Module Information
Module Identifier
FM38320
Module Title
Gender and the Media
Academic Year
2025/2026
Co-ordinator
Semester
Semester 1
Exclusive (Any Acad Year)
Reading List
Other Staff
Course Delivery
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | Essay 1 2000 Words | 50% |
| Semester Assessment | Essay 2 2000 Words | 50% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Essay 1 2000 Words | 50% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Essay 2 2000 Words | 50% |
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
Critically reflect on gender and the media, drawing on historical and contemporary academic debates.
Draw on a detailed knowledge of a range of media texts from the early 20th Century to the present day.
Articulate this knowledge in the form of reasoned critical analysis of particular texts.
Locate the texts studied in appropriate cultural, historical, and theoretical contexts.
Brief description
This module will develop students' critical understanding and theoretical engagement with gender and the media, and introduce students to key theories of gender through a detailed study of a selection of media texts and contexts.
Content
1) Key debates on gender and the media
2) Historical representations of gender
3) Contemporary representations of gender
4) Anthony Giddens: Modernity and self-identity
5) Michel Foucault: Discourses and lifestyles
6) Judith Butler: Queer theory and fluid identities
7) Masculinities and femininities in magazines
8) News journalism and gender
9) The body and social media
10) Directions for living: role models, pop music and self-help discourses
2) Historical representations of gender
3) Contemporary representations of gender
4) Anthony Giddens: Modernity and self-identity
5) Michel Foucault: Discourses and lifestyles
6) Judith Butler: Queer theory and fluid identities
7) Masculinities and femininities in magazines
8) News journalism and gender
9) The body and social media
10) Directions for living: role models, pop music and self-help discourses
Module Skills
| Skills Type | Skills details |
|---|---|
| Application of Number | Students will engage with basic statistical data (e.g. content analyses), as a means to assess emergent patterns. They will be encouraged to use these data as a basis for critical reflection and discussion, in the context of both written work and seminar tasks. |
| Communication | Students’ written communication skills will be developed over the two pieces of assessed work that they produce. They will be encouraged to produce arguments about the subject, using appropriate language and style and through structuring their argument and writing effectively. Students will develop their oral communication skills through seminar sessions which will encourage both individual contributions and group discussion, and, in some cases, will ask students to give brief presentations (in groups). Students will also be encouraged to answer and to ask questions in lectures. |
| Improving own Learning and Performance | Students will be encouraged to take increasing responsibility for managing their own learning by preparing work independently for seminar sessions. Students will be encouraged to build upon the knowledge gained from lectures through developing skills in self-study (supported by the general and specific reading lists and other resources distributed throughout the module) Students will be encouraged to develop Students will be encouraged to take increasing responsibility for managing their own learning by preparing work independently for seminar sessions. Students will be encouraged to build upon the knowledge gained from lectures through developing skills in self-study (supported by the general and specific reading lists and other resources distributed throughout the module) Students will be encouraged to develop their confidence in articulating and discussing their ideas (individually and in groups) in seminar sessions and lectures. |
| Information Technology | E-mail and Blackboard will be the main forms of communication and information sharing in this module, so students will be encouraged to engage actively in these processes. |
| Personal Development and Career planning | Students will evaluate current knowledge and skills and set targets for self-improvement. Students will be encouraged to take increasing responsibility for managing their own learning. Students will be encouraged to build upon the knowledge gained from lectures through developing skills in independent study (supported by the general and specific reading lists and other resources distributed throughout the module). |
| Problem solving | Students should be able to identify tensions and debates in the field, and will be encouraged to reflect critically on the process by which academics arrive at particular theoretical interpretations of particular media texts and institutions. |
| Research skills | Students will develop their skills using electronic search and retrieval of sources both on the web and through AU electronic resources (including Nexis) in the research they undertake for seminar preparation and their assignments. Students will develop their research and referencing skills when analyzing, evaluating and referencing materials from the web and related sources, and will focus on the selection of materials appropriate to the task (seminar work and assessed work). |
| Subject Specific Skills | See QAA Subject Benchmark Statement Communication, media, film and cultural studies (2008) |
| Team work | All seminar sessions will enable students to work within a small group, and discuss and compare ideas. Furthermore, some of the required pre-seminar preparation will ask students to engage in particular preparation tasks in small groups. |
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 6