COMMUNICATING CULTURE: CONCEPTS AND FRAMEWORKS - 2023/4

Module Overview

This module introduces you to an understanding of how
culture is communicated through the fine arts and popular
culture (including painting, theatre, film, television,
classical and popular music and literature). Lectures
cover a variety of theoretical approaches to different
forms of culture, which are illustrated by examples. Class
discussion focuses on empirical examples relating to the
lecture topic.

Module provider

Sociology

Module Leader

WEIDHASE Nathalie (Sociology)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 5

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

Module Availability

Semester 2

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

N/A

Module content

Indicative content includes:

• Whether art ‘reflects’ society and whether it ‘shapes’ it.


• How social factors affect artistic conventions and genres and the ways production and distribution systems affect art.


• How people receive, consume and use art.


• How art is constituted by and embedded in society.

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/A

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate that they have developed an understanding of art and popular culture in society and can ‘think critically/reflect’ with this knowledge.

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

One blog post portfolio and  one essay

Formative assessment and feedback

Students receive feedback on their progress in class and will be given the opportunity for feedback on their blog post ideas and final essay plan. 

Module aims

• Introduce an understanding of how different forms of
  culture are communicated to society.
• Provide different theoretical perspectives on how culture is
  created and communicated.
• Develop skills of critical thinking and applying theoretical
  understandings to empirical areas of study.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

• Offer students lectures that provide a critical overview of the various approaches used in studying sociology of the arts. Students expand on this knowledge base through a weekly programme of essential readings supplemented by their choice of background reading.


• Give students the chance to experience each of the approaches in action, through seminar exercises which focus on case studies covering the range of approaches examined in the module.

• 11 one-hour lectures which cover key topics in sociology of the arts.


• 11 one-hour seminars carrying out work on case studies in the sociology of the arts.

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: SOC2089

Other information

None

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 2023/4 academic year.