COMMUNICATION IN SOCIETY - 2025/6

Module Overview

Communication is a key skill in the information society, from making sense of the world around you to making yourself heard in different settings, including university, work, with friends and family, and in society. This module will introduce students to key concepts in communication as they are relevant to communicating in 21st century society. Accounting for the fact that most of our communication is mediated in some way, the module will give students a strong contextual understanding in mediated communication. This is followed by an interdisciplinary approach to communication in which students will learn about the way we communicate and understand communication in a range of areas, including business, medical settings, science, language, and psychology.

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): 30

Module Availability

Semester 2

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

N/A

Module content

Please note that the specific content of the module may change from year to year, to account for current disciplinary developments and availability of expert staff. Indicative content may include:

• Sociological and media approaches to communication


• Communication in business


• Intercultural communication


• Interpersonal communication


• Science communication


• Communication in health contexts

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/A

Assessment Strategy

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

Their knowledge of key concepts and theories in communication in a number of disciplines, and their ability to apply these concepts to a range of contexts and examples. This assessment will strengthen their communication skills in a range of professions and disciplinary contexts.

 

  Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

A reflective portfolio in which students will reflect on and apply their knowledge of key topics in communication in different disciplines and contexts.

 

  Feedback

Students gain formative feedback throughout the semester via the interaction of their ideas with peers and the lecturer. Importantly, students will have the opportunity to submit a portfolio outline for formative feedback halfway through the module, which will prepare students for the final assessment at the end of the module. 

Module aims

• Develop students¿ understanding of interdisciplinary approaches to communication
• Strengthen students¿ communication skills
• Provide a space for interdisciplinary exchange around ideas and approaches to communication

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

provide students with an introduction to key theories, frameworks and topics in communication from a multidisciplinary perspective. Lecture components serve to introduce core background knowledge and theoretical concepts, enthuse students about the significance and importance of the topics and arguments, and develop 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 key contemporary case studies, let students connect examples and discussions to key concepts from the lecture, and ensure that students consider how interdisciplinary approaches to communication connect to and differ from each other.

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: SOC2108

Other information

The module is committed to developing graduates with strengths in Employability, Digital Capabilities, Global and Cultural Capabilities, Sustainability, and Resourcefulness and Resilience as they are understood in a range of dicsiplines. This module is designed to allow students to develop knowledge, skills, and capabilities in the following areas:

Digital Capabilities

Students will be introduced to key concepts in communication. The module’s contemporary focus means that understanding digital communication, including the different platforms through which we communicate in the 21^st century, are central to this understanding. Case studies will highlight the significance of digital technologies to contemporary communication across disciplines.

Employability

Throughout the module, students will reflect on the importance of communication across disciplines, and how this applies in their future field of work. The in-class activities will strengthen students’ communicative skills, and the assessment will strengthen their transferable skills, particularly critical thinking, research, and writing skills.

Resourcefulness and Resilience

The module will introduce students to concepts and approaches from disciplines that are not their own, therefore challenging preconceptions and requiring intellectual and analytical agility to switch quickly between different approaches as they change weekly. Students will be supported through this with a clear introductory set up that communicates learning strategies, a conceptual framework, and how to make the most of the module.

Global and Cultural Capabilities

The module understands contemporary communication as inherently global, so case studies and examples will be drawn from a globalized communication landscape. The module further is explicitly concerned with intercultural communication, and students will develop a sensibility for the ways in which communication is culturally specific and contingent.

Sustainability

The module will consider the ways in which interdisciplinary approaches to communication contribute to our understanding of issues of inequality.

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.