MEVIT4813 ¨C Textual analysis in media studies

Course content

This course teaches central approaches to textual analysis within media studies in the humanities. It focuses on establishing a fundamental understanding of theory and method within these, as well as an understanding of the traditions from which textual theory and textual analysis come. The course adds a media studies perspective to these theories by critically reflecting on how different media affect what is communicated by the texts they transmit. Any kind of text can be analysed in this course, be they journalistic, documentary, dramatic, narrative, descriptive, fiction, or factual.

The course is recommended for anyone who is:

• interested in fundamental theories of culture and meaning
• writing their master¡¯s thesis on how meaning is created or communicated, or
• planning to analyze a specific text or set of texts with regard to its potential meaning or experience

Learning outcome

Knowledge

Upon completion of the course, you will:

• be familiar with central approaches to textual analysis and the relationships between them, including mise-en-scene, hermeneutics, psychoanalysis, semiotics and discourse theory
• understand and know how to use central approaches to textual analysis within media studies

Skills

Upon completion of the course, you will be able to:

• identify adequate textual analytic tools and apply them to a variety of media texts and materials
• discuss how and to what degree textual analysis can be applied to distinct media, genres, and types
• perform media-sensitive textual analyses

General competence

Upon completion of the course, you will be able to:

• carry out and assess textual analysis
• communicate and contextualise the analysis¡¯ results verbally and in writing

Admission to the course

Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for?in Studentweb.

If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about?admission requirements and procedures.

Overlapping courses

• 5 credits overlap with MEVIT4834 ¨C Methods in media studies: close textual and visual analysis (discontinued).

Teaching

The course will be taught as a series of two-hour interactive lectures.

The course has the following compulsory activities:

• Attendance to a minimum of 75% of the teaching (6 out of 8 sessions)
• Chairing part of a teaching session

The compulsory activity will be assessed as approved/not approved. Approval of both is a prerequisite for being allowed to sit for the examination.??

If you get ill or have other valid reasons for not being able to attend, you must apply for valid absence. The course teacher can assign a different task to compensate for missed attendance.?Read more about compulsory activities at the Faculty of Humanities and find link to the application form.?

Examination

Two day take-home exam.

Frequently asked questions about exams at IMK

Language of examination

The examination text is given in English, and you submit your response in English.

Grading scale

Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F?is a fail. Read more about?the grading system.

More about examinations at UiO

• Use of sources and citations
• Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
• Withdrawal from an exam
• Illness at exams / postponed exams
• Explanation of grades and appeals
• Resitting an exam
• Cheating/attempted cheating

You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.