Preparatory & Key First Year Reading, BSc Communication & Media Studies
Dear Prospective Student,
1st August 2012
We are delighted that you have chosen Brunel as your place to study and we look forward to welcoming you in person to
the University in September. This letter suggests some ways in which you may want to prepare for your first year, and is
accompanied by a list of preparatory reading suggested by the tutors who teach our Year One modules.
If you do join the Department of Sociology & Communications this Autumn, you will be a member of a first year intake of
approximately 100 students following one of three degrees: Sociology, Communication & Media Studies and Sociology
& Media Studies. Each degree consists of six modules in each year. All of our first year students take four compulsory
introductory modules: Introduction to Social & Cultural Research, Individual & Social Processes, Introduction to Social
Enquiry, and Media, Culture & Society. The two other core modules taken vary according to your degree. The reading
list below will give degree-specific preparation, but there are a couple of general points which it is important for you to
understand as well.
Many of our students will have taken A-level’s in Media Studies and/or in Sociology. For the benefit of those who have
not taken one of these courses at A-level, I’d like to stress that you will not be disadvantaged in any way. Our first year
modules do not presume any existing familiarity with these areas or with the key approaches to the study of these
subjects. That said, if you have studied Sociology and / or Media Studies before, you will not find that the first year at
Brunel simply duplicates a lot of the teaching you’ve already experienced. This is because we study a much broader
range of topics, and University study is far more critical and independent than is possible at A-Level. The leap from Sixth
Form to University is a big one, something like the leap from GCSE to A-level, and all students find making this jump
exciting, challenging and rewarding.
With regard to the reading lists below, I’d like to stress the fact that degree-level study involves a lot more independent
reading than was expected of you at A-Level. This is true for all Social Science and Arts subjects at University. So, it
would be to your great benefit to undertake as much preparatory reading as you can over the summer. It’s always good
to hit the ground running!
READING FOR SOCIOLOGY STUDENTS
Introduction to Media Studies
This core module provides an introduction to the main theories, approaches and concepts in media studies. It will
introduce students to case studies illustrating key topics in media research. The module aims to offer a firm conceptual
and methodological foundation upon which more advanced media-based modules at Level Two and research led
modules in Level Three may build. Key issues that you will engage with include: the nature of Media Studies,
researching and theorising the media; media representations and audiences, and history, social context and business
approaches to the media. The two essential textbooks are: Long, P. & Wall, T. (2009) Media Studies: Texts, Production
& Context, Harlow: Pearson; Maris, P. & Thornham, S. (1999) Media Studies: A Reader, Edinburgh: Edinburgh
University Press. In addition, it is worthwhile broadening and stimulating your knowledge on the changing nature of the
media by watching films / DVDs such as: King of Comedy (1982), which examines issues of celebrity obsession and
anticipates the reality TV genre and the desire to become famous at any cost; His Girl Friday (1940), a classic comedy
and study of what journalists will do to get their story; and Broadcast News (1987), which explores the behind the
scenes decisions in a TV network studio and how the rise in 'entertainment' over 'information' dominates news.
Introduction to Social & Cultural Research
The biggest difference between School and University is that at University you are taught by academics who are
pushing back the boundaries of the subject. New topics are taken up, old topics are examined in radical new ways, and
the conventions of the field are subject to on-going critique. This contested nature of ‘knowledge in the making’ is what
makes being at University so stimulating (for staff and students!) To create new knowledge we need a firm grounding in
the main approaches to social and cultural research. Again, I want to emphasise that even though many of you will
have some knowledge of social research, both this course and the related second year module on Research in Practice
are taught at a much higher level. Having a sound grasp of research methods matters, as one of the highlights of being
a student is planning and executing your own research project in your final year (Dissertation). The set book is by the
Professor who teaches this module: Seale, C. (2011) Researching Society & Culture, Third Edition, Sage: London.
Introduction to Video Production
This core module is a largely practical introduction to the field of video production. It encourages media students to
critically engage with making and sharing video and related media. Students develop practical skills alongside their more
theoretical discussions of how meaning is made with the moving image using digital video production tools and
techniques. Students are recommended to buy one the well-established introductions to film making for degree
students: Jones, C. Jolliffe, G. & Zinnes, A. (2010) The Guerilla Film Makers Pocketbook: The Ultimate Guide to Digital
Film Making. Second Edition, Continuum: London; Thurlow, C. (2010) Making Short Films: The Complete Guide from
Script to Screen, Second Edition, Berg: London, see www.making-short-films.com
www.brunel.ac.uk
Preparatory & Key First Year Reading, BSc Communication & Media Studies
Media, Culture & Society
If the twentieth century was the Age of Media, then our current century seems to be the Age of New Social Media. What
do we mean by these grand labels? Are we really living in a different world? What are the factors driving these changes
in the Media? Where does power lay in these new Media landscapes and to what degree are we free to choose the
sorts of lives that we now live? How have notions of Culture and Society shifted in the last 50 years or so? What are
the dominant conceptual approaches to social and cultural research on Society & Culture? How are Cultural Sociology,
Media Studies and Cultural Studies similar and different? The key text is: Hodkinson, P. (2010) Media, Culture &
Society: An Introduction, Sage: London. Students will also find another recent book valuable: Jones, P. & Holmes, D.
(2011) Key Concepts in Media & Communications, Sage: London. In addition, a classic critique of the mass media in
American society is worth looking at: Chomsky, N. & Herman, E.S. (1995) Manufacturing Consent: The Political
Economy of the Mass Media, Vintage: New York. We also recommend two thought-provoking films / DVDs that critically
examine the nature of the media and the corporation: Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media (1992),
and The Corporation (2006) – also see: www.thecorporation.com/
Introduction to Social Enquiry
This module aims to do two things: first, to equip students with the skills needed to study independently at degree level.
So - how do you find the key literature on a topic when there are hundreds if not thousands of academic journal papers
and books? How do you sort through this great pile of material you have gathered? How do you write balanced, critical
and compelling essays? The second part takes you to the various research frontiers being explored by eleven members
of staff in our Department. Why do they find these topics exciting? What sparked their interest in the questions they
ask? Why do they study some topics and not others? What are the new issues in their research field? What can we
learn from neighbouring – or perhaps seemingly remote – disciplines and areas? The aim here is to get you thinking
about what topics and approaches you may want to choose for your Dissertation. Although this is done in your final year,
it is a double weighted module and by far the longest piece of writing you will do as an undergraduate, so having early
insights into what makes research exciting and rigorous matters. Two very useful books here are: Redman, P. &
Maples, W. (2011) Good Essay Writing: A Social Sciences Guide, Fourth Edition, Sage: London; and Crow, G. (2005)
The Art of Sociological Argument, Palgrave: London (this is a superb, short overview of key sociological thinkers).
Individual & Social Processes
This module brings together first year students from across the three Departments of Anthropology, Psychology and
Sociology & Communications. How do these related but distinct disciplines study the social world? How similar or
different are the ways in which anthropologists, sociologists, psychologists and Media Studies academics approach
topics like genetic testing? Which is the key ‘unit of analysis’: individual behaviour, social groups, or cultural norms?
Given the unusual and wide-ranging nature of this module there is no ‘set text’. However, it is valuable to get a grasp of
how the different social sciences potentially fit together. One short book that does this very well is designed for students
who are new to the Social Sciences at the Open University: Woodward, K. (2009) Social Sciences: The Big Issues,
Second Edition, Routledge: London. A second book, edited by Backhouse, R.E & Fontaine, P. (2011) The History of the
Social Sciences Since 1945, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, covers the six classic disciplines of Anthropology,
Economics, Geography, Politics, Psychology and Sociology, and I recommend all students read the relevant parts. As
an Undergraduate, it’s good to have an overview of where, how and why academics – including the ones who teach you
– are embedded (and sometimes trapped!) in a particular approach to the social world.
What if I want to read a short book in preparation?
Finally, it’s often not much fun reading a large textbook (even for me!) So, if you want to read a whole book or two
before you arrive, then I strongly recommend two extremely useful, readable, and inspiring books. The first is an
excellent recent paperback by Paul Long & Tim Wall (2009) Media Studies: Texts, Production & Context; the second is a
fluently written, clear and balanced overview by Paul Hodkinson (2010) Media, Culture & Society: An Introduction, Sage:
London. Both will prove invaluable throughout your degree, so buy and read these books. Happy reading!
Professor Steven Wainwright
Head of Department
Professor of Sociology of Science, Health & Culture
Department of Sociology & Communications
School of Social Sciences
Brunel University London
Phone: 0779305659
Email: steven.wainwright@brunel.ac.uk
www.brunel.ac.uk