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 in lectures and seminars of approximately two hours each, for a total of four weeks.

The course has two mandatory activities which must be approved in order to qualify for the exam:

• Attendance to a minimum of 75% of the seminars (3 out of 4)
• Chairing part of a seminar session

Students who have not had both obligatory activities approved will lose their right to submit their exam.

Obligatory activities and absence

It is the student's own responsibility to stay informed about the obligatory activities, comply with the requirements for attendance and to uphold?deadlines. Everyone must familiarize themselves with?the rules concerning obligatory activities at the Faculty of Humanities.?If you get ill or have other?valid?reasons for being absent from obligatory activities, you must?apply for a leave of absence?as soon as possible and?no later than the day of absence?or the deadline. Documentation of the absence must be sent to the institute within three working days.?

Examination

Three 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.