Communication Studies

Communication Studies at Otago focuses on the role of media in the social world.   It is concerned with how media are used at individual, group, regional, national and global levels to achieve important or valued purposes.   Media uses are assessed critically with concern about intended and unintended, desirable and undesirable consequences for individuals, nations, and the world.   Strategies for using media effectively and ethically are considered.  

Communication Studies seeks to address a need for graduates who understand the processes, effects, and cultural implications of the role of media in an era of global media. The revolution in information and communications technology has radically altered the way we experience the social world and define our place in it.   Global media have been developed that foster a globalized economy and global popular culture.   This situation creates both challenges and opportunities for us as individuals and as a nation. The adoption of new communication technology at personal and national levels will likely have profound long-term consequences that deserve careful consideration and research.   The free flow of a broad range of cultural commodities across national boundaries raises important questions for individuals in their daily lives and for nations in the policies they set for media. To address such questions this programme provides perspective on media theories, history, technology, policy, and audiences.   Important social issues involving media are addressed including political issues, environmental issues, and cultural diversity issues.

Communication Studies can be combined with the study of a wide range of other subjects, including Film and Media Studies, Visual Culture, English, Anthropology, Political Studies, Geography, History, Gender and Women's Studies, Development Studies, Languages, Design Studies, Marketing and Psychology.