Media History and Media Theory

What is a medium? How are messages influenced by the media that communicate them? In what ways is our knowledge about the past shaped by historical media technologies? This course addresses such questions through theories from media and cultural studies.

By working with texts, theorists, and ways of thinking that have substantially shaped media studies as a discipline students will develop insight into a range of different theoretical problems and cultural phenomena, both in historical and contemporary contexts.

The course provides an historically grounded introduction to concepts and theoretical approaches that will be further developed and applied at more advanced level in the course MV2007 Media Analysis and Aesthetics.

Knowledge

Students who successfully complete this course have:

• general knowledge about salient aspects of media history
• basic knowledge about a range of different theories of media and media cultures
• in-depth knowledge about selected terms and concepts from current media studies
• knowledge of the use of sources and academic referencing systems in media studies

Skills

Students who successfully complete this course are able to:

• explain the importance of historical context for an understanding of media
• apply appropriate terms and concepts in order to explore different aspects of media cultures
• critically evaluate a range of theoretical arguments about media from a historical perspective
• plan and organize written work to deadlines
• make appropriate use of sources and academic referencing systems

Lectures and seminars.

This course may be taught in Norwegian or English, pending staff availability.

Compulsory assignments

Up to 2 written submissions must be completed and approved before students can take the course exam.

The compulsory assignments are issued by the course convenor at the start of term and must be completed to receive a final assessment.

Students are required to use Blackboard actively for updates and information, in addition to other information resources of the course.