Master of Global Media Communication

Students will be introduced to a variety of quantitative and qualitative approaches to researching communications, institutions, technologies, texts and audiences across the complex digital global media landscape. Students will gain practical experience in applying different research methods and data gathering processes, including techniques for semi-structured interviews, content analysis, semiotics, discourse analysis, ethnography, surveys and social media analysis. Students will learn how to conduct a literature review, develop a research question, design a research methodology, identify and collect a data sample, manage and analyse data, and present the findings through the execution of their own research project. Upon completion of the subject, students will have developed an understanding of the key issues, strategies, and ethical responsibilities of media and communications research. To this end, students have the opportunity to develop special insight and expertise into an area of media and communications practice. The subject provides students with critical research skills for application to both industry and scholarly research projects, and equips them for further research subjects offered in the Masters of Global Media program.

This subject provides students with foundational case studies and conceptual frameworks for understanding the history of media technologies, institutions, practices, and products. Students will develop a critical understanding of the issues and debates surrounding the complex transformation of media spaces and practices from the broadcast era to the contemporary digital communications landscape. Students will explore the impact of digital technologies on the production, distribution, and consumption of mediated communications with an emphasis on the dynamic consequences of these shifts for global communications and networked publics. Students will develop academic skills of critical thinking to engage with and evaluate literature, and to write argumentatively.

Through the study of multiculturalism in Australian society, this subject develops students' ability to use academic English language. The subject is specifically designed for students who require intensive attention to their academic writing development. Its primary focus is on developing students' ability to structure an academic paper, develop an argument, make effective use of citations and draw conclusions. A range of other academic abilities are also developed such as critical thinking, effective reading, participation in small group work and oral presentations.

In this subject students will develop their academic skills in oral and written forms of communication through the study of current issues in Australian society. The assessment tasks focus on the ability to critically analyse a range of academic texts and to synthesise material from a number of sources to produce 1) a collaborative formal oral presentation and 2) independently researched written papers that are fluent, well-organised and effectively expressed.

This subject aims to develop ESL students' academic writing and speaking abilities through a study of topics in economics. Class exercises and assessment tasks provide students with opportunities to practice, receive feedback, and thus develop their academic language. The assessment tasks focus on the ability to synthesize information from a range of sources, communicate confidently in group work and individually, and write assignments which are well structured and use language accurately and appropriately.

This subject enhances students’ ability to communicate effectively and strategically in English-speaking professional settings in Australia and internationally. Students will acquire research-based discourse analytic tools to understand workplace cultures and norms of interaction, and develop practical skills in advanced spoken and email-based workplace interaction. Topics include opening and closing conversations, engaging in small talk, raising sensitive issues with peers and superior, making and responding to requests, complaints, and refusals from a position of strength and weakness, structuring short ad hoc speeches, participating in job interviews, and understanding cultural norms of humour, sarcasm and non-literal language use. There will be an emphasis throughout on intercultural differences and awareness raising of how cultural norms impact interaction.

Note: This subject is aimed at speakers of English as an additional language. It is not suitable for native speakers of English.

This subject examines diverse understandings of audiences and introduces research approaches to investigating audience practices and patterns of consumption in a changing media landscape. It provides a detailed understanding of the different ways in which questions of media impact and audience power have been theorised, conceptualised and examined across the history of media research. Students will be encouraged to deepen their understanding of contemporary audience research methodologies from both administrative and critical points of views and to develop critical evaluation skills deployed in relation to these. Approaches examined will include early media effects studies rooted in the behavioural paradigm, and sociological studies of public beliefs and opinion formation, as well as political economy of globalisation and its (re)construction of audiences and approaches inspired by cultural studies that explore audiences as culturally situated and as active sense makers. Students will consider different audiences, media and genres across the course and engage in focused study of selected audiences and processes of reception.

This subject provides students with an advanced understanding of relevant theory and practice in contemporary public relations. Lectures will introduce case studies and practical accounts from industry professionals dealing with public relations functions including stakeholder relations, media relations, government relations, investor relations and issues/crisis management. This will be complemented with theoretical perspectives and examination of ethical considerations to situate the key issues and challenges of public relations in a global context.

This subject seeks, through research and investigation, to encourage students to reflect on how journalism has developed and changed over time, in order to gain a critically informed perspective on its present and possible futures. Students will reflect on the question of what drives journalism history, and different perspectives that have been provided on this question, in work that has focused on the contribution of sociopolitical, economic and technological change to shaping and transforming journalism. This is addressed through engagement with key areas of research and debate surrounding journalism history, as well as a consideration of different traditions and histories of journalism in different social and political cultures. Such work provides a resource for critically informed consideration of how history has shaped the present landscape of journalism and challenges facing the field. It also supports informed engagement with the problem of how such challenges might be addressed, and journalism's possible future(s).

This subject provides students with the skills to write at an advanced journalistic level. Lectures will present students with techniques that will enhance skills in interviewing, news judgement, narrative technique, researching, framing ideas, developing contacts and using off the record information. Students will also deal with issues of fairness and objectivity, plagiarism, libel and codes of conduct. On completion of this subject, students will have developed advanced skills in print and online feature writing.

This subject offers an advanced critical examination of the impact of digital technology on contemporary media industries and cultural practices. We will examine the way the internet and new modes of collaborative production in the Web 2.0 environment are driving the transformation of all media sectors, including cinema, music, video, gaming and television. Through case studies in these sectors and close analysis of contemporary internet practices, students will engage with key debates about digital culture, including the transformation of audiences, the emergence of new media platforms, the role of peer to peer networks and social media and the changing nature of power in the digital era.

This subject explores critical perspectives on digital platforms within media and communications studies. Digital platforms incorporate databases, algorithms, interfaces and infrastructures, and now play a significant role in mediating digital economies, cultural practices and social relations. Students will examine various theoretical, historical and methodological approaches for analyzing digital platforms, including their histories and social impacts. Within the subject workshops, students will consider debates around technology innovation, change and adoption, whilst also undertaking a research project to apply these ideas to a specific feature or function of a digital platform. 

Audiovisual communication is an important sector in today’s transnational digital sphere. The training in key areas of audiovisual production is relevant for various professional areas in the media and communication industry. This subject is designed in a ‘workshop’ approach where students will work in small groups in order to gain experience in various areas of audiovisual production. The subject will familiarise students, for example with techniques of script writing, producing, shooting, and preparation of audiovisual content for online as well as broadcast delivery. Furthermore, principles of collaborative practice, studio directing, camera operation, sound recording, and post-production workflows will also be integral to the subject.

These techniques are delivered through project-related contexts using a project-based approach. It is aimed to deliver student productions online or other media platforms. Given the nature of the teaching of this subject, all students must consult with the subject coordinator prior to enrolment.

Since the end of the 1970s the world has undergone dramatic transformations that have in many ways deeply integrated the spheres of economy, culture, polity and society to an unprecedented degree. The world today is unrecognisable from that of the 1970s. This has been made possible largely through the development of information and communication technologies set upon a definable trajectory through identifiable political and economic choices made at critical periods. The subject will develop an understanding and approach to the network society that will be informed through a political economy perspective. Using the dynamics of neoliberal globalisation as the underlying foundation of the network society, it will show why the ICT revolution occurred when it did, and why it has taken the particular developmental trajectory that it has. Neoliberalism and the salience of market forces as the driver of the ICT revolution will be of particular interest in the development of the approach. The other critical dimension of the subject is that it will develop the political economy approach from a temporal perspective. That is to say, it will concentrate on the nature of speed (social, cultural, political and economic) that has undergone profound transformations since the late 1970s. What will be particularly important about this perspective is that students will gain insights into something they already recognise at some level of articulation, i.e. 'things speed up', but find difficulty in expressing intellectually why this is the case - and what the social, cultural, and personal consequences of speed are. Consequently an introduction to the concepts of social time - as opposed to the unreflective time of the clock - will form a critical element to the political economy perspective.

The increasingly international and global nature of media production, distribution and audiences has produced a startling array of bodies taking responsibility for policy issues, ranging from technical specifications and the allocation of spectra to content regulation, intellectual property and the protection of cultural heritage. Many of these bodies have long histories (the International Telecommunications Union for example, founded in 1865) while others are very recent (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, ICANN, formed in September 1998). Some of these bodies are non-governmental organisations or not-for-profit corporations, others are formed to administer treaties, or are organs of the United Nations. All balance the demands of media users, media industries and national governments in varying degrees, and all play host to major lobbies and diplomacy. Some bodies have significant influence over the activities of others: the World Trade Organisation’s policy instruments have major impact on the media, for example. This subject will address case studies such as the use of technical standards to enforce commercial property rights, attempts to protect and encourage indigenous media, the discourse and practice of media and ICT for development in order to disentangle the interests at work and the modes of practice of these bodies, and to address critical debates and alternative proposals for policy development.

This subject examines the transformations of urban life and social belonging by focusing on the related impact of human mobility and new media and communication technologies. It will critically engage with the dominant sociological models for explaining global movement and the emergence of global, mobile media, and will test their relationship to theories of the nation state, diasporic cultures and new urban formations. In particular it will examine the formation of new hybrid identities, cosmopolitan organizations, transnational modes of agency and social interaction. This subject will address the complex cultural transformation of public space and the public sphere in contemporary society. It will situate this discussion in relation to underlying fears towards outsiders and ambivalence towards the impact of new technologies and mobility in general. On completion of this subject, students will be familiar with alternative perspectives for understanding the relation between global flows and local affiliations, and for understanding the emergence of new social spaces and practices in the diasporic cultures of contemporary cities.

Global Crisis Reporting examines studies and approaches to global communications and the reporting of crises, including disasters and humanitarian relief. The course examines the extent to which, how and why forms of coverage have changed in recent years, and considers how these changes have impacted on the way in which "crises" are constructed, mediated and communicated. It considers the possible impacts of such changes on national and international public opinion and political leaders, as well as on those immediately involved. Amongst the themes addressed are: the rise of digital technologies of news production and distribution and their impact on the nature of crisis reporting, arguments for and against a "journalism of attachment", the communication strategies of humanitarian organisations and the degree to which coverage of human suffering raises questions about the moral responsibility of news-makers. The subject also examines issues regarding the political impacts of contemporary crisis reporting, the nature and direction of communication flows, the rise of emergent practices of crisis communications and media activism and the degree to which transformations in the field may, or may not, serve to positively address the relations underpinning global crises.

This subject addresses the challenges of representing and speaking on behalf of others in the context of communication programs dedicated to social justice and social inclusion. Civil society organisations, public policy initiatives, non-governmental organisations and advocacy groups face challenges different to those of both the news industries and the commercial sector. They must respond to news values, and they need to promote, but they are also devoted to telling often unpalatable truths in hostile or apathetic environments. At the same time, they have ethical obligations to their causes which make demands on their communications strategies in many respects more challenging than those of commerce and the public sector. This subject studies case histories of a variety of campaigns from the non-profit civil society sector, and addresses the different ways in which campaigns may be said to succeed or fail, for example economically, ethically, or in terms of effecting desired and undesired social change.

Developed from at least the fifth century BCE onwards, the metalanguage of rhetoric (writing on writing, or discourse on discourse) is today inextricably imbricated in both practices and critiques of media language. This subject examines the highly controversial history of rhetoric, always already embedded in philosophy, as well as its competing definitions, and various appearances, influences, and even metamorphoses, in writing practices and in theories of communication from the time of Aristotle through to the age of electronic media. At the same time, the subject addresses current practices of media writing within national and global media spheres. It views these through the lens of the metalanguage of rhetoric, encouraging critical engagement with both media writing and rhetorical theory, and most importantly with students’ own writing practices.

This subject, is a select entry subject to be co-taught by staff at the University of Melbourne and Fudan University, will critically engage with the role of emergent social media platforms in contemporary forms of public communication, with a particular focus on their impacts on and challenges for journalism and political communication. To this end, the subject will engage with debates surrounding the social and public impact of technological transformations, and how these can be understood; the challenges and opportunities presented by changing media forms and platforms for media industries, media professionals and frameworks of media regulation; the degree to which the affordances of digital media may work to challenge and/or extend existing social relations; and, finally, how social media serve to contribute to shifting spaces and practices of public communication, and contemporary debates surrounding the significance of this. In doing so, this subject will consider the relationship between processes of media transformation and their relation to broader processes of global social change, focusing in particular on how these have impacted on China and Australia respectively.

This subject provides students with advanced understanding of global and international media communication in the recent past and the contemporary world. The subject will encourage students to engage with empirical case study materials concerning key aspects of global media performance, industries, texts and audiences and their contribution to wider processes of transformation and change: economic, political, social, cultural. Developments in contemporary media theory and methodologies deployed in the analysis of global media will be addressed throughout. As well as providing a coherent overview of past research and theoretical trajectories in respect of international and global communications, the subject will also equip students to engage with current debates centring on questions of globalisation/localisation, identity and citizenship and such media approaches as "public sphere(s)".

This subject is designed to further develop the skills and extend the experience of those students already in gainful employment in a publishing or communications environment. With the support of the subject coordinator and the mentorship of a senior staff member in their place of employment, they will investigate their company's business in order to understand its position within the broader industry. As well as taking part in their ongoing day-to-day work, students will undertake a research project of concrete and practical benefit to their organisation. The research topic will be negotiated between the student, the organisation's management or employee's mentor, and the subject coordinator. Students will develop skills in conducting effective and timely research, analysis and report-writing, and will also gaining deeper insight into a particular model of contemporary publishing and communications practice. They will exercise the skills in writing, editing, print and web production they have developed through their university studies and apply them directly to their current professional environment.

Students enrolled in this subject will be assisted to find a placement in a professional working environment where they will gain direct exposure to professional practice in their chosen field. They will work under the guidance of a senior staff member, with additional support from the subject co-ordinator. As well as taking part in the host organisation's day-to-day work, students will undertake a research project of concrete and practical benefit to the host organisation or the broader industry. The research topic will be negotiated between the student, the organisation's management and the subject co-ordinator. Students seeking to undertake the research internship in their current place of employment must consult the subject coordinator.

This subject introduces students to cultural policy studies as a distinct domain of cultural studies. It examines the stakes involved in defining and operating within cultural policy studies by working through the characterisations of creative industries, cultural practices, cultural politics and power. Students will analyse specific instances of cultural policy and creative industry developments in Australia, Asia and elsewhere, produce specific studies of the political dimensions of cultural practices in order to re-think perceived notions of identity, ideology and representation, and comprehend the range and consequences of scholarly involvement in cultural policy studies. Students completing the subject will appreciate the relationship between critical analysis and policy orientation in cultural studies and be familiar with specific instances of cultural policy, creative industry and cultural citizenship development at local, state, federal and international levels.

Over the course of the last thirty years, an 'associational revolution' has swept the world, as more and more civil society organizations have taken over tasks formerly assigned to states, formed cross-boder advocacy campaigns to hold both states and corporations accountable for labor, environmental, and human rights violations, and formulated alternative development policies that run counter to the paradigms espoused by the World Bank and other multilateral lending organizations. While some argue that this associational revolution promises more particpatory, expedient, and decentralized forms of transnational governance, others contend that it reflects little more than the ongoing privatization of the public sphere at the hands of transnational capital. In this course, we evaluate these and alternative perspectives by exploring transformations in the structure of the global political-economy over the past thirty years; looking closely at the roles played by a variety of NGOs and CBOs as part of more multi-layered regimes of 'global governance'; analyzing the shifts in state structures that have made these regimes possible; and teasing apart the ongoing tensions between various factions of what some have called, an emerging 'global civil society'. Case studies will be drawn from Africa, South Asia, and Latin America.

The subject will equip students for navigating their careers in a world of changing business models. . It also considers how journalists create a personal brand in a fracturing media landscape and how they develop an entrepreneurial spirit, which is both a mindset and a problem-solving skill set.The subject will focuses on web based publication and small and medium sized journalism enterprises, and the particular skill combination needed to make a commercial success of online journalism outlets, including those serving niche audiences. Students will explore the ways in which social media, including blogs, Twitter and Facebook, are being used to both gather information for journalistic work, and to publicise that work and gather an audience around it. As well as engaging in practical exercises, students will also be introduced to theoretical understandings of the public space, and the ways in which these are being altered by social media. Key examples of journalistic use of social media will be examined. The subject will also examine the managing of money, audiences and people. in small to medium news media enterprises.

This unit will explore the practice and theoretical underpinnings of data journalism, whereby news content is organized around structured pieces of data, as opposed to conventionally structured news stories. Students will learn how to access key public databases, extract stories from them, and make the data available in visualisations that facilitate citizens’ own inquiries and investigations. Students will be acquainted with the history and current practice of data journalism, including key international examples.

This subject examines the strategies used by political actors to communicate with a focus on political, public and government communication. Topics covered include theories of political communication and how news media cover politics, ‘spin’ and PR methods used by politicians to manage the media, political advertising, political oratory, government communication and broadcast political interviews.

This introductory subject is designed to induct graduate students into the major issues and current thinking in web-based communication; to familiarize students with the major channels and platforms in use in this field; to develop an understanding of online genres, and teach essential writing and editing skills for online contexts. Students will gain practical experience in writing in a number of different styles and formats and will learn to publish their work on a digital platform.

This subject investigates the place of documentary and ethnographic film in contemporary film theory. Students should become familiar with postmodern debates surrounding documentary film-making and realism, and the critique of ethnographic cinema as linked to nationalism and imperialism and what we might describes as the filming of the ‘other’. A central issue for discussion will be that of the ethical challenges which face documentary filmmakers.

We will study a wide range of classic works such as Nanook of the North (Flaherty, 1922), The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter (Field, 1980), The Thin Blue Line (Morris1988), Bowling for Columbine (Moore, 2002) and Werner Herzog’s Grizzly Man (2005). There will be a focus on recent forms of documentary film that have taken up contemporary social issues such as sexuality, gender, race, the environment, social violence and the plight of non-human animals. Students should develop a knowledge of various forms of documentary cinema, including self-reflective modes, 'cinema verite', direct interview, surrealist documentary, docufiction and mockumentary. Also important will be an understanding of aesthetic issues such as the ethnographic gaze,realism, point of view and haptic visuality.

This subject examines the histories, cultural contexts and current debates surrounding censorship in the visual arts. Censorship practices and protocols will be defined and investigated in relation to issues of morality, legality and the public sphere. The changing definitions and complexities of censorship will be investigated in instances of creative freedom challenging prohibition in film, performing arts, visual art and media cultures. Students will gain a theoretical understanding of the historical and emerging debates surrounding the controversial area of censorship, freedom of speech and expression. Students will also study censorship in national and international contexts with an emphasis on specific case studies. This subject will also examine how artistic practice influences wider cultural, political and legal prohibitions underlying film, the arts and media.

This subject explores the theoretical and political issues surrounding ideas of rights and human rights, with special reference to the development process within the contemporary globalising order. It draws on recent critical feminist and other (re)theorising within a range of disciplines, including anthropology and sociology, political science, international relations, geography, legal studies, history and development studies. The subject examines definitions of rights and the re-framing of such ideas within critical theory, the background to the development of the international human rights regime, the moral basis of and possibility of global civil society and global citizenship, histories of rights discourses, especially the so-called four generations of rights, the state, citizenship and rights in the developing world, "rights", universalism, cosmopolitanism and "culture", with particular reference to "Asian Values", participation and rights-based development theory and practice, especially in relation to poverty alleviation, economic and land rights, indigenous people's rights, labour, unfree labour and rights, war, displacement, the new migrations and refugees' rights, women's rights, sexuality rights, children's rights, disability rights, and NGOs, social movements and rights.

This subject, is a select entry subject to be co-taught by staff at the University of Melbourne and Fudan University, will critically engage with the role of emergent social media platforms in contemporary forms of public communication, with a particular focus on their impacts on and challenges for journalism and political communication. To this end, the subject will engage with debates surrounding the social and public impact of technological transformations, and how these can be understood; the challenges and opportunities presented by changing media forms and platforms for media industries, media professionals and frameworks of media regulation; the degree to which the affordances of digital media may work to challenge and/or extend existing social relations; and, finally, how social media serve to contribute to shifting spaces and practices of public communication, and contemporary debates surrounding the significance of this. In doing so, this subject will consider the relationship between processes of media transformation and their relation to broader processes of global social change, focusing in particular on how these have impacted on China and Australia respectively.

Social enterprises are businesses that exist with the specific purpose of solving social and/or environmental problems through trade. These enterprises merge the best features of business and the non-profit sector to create innovative solutions that address both social and market gaps. Within these enterprises, success is thus measured in social and/or environmental terms, in addition to financial sustainability.

This multidisciplinary subject has been developed in partnership with Unbound, a Melbourne-based social enterprise leading innovative education programs on social change through entrepreneurship across the Asia-Pacific region. The subject equips students with a critical understanding of social entrepreneurship, and provides them with a practical opportunity to develop their own start-up social enterprise. Groups will be formed according to personal interest and students will work in small project teams to conceptualise, develop and pitch a viable social enterprise initiative. Students are also expected to test their idea in the marketplace in real time, for example, liaise with external organisations to receive feedback on your product/service and/or develop a minimal viable product that can be showcased.

To support the development of ideas, the subject draws from case studies, field trips and guests speakers from the Victorian start-up ecosystem that share their personal experiences and advice as successful social entrepreneurs. Students will also have the opportunity to receive direct support on their idea during a feedback salon with academics, business leaders and social enterprise practitioners.

Upon completing this subject, students will develop a critical understanding of the nature of social enterprise in contemporary society and the practical requirements for developing sustainable social enterprise projects. The subject also uniquely provides students with the opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge to real-world solutions in real time.

This subject involves a study of an approved topic in global public policy and international relations. Details of the program being offered will be available from the School. Students who complete this subject successfully should have demonstrated a specialist understanding of the topic, contributed effectively to the work of the seminar, shown a capacity for an advanced level of analysis and familiarised themselves with the latest directions of research into that particular topic.

This subject will be offered by selected Universitas 21 partners in conjunction with the University of Melbourne and will be taught as an intensive in Australia and/or overseas. 

This subject addresses ethical issues and legal constraints involved in publishing for print and digital media. It will review existing ethical codes and the mechanisms established to police them, as well as offering an overview of how publishing practices are shaped by legislative provisions relating to such matters as intellectual property, privacy, defamation and respect for cultural differences. On successfully completing this subject, students will have gained an understanding of a wide range of ethical and legal considerations.

This subject is designed to give students training in the knowledge and skills required to be effective online community managers. It presents advanced understanding of the theories, practices, responsibilities, and ethical considerations of managing online communities in participatory spaces, whether for brands or media organisations. Using practical examples and case studies it demonstrates the importance of excellent community management and engagement within the online communications space. Students will be given an opportunity to translate their knowledge into practice through assignments designed to engage them in the work of community management.

Students will be introduced to a variety of quantitative and qualitative approaches to researching communications, institutions, technologies, texts and audiences across the complex digital global media landscape. Students will gain practical experience in applying different research methods and data gathering processes, including techniques for semi-structured interviews, content analysis, semiotics, discourse analysis, ethnography, surveys and social media analysis. Students will learn how to conduct a literature review, develop a research question, design a research methodology, identify and collect a data sample, manage and analyse data, and present the findings through the execution of their own research project. Upon completion of the subject, students will have developed an understanding of the key issues, strategies, and ethical responsibilities of media and communications research. To this end, students have the opportunity to develop special insight and expertise into an area of media and communications practice. The subject provides students with critical research skills for application to both industry and scholarly research projects, and equips them for further research subjects offered in the Masters of Global Media program.

This subject provides students with foundational case studies and conceptual frameworks for understanding the history of media technologies, institutions, practices, and products. Students will develop a critical understanding of the issues and debates surrounding the complex transformation of media spaces and practices from the broadcast era to the contemporary digital communications landscape. Students will explore the impact of digital technologies on the production, distribution, and consumption of mediated communications with an emphasis on the dynamic consequences of these shifts for global communications and networked publics. Students will develop academic skills of critical thinking to engage with and evaluate literature, and to write argumentatively.

Through the study of multiculturalism in Australian society, this subject develops students' ability to use academic English language. The subject is specifically designed for students who require intensive attention to their academic writing development. Its primary focus is on developing students' ability to structure an academic paper, develop an argument, make effective use of citations and draw conclusions. A range of other academic abilities are also developed such as critical thinking, effective reading, participation in small group work and oral presentations.

In this subject students will develop their academic skills in oral and written forms of communication through the study of current issues in Australian society. The assessment tasks focus on the ability to critically analyse a range of academic texts and to synthesise material from a number of sources to produce 1) a collaborative formal oral presentation and 2) independently researched written papers that are fluent, well-organised and effectively expressed.

This subject aims to develop ESL students' academic writing and speaking abilities through a study of topics in economics. Class exercises and assessment tasks provide students with opportunities to practice, receive feedback, and thus develop their academic language. The assessment tasks focus on the ability to synthesize information from a range of sources, communicate confidently in group work and individually, and write assignments which are well structured and use language accurately and appropriately.

This subject enhances students’ ability to communicate effectively and strategically in English-speaking professional settings in Australia and internationally. Students will acquire research-based discourse analytic tools to understand workplace cultures and norms of interaction, and develop practical skills in advanced spoken and email-based workplace interaction. Topics include opening and closing conversations, engaging in small talk, raising sensitive issues with peers and superior, making and responding to requests, complaints, and refusals from a position of strength and weakness, structuring short ad hoc speeches, participating in job interviews, and understanding cultural norms of humour, sarcasm and non-literal language use. There will be an emphasis throughout on intercultural differences and awareness raising of how cultural norms impact interaction.

Note: This subject is aimed at speakers of English as an additional language. It is not suitable for native speakers of English.

This subject examines diverse understandings of audiences and introduces research approaches to investigating audience practices and patterns of consumption in a changing media landscape. It provides a detailed understanding of the different ways in which questions of media impact and audience power have been theorised, conceptualised and examined across the history of media research. Students will be encouraged to deepen their understanding of contemporary audience research methodologies from both administrative and critical points of views and to develop critical evaluation skills deployed in relation to these. Approaches examined will include early media effects studies rooted in the behavioural paradigm, and sociological studies of public beliefs and opinion formation, as well as political economy of globalisation and its (re)construction of audiences and approaches inspired by cultural studies that explore audiences as culturally situated and as active sense makers. Students will consider different audiences, media and genres across the course and engage in focused study of selected audiences and processes of reception.

This subject provides students with an advanced understanding of relevant theory and practice in contemporary public relations. Lectures will introduce case studies and practical accounts from industry professionals dealing with public relations functions including stakeholder relations, media relations, government relations, investor relations and issues/crisis management. This will be complemented with theoretical perspectives and examination of ethical considerations to situate the key issues and challenges of public relations in a global context.

This subject seeks, through research and investigation, to encourage students to reflect on how journalism has developed and changed over time, in order to gain a critically informed perspective on its present and possible futures. Students will reflect on the question of what drives journalism history, and different perspectives that have been provided on this question, in work that has focused on the contribution of sociopolitical, economic and technological change to shaping and transforming journalism. This is addressed through engagement with key areas of research and debate surrounding journalism history, as well as a consideration of different traditions and histories of journalism in different social and political cultures. Such work provides a resource for critically informed consideration of how history has shaped the present landscape of journalism and challenges facing the field. It also supports informed engagement with the problem of how such challenges might be addressed, and journalism's possible future(s).

This subject provides students with the skills to write at an advanced journalistic level. Lectures will present students with techniques that will enhance skills in interviewing, news judgement, narrative technique, researching, framing ideas, developing contacts and using off the record information. Students will also deal with issues of fairness and objectivity, plagiarism, libel and codes of conduct. On completion of this subject, students will have developed advanced skills in print and online feature writing.

This subject offers an advanced critical examination of the impact of digital technology on contemporary media industries and cultural practices. We will examine the way the internet and new modes of collaborative production in the Web 2.0 environment are driving the transformation of all media sectors, including cinema, music, video, gaming and television. Through case studies in these sectors and close analysis of contemporary internet practices, students will engage with key debates about digital culture, including the transformation of audiences, the emergence of new media platforms, the role of peer to peer networks and social media and the changing nature of power in the digital era.

This subject explores critical perspectives on digital platforms within media and communications studies. Digital platforms incorporate databases, algorithms, interfaces and infrastructures, and now play a significant role in mediating digital economies, cultural practices and social relations. Students will examine various theoretical, historical and methodological approaches for analyzing digital platforms, including their histories and social impacts. Within the subject workshops, students will consider debates around technology innovation, change and adoption, whilst also undertaking a research project to apply these ideas to a specific feature or function of a digital platform. 

Audiovisual communication is an important sector in today’s transnational digital sphere. The training in key areas of audiovisual production is relevant for various professional areas in the media and communication industry. This subject is designed in a ‘workshop’ approach where students will work in small groups in order to gain experience in various areas of audiovisual production. The subject will familiarise students, for example with techniques of script writing, producing, shooting, and preparation of audiovisual content for online as well as broadcast delivery. Furthermore, principles of collaborative practice, studio directing, camera operation, sound recording, and post-production workflows will also be integral to the subject.

These techniques are delivered through project-related contexts using a project-based approach. It is aimed to deliver student productions online or other media platforms. Given the nature of the teaching of this subject, all students must consult with the subject coordinator prior to enrolment.

Since the end of the 1970s the world has undergone dramatic transformations that have in many ways deeply integrated the spheres of economy, culture, polity and society to an unprecedented degree. The world today is unrecognisable from that of the 1970s. This has been made possible largely through the development of information and communication technologies set upon a definable trajectory through identifiable political and economic choices made at critical periods. The subject will develop an understanding and approach to the network society that will be informed through a political economy perspective. Using the dynamics of neoliberal globalisation as the underlying foundation of the network society, it will show why the ICT revolution occurred when it did, and why it has taken the particular developmental trajectory that it has. Neoliberalism and the salience of market forces as the driver of the ICT revolution will be of particular interest in the development of the approach. The other critical dimension of the subject is that it will develop the political economy approach from a temporal perspective. That is to say, it will concentrate on the nature of speed (social, cultural, political and economic) that has undergone profound transformations since the late 1970s. What will be particularly important about this perspective is that students will gain insights into something they already recognise at some level of articulation, i.e. 'things speed up', but find difficulty in expressing intellectually why this is the case - and what the social, cultural, and personal consequences of speed are. Consequently an introduction to the concepts of social time - as opposed to the unreflective time of the clock - will form a critical element to the political economy perspective.

The increasingly international and global nature of media production, distribution and audiences has produced a startling array of bodies taking responsibility for policy issues, ranging from technical specifications and the allocation of spectra to content regulation, intellectual property and the protection of cultural heritage. Many of these bodies have long histories (the International Telecommunications Union for example, founded in 1865) while others are very recent (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, ICANN, formed in September 1998). Some of these bodies are non-governmental organisations or not-for-profit corporations, others are formed to administer treaties, or are organs of the United Nations. All balance the demands of media users, media industries and national governments in varying degrees, and all play host to major lobbies and diplomacy. Some bodies have significant influence over the activities of others: the World Trade Organisation’s policy instruments have major impact on the media, for example. This subject will address case studies such as the use of technical standards to enforce commercial property rights, attempts to protect and encourage indigenous media, the discourse and practice of media and ICT for development in order to disentangle the interests at work and the modes of practice of these bodies, and to address critical debates and alternative proposals for policy development.

This subject examines the transformations of urban life and social belonging by focusing on the related impact of human mobility and new media and communication technologies. It will critically engage with the dominant sociological models for explaining global movement and the emergence of global, mobile media, and will test their relationship to theories of the nation state, diasporic cultures and new urban formations. In particular it will examine the formation of new hybrid identities, cosmopolitan organizations, transnational modes of agency and social interaction. This subject will address the complex cultural transformation of public space and the public sphere in contemporary society. It will situate this discussion in relation to underlying fears towards outsiders and ambivalence towards the impact of new technologies and mobility in general. On completion of this subject, students will be familiar with alternative perspectives for understanding the relation between global flows and local affiliations, and for understanding the emergence of new social spaces and practices in the diasporic cultures of contemporary cities.

Global Crisis Reporting examines studies and approaches to global communications and the reporting of crises, including disasters and humanitarian relief. The course examines the extent to which, how and why forms of coverage have changed in recent years, and considers how these changes have impacted on the way in which "crises" are constructed, mediated and communicated. It considers the possible impacts of such changes on national and international public opinion and political leaders, as well as on those immediately involved. Amongst the themes addressed are: the rise of digital technologies of news production and distribution and their impact on the nature of crisis reporting, arguments for and against a "journalism of attachment", the communication strategies of humanitarian organisations and the degree to which coverage of human suffering raises questions about the moral responsibility of news-makers. The subject also examines issues regarding the political impacts of contemporary crisis reporting, the nature and direction of communication flows, the rise of emergent practices of crisis communications and media activism and the degree to which transformations in the field may, or may not, serve to positively address the relations underpinning global crises.

This subject addresses the challenges of representing and speaking on behalf of others in the context of communication programs dedicated to social justice and social inclusion. Civil society organisations, public policy initiatives, non-governmental organisations and advocacy groups face challenges different to those of both the news industries and the commercial sector. They must respond to news values, and they need to promote, but they are also devoted to telling often unpalatable truths in hostile or apathetic environments. At the same time, they have ethical obligations to their causes which make demands on their communications strategies in many respects more challenging than those of commerce and the public sector. This subject studies case histories of a variety of campaigns from the non-profit civil society sector, and addresses the different ways in which campaigns may be said to succeed or fail, for example economically, ethically, or in terms of effecting desired and undesired social change.

Developed from at least the fifth century BCE onwards, the metalanguage of rhetoric (writing on writing, or discourse on discourse) is today inextricably imbricated in both practices and critiques of media language. This subject examines the highly controversial history of rhetoric, always already embedded in philosophy, as well as its competing definitions, and various appearances, influences, and even metamorphoses, in writing practices and in theories of communication from the time of Aristotle through to the age of electronic media. At the same time, the subject addresses current practices of media writing within national and global media spheres. It views these through the lens of the metalanguage of rhetoric, encouraging critical engagement with both media writing and rhetorical theory, and most importantly with students’ own writing practices.

This subject, is a select entry subject to be co-taught by staff at the University of Melbourne and Fudan University, will critically engage with the role of emergent social media platforms in contemporary forms of public communication, with a particular focus on their impacts on and challenges for journalism and political communication. To this end, the subject will engage with debates surrounding the social and public impact of technological transformations, and how these can be understood; the challenges and opportunities presented by changing media forms and platforms for media industries, media professionals and frameworks of media regulation; the degree to which the affordances of digital media may work to challenge and/or extend existing social relations; and, finally, how social media serve to contribute to shifting spaces and practices of public communication, and contemporary debates surrounding the significance of this. In doing so, this subject will consider the relationship between processes of media transformation and their relation to broader processes of global social change, focusing in particular on how these have impacted on China and Australia respectively.

This subject provides students with advanced understanding of global and international media communication in the recent past and the contemporary world. The subject will encourage students to engage with empirical case study materials concerning key aspects of global media performance, industries, texts and audiences and their contribution to wider processes of transformation and change: economic, political, social, cultural. Developments in contemporary media theory and methodologies deployed in the analysis of global media will be addressed throughout. As well as providing a coherent overview of past research and theoretical trajectories in respect of international and global communications, the subject will also equip students to engage with current debates centring on questions of globalisation/localisation, identity and citizenship and such media approaches as "public sphere(s)".

This subject is designed to further develop the skills and extend the experience of those students already in gainful employment in a publishing or communications environment. With the support of the subject coordinator and the mentorship of a senior staff member in their place of employment, they will investigate their company's business in order to understand its position within the broader industry. As well as taking part in their ongoing day-to-day work, students will undertake a research project of concrete and practical benefit to their organisation. The research topic will be negotiated between the student, the organisation's management or employee's mentor, and the subject coordinator. Students will develop skills in conducting effective and timely research, analysis and report-writing, and will also gaining deeper insight into a particular model of contemporary publishing and communications practice. They will exercise the skills in writing, editing, print and web production they have developed through their university studies and apply them directly to their current professional environment.

Students enrolled in this subject will be assisted to find a placement in a professional working environment where they will gain direct exposure to professional practice in their chosen field. They will work under the guidance of a senior staff member, with additional support from the subject co-ordinator. As well as taking part in the host organisation's day-to-day work, students will undertake a research project of concrete and practical benefit to the host organisation or the broader industry. The research topic will be negotiated between the student, the organisation's management and the subject co-ordinator. Students seeking to undertake the research internship in their current place of employment must consult the subject coordinator.

The Media and Communications Thesis subject requires students to design and deliver a substantial research project. Students will select an object of study, read widely in the relevant area, consult an appropriate methodology, and tools for analysing and interpreting the data they gather from their sources. Enrolment in the thesis is across two consecutive semesters and students must enrol in the subject in each semester to ensure they are meeting the full 37.5 point requirement for the year-long subject.

Refer to MECM90029 Media and Communications Thesis Part 1 for details

This subject introduces students to research skills for students planning, researching and writing a thesis in the School of Culture and Communication. Research Principles and Practices explores traditional and contemporary research practices and the differing methodological approaches guiding research practices in the School of Culture and Communication. It explores key research principles and practices including: defining an academic field, establishing a research question, identifying key words and key texts, developing a literature review, preparing and presenting a research proposal. Research Principles and Practices provides students with specific research methodologies and academic practices that will facilitate their research projects. It will also provide information about copyright, ethics and the conduct of ethical research.