Registry

Module Specifications

Current Academic Year 2012 - 2013
Please note that this information is subject to change.

Module Title	Political Economy of the Media
Module Code	CM525A
School	School of Communications
Online Module Resources
NFQ level	8	Credit Rating	10
Pre-requisite	None
Co-requisite	None
Compatibles	None
Incompatibles	None

Description

INACTIVE - This module seeks to illuminate the extent to which the media must be looked at as industries if one is to have a comprehensive understanding of the factors shaping media output. In particular the module seeks to highlight the political, economic and social factors shaping those industries.

Learning Outcomes

1. Students will be able to analyse the unusual economic characteristics of information-based commodities (films, television programmes, recorded music, publications etc) and, on that basis, explain the marketing strategies adopted by the industries producing such commodities.
2. Students will be able identify the different philosophical rationales underpinning a range of media regulatory structures.
3. Students will be able to explain the role of mass media in facilitating the operation of the mass democratic societies and will be able to assess the extent to which individual media sectors are fulfilling that role.
4. Students will be able to analyse the impact on media content of political economic factors such as media ownership, media regulation and the profit oriented nature of capitalist media industries.
5. Students will be able to explain the role of international and supranational for a such as the EU and WTO in setting down rules for the operation of international media industries

Workload	Full-time hours per semester
*Type*	*Hours*	*Description*
Lecture	33	No Description
Assignment	30	No Description
Library	62	No Description
Total Workload: 125

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

Introduction to political economy of the media.
History of the press.

The Public sphere.
Critical theory and the media - from the Frankfurt School to Chomsky, Schiller and Jameson..

Technological Determinism Vs. the Social Construction of Technology.
Global Media and International Politics since 1850..

Hollywood Industrial History 1891 to the present.
International Trade in Informational Goods since WWII.

Assessment Breakdown
Continuous Assessment	100%	Examination Weight	0%

Course Work Breakdown
Type	Description	% of total	Assessment Date
Assignment	Students choose one 4,000-4,500 word essay from a list 5-6 titles	100%	n/a

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
This module is category 1

Indicative Reading List

Graham Murdoch and Peter Golding: 1997, The Political Economy of the Media, Edward Elgar,
Michael Barrett-Brown: 1995, Models in Political Economy, 2nd, Penguin, 0 14 023286 9
Adam Smith: 1776, The Wealth of Nations, Penguin, 0 14 043208 6
Raymond Williams: 1965, The Long Revolution, The Growth of the Popular Press, Pelican,
James Curran and Jean Seaton: 0, Power Without Responsibility, Routledge,
Jurgen Habermas: 1989, Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere, MIT Press,
Nicholas Garnham: 2000, Emancipation, the media, and modernity : arguments about the media and social theory, Oxford University Press,
Elihu Katz et al: 2003, Canonic Texts in Media Research, Part II on "The Frankfurt School", Polity Press, 0 7456 2934 2
David Held: 1980, Introduction to Critical Theory,
Brian Winston: 0, Media Technology and Society, A History: From the Telegraph to the Internet, Routledge,
Daya Kishan Thussu: 2000, International Communication: Continuity and Change, Arnold, 0 340 74131 7
Oliver Boyd-Barrett and Terhi Rantanen: 1998, The Globalization of News, Sage, 0 7619 5387 6
Janet Wasko: 0, How Hollywood Works, Sage,
Douglas Gomery: 2005, The Hollywood Studio System: A History, BFI, London, 1 84457 064 9