UNDERSTANDING YOUTH CULTURE - 2020/1

Module Overview

This module focuses upon the development, characteristics and contemporary significance of a range of different aspects of youth culture in the context of mediated societies. Topics covered include the construction and development of understandings of adolescence as a distinct life course period, the relationship between youth, media and new media, questions of class, ethnicity and gender, the significance of on and offline spaces, and debates relating to youth communities and subcultures.

Module provider

Sociology

Module Leader

HODKINSON Paul (Sociology)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 6

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 2

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None

Module content

Indicative content includes:

• The construction and development of notions of youth and adolescent culture


• Youth culture and contemporary consumerism


• Media representations of youth culture


• Young people’s uses of media and new media


• The significance of off and online spaces for youth cultures


• Youth, space and identity


• Understandings of distinct youth communities and subcultures


• The significance of class, gender and ethnicity in relation to youth culture


• Notions of individualisation and the apparent expansion/blurring of youth culture

 

 

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/A

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate

Assessment one encourages critical engagement with reading from an early point in the modules and assesses students’ ability to critically reflect on these. It particularly pertains to l.o.5 but also incorporate the first three learning outcomes too.

Assessment two is a one hour seen examination and focuses on writing critically about existing literature and critically discussing literature of importance to the themes of the module.   

 

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

• 2000 word reading portfolio (50%), requiring students to critically reflect on a selection of the readings used in the first part of the module.


• 1 hour seen examination (50%). Having a seen examination will space out students' assessment work cross their programme at the same time as enabling quality and depth.

Formative assessment and feedback

Students gain formative feedback throughout the semester via the interaction of their ideas with peers and the lecturer, both in class and via the online discussions. All students are encouraged to ask questions and test ideas in relation to the assignments during the weeks preceding their submission. 

Module aims

• To provide an overview of the developing characteristics of youth culture in contemporary mediated societies.
• To offer students a grounding in core debates and theories relating to the analysis of youth.
• To identify and relate to one another a range of theoretical and empirical studies relating to particular topics in the study of youth culture

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

Lectures components provide a core background, enthusing students about the significance and importance of the topics and arguments, and enabling the understanding of core concepts and examples. Seminar discussions enable students to develop greater depth of understanding through practical exercises and discussions centred on reading and connecting to key concepts from the lecture. Sometimes lecture and seminar are discrete whereas in other weeks a more integrated approach is taken.

The learning and teaching methods include:

The teaching strategy consists of 22 combined lecture/seminar sessions. Students complete compulsory readings each week as preparation for the seminar discussions

 

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: SOC3046

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2020/1 academic year.