Music Journalism BA(Hons)

This module introduces you to essential media law, ethics and policy knowledge needed for a career in journalism. It will help you understand the structures in which journalists and their employers operate, and the ways in which specific legal, ethical and regulatory frameworks impact the material created and published by media companies. You will learn about these so you can begin to effectively apply them in the context of creating journalism content.

The module introduces you to a range of audio formats and technologies: mobile, online, radio and podcast. You will be provided with the essential recording, editing and studio skills necessary to produce an audio output, and to understand the language and concepts required to critically evaluate audio content.

This module introduces you to a range of types and styles of journalistic writing. You will also be guided to develop transferable skills to write for a broad range of media formats. You will engage with key concepts related to the practice of writing and analyse material online, in magazines and newspapers and in broadcasts. Through regular writing activities you will develop and hone your writing skills.

The module introduces you to a range of video formats and technologies: mobile, online, television and video. You will be provided with the essential recording and editing skills necessary to produce a video output, and to understand the language and concepts required to critically evaluate video content.

This module will introduce you to a range of approaches to studying music and music technology. You will develop research, source-handling, evaluation, and critical-thinking skills and apply these to repertoires, cultures, and issues appropriate to your degree course. Linked lectures and seminars will increase your knowledge of key themes and concerns in music studies, give you opportunities to debate your ideas with others, and develop your confidence as an increasingly independent researcher.

You'll develop your music journalism writing skills, turning your hand to a wide variety of styles – from reviews and features to opinion articles, listicles and other forms of online and social media journalism. There will be in-depth teaching and guidance not only about how to write, but also how to pitch your work to editors. You'll learn about the tradition and history of music journalism, and think about its past, present and future.

This module gives you an understanding of the technical, legal and professional standards involved in planning, producing and publishing digital audio content, with a focus on podcasting. You will develop advanced skills in creative audio storytelling and editing. You will take part in creating a podcast and will develop abilities in promoting your work on social media platforms.

This module gives you an understanding of the technical, legal and professional standards involved in digital radio and audio production for broadcast and online; and the practical skills needed in the maintaining of a functioning online radio station with additional online content. You will further develop your abilities to create, produce and present radio journalism, and will receive individual voice training. You will also plan, produce and present a radio programme. You will work together as a group to plan and run a pop-up radio station along with its associated online platforms.

There’s a magazine for almost any topic you can think of, and this module helps take you closer to a job working for a publication you’ll love. Industry experts help teach you how to use software packages to design a stunning product. Then, you’re tasked with coming up with your own idea for a new magazine, to fill a gap in the market that you’ve spotted.

This module focuses on developing your understanding of different kinds of promotional culture – public relations (PR), influencers, marketing and advertising – and your critical, analytical and evaluative skills. You will learn how to critically analyse different kinds of promotional culture and evaluate its role in society, developing skills you will need to help you develop successful, effective and ethical promotional campaigns and content. As the module continues, you will apply what you have learnt to the practice of PR, and further develop the creative, analytical and technical skills you need to succeed as a public relations practitioner.

This module explores a range of topics in popular music of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. You will gain in-depth knowledge of pop from a variety of musical, cultural, and technological perspectives, with case studies ranging from rock ‘n’ roll and Philly soul through to hip-hop, chart pop, and electronica.

This module focuses on the study of fandoms and participatory media with an emphasis on areas including film, television, music, sport, politics and consumer culture. It introduces you to key concepts such as textual poaching, collective intelligence and spreadable media, as well as setting out key debates which have framed participatory media including the role of cultural industries, the commercial exploitation of participants and hierarchies of participation. The module allows you to consider the history of participatory media as well as its textuality and economic basis. The module furthermore examines motivations and practices behind forms of participation including enthusiasm and fandom, introducing you to tools and concepts through which you will analyse your own fan motivations and experiences.

The module is designed for students who have the minimum level of English language skills for them to have been accepted onto a university course and who may lack the initiative to ask for help when needed. In this module students are provided with the opportunity to develop higher levels of confidence in their production of spoken and written academic English. In addition, students will consolidate and refine their understanding of syntax and grammatical structures. As the module runs alongside their university studies, there is an emphasis on and an incentive to use skills that complement work done in the main area of study and which will be of use in and beyond an academic context. The use of regular AM/AI-proof tasks will ensure students develop an understanding of their own learning and the role they themselves play in developing their knowledge and skills. The module contributes to the attainment of skills and knowledge relevant to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) normally level B2- to B2.

The module provides students who have a level of English language skills sufficiently advanced for them to have been accepted onto a University course with the opportunity to improve further their skills in that language, with particular reference to improvements in the accuracy, clarity and fluency of their oral and written work. In addition to this, students will refine and develop their knowledge of academic study skills. As the module runs alongside their university studies, there is an emphasis on and an incentive to use skills that complement work done in the main area of study and which will be of use in and beyond an academic context. The use of regular AM/AI-proof tasks will ensure students develop an understanding of their own learning and the role they themselves play in developing their knowledge and skills. The module contributes to the attainment of skills and knowledge relevant to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) normally level B2 to B2+.

The module is designed for students who already have a good level of competence in spoken and written English and will support them to further enhance their language and academic skills. Students will refine and develop higher level thinking skills such as critical analysis, problem-solving, synthesis, inference and metacognition. Advanced oral role-plays, group discussions and debates will serve to improve spontaneity and sophistication of expression, whilst written activities will build greater fluency in the use of linguistic structures. They will work with extended academic texts and understand such academic skills as synthesising sources, literature reviews, methodologies, paraphrasing and a range of accurate citation skills. As the module runs alongside their university studies, there is an emphasis on and an incentive to use skills that complement work done in the main area of study and which will be of use in and beyond an academic context. The use of regular AM/AI-proof tasks will ensure students develop an understanding of their own learning and the role they themselves play in developing their knowledge and skills. The module contributes to the attainment of skills appropriate to the B2+ to C1 level of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) for Languages.

The Research Dissertation module facilitates your journey to acquiring expertise and specialism in a project allowing you to showcase summative learning across your course. You will be supported in undertaking guided independent research aimed at the generation of original knowledge in the study of media content, industries, practitioners, technologies or users and/or their cultural, social, political and economic premises and consequences. You will synthesise primary and secondary data and sources in your systematic, methodological analysis of a chosen topic in a field reflecting your course such as communication, journalism, film, digital media, entertainment, acting and performance, cultural production, sports media, music or promotional culture. This involves reviewing appropriate literature, identifying and executing a suitable methodology and research design and carrying out appropriate forms of analysis.

The module gives you an insight into the world of investigative journalism and will help you to develop the skills involved in successful investigations. You will learn about the history of investigative journalism, subject its activities to analysis and examine its specific techniques. Through a series of exercises, you will develop the skills that will be required to undertake an investigation of a contemporary subject.

Sustainability is discussed in boardrooms and on protests, but what exactly does it mean? And what is its significance for those using, working in and leading media businesses? This module situates these issues in the field of environmental social sciences and draws on the widely used, and often critiqued, idea of sustainable development. This will help you understand what sustainability might mean today and for your future careers in journalism and the media. You will create examples of sustainable media content, such as longform journalism or podcasts, based on your learning.

People all over the world long for their 15 minutes of fame, whether waiting for an audition or trying to become the next big streamer. In this module you’ll think about the power of celebrity in contemporary in society. You’ll examine the cultures of stars and celebrities, particularly in relation to film, music, sport and other popular cultures.

This module provides the advanced knowledge and practical skills for you to understand the technical, legal and professional standards involved in running a multiplatform newsroom. It will enable you to achieve professional standards of capability in radio and audio, TV and video, and online newsgathering, editing and presentation. It will stress the importance of team skills in the newsroom context. You will also explore the rationale and constraints of user-generated content. The aim of the module is to encourage you to produce work which will have a beneficial impact on your employability and will contribute to your personal development portfolio.

This module gives you the knowledge and practical skills to develop an advanced understanding of the emerging and diverse use of short film in a variety of forms. You will examine how video can be used across digital and broadcast platforms in innovative and complex ways. You will work in small groups to develop video narratives using a range of styles and platforms, with a clear understanding of audience and production.

This module examines video games in culture and video games as culture. It will allow you to explore key approaches and debates in video gaming analysis, while placing video games into their historical, social and economic contexts. You will examine key theories in game studies, including narratology and ludology; debates about play, immersion and flow; the cultures and sub-cultures of gamers and players, including age, race and gender; and the media industries that produce video games. By the end of the module you will be able to analyse video games utilising a variety of theories, and will understand the social and cultural meaning of games.

This module will help you imagine and plan for your future. Whether you want to be an actor, director, film-maker, producer, technician, or teacher, or to do something outside the creative industries, you will need to find the right context in which to work with others and develop your practice. In this module you will reflect critically on your current work and investigate potential employment opportunities, thinking about where you may want to take your career. You will conduct research into a specific industry and/or cultural context that matters to you, learning about what others are doing and imagining what you might contribute.

You will be provided with the opportunity to develop higher levels of confidence in your production of spoken and written academic English. In addition, you will consolidate and refine your understanding of syntax and grammatical structures. As the module runs alongside your university studies, there is an emphasis on and an incentive to use skills that complement work done in the main area of study and which will be of use in and beyond an academic context. The use of regular AM/AI-proof tasks will ensure you develop an understanding of your own learning and the role you can play in developing your knowledge and skills. The module contributes to the attainment of skills and knowledge relevant to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) normally level B2- to B2.

The module provides students who have a level of English language skills sufficiently advanced for them to have been accepted onto a University course with the opportunity to improve further their skills in that language, with particular reference to improvements in the accuracy, clarity and fluency of their oral and written work. In addition to this, students will refine and develop their knowledge of academic study skills. As the module runs alongside their university studies, there is an emphasis on and an incentive to use skills that complement work done in the main area of study and which will be of use in and beyond an academic context. The use of regular AM/AI-proof tasks will ensure students develop an understanding of their own learning and the role they themselves play in developing their knowledge and skills. The module contributes to the attainment of skills and knowledge relevant to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) normally level B2 to B2+.

The module is designed for students who already have a good level of competence in spoken and written English and will support them to further enhance their language and academic skills. Students will refine and develop higher level thinking skills such as critical analysis, problem-solving, synthesis, inference and metacognition. Advanced oral role-plays, group discussions and debates will serve to improve spontaneity and sophistication of expression, whilst written activities will build greater fluency in the use of linguistic structures. They will work with extended academic texts and understand such academic skills as synthesising sources, literature reviews, methodologies, paraphrasing and a range of accurate citation skills. As the module runs alongside their university studies, there is an emphasis on and an incentive to use skills that complement work done in the main area of study and which will be of use in and beyond an academic context. The use of regular AM/AI-proof tasks will ensure students develop an understanding of their own learning and the role they themselves play in developing their knowledge and skills. The module contributes to the attainment of skills appropriate to the B2+ to C1 level of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) for Languages.