COMMUNICATION STUDIES COURSES
(May not be offered in every semester, students are advised to check the website for updated courses under Course Registration page) |
Pre-requisite |
UPPER-LEVEL COURSES |
CS4004 / CS4040 Final-Year Project (FYP) |
Note: CS4004 – students admitted BEFORE AY18/19
CS4040 – students admitted FROM AY18/19
The purpose of the final-year project is to allow students to showcase their abilities and competencies. Students can choose to execute a variety of projects, including feature writing, illustrated features, photojournalism, public and promotional campaigns, quantitative or qualitative research, video documentary, and video drama. Students are responsible for conceptualising and designing the project, soliciting and negotiating with clients and sponsors, and managing, implementing, and evaluating the project. |
Must accumulate at least 91AUs by the end of Y3S2.
Prerequisites vary by project type. Refer to this link for more information. |
CS4103 / CS4203 Professional Internship (PI) |
Note: CS4103 - students admitted BEFORE AY15/2016
CS4203 - students admitted FROM AY15/2016
This 22-week professional internship aims to extend students’ knowledge beyond the academic curriculum. During the internship period, students will gain first-hand industry experience by working closely with professionals. This also provides students with an opportunity to develop an interpersonal network with professionals and hone their social and management skills. For students who choose to complete their internship abroad, they will also gain experience in a cross-cultural context. |
Must have registered for/ accumulated at least 55AUs by end of Y3S1. |
CS4011 News Copy Editing |
This course helps students think like editors. It treats good journalism as the product of sound editorial decision-making across a spectrum of professional newspapering skills, from headline writing and picture selection, to page layout. The course is geared for future editors and sub-editors, as well as reporters and photographers who need to be sensitised to the editing principles and practices that affect their work. Students will receive practical training in all the functions of sub-editors, including copy processing, and develop their skills at conceptualising the presentation of major news and feature packages |
CS2021 News
Reporting and
Writing |
CS4017 Specialised Journalism: Public Affairs |
The course provides students with the principles of and hands-on training in reporting public affairs – issues relating to public servants operating in government, society and the law. The course will cover Parliament and government; police and law courts; statutory boards and grassroots organisations. It will look at the relationship between the media and the authorities from both sides, and examine how that relationship can work to everyone’s best advantage. |
CS2021 News
Reporting and
Writing |
CS4017 Specialised Journalism: Public Affairs |
The course provides students with the principles of and hands-on training in reporting public affairs – issues relating to public servants operating in government, society and the law. The course will cover Parliament and government; police and law courts; statutory boards and grassroots organisations. It will look at the relationship between the media and the authorities from both sides,and examine how that relationship can work to everyone’s best advantage. |
CS2021 News
Reporting and
Writing |
CS4018 Specialised Journalism: Business and Economics |
This course introduces the business and economic beat, preparing students for entry-level reporting jobs on the business desks of newspapers, magazines and wires. It is partly a conceptual course, covering the macro-economy, markets, and companies, and providing a grounding in the concepts and tools required to understand, analyse and interpret the kinds of information that business/economic journalists deal with. It is also a practical course, with discussions focusing on current events, and assignments requiring students to report and write news stories and features within the business/economics beat. |
CS2021 News
Reporting and
Writing |
CS4020 Feature Writing |
The course is about the different forces at work in a magazine. It will give students an understanding of magazine writing, projection, editing, production and distribution; the skills required in an entry-level job in an editorial department; insights into the industry and the wide variety of titles; and the creative process involved. It will take them from the initial conceptualisation of a title, through the business side of generating income, to the creative hothouse that produces lively, inventive, relevant publications on a regular basis. It will put magazines in a social and cultural perspective, both in Singapore and overseas, and invite students to consider potential new titles. |
CS0204 Basic
Media Writing |
CS4022 Social Media Mining |
This course covers how to analyse unstructured data such as social media content using text mining techniques. Students will learn various text mining techniques and tools both through lectures and hands-on exercises in labs. The course will also explore various usages of text mining techniques to real world applications. |
CS2405 Data
Mining |
CS4023 Advanced Photojournalism |
The course is intended as a continuation of CS2044 (Basic Photojournalism) and is an extended study of the theory and practice of making photographs and using the picture essay and picture story. It develops the basic skills introduced in CS2044 to produce work of publishable standard. Advanced techniques including electronic fill-flash and studio lighting will be covered, as will the history of documentary photojournalism. Emphasis will be on photographing news, feature and sports events, with the goal of completing a photojournalism portfolio. |
CS2044
Photojournalism |
CS4024 Writing for Cinema and TV |
This course develops scriptwriting skills for film and television. It focuses on the research and creative processes and the technical considerations involved in developing both fiction and non-fiction scripts. There are three approaches to the course – first, the development of ideas, creativity, and developing writing skills; second, an introduction to genre requirements and appropriate research skills; and third, the stages of cinema and television writing. |
None |
CS4026 Documentary Production: Concepts and Applications |
This course explores the different styles of documentary films with special emphasis on the role of the producer/director in documentary videos. Students will review documentary concepts and theories and put them into practice by producing their own short video. Through screenings and readings, students develop a critical understanding of the different techniques and approaches to documentary production. Students are encouraged to engage with contemporary debates which concern the documentary sector of the media industries. |
CS2025 Image and Sound
Production
OR
CS2029 Broadcast Journalism: Concepts and Applications |
CS4027 Narrative Film and TV: Concepts and Applications |
This course further explores the different narrative structures and strategies covered in CS2027Genre and Narrative Strategies as well as other film/TV theory with special emphasis on the role of the director in dramatic videos. Students explore dramatic concepts and theories, and produce short videos independently. With a focus on visual storytelling, performance and script analysis, the course explores techniques to elicit performance and determine visual style and coverage relevant to dramatic scenes. Screenings, discussions, lectures, tutorials, and assignments are designed to develop students' skills as dramatic directors. |
CS2025 Image and Sound
Production |
CS4029 Advertising, Creativity and Copywriting |
This course is an introduction to the creative processes and the process used in creating
advertisements for print, broadcast and other media with attention to creative thinking skills, creative problem-solving, copywriting, design, and production. Students learn what advertising creative personnel do in their professions. This course has practical exercises during the classes and tutorials related to the creative aspects of advertising and how they relate to other areas such as consumer behaviour and social learning. |
None |
CS4030 Crisis Management |
The course examines contemporary theories and practices in preventing and managing issues and crises. It introduces the definition and scope of issues and crisis management. The course explores the dynamics of identification, planning, management, and communication of issues and crises and their multifaceted consequences to organisations in public and private sectors. Strategies for conducting strategic crisis communication will also be included by evaluating real-life practices and case studies. |
None |
CS4031 Media Planning and Strategies |
The course introduces students to the quantitative aspects of media planning. Topics covered will include brand analysis, audience analysis, market segmentation, and media analysis. Case studies and real-life practices will be included in this class. During the first half of the semester, students will conduct a brand audit and develop and administer a survey to determine target audience media usage. The information from the brand audit and market survey will then be used to compile a strategic media plan. Strategies and recommendations will form the basis of the media plan. The course will be taught in an active learning fashion. It strives for a balanced coverage of theoretical and practical issues, industry norms and ideals, and facts and thoughts. The ultimate goal is for students to form their own perspectives, sharpen their strategic thinking, and advance their planning skills. To this end, students should become critical thinkers who move beyond a view of learning as information gathering to a view of learning as knowledge building. All students are expected to be active and proactive in course activities |
None |
CS4032 Communication Campaigns |
This course involves the planning, creation, production, dissemination, and evaluation of various forms of publicity to support a range of comprehensive communication campaigns. The focus covers advertising and public relations work and is a pre-requisite for undergraduates who are preparing for their final year campaign projects. The course offers students’ knowledge necessary for all kinds of promotional communication jobs. The objective is to develop a communication campaign that can be designed, implemented, and evaluated within the semester time-frame. |
CS2058 Integrated Marketing Communication |
CS4034 Brand Management |
This course will introduce retail marketing concepts covering both the mechanics and management of retailing from a brand management perspective. It will also cover the role and concepts of brand equity creation, store and non-store retailing, location and site selection, retail communication mix components such as merchandising, pricing and margin planning, store management, layout and visual merchandising, as well as internal and external promotions. While the subject will cover theories in retail marketing discipline, it is generally approached with a practical and applied orientation. Learning will include evaluating retail brands and developing strategies for real-life businesses through hands-on projects. |
CS2058 Integrated Marketing Communication |
CS4037 Audience Research Methods |
This course is designed to provide students with tools to study audience characteristics and the impact of communication on receivers. The course centres around two research methods that are widely used by academics and practitioners: survey research and focus group study. Students will learn how to design, plan and implement these two types of studies. They will also learn how to analyse data and present the findings in both oral and written formats. |
CS2008 Fundamentals of Research |
CS4039 Frontiers in Communication Science |
This course aims to develop your understanding of the fundamentals underlying several of the most cutting-edge approaches in communication science, such as agent-based modelling or gene studies, as well as to demonstrate how these approaches are actually applied in understanding communication. |
None |
CS4042 Advanced Research Methods |
This course is designed to introduce you to advanced research methods in communication to understand and implement research in applied settings. In this class, you will become familiar with essential ideas in measurements, experimental design, quantitative content analysis, data analysis, and result interpretation/reporting. |
CS2008 Fundamentals of Research |
CS4043 Specialised Journalism: Science & Health |
This course aims to teach students about reporting in two related specialised fields – science and health. First, the course will give students an appreciation of science and medical journalism from vaccines to viruses, satellites to space stations, embryonic stem cells to genomes, pollution and conservation, new and old diseases, potential pandemics, a growing pharmaceutical industry and an aging population. Next, the course will focus on strategies for communicating science and health to the public: how to explain things, how to interview experts who seem to speak a language of their own, and how to research and write meaningful stories for a general audience. |
CS2021 News
Reporting and
Writing |
CS4050 Bayesian Data Analysis & its Applications |
The recent changes in information environments have led to the increases in demand for the ability to collect, process, and interpret data. This course introduces Bayesian statistics, which serves as the theoretical foundation of cutting-edge machine learning techniques and artificial intelligence. The core concepts in probability theory and the logics behind statistical inference will be introduced using examples of everyday problems. Starting from the science behind Sherlock Holmes’ investigation methods, the lectures will cover various creative topics, including predicting the divorce of celebrity couples and the winner of best picture at the Oscars, forecasting free-food events on campus, classifying spams from legitimate emails, and many other applications of Bayesian methods. This course also emphasizes the development of practical skills, offering an opportunity for students to learn programming languages, such as R and Python. A series of tutorials will cover from the basic to intermediate level coding skills for writing algorithms of machine learning. No prior knowledge of programming is expected. |
CS2008 Fundamentals of Research |
CS4053 Popular Cinema |
This course introduces students to the different genres of contemporary popular global cinemas. In addition to Hollywood feature films, students will study non-Hollywood contemporary films that have done successfully at the box offices either internationally and/or in their countries of production, in order to study the critical elements that have contributed to the success of these films. Students will be exposed to box office hits from a wide variety of countries such as Spain, the UK, Japan, Korea, India, and Australia. The analysis of these popular films will be contextualised in relation to relevant film theories such as genre theory, audience reception theories, studies of the economic development of new cinematic industries, and the impact of global film distribution. |
None |
CS4054 Asian Cinema |
The course will survey and examine the various cultural determinants and industry development of Asian film forms through screenings, lectures, and readings. It allows students to become acquainted with the wider institutional, historical and cultural contexts of the films in their respective countries while simultaneously exposing students to important Asian film directors and their works. Students will also be introduced to critical film scholarship about Asian cinema in order to partake in academic debates such as the differences and similarities between mainstream cinema and independent film forms from East, Southeast and South Asia. |
None |
CS4055 TV Studies: Critical Approaches |
This course aims to provide students with an understanding of the major themes, topics and theoretical perspectives that constitute television studies. Attention will be focused on the producer-text-audience relationships which are central to the understanding of the meanings that are created and the impact of the medium. The course will cover audience and reception analysis, television genres and their characteristics, television and gender, as well as television and ethnicity. |
None |
CS4058 Intercultural Communication |
This course examines current theories and research regarding communication between people from different minority, ethnic and cultural backgrounds in domestic and international contexts. The course exposes students to culture and its relationship to communication. It offers opportunities for students to develop skills and understand cultural attitudes and the theoretical and methodological concerns of intercultural communication. |
None |
CS4059 Public Opinion |
This course focuses on contemporary concepts of public opinion, theories of public opinion, ways of measuring public opinion, and the impact of public opinion, with special reference to media-related issues. It examines relationships between public opinion and communication, and explores the role of media use in the formation and change of public opinion. The course will also address the influence of public opinion on individuals’ attitudes and behaviours. |
None |
CS4060 Persuasion and Social Influence |
This course emphasises the social and psychological approaches to attitudinal and behavioural change. It identifies the characteristics and behaviours of effective persuaders, and students will analyse their target audience, design and package their messages, and select the right delivery channels to optimise persuasive efforts in various contexts, such as health, politics, and business. Students will learn about persuasion in interpersonal, small group, as well as in mass-mediated settings. Students will learn about resistance to persuasion, and the strengthening of desired attitudes and behaviours. |
None |
CS4061 Global Media Issues and Policy |
This course focuses on policy and legal issues about global media and about the media of individual nations, including Singapore. This semester, we will focus on an important and timely issue: fake news. The issue of fake news, which rose to prominence during the 2016 presidential elections in the United States, has reached Singapore. But what is fake news? Why is fake news a problem? What mechanisms allow the spread of fake news? And what should be done to address the issue of fake news? In this course, we will critically examine the sociology of fake news, from the socio-political and economic contexts that allow fake news to thrive, the technological factors that facilitate its spread, to the psychological processes that make individuals vulnerable to believing in fake news. We will also learn strategies to spot and fact-check fake news. |
None |
CS4064 International Public Relations |
Globalisation is the primary reason for the increased importance of international public relations because it has spurred increased the outreach of organisations beyond national and cultural borders. This course seeks to provide students with insights on the issues pertaining to effective international public relations and the way public relations is practiced beyond national and cultural borders. Students will develop the ability to link specific environmental variables with the generic principles of public relations practice. |
CS2101 or
CS4028 Public
Relations
Writing |
CS4068 Issues in Cinema Studies |
This course covers issues that are related to cinema studies which have not been covered in existing courses offered by the school. It provides an opportunity for students to benefit from the special interests and expert knowledge of faculty members and/or visiting professors. Thus, this course may draw upon multidisciplinary perspectives in examining special issues in cinema studies, address emerging academic concerns, or introduce students to cutting-edge professional practices. Some topics that can be examined include the relationship between cinema studies and other creative industries, the transformation of cinema in the digital age, issues of representation in contemporary screen studies, and national and transnational cinemas |
None |
CS4070 Issues in Advertising |
This course examines the role and impact of advertising in society. In this class we will wear a different hat than often worn in other advertising classes. The emphasis is on examining advertising from a broader perspective to help us consider the economic, legal and regulatory, ethical, and social issues that surround advertising. This course will focus on helping students become aware of the cumulative effects of advertising on society. |
CS2058 Integrated Marketing Communication |
CS4071 Special Topics: Media in Singapore |
Every country’s media system reflects its history and political development. The shape of the media system in Singapore is no different. In the 1950s, the media organisations were very competitive. The scenario parallels today’s dotcom boom where media companies sprouted overnight to face cut-throat hyper-competition. There were reports of rivals buying up all the daily circulation only to dumpthem into the sea—leaving advertisers to doubt the veracity of the publisher who would say that every copy was sold but then could not find many readers.Today’s media structure sees dominant players in the newspaper, broadcast and Internet space linked to Singapore Government. How did this situation arise? What are some possible implications for the future development of the media in Singapore.This course traces the trajectory of the development of the media in Singapore to address these issues. It will also look at some current research by the instructor in the development of media in small countries. |
None |
CS4072 Digital Media and Human Relationships |
The course covers issues related to computer-mediated communication in various contexts that would help students understand the different impacts computer-mediated communication has on its users. |
None |
CS4074 Consumer Behaviour |
Amidst the ever-changing advertising and marketing realm, it is indispensable and pivotal to well know about consumer behavior and consumer psychology before advertising practitioners could implement any marketing strategy or campaign. The course covers the dynamic process in relation to consumer behavior – cognitive processing, affective and behavioral formations, as well as study consumers in a large social and cultural setting. This core advertising course aims to develop your understanding of basic consumer behavior and psychology concepts, theories, and the latest trends in consumer behavior research and applications using classical and contemporary cases, which will serve as the basis for future advertising courses and practices. |
None |
CS4075 Selected Topics in PR: Evaluating & Producing Campaign Results |
Students learn to conduct formative research to guide campaign programming and
evaluative research on campaign outcomes. Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to critically evaluate various campaigns and conduct the types of research required for campaign final year projects. |
CS2008 Fundamentals of Research |
CS4079 Issues in Cinema Studies: Cinema and Social Currents |
This is a module for advanced students addressing the question, "How does film relate to society and politics?" While films are generally seen as a leisure activity, the cinema cannot be divorced from society and the pressing issues of our times. It can function as a forum in which viewers are not only entertained but informed and educated and cognitively prepared to develop good citizenship. This module seeks to stimulate and inspire students towards a more critical view of cinema as a medium that challenges viewing practices and cognitive senses through the content of the films. Students will be taught to understand the cinema as a medium of social communication, presenting stories that question our views of society and politics. The module will familiarize students with a range of cinematic works, including Battle of Algiers (1966), Zero Dark Thirsty (2013), Waltz with Bashir (2008) and other important works of global cinema. Students will also be introduced to key readings discussing the films and the social issues presented. They will learn to develop critical tools and skills in analyzing contemporary films with respect to both their aesthetic properties and their various historical, social and political determinants. |
None |
CS4090 Going Overseas for Advanced Reporting (GOFAR) - Strictly by application |
This hands-on course exposes journalism students to the challenges of operating in another country and culture. Students work on stories that require a stint in the overseas location. They are expected to deliver stories of publishable or broadcast quality. They will prepare for their field trips by attending seminars and doing independent research into the chosen location and identifying workable story ideas. They are also expected to help organise the logistics of the programme. While overseas, they are expected to function as working journalists, developing their story ideas within the practical constraints of operating in the field. They will complete their assignments back in Singapore. Admission to this course is by application and on merit. |
CS2021 News
Reporting and
Writing |
CS4092 New Media and Society |
New media technologies are changing every aspect of our social, political and cultural lives. This course aims to help students develop insights into how new media affects news, politics, economy, education and culture. After taking this course, you will be familiar with how new media technologies shape the way we work, study, make friends, create knowledge and ultimately, live. You will explore the development and use of new information and communication technologies and critically examine their social and cultural impact. |
None |
CS4093 Overseas Film Festival Practicum |
In the Overseas Film Festival Practicum, students will have the opportunity to visit prestigious international film festivals around the world. You will gain both critical perspectives on the history and theory of the film festivals and direct, hands-on experience by meeting and engaging with film festival programmers, staffs, film journalists, directors and producers, and international film and media scholars at the festival sites. It is this practicum’s aim to let students put the skills and knowledge they have learned at WKWSCI into practice, and gain additional skills and a more
thorough understanding of the international film festival curatorship, programming, management, and organization practice. |
None |
CS4095 International Strategic Communication Management - Strictly by application |
This course is designed to give students practical overseas experience in tackling major
communication challenges. It will give students the opportunity to apply skills learnt in the advertising and PR courses. It will expose students to the full process of launching an advertising/PR campaign, from client briefing, immersion in the subject, market research, strategic thinking, media planning, creative execution and consumer testing, right up to client presentation. The students will be broken into groups and put into competitive situations like professionals in real life are. |
None |
CS4097 Overseas Digital Documentary - ODYSSEE |
The course is concerned with researching and producing short overseas digital documentaries underpinned by an introduction to the field of visual anthropology. Short documentaries engage both the heart and the intellect presenting a picture of the world, or at least a part of it. British documentarian John Grierson described it is a creative treatment of 'actuality', and that means it is grounded in real life, or in fact. You will look at locations in the world for, inspiration, personal stories and authenticity, and you will learn about the broader social, cultural and economic implications of the location but also about this particular type of filmmaking. The course, therefore, has both an academic slant as well as a practical one. The skills developed will be transferable to other forms of study whether it be digital filmmaking, journalism or another communication field. It will expand your powers of observation and description; of understanding local cultures and humankind; and of self-reflection on the role and responsibilities of a digital documentarian as a representative of your home country and an observer and commentator on a host country. |
CS2025 Image
and Sound
Production |
CS4131 Risk Communication |
The course introduces the theory, core concepts, and practice of communication about hazards and risks. Key principles of risk communication are used across a variety of arenas including public health, environmental communication, disaster management and corporate management. In this course, students will attain competencies in 1) understanding core concepts and theories of risk communication, 2) examining special challenges in communicating about risks with diverse audiences 3) critically analysing risk communication practices through case studies. Emphasis is placed on students' active participation in exploring and applying concepts that inform risk communication in a global society. |
Mutually exclusive to CS4150 Health Communication |
CS4150 Health Communication |
This course is designed to introduce students to significant concepts and issues in the field of health communication. Health communication encompasses theories, research, and practices based on multiple sources of scholarship such as communication, public health, and social psychology. The primary objective of this course is to provide students with knowledge and skills for communicating health that should be useful in their future career in a wide range of contexts. |
CS2008 Fundamentals of
Research
Mutually exclusive to CS4131 Risk Communication
|
CS4160 The Korean Wave: A Multidisciplinary Perspective |
Accompanying the Korean Wave, or Hallyu, are the heightened popular and scholarly discussions of the attributes of this phenomenon. This course seeks to get students to appreciate the dynamics of transnational cultural flow, and to appropriate and localise such flows according to their own spatial and cultural specificities. A combination of factors has been put forward to explain the rise of the Korean Wave including the release in creative energies arising from political liberalisation in the 1990s, technological advancement particularly in the era of the digital and social media, and significant investment and sophisticated marketing. In this respect, as a course, the Korean Wave will offer a potentially multidisciplinary engagement with students, many of whom are already avid fans of the Korean Wave (Hallyu) products and icons. |
None |
CS4260 Film Festivals: History and Theory |
As many film historians have argued, the beginning of the annual international film festival was the specific European political situation in the period preceding World War II and the immediate post-war era that brought together the necessary incentives to initiate their development, which would later expand to a global phenomenon. Throughout the course, each student will learn how international film festivals affected the cinematic aesthetics, movements, and history(and vice versa) through screenings, readings, and discussions of such vital film festivals as Cannes, Venice, Berlin,Moscow, Sundance, Busan and Singapore, focusing primarily on the politics of cultural market and industry, print journalism, alternative distributions, and global circulation of cinema in the age of digital media. |
None |
CS4262 Social Media and Digital Campaign Management |
This course is an advanced-level course that teaches how to build digital and social media campaigns for today’s hyper-connected world. Students will be exposed to a wide range of resources and tools across traditional, mobile and web platforms, and learn how to think strategically; generate ideas; develop strategies to amplify the big ideas using owned, earned and paid media to drive business outcomes; and pitch for real world clients. This course provides exposure to real-world situations and helps meet demands of the future advertising and public relations job market for students with skills in new media communication. |
None |
CS4264 Introduction to Network Analysis |
Network science is a fast-growing interdisciplinary field of research that focuses on the representation, analysis, and modeling of complex and dynamic systems, providing a new way of viewing the world. This course introduces the basic concepts and methods of network analysis and their applications to a wide range of real-world problems: How do rumor, gossips, and even viruses spread among people? How do people start, maintain, and break up their romantic relationships? How does Google Search work so fast and accurately? What is the algorithm behind YouTube’s recommendation system? Can everyone in the world really reach Donald Trump in six steps? Why do people neither wear necklaces on NTU-logo T-shirts nor eat popcorn with ketchup? Who will be killed in the next season of a TV series? This course also emphasizes the development of practical skills for data analysis, offering an opportunity for students to learn programming languages, such as R and Python. A series of tutorials will cover from the basic to intermediate level coding skills for network analysis and visualization. No prior knowledge of programming is expected. |
CS2008 Fundamentals of
Research |
CS4265 Global Film Cultures: Hollywood and the West |
This is a foundation course for Global Film Cultures which focuses on on the history, movements, and new forms and aesthetics of both Hollywood and European cinema. Students taking the course will examine the moments in cinema’s development that are particularly relevant from a historical perspective, be it aesthetic, social, technological and economic. |
None |
CS4266 Global Film Cultures: Non-Western Cinema |
This is a second course under the Global Film Cultures series that focuses on the history, movements, and the new forms and aesthetics of Non-Western cinema (cinemas of East/South/Southeast Asia, Latin America, Africa, and Middle East). Students taking this course will examine the moments in cinema’s development that are particularly relevant from a historical perspective, be it aesthetic, social, technological and economic. |
None |
CS4267 Effects of Virtual Reality Technologies |
Virtual reality (VR) and its related technologies are positioned as the next consumer media. Media industries are investing in immersive AR/ VR experiences to delivering content that is engaging for audiences. It is timely to introduce a course on Virtual Reality so that students are in trend with the latest VR technologies and think critically about the impact of these technologies on human behaviour and psychology, and on society as a whole. |
Mutually exclusive with CS2057 Media Effects |
CS4268 Google Digitize – Integrated Advertising Strategies |
This is a course offered in partnership with Google, which will provide students with foundational learning in the digital media sector, one of the fastest growing industries in the world. |
None |
CS4311 Promoting Sustainability |
This course introduces the concept and practice of social marketing as a means of promoting sustainability. Course contents explore a range of environmental issues that social marketers have sought to address by influencing public attitudes and behaviours. A social marketing case study will accompany each sustainability theme. Students will learn about a range of important sustainability issues and practice using social marketing tools to promote attitudinal and behavioural change among diverse audiences. |
None |
CS4312 Women in Film and TV Industries |
The aim of this course to offer an interdisciplinary perspective on the question of why women are underrepresented in the film and TV industries. This course is most appropriate for students who have some general knowledge of film production and/or film history and theories. Based on selected papers, book chapters, and industry publications, the course focuses on what factors might contribute to replicating this inequality as well as the different ways this might play out in different national systems and regions. The focus is on preparing you to participate in the global debates about the legal, policy and ethical issues in the industry as people discuss meaningful correctiveness. |
None |
CS4313 Programming in Python *NEW* |
This course teaches computational thinking, i.e., the process of approaching a problem in a systematic manner and creating a solution that can be carried out by a computer. For implementation, these solutions have to be translated into a computer programming language, and for this course, we will be using Python. |
None |
CS4315 Social Media, Self and Society *NEW* |
Social media services such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat, have become an omnipresent class of communication that is continuously transforming the ways we communicate in everyday life. This course applies theories of communication to analyze the design and effects of social media on individual, social, and political outcomes. In doing so, we will consider topics that include social networks and contagion, identity management, memes, and viral trends, opinion formation and reinforcement, algorithms and bots, privacy and surveillance, rumors and misinformation, and civic engagement and mobilization. At the end of the course, the students will gain the expertise, critical reasoning ability, and analytical skills to efficiently create, consume, and evaluate the cognitive and sociopolitical effects of social media. |
None |
CS4316 Storytelling in Advertising *NEW* |
In order to sell a product, one must tell a story: one that engages the customer on a deeply emotional level. This is vital to modern branding, defining your company ethos and building long-term customer relationships. This course concentrates on visual storytelling for cinema, television and multi-media. The course therefore generates competency in storytelling for practitioners and researchers in the field of effective advertising. Enrolment is suited to advertising students, advertising industry practitioners, journalists, communications students as well as film, television and transmedia practitioners. |
None |
CS4317 Performative Documentary *NEW* |
The performative documentary is a play of the reality often self-reflexive, in contrary to straightforward reports, facts, and observations. This course provides an overview of the aesthetic significance of the performative documentary film, its historical lineage, poetic endeavor, and contemporary significance. By situating in between the division of fact and fiction, you will explore the awareness for constructing the cinematic reality though the performative act, which creates different narrative structures as in the traditionally defined cinematic terms such as scenes, characters, and plots. These narrative structures will help you to explore the concepts of filmmaking and to develop the relevant technical skills. You will apply this knowledge in the realization of a documentary film project, which will become part of your individual practice and personal understanding of the world and its representation. |
CS2025 image and Sound Production |
CS4318 Automatation and Macro-Communication *NEW* |
In Automation and Macro-Communication students will gain a broad understanding of the current and future technologies that will challenge our understanding of what is interpersonal communication versus human-machine communication. This course addresses prominent theoretical issues that are introduced by placing machines in the sender and receiver of communication roles. In addition to comprehensive discussion of communication theory, this course includes a large applied portion where students will learn about the current extent (and ongoing implementation) of machines as communicators in both professional and personal life contexts. Finally, this course delves into the wide range of empirical study in a variety of disciplines regarding human-machine communication. Through these three lenses of theory, application, and research, students will leave the course able to understand the optimal uses (and potential pitfalls) of supplementing or replacing human communicators with machines. Through the theory and research components, this course is especially geared towards preparing students for the technologies of the future such as social robots and artificially intelligent agents. Regardless of the major track taken in the WKWSCI, it is undeniable that the advance of automation will be a defining issue throughout the 21st Century - Automation and Macro-Communication prepares WKWSCI students to be future, professional, research, and thought leaders in a future world where people live and work with machines. |
|
CS4319 Transmedia Storytelling: Process and Product *NEW* |
This course embraces your future: the future of storytelling through transmedia as multimodal delivery. The course allows you to experiment with and extend your personally generated skills in differing platforms to embrace changing industry needs. The course allows you to draw ‘cutting edge’ research from the academic environment and apply it practically as story across varied media. You will be in charge of your designated areas, forming teams and operating to a timeline. You will be involved in storytelling in media fractions, which make up a whole distributed work under the guidance of your tutor. This course represents experiential learning as we assist you to master your chosen medium within a wider technological and narrative context. As such, you will be re-familiarised with screenwriting for multi-media distribution platforms, utilising your discipline specific talents in various and flexible approaches to contrasting platforms. You will enhance your writing skills for contrasting media and develop modern writing skills in small teams. i.e. one group of students may embrace storytelling for online gaming, another may adopt traditional filmic storytelling, another group may discover non-traditional uses of screenwriting in varied environments such as interactive narratives, another might adopt visual installation art or distributing social media––depending on which students enrol and what your interests are. You are encouraged to locate the specific qualities of your chosen platform. Each platform component will embrace its own defining story, but will also be aligned to a major story operating as overarching link between its constituent parts. |
CS2025 image and Sound Production |
CS4320 Immersive Journalism *NEW* |
VR is the new medium that press companies such as the New York Times is engaging with to create immersive journalism – which allows the audience to experience a narrative news journey by bringing them into the story. This course will train you in developing immersive journalism experiences, through the use of virtual reality (VR) technologies. You will learn about the basic concepts of VR, the factors that make a compelling immersive experience, and produce immersive journalism pieces. The course will appeal to you if you wish to explore one of journalism’s most exciting tools and equip themselves with skills for the digital landscape. The class is a sandbox for journalism, technology and creativity, and will position you to be ready for the future of digital journalism. |
|
CS4321 Digital Inclusion and Disability: Technology, Inclusive Design and Social Futures *NEW* |
This upper-level undergraduate course offers a cutting-edge case study of digital technology, inclusion, design and innovation in social life. It provides a state-of-the-art knowledge of the dynamic new area of disability and accessibility, showcasing powerful insights into what social inclusion and participation means in contemporary digital societies internationally. Exploring a range of emerging technologies from Internet, social media and media to driverless cars, AI, Internet of Things, and smart cities, this interdisciplinary course will equip students with theoretical, practical understanding of digital inclusion, and where it fits into technology and society. |
|
CS4540 Tech & Startup Reporting Lab |
This course introduces students to tech and startup reporting. Upon completion of the course, students are expected to: 1) Understand the fundamentals of digital transformation and its impact across society; more importantly, how this digital shift has led to the emergence of tech companies and startups with new innovations in local and global economies. 2) Understand key business and financial basics of tech companies from startups to unicorns. 3) Chase and generate stories as news unfold on the ground 4) Produce news and enterprise stories fit for publication 5) Develop networking and interpersonal skills as they generate stories through interviews with various stakeholders and collaborate with key partners. |
CS2021 News Reporting and Writing |