Summary of content

This module will provide an understanding of audience studies and the role audiences play in contemporary media environments. The course will explore theoretical and empirical approaches to audience research, including the study of audience behaviour, preferences, and motivations. The traditional notions of audiences as passive receivers will be explored and critiqued. In addition, it will consider several key theoretical approaches to audience studies, such as textual appropriation and cultural ownership, audience empowerment and unpaid labour, and media measurement.
The course will also explore the audience as an object, the audience as an institution, the audience as a user and, as a producer of media in the digital age. Additionally, the module will delve into topics such as fandom, crowdsourcing and crowdfunding, as well as the impact of brands, placements and promotion, on audience dynamics. Emphasis will be placed on how these concepts have transformed in the era of Web 2.0, challenging conventional boundaries and creating new paradigms for audience engagement.

This course also examines audience contexts through the lens of diversity, equality, and inclusion. Students critique notions of passive media consumption, analysing issues of representation, access, and power differentials. Coursework facilitates discussion around audience behaviours and motivations, considering perspectives of marginalized groups. Assignments challenge assumptions and biases in research methodologies. Topics explore how digital media transforms audience engagement, highlighting dynamics of empowerment versus exploitation. Students emerge with critical skills to evaluate media-audience relationships, informed by social justice values and aware of the social implications of research.

Module structure

Assessment methods