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Find out which papers are available and how to apply on our COVID-19 website
The politics and aesthetics of representing reality through documentary, reality television and social media.
This paper addresses notions of representation, mediatisation and authenticity in contemporary mediated communications. It looks at the cultural politics of documenting reality primarily through social media and reality television. These sites will be analysed as a nexus where questions of what constitutes reality are (re)produced and disseminated within socio-cultural and institutional contexts. The course accounts for the history of mediations of reality and addresses contemporary challenges to established definitions, categories and assumptions regarding what it means to represent reality.
| Paper title | Documentary and Reality Media |
|---|---|
| Paper code | MFCO223 |
| Subject | Media, Film and Communication |
| EFTS | 0.15 |
| Points | 18 points |
| Teaching period | Not offered in 2022 (On campus) |
| Domestic Tuition Fees (NZD) | $929.55 |
| International Tuition Fees | Tuition Fees for international students are elsewhere on this website. |
- Prerequisite
- 54 points
- Schedule C
- Arts and Music, Science
- Eligibility
- A basic understanding of film and media analysis
- Contact
- mfco@otago.ac.nz
- Teaching staff
Convenor and Lecturer: TBA
- Paper Structure
Topics include:
- Social constructionism and "reality"
- Realism, mediation and ideology
- The affects and effects of reality media
- Reflexive subjects and reality media
Assessment:
- Assignment 1: Concept Test (25%)
- Assignment 2: Critical Essay with Creative Option (35%)
- Take Home Exam (40%)
- Textbooks
Course readings will be available on Blackboard.
- Graduate Attributes Emphasised
- Communication, Critical thinking, Cultural understanding.
View more information about Otago's graduate attributes. - Learning Outcomes
Students who successfully complete this paper will
- Communicate effectively in written, visual and verbal form regarding reality media theory and practice
- Critically evaluate arguments and positions regarding the functions and effects of reality media
- Demonstrate a cultural understanding of the expression of identity and difference (ethnic, racial, gender, sexual orientation) through reality media, with an emphasis on the bicultural context of Aotearoa New Zealand
- Grasp the ethical issues embedded in the various modes of reality media practice
- Demonstrate environmental and general information literacy regarding claims around the presentation of factual data on issues such as social justice within reality media
