What to expect from a major in Media and Writing

You will develop knowledge about:

  • Key theoretical perspectives which explain the relationships between media, social media platforms, popular culture and society in African and global contexts.
  • The constitutional, regulatory, and industry frameworks within which media organisationsand social media platforms function, as well asethical and political debates about how they operate.
  • African scholarship and media theory beyond the Global North

You will learn how to:

  • Analyse media critically using theories which include critical race theory, feminist analysis, intersectionality, queer theory, decolonial and postcolonial theories and political economy of the media.
  • Conduct a systematic content analysis and qualitative interviews or focus groups in preparation for postgraduate research.
  • Apply research and critical thinking skills to evaluate information
  • Produce a portfolio of creative and critical work, including the following genres:
  • Multimedia presentations, visual summaries and infographics
  • Culture jams
  • News reports and features (Reporting, interviewing, fact-checking and copywriting skills)
  • Stories communicating quantitative data
  • Short research papers.

You will understand:

How knowledge about media is constructed using a range of research methods (content analysis and qualitative methods) and reflect critically on the neo-liberal and legal environment within which media platforms operate (whether news or entertainment media).

Requirements for a major in Media and Writing:

First Semester 

Second Semester 

First year 

FAM1001F Media & Society 

 

Second Year 

FAM2000F Writing and Editing in the Media 

FAM2003S Media, Power and Culture 

Third Year 

FAM3000F The Media in South Africa 

FAM3001S Advanced Media Studies 

Prerequisites:

(i) For FAM2000F:  FAM1001F, or at the discretion of the Head of Department

(ii) For FAM2003S: FAM1001F and FAM2000F, or at the discretion of the Head of Department

(iii) For FAM3000F: open to students majoring in Media and Writing who have completed FAM2000F and FAM2003S, or at the discretion of the Head of Department

(iv) For FAM3001S: open to students who have completed FAM2000F, FAM3000F and FAM2003S, or at the discretion of the Head of Department.