MODULE OUTLINE MKTG1315 INTRODUCTION TO ADVERTISING The purpose of this course is to give you an overview of the advertising industry, its functions and practices, and an appreciation of its place within the broader communications context. In the course you will analyse and discuss examples of advertising, discovering best practice in the advertising industry, and exploring the processes involved in creating campaigns. You will examine advertising practice and processes: advertising agencies, advertising professional roles, advertising clients, target audiences, media, and strategic and creative thinking. An historical analysis sheds light on the important role social forces have played in the evolution of advertising. COMM2282 MODERN ASIA This course forms the foundation for the major in Asian Media and Culture. It offers a critique of the supposedly universal values of Western modernity, while considering arange of questions and issues around the cultural, political, economic and media development of Asia. Some of the major questions this course asks are: What is modernity? Is there an Asian variety with an identity of its own? How are politics, economy and culture in Asia modernised? The course will encourage you to reflect on the diversity of Asian cultures. You will be encouraged to examine the political-economy, social and cultural aspects of Asian societies, particularly as they relate to issues of communication. You will also develop your critical thinking, research and writing skills, including reasoned and substantiated argument. COMM2283 INTRODUCTION TO PUBLIC RELATIONS This introductory course looks at the history, principles and practice of public relations. It examines the contexts in which PR practitioners work, and relates them to the ethical standards of the individual, the PR industry and society. The course examines what PR is, and how it has evolved. It looks at key areas of PR practice and specialisation, and discusses concepts and skills basic to PR, such as professional writing and presentation, strategy and planning. The course also looks at major issues facing the PR industry, including current/recent international trends and developments. GRAP2505 VISUAL LANGUAGE The course introduces students to the fundamental concept of visual language as a way we see, think, read and communicate using printed (magazine and newspaper), iconic (pictorial) and kinetic (moving image)
forms. It involves understanding how the human visual system works and how and why we respond to visual imagery in certain ways. The concentration of the course is on exploring how the visual elements come together to give media stories form, content and structure, and how visual impact is given to photographs, advertisements, posters, promotional material, and motion pictures through the deliberate application and use of visual technologies, techniques, materials, methods and mediums. The course touches upon but is not tied to, the science of signs (semiotics) - a field of study based on the premise that signs hold certain meaning or reading texts as in common in media studies. COMM2438 COMMUNICATION AND SOCIAL RELATIONS In this course you will discover how communication and society are integral to each other. You will develop skills in describing, researching and analysing communication artefacts and the social relations they articulate, using techniques and conceptual frameworks developed within the field of communication studies. You will also reflect on the ways different communication disciplines interpret and approach the world. COMM2439 PROFESSIONAL WRITING This module integrates work-based learning and academic learning, commonly referred to as Work Integrated Learning (WIL), which will allow you to solve authentic industry problems or address real issues faced in organisations. You will learn various writing and editing techniques for the print media industry, specifically for Journalism and PR contexts. This module is a pre-requisite for General News Reporting. COMM2441 COMMUNICATION HISTORIES AND TECHNOLOGIES In this course you will investigate the uses and applications of communication technologies in terms of their cultural, economic and political significance. You will focus on a range of traditional and digital technologies, analysing them through a number of different frameworks. Guiding questions of the course are, for example: In what ways are technologies always social? How have older technologies adapted to more recent historical conditions and innovations? COMM2496 PUBLIC RELATIONS WRITING FOR THE MEDIA This course is an introduction to public relations writing, with an emphasis on the reasons for, and approaches to, preparing written PR materials for print, electronic and online media, including social media. You will learn about the basics of professional writing, including technical issues such as punctuation, grammar and editing. You will analyse common PR writing styles and types of media relations documents. The course will focus on the importance of accuracy, style/presentation, content/relevance and timeliness; and ways in which practice is evolving in line with technological and social change. COMM2447 SPECIALIST PUBLIC RELATIONS The course has a dual focus. First, it builds on the knowledge gained in COMM1161 Introduction to Public Relations, discussing a range of specialist areas in public relations practice and demonstrating how PR tactics can work together when strategically driven. Secondly, this course further develops your
writing and editing skills introduced in prerequisite courses, as well as expanding your PR tactics repertoire. Accordingly, you will learn how to identify and write for key publics within the context of four specialist fields of practice: consumer PR, corporate communication, NGO (non-government organisations) communication and social media. GRAP2461 UNDERSTANDING ADVERTISING MEDIA Media planning is a parallel function to agency strategy planning: strategy planning identifies what to say, and media planning where to say it for greater effect. Both inform the creative process. The emergence and growth of digital technology and social media has created many more media options for advertisers and their agencies to get their messages into the market place. Creatives and advertising planners need to be aware of, and responsive to, the opportunities they present and the limitations of each. They include broadcast media, print and digital media, as well as non-traditional media such as ambient, point-of-purchase, product placement, guerrilla marketing, media stunts and social network media. The course is designed to develop an insight into how the appropriate choice of media can maximize the communication effect. It builds your ability to research and identify traditional and emerging media as a way of reaching consumers. You will develop a portfolio of relevant media and promotional campaigns. Solutions will be considered in terms of their suitability to the advertising message, environment and target audience. GRAP2504 PRACTICE AND THEORY OF CREATIVITY In this course, you will explore generalised creative processes and contextualises creative activity within the discipline of Advertising. It focuses on the creative (as distinct from management) perspective, and involves three interrelated activities: creation, production and evaluation. You will investigate creative theory and the conceptual, evaluation and production techniques, formats and processes used by art directors and copywriters to develop idea-based solutions to communication, advertising and marketing problems and opportunities. You will also follow the formation of an advertising campaign from the preparation of the creative brief to the development of a creative strategy, through to the preparation of advertisements designed for specific target markets and various media. COMM2286 MASS MEDIA IN ASIA The course examines the mass media systems and industries in neighbouring Asian countries, focusing on both Asian tradition and Western influence. In particular, the course will deal with the social, cultural, economic and political challenges that face the Asian media. The course also includes several case studies that would help students have a better understanding of key concepts and issues in relation to Asian media studies. COMM2445 TELEVISION CULTURES This course provides students with an introduction to and selective overview of the different ways in which television can be discussed critically, with reference to the medium s historical development, its
aesthetic qualities, associated practices of consumption, issues of taste and audience formation, and its function in the organisation of social relations. Television Cultures begins by briefly relating the history of television as a cultural form as well as considering current trends associated with the medium. It goes on to explore the theoretical approaches and key concepts developed by scholars researching this particular cultural technology. The second half of the course moves on to examine televisual content in depth by analysing elements such as genre and narrative form through detailed case studies. By the end of the course, students will have acquired a sound knowledge of relevant theoretical concepts that have - and continue to be - applied to the academic study of television as a medium, as well as its content. Students should be able to analyse issues related to television programs via a range of critical approaches that are well beyond the parameters of subjective personal taste and superficial discussion of events and identities/characters on TV programs. COMM2279 MANAGING A COMMUNICATION BUSINESS This course provides a theoretical and practical framework for students to engage with the establishment and management of a small communications business, such as an advertising or media agency, a freelance journalism business or a public relations consultancy. It contextualizes media practices in the current business and economic environment and presents a cultural analysis which will assist in understanding future movements in the communication industries. It outlines and examines the process of establishment from the point of initial research through the legal requirements to practical issues including financial management, employing staff, marketing and strategic planning. COMM2494 MEDIA ETHICS This elective course is designed to encourage you to think about the ethical implications of professional practice in your chosen vocational area. The course introduces such questions as, What is Ethics? What is it to behave well or badly? What foundational principles are commonly used to justify our ethical intuitions and solutions to moral dilemmas? It introduces you to how some major Moral Philosophers have tried to answer these and other related questions. It also examines the most important theories in Ethics (or Moral Philosophy), the theories that are still influential today. A number of moral dilemmas and case studies will be introduced and considered, and an attempt will be made to apply Ethical theories, codes and rules to such issues, thereby linking theory to practice COMM2287 ASIAN CINEMAS This course will introduce you to the exciting and significant cinemas of the Asian region, covering a broad spectrum of Asian cinemas to reflect various aspects of film culture. The focus of the course is on film history, genre, national cinema and authorship studies, to contrast styles and themes found within and between different Asian cinemas. The course will address the following questions, amongst others: What, if anything, constitutes a national or regional cinema? What is a local film? What happens to local, national and regional cinemas under the conditions of globalisation and internationalisation? Is there something distinctive that defines Asian cinema? How do Asian cinemas respond to the aesthetics and economics of Hollywood cinema?
COMM2443 COMMUNICATION DEBATES AND APPROACHES In this course you will examine, analyse and evaluate some of the key debates in communication studies. You will identify key approaches being taken within these debates and learn how the approaches adopted can shape outcomes. You will focus on topics that are central to communication, including audiences, publics and discourses of globalisation. Through examining these topics, you will explore the interdisciplinary nature of communication and some of the consequences of various approaches to intellectual inquiry. COMM2278 ASIAN CYBERCULTURES This course will introduce you to ideas relating to the impact of digital technology on your relationship to (and understanding of) the media in the broadest sense. You will interpret the digital media context both as a consumer and producer. A focus of the course will be analysing the ways in which traditional media are changing due to the impact of new technologies, in particular the new cultural/media spaces and practices that are forming. You will examine the historical development of digital communication technologies, together with the uptake and use of new communication technologies within an Asian context. New cultural/media spaces and practices will also be linked to the economic and political systems of several Asian societies. COMM2294 Strategic PR Planning This module introduces you to public relations strategic planning practices and gives you insight into how PR planning sits within broader organisational planning. You will analyse and apply a variety of frameworks and concepts used in strategic planning, including situation analysis techniques and critical path planning. You will also consider the role of vision and mission statements in strategic planning. COMM2490 CLIENT MANAGEMENT This course focuses on the role of client management in the context of integrated marketing communications (IMC) programs and commercial business practice. You will learn the basic principles of account management and how to develop an environment of trust, respect and partnership with clients. Creative, managerial, strategic and behavioural issues facing account managers today are explored through the critical analysis of local and global campigns and case studies. GRAP2462 ADVERTISING PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE 1 In this course, you will work in a controlled and simulated agency environment to develop advertising campaigns for a set client. You will develop skills and knowledge to professionally conduct yourself in the workplace and to manage projects in a variety of cultural, economic and social environments. You will work on the entirety of these campaigns - from research and strategic development through to media plans and creative executions. Professionalism in planning and managing the campaign, writing reports, conducting meetings; preparing budgets, work plans and schedules, and developing impressive presentation skills are key components of assessment. These practices are the foundation for the workintegrated component in Advertising Professional Practice li.
COMM2440 GENERAL NEWS REPORTING This course provides an introduction to sourcing your own news, conducting interviews and researching and writing news stories. You will examine how a newspaper newsroom works and how newspaper journalists write hard news stories. You will also learn a range of news writing techniques. Overall, news reporting will be explored in the context of contemporary and future-oriented professional practice. This course will integrate work based learning and academic learning, commonly referred to as Work Integrated learning (WIL), and will allow you to solve authentic industry problems or address real issues faced in organizations. You will work in a simulated news editorial environment to develop news writing and reporting skills according to industry-standard briefs. You will develop skills and knowledge that are applied in professional practice in the media and communication industries. COMM2444 ADVENTURES IN ASIAN POPULAR CULTURE This course introduces a range of critical approaches within media and cultural studies frameworks to examine contemporary Asian popular culture. It considers how popular cultures are constructed, marketed and then consumed by their audiences. This course focuses on the intersecting local, national and transnational contexts in which forms of contemporary popular culture circulate. The course also looks at the everyday practices for culture using lived experiences and considers, with reference to historical perspectives, changing meanings and cultural significance of particular popular cultural forms. You will explore forms of popular culture in public discourses and through examples and close readings of specific popular cultural texts and practices. As such, the course offers insights into broader cultural forms such as cinema, television, music and the internet. COMM2449 COMPLEMENTARY SKILLS FOR PR PRACTITIONERS This course will provide intensive module-based training in a range of skills for students intending to work in the PR industry. These skills will complement the knowledge obtained in other PR studies. Each module addresses a specific skill-based area. These modules have been structured to reflect PR industry demand for skills; to reflect developments in skill-based areas of practice; to build on previous PR skills training; and to add a skills-related perspective to previous theoretical studies. The course will give you deeper exposure to industry practitioners, and insights into professional practice in a range of skills-based areas.