Media and the Real (P5097)
Media and the Real
Module P5097
Module details for 2026/27.
15 credits
FHEQ Level 5
Module Outline
From ‘fake news’ and ‘post-truth politics’ to ‘virtual reality’ and ‘deepfakes’, the media’s relationship to ‘the real’ features prominently in contemporary debate. This module explores how media construct realities whilst also claiming to represent lived world experiences. It looks at how contemporary media deal in questions of truth, realism and deception. You will engage with core questions of objectivity and bias, media-source relations, propaganda and dis/information, trust and conspiracy, authenticity and identity, liveness and mediated experience, mediation and mediatisation. We will take examples from a wide range of media forms and genres that might include news and current affairs, documentary and docudrama, reality TV, true crime podcasts, greenwashing and sustainability communications, spreadable social media and influencer content, AI generated content, augmented reality technologies and playable media.
You will gain critical understanding of the role of the media in co-creating understandings of reality, you will identify continuities and transformations in how institutional and other interest groups have sought to harness media content, you will develop a sophisticated response to current debates around ‘fakeness’ in media. You will improve your debating skills and communicate complex ideas in oral and written forms.
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