Week 1 (23 April): Setting the scene - global media and the changing ecosystem After some gentle introductions and scene setting, we''' watch a film made by Indymedia called 'Eye of the Storm' and start to open the question of 'news' and 'the world'. Week 2 (30 April): Introduction - using the site, RSS and your notebook (NB Session is in room 402 in Birkbeck's Mallet Street building) The course makes extensive use of the Internationale's Cloud site (http://sites.google.com/site/birkbeckmedia/ ). This session is a hands-on practical exploration of the site and how you can use it to research and work with the course. If you like you can set up a Google account before the session... it'll save a bit of time. In order to analyse 'News around the world', we need some analytical/theoretical tools. Otherwise we end up like a tourist: 'it's Thursday so this must be the Middle East', or we fall back on description: 'papers in country X are different than ones in country Y'. This session revises some of the theoretical tools from Press in Britain and introduces the model of the Global media/culture industry developed by Lash and Lury in Global Culture Industry as well as Foucualt's ideas of power/knowledge and regimes of truth. Week 4 (14 May): Citizen media and Big Media - two sets of representations and the changing meaning of 'news'
As we discussed on Press in Britain, the media ecosystem is changing with so-called 'citizen media' changing the power relations between producers and consumers, the expectations of 'audiences' and the economics of publishing and broadcasting. This session will revisit these issues in the light of the power/knowledge model developed in week 3. Week 5 (21 May): Essay tutorial Week 6 (28 May): FIRST ASSIGNMENT DUE
Pictures around the world - Big photos and small snaps Rather than taking a geographical-focused tour around the world, the course will look at different media forms as they are being used around the world in both 'citizen' and 'big media' spaces. This first bloc will look at photographs, addressing the way in which the print publishing industry (magazines and newspapers) as well as websites use the full range of images from photographs through to illustrations, graphics and cartoons. It will also look at the media sharing sites such as Flickr where global pictures circulate and develop 'content relationships' as 'objects'. A key element of the course will be making use of Birkbeck's 'students from around the world'. Many of the group will be from (or have extensive knowledge of) countries outside the UK. The second session of each bloc will make use of this extra cultural knowledge and experience. Each week groups of students will be given some material and pointers towards other sources. Your job will be to come up with a short 'presentation' locating that media within the broader information and knowledge you have about the country, its culture, history and society as well as addressing the different media in terms of the analytical frameworks developed in weeks 3 and 4. You will develop this 'presentation' on the Cloud site and Paul will be there to offer help if needed. Week 8 (18 June): Video around the world - Big features and small movies Time was even Big Media publications couldn't really use video and the number of TV channels was limited. Now with the development of cheap and simple technologies and Internet spaces, everyone is a broadcaster and video is just another form of conversation. This session will look at this shift and the way in which big broadcast is dealing with small, micro/mobilecast 'channels'; how these different representational practice 'mean' and how the new media ecosystem can be understood using our theoretical frameworks. As above, your turn to share power/knowledges... Week 10 (2 July): Words around the world - Big news and small stories
The new Live Web may have brought images, video and audio to the forefront but there's still media mileage in words. In fact with services like Twitter as well as the blogosphere, words have never been more popular. This session will look at how words are working 'around the world' in both big and small media spaces. Clearly language will be an issue here for those of us who are monolingual. This session will focus on how certain language is now global and what that means in terms of our sense of the Global and 'our media'. Our theoretical framework will help us find a way of analysing 'Global english' as a cultural/media and power-practice. Week 11 (9 July): SECOND ASSIGNMENT DUE Words around the world - Big news and small stories - student presentations As above, your turn to share power/knowledges... |
Paul, how about Documentary around the World.
I have worked at the Front Line Club.... where they tell wars news story through films and documentary...followed by forum discussion about war news and documentary reports... though is a journalists where the majority of members are photojournalists, who have snapped news of war around the world form their mobile phone. Just a though...
Feedback... missed a word 'club' after journalists on the last line. Just realise that I cannot edit my own comment. (for future clouds development :)
Sounds fascinating Enza. Do you have a link?
http://www.frontlineclub.com/club/
Still have the member list in case you want to have a look at it, I can bring it in (for future guest lecture or case studies.
The documentary/case study I have used for my 1st essay is one of their product. Director told me its been sold to BBC DoC in the UK recently.