CURRENT ISSUES IN DIGITAL SOCIETIES - 2025/6

Module Overview

The module will examine different case studies, concepts, and debates of new media developments in relation to media technologies, media participation and the relationship between media production and consumption in the digital age. It will enhance student skills in digital capabilities, resourcefulness and resilience, and address career pathways in media and communication. The module will critically evaluate different approaches to contemporary issues in media and communication in the digital age and examine the strengths and weaknesses of these different approaches.

Module provider

Sociology

Module Leader

MUIR Robyn (Sociology)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 4

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

Module Availability

Semester 2

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None

Module content

Indicative key content themes include:

• The process of mediatization


• Audiences, the self, and identity in the public (and private) sphere


• Media literacy, digital divides and media and communication across the globe


• Contemporary issues facing media and communication such as the environment and big data

• What is mediatization?


• Introducing the public sphere in media and communication


• What do audiences look like in contemporary media and communication


• Theories of self and identity in the digital age


• Career pathways in media and communication


• Influencer culture in the digital age


• Why we need media literacy and addressing digital divides


• Globalising media and communication


• Media, communication and the environment


• Big data in the digital age


• Building a media case study

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

An alternative resit is available for the group component, it consists of an individual infographic about a media career pathway (Coursework).

Assessment Strategy

 The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate that they have met the learning outcomes through the building of employability and group work skills, and critical engagement with a wide range of media theories, concepts and research.

 

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

Assessment 1 – Group Employability Exercise (30%)

The group employability exercise consists of an infographic on a career pathway (students can choose from pathways such as public relations, social media manager and user researcher). The infographic must include dynamically presented information on the job description, the job responsibilities and the skills needed for the role. This is designed to address LO4, drawing on their digital capabilities, group work, knowledge of how their degree relates to employability and resourcefulness and resilience.

Assessment 2 – Individual Case Study (70%)

The individual case study allows students to connect media theories and concepts to a case study of their choice (for example, exploring how Facebook uses Big Data). This is designed to address LO1, LO2, LO3 and LO5. This assessment enables students to explore media theories from the module in relation to a diverse cultural context of their choice, as well as enhancing their essay writing skills.

 

Formative Assessment & Feedback

Students will receive regular verbal feedback in class through individual and group tasks. There will also be opportunities in class for students to receive verbal feedback on their assignment preparation through class activities.

 

Written feedback on the group employability exercise and the individual case study will be given to provide students with the knowledge of what they have done well in assignments and what they can improve on. This will feed into their future performance on modules in the second and final year of their degree. This will be achieved through in-text comments on the assignments, as well as overall feedback.

Module aims

• Provide a broad overview of key debates about the relationships between mass media, new media, their convergences and emerging practices
• Introduce theoretical approaches to recent developments in media culture, including notions of convergence, audience interpretation, online and offline spaces, and questions of participation and interactivity
• Demonstrate degree career pathways in the media industry
• Apply theoretical and analytical approaches to empirical examples of contemporary media practice including, for example, online participatory cultures, social networking, and transformations in the development and use of established forms of media such as film.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

Develop students knowledge, skills and capabilities around media and communications in the digital age, employability skills, critical thinking and study skills. This is achieved through interactive sessions that include lectures, individual and group activities.

 

Key concepts, theories, themes and media approaches in the module will be outlined in each lecture, one building on the next. Interactive sessions will introduce students to key media theories and case studies from diverse cultural contexts. Reading, individual and group tasks will be set to enhance student understanding and facilitate their own reflections and critical thinking around media convergence and new media technologies. Individual and group work tasks will contribute to their resourcefulness and employability.

 

The module is also covering cutting edge media technologies which are constantly advancing, such as big data and social media. It also addresses career pathways in media and communication to enhance student employability skills and awareness, including guest speakers on how to develop job applications.

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: SOC1045

Other information

The School of Sociology is committed to developing graduates with strengths in Employability, Digital Capabilities, Global and Cultural Capabilities, Sustainability, and Resourcefulness and Resilience. This module is designed to allow students to develop knowledge, skills, and capabilities in the following areas:

Employability

Students will be supported to enhance their employability throughout the module by developing key transferable skills: critical thinking, online research, group work, creating infographics, and developing case studies. Critical thinking will be developed across each topic in the module to enhance student’s abilities to communicate and convey arguments effectively. Online research will feature in both assessments, with students identifying career pathways in media and communication for the infographic in Assessment 1 and identifying and researching their own case study in Assessment 2. Group work is a key feature of Assessment 1, but will also feature in class throughout the module.

Digital Capabilities

This module focuses on how media technologies are advancing and the socio-cultural implications for audiences and users. Each lecture will address a current issue in digital societies and is therefore enhancing student understanding of media in the digital world. This will provide them with further digital capabilities. Assessment 1 enables students to develop their digital capabilities further by designing an infographic in a group setting.

Resourcefulness and Resilience

Students will work together in groups throughout the module, and specifically in Assessment 1. Working with other students, communication, negotiation, organization and time management skills (which all contribute to preparation for class and their assessment) will all contribute to building resourcefulness and resilience.

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 2025/6 academic year.