COMM 3022 Media Memory

This is an archived copy of the 2022-2023 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit https://hbook.westernsydney.edu.au.

Credit Points 10

Legacy Code 101931

Coordinator Milissa Deitz Opens in new window

Description Media memory is now a critical field of study in journalism, advertising, visual communication and media. The media builds local, national and transnational identities through the representation of the past. Media industries such as advertising rely upon collective memories to design campaigns in order to reach particular audiences. Journalists increasingly 'assemble' stories from digital archives, recombining similar or related events from the past to build stories and features of the present. Individuals increasingly contribute to news events through their own 'witnessing' of events, capturing and sharing material using mobile and social media. This subject addresses these processes by providing a brief history and overview of approaches to thinking about media and memory, in the context of the significance of media convergence and digital memory within contemporary media ecologies. The subject provides students with a series of case studies that approach the memory of particular events, drawing on examples from advertising, public relations, visual communication, animation, film, broadcasting and journalism. Students develop a media research project that engages with the material presented in the subject.

School Humanities & Comm Arts

Discipline Communication And Media Studies

Student Contribution Band HECS Band 4 10cp

Check your HECS Band contribution amount via the Fees page.

Level Undergraduate Level 3 subject

Equivalent Subjects COMM 3031 - Researching Media Audiences

Restrictions Successful completion of 80 credit points at Level 1

Assumed Knowledge

Knowledge gained from completion of Bachelor of Communication Years 2 and 3 major subjects.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this subject, students should be able to:

Analyse and evaluate different conceptualizations of media memory
Assess and critique the variety of contexts and frameworks that can be used to understand the complexities of the relationships between media environments and consumers
Examine the variety of methods for researching media memory and identify their use in a major project

Subject Content

1. A brief historical overview of approaches to thinking about media and memory
2. The significance of media convergence and digital memory within contemporary media ecologies
3. The complex relationships between media and memory, consumers and audiences generally
4. A series of four themes that engage with media memory to provide a focus for the major project. The major project can be developed in any one of the communication specialisations.

Assessment

The following table summarises the standard assessment tasks for this subject. Please note this is a guide only. Assessment tasks are regularly updated, where there is a difference your Learning Guide takes precedence.

Type	Length	Percent	Threshold	Individual/Group Task
Essay	1,000 words	30	N	Individual
Presentation	2-5 minutes	10	N	Individual
Applied Project	2,000 words or visual/written equivalent	40	N	Individual
Reflection	500 words	20	N	Individual