia, London,
  • Kelly, M.J. and B O'Connor: 1997, Media Audiences in Ireland: Power and Cultural Identity, University College Dublin Press, Dublin,
  • Hay, J., L. Grossberg and E. Wartella: 1996, The Audience and its Landscape, Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado,
  • Alasuutari, P. (ed): 1999, Rethinking the Media Audience, Sage, London,
  • Bailey, S.: 2005, Media Audience and Identity: Self-Construction and the Fan Experience, Palgrave/Macmillan, Oxford,
  • Bird, E.: 2003, The Audience in Everyday Life: Living in a Media World, Routledge, London,
  • Delanty, G., Giorgi. L., & Sassatelli. M: 2011, Festivals and the Cultural Public Sphere, Routledge, London,
  • Gauntlett, D.: 2005, Moving Experiences: Understanding Television's Influences and Effects, Westview Press, Boulder,
  • Morley, D.: 1992, Television Audiences and Cultural Studies, Routledge, London,
  • Nightingale, V.: 2012, The Handbook of Media Audiences, Routledge, London,
  • Staiger, J.: 2005, Media Reception Studies, New York University Press, New York,
  • Sullivan, John L.: 2013, Media Audiences: Effects, Users, Institutions and Power, Sage, London,
Other Resources

None
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