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British Media: Historical and Contemporary IssuesUntertitel: Fluency Development in English Dieses Modul besteht aus einer Lehrveranstaltung. StudienorganisationStudiensemester: 1 Modultyp: Wahlpflichtveranstaltung Lehrform: Seminar Art der Präsenzveranstaltung: Regular attendance, completion of the accompanying exercises and the presentation of a Referat are the requirements to pass the elective course. Sprache: Englisch Kompetenzen/LernzieleThe focus of this elective course is on exploring the origins of public media in Britain from the time of the invention of print in the mid-15th century to the tumultuous effects social-media use is having on political events in Britain and beyond today. Participants will follow this course of events, which will detail key occurrences such as the popularity of pamphlets that largely exaggerated events in Ireland in the 17th century, which contributed to the growth and enduring intensity of anti-Catholic sentiment in Britain. The events of the 18th-century American Revolution and its reflection in the British press will also be considered. The 19th-century Education Acts that brought about improved literacy had as their corollary an ensuing demand among “the masses” for newspapers aimed at a less literate populace. This led to the question in the 19th century of whether the press should provide the people with what they want – sensationalism and gossip in the main – or with what they should want: a selection of serious, variegated papers from which the reader could form his own informed opinion. This would become the “educational vs the representative ideal”, a binary policy choice for media owners and directors in the 20th century with the arrival of radio and TV, where advertising and the financial interests of sponsors would play a key role. The BBC had a special role to play under the directorship of Lord Reith, who would make his “educational” mark on the Corporation, which in turn would become the model for public-service broadcasting in other countries, such as post-war Germany in the late 1950s. The contemporary situation will be explored with a review of the events leading to the ignoble demise of the News of the World, which once boasted the world’s largest newspaper circulation, and the consequent attempts to regulate wayward media outlets after it had been revealed that the newspaper had hacked into the private mobile-phone accounts of prominent figures in British society. This will then lead to an analysis of the furore surrounding the interference of Cambridge Analytica, a political consultancy firm in the online Leave campaign during the run-up to the Brexit referendum in 2016. The technical details surrounding such online activities should make for an interesting presentation. Participants will also be shown clips from famous instances of British broadcasting, such as Ken Loach’s Cathy Come Home, a documentary film dealing with homelessness, which would introduce a brand new TV genre to British viewers. These clips will be accompanied by worksheets in which participants will be asked to complete aspects of the use of language as instanced in the clips. InhalteA presentation is a requirement for passing the module, as is regular attendance and completion of the accompanying exercises. Participants may choose any topic that interests them as long as it is relevant to the theme of British media: historical and contemporary issues. Presentations relating to the media in other English-speaking countries, i.e. social media in the USA, are also acceptable. Arbeitsaufwand4 SWS, 5,0 Creditpoints (CP) 60 h Präsenzstudium, 90 h Eigenstudium PrüfungArt der Prüfung: Studienleistung Referat Labor zur Anerkennung des Moduls nötig: Literatur
VoraussetzungenVoraussetzungen lt. Prüfungs- und Studienordnungkeine Verantwortliche DozierendeDozent(in): Dr. John Ward |