Elective course: Digital Culture and Production of Visual Communication

E2025

Media and Communication / Communication Studies

Course

Elective

English

Read about the Master Programme and find the Study Regulations at ruc.dk

There is a maximum capacity of 30 students for this course. Places are allocated on a first-come basis. Students may be contacted after the registration period with the option to choose an alternative course.

You register for activities through stads selvbetjening during the announced registration period, which you can see on the Study administration homepage.

When registering for courses, please be aware of the potential conflicts and overlaps between course and exam time and dates. The planning of course activities at Roskilde University is based on the recommended study programmes, which should not overlap. However, if you choose optional courses and/or study plans that goes beyond the recommended study programmes, an overlap of lectures or exam dates may occur depending on which courses you choose.

10

Kim Sandholdt (kims@ruc.dk)

David Mathieu (mathieu@ruc.dk)

IKH Registration & Exams (ikh-exams@ruc.dk)

U60573

The course contains presentation and critical discussion as well as testing knowledge of a defined media and communication subject area/field of activity, including presentation and discussion of current practice concepts, theories, and research methods, possibly in collaboration with practitioners within the field.

This elective course belongs to bloc 2. We recommend that you choose one elective per bloc. This way, you avoid overlaps in classes and exam periods.

Course Description:

This course is designed for students who wish to integrate visual methods into their projects within the fields of media and communication. Throughout the course, you will work with visual methods that investigate relevant communication challenges in the intersection between users' everyday lives and their experience of digital media products in areas such as public communication, experience communication, or organizational communication. Additionally, you will also engage in visual communication within the aforementioned fields.

Content:

During the course, you will learn to apply concrete visual methods to analyze your chosen communication problems. This includes the use of methods like video- and photographic ethnography, multimodal discourse analysis, content analysis, and analysis of social networks. In addition to the analysis component, you will also acquire skills to produce visual communication products, including short videos, memes, and data visualization. Through experiments with AI software, we will explore the extent of artificially generated images and discuss the ethical implications of their use. The course is structured so that the knowledge you gain in the analysis phase serves as the foundation for the communication phase. The choice of topics for both analysis and production are open, allowing for direct integration with your semester project.

Literature for the course and a reading list for each class meeting will be available on Moodle at the semester start.

The total study effort for the student (ECTS points converted into hours) = 270 hours. The hours are divided as follows:

• Course teaching: 40 hours

• Preparation: 150 hours

• Exam: 60 hours

• Other activities: 20 hours (semester start, literature search, etc.

In principle, teaching activities take place on campus. The teaching can be arranged so that one or more activities take place elsewhere than at Roskilde University. This can also be online.

Evaluation will be based on the evaluation practice of the study board.

Overview of the themes in class – preliminary order:

Introduction to the main ideas and theories of the course, the course program, and the literature. Explanation of the portfolio exam. Visual Politics The presentation of politicians and politics in modern media, and the unnoticed influence of camera work and editing. Visual Methodologies and Digital Culture How does digital media enable us to present ourselves to the world and build social connections based on these representations? We will discuss both qualitative and quantitative methodologies in relation to visual media.
Visual News New trends in “news” in the digital era. Production and consumption of visual news-bites. Social Ecosystems of Visual Media We will talk about how digital content travels the web by the communicative, interactive and participatory engagements between media users and talk about how media becomes “spreadable”, including memes and conspiracy theories. Visual Media and Digital Creativity What can influencers tell us about the key characteristics of our digital culture? Does digital culture point to a radical shift from traditional (mass) media or does it only reinforce the existing power relations between producers and audiences?
Visual Nature About how we come to view the environment, climate change, ecology, wildlife, and animal ethics and ideology through film/tv/social media/video games. Audiences, Fans, and Participatory Culture We will talk about the “other side” and focus on the audiences of visual communication products in digital culture, focusing on the participatory practices of fans and fan communities in co-creating meaning by visual media.
Visual Identity: Visual Personality, visual social relations, entertainment, influence, power, and love relations. From the stars of Hollywood to the stars of modern media: glamour, beauty filters, ideals and dreams in digital culture. Visual Persuasion: Visual Rhetoric, Arguments, and Ideology. From dialogue and discussion to polemics and propaganda. The power of the image vs. the power of words? New Modalities, Senses, and Relationships: The Future of Visual Media? Which new technological phenomena lead you to envision the future of visual communication? Are we all going to live inside Virtual Reality? Will AI-generated images make artists obsolete? What other kinds of ethical, social, cultural, economic, or political problems may arise from these visions?
Resumé of the course and more guidance about how to write/assemble the individual portfolios. Presentation by students of draft portfolios – feedback and suggestions from all. Evaluation of the course.

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At the end of the course, the student is able to:

• Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of a defined subject area/field of activity within media and communication, including nuanced knowledge of common practice in relation to the subject area.

• Identify and account for current theories of relevance to the subject area/field of activity, including understanding of significant communication professional issues.

• Develop, organize and present a specific communication production or practice relevant to the subject area/field of activity.

• Independently and reflectively translate theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches into a concrete communication professional practice.

• Independently take responsibility for one's own professional development.

Individual portfolio exam

The character limit of the portfolio is maximum48,000 characters, including spaces. Examples of written products are exercise responses, talking points for presentations, written feedback, reflections, written assignments. The preparation of the products may be subject to time limits.
The character limits include the cover, table of contents, bibliography, figures and other illustrations, but exclude appendices.

The portfolio is written completely or partially during the course.

The entire portfolio must be handed in at the same time (uploaded to eksamen.ruc.dk). Handing in the portfolio or parts of the portfolio to the supervisor for feedback, cannot replace the upload to eksamen.ruc.dk.

Assessment: Pass/Fail

Individual portfolio exam

The character limit of the portfolio is maximum48,000 characters, including spaces. Examples of written products are exercise responses, talking points for presentations, written feedback, reflections, written assignments. The preparation of the products may be subject to time limits.
The character limits include the cover, table of contents, bibliography, figures and other illustrations, but exclude appendices.

The portfolio is written after the course has ended.

The entire portfolio must be handed in at the same time (uploaded to eksamen.ruc.dk). Handing in the portfolio or parts of the portfolio to the supervisor for feedback, cannot replace the upload to eksamen.ruc.dk.

Assessment: Pass/Fail

An individual portfolio consisting of written documents and other types of products.

The portfolio consists of 5-8 products, which are prepared in whole or in part during the course. The products can e.g., be analytical exercises, notes for presentations, feedback, reflections, written assignments, wiki contributions, social media, and commented visual productions (photos, small videos, memes, etc.). The portfolio should demonstrate the individual’s competencies to analyze and/or produce and analyze different examples of visual communication and digital culture and to generate theoretical and/or methodological reflections about the course themes and relevant literature. The portfolio should also include a concluding section where the various products are related to each other in a larger perspective outlining the student’s assessment of visual communication and digital culture as an academic field.

We recommend that the portfolio's written products have a total range of 24.000 - 36.000 characters including spaces (11 - 16 normal pages). The additional visual products created/compiled by the student can then count as fitting into the official limits of 24000 – 48.000 characters.

The scope requirements include any front page, table of contents, bibliography, figures, and other illustrations but exclude any attachments.

The portfolio is handed in together (uploaded on exam.ruc.dk). Possible, continuous part delivery to the course teachers for feedback does not replace the total delivery. The delivery date is published on study.ruc.dk.

An overall assessment of the portfolio is made by consideration of several criteria, including:

1. Content (variety, aptness, completeness and relevance of the portfolio products)

2. Structure (organization of sections, titles, introduction, main points, and conclusion)

3. Theoretical and/or Methodological Rigor (use of relevant analytical concepts, methods, theory, and literature)

4. Critical Reflection (self-assessment and conclusions about the learning outcomes)

The assignment must document that the student has a secure command of the English written language, including grammar and linguistic correctness.

Assessment: Pass/fail Each student will receive short written feedback along with the assessment – within a month from hand-in.

Students are referred to the following guidelines regarding exam cheating and its consequences: https://intra.ruc.dk/en/students/study-administration/everything-about-exam/avoid-cheating-at-exams/