Media and the Real (P5097)

15 credits, Level 5

Spring teaching

From ‘fake news’ and ‘post-truth politics’ to ‘virtual reality’ and ‘deepfakes’, the media’s relationship to ‘the real’ features prominently in contemporary debate. On this module, you’ll explore how media construct realities whilst also claiming to represent lived world experiences. You’ll look at how contemporary media deal in questions of truth, realism and deception.

You’ll engage with core questions of:

  • objectivity and bias
  • media-source relations
  • propaganda and dis/information
  • trust and conspiracy
  • authenticity and identity
  • liveness and mediated experience
  • mediation and mediatisation.

We’ll take examples from a wide range of media forms and genres that might include:

  • news and current affairs
  • documentary and docudrama
  • reality TV
  • true crime podcasts
  • greenwashing and sustainability communications
  • spreadable social media and influencer content
  • AI generated content
  • augmented reality technologies
  • playable media.

You’ll:

  • gain critical understanding of the role of the media in co-creating understandings of reality
  • identify continuities and transformations in how institutional and other interest groups have sought to harness media content
  • develop a sophisticated response to current debates around ‘fakeness’ in media
  • improve your debating skills and communicate complex ideas in oral and written forms.

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 150 hours of work. This breaks down into about 33 hours of contact time and about 117 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2026/27. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.

We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.

Courses

This module is offered on the following courses: