essay how to write：the key issues covered in the course of

Choose one topic from these case study topics:
• Global genres, local discourses? The case of a global television format in a non-Western country.
• Made by Disney, watched across the world. The case of a Disney production.
• 留學生畢業dissertation需求Starbucks as a global brand. How does Starbucks embed its global image in specific countries? Choose and compare two countries with widely different national cultures (e.g. France and Saudi Arabia).
• The power of visual images. How do nations use visual communication to promote a global image for a global and local audience alike? Choose the case of a specific country.

For this assignment you are expected to focus on one specific case study and address some of the key issues covered in the course of the semester in relation to a specific event or development in media and communication

Essay presentation: some tips

The case study has to reveal a good level of originality and your ability to conduct research while consulting academic and non-academic sources. You need to show that you can make the links between the critical discussions in academic literature and events taking place in the media industry, in the world of media politics and culture, and in processes of media consumption.

Use original material from the media but also academic literature. Use illustrations if you feel that this will help develop the discussion and the analysis. Do not use illustrations for the sake of it; you will be assessed on the research and content you have put together and not on the visual presentation of data and analysis.


Important points to bear in mind when writing essays:
- Research the topic as widely as you can. You should be working on the assumption that each essay should have had at least 8-12 books/articles consulted. In the event of book shortage, don't forget the internet and other sources such as those in the electronic library. The basis of good essay writing is wide research.
- Design a structure for your essay, usually with a beginning, middle and end. The beginning should introduce the topic, its significance and how you propose to tackle it; the middle should form the core of your argument; the end should conclude with your own ideas (and NOT just summarise what you have written). The basis of a good essay is a clear structure.
- Always place the emphasis on analysis rather than narrative. The essay will either ask a question or invite discussion. Do not write a report. Answer the question or fulfil the requirements of the title. The basis of a good essay is a clear, coherent and consistent analysis.
- Work on the assumption that your tutor has read the items in the bibliography and does not want to see them merely reiterated. She wants to see that you understand what you’ve read and that you can#p#分頁標題#e#critically interpret it. The more the emphasis is on analysis, the higher the mark will be.
- Once you begin writing, always bear in mind the following questions: Am I answering the question? How relevant is the material I am including to the question being asked? How can I provide an example/illustration of the point I have just made in order to give it greater authority? Where are the flaws in my argument and how can I accommodate them? Relevant, well-illustrated and authoritative essays with personal interpretation will receive higher marks.
- Pay due consideration to spelling, grammar and presentation. This is particularly the case for students whose first language is not English, but it also applies to those using English as their first language. And do this even at the drafting stage.
- Give yourself plenty of time for research and writing up prior to the deadlines. Rushed pieces of work invariably show through.
- Avoid plagiarism AT ALL COSTS. If in doubt, consult the University regulations and your student handbook. The university and the department show no tolerance to plagiarism.

MODULE CONTENT AND OBJECTIVES

This module introduces students to the globalization of media and communication and addresses their implications on local, regional and global level with reference to the contexts, texts, technologies and practices of media production and media consumption. During the course of the semester we will examine the main characteristics of global media and communication industries and their economic and cultural role. We will focus on examples from a wide range of contemporary ‘flows’, including innovative forms of global media communication, such as those found in branding and visual/material culture.

Students completing this module will:

• develop a critical appreciation of the close relationship between media, culture and processes of globalization
• be aware of some of the key characteristics of global media industries, their economic and cultural role
• be able to appreciate current and future developments in global media industries
• develop skills to analyse cultural developments on local, regional and global levels
• learn to appreciate the significance of technological change and of transnationalism
• learn methodological skills for developing academic and professional cultural projects
• gain an understanding of the role of audiences in processes of globalization of culture

This module is an optional element of the MA in International Communications and is also available as an option to all ICS MA postgraduate students.

Key readings:

• Appadurai, A. (1996). Modernity at large: Cultural dimensions of globalization. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
• Lash, S., & Lury, C. (2007). Global culture industry: The mediation of things. Cambridge: Polity.
• Lull, J. (2007). Culture-on-Demand: Communication in a Crisis World. Oxford: Blackwell.#p#分頁標題#e#
• Machin, D., & van Leeuwen, T. (2007). Global media discourse: A critical introduction. London and New York: Routledge.

Some useful websites
BBC News – news.bbc.co.uk
Disney - http://home.disney.co.uk
Globo TV – globo.com / globotvinternational.globo.com
Icons: a portrait of England - www.icons.org.uk (project collecting representations of ‘Englishness’)
Independent Movie Database - www.imdb.com (searchable encyclopedia of films from around the world)
Indian cinema - www.indiaglitz.com/channels/hindi (news, reviews and trailers)
McDonald’s - www.mcdonalds.com
Internet & American Life - www.pewinternet.org (data and reports on various aspects of internet use in the US)
World Internet Project - www.worldinternetproject.net (internet use data from 29 countries around the world)
YouTube - www.youtube.com (search for video clips of TV programmes, films, projects etc.)

Recommended Readings
• Aiello, G., & Thurlow, C. (2006). Symbolic capitals: Visual discourse and intercultural exchange in the European Capital of Culture scheme. Language and Intercultural Communication, 6(2), 148–162.
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• Appadurai A. (1990). Disjuncture and difference in the global cultural economy. Theory, Culture, & Society, 7(2), 295–310.
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• Chan, J. M. (2002). Disneyfying and Globalizing the Chinese Legend Mulan: A Study of Transculturation. In ibid. & McIntryre, Bryce T. (eds.), In search of boundaries: communication, nation-states and cultural identities. Westport, Conneticut; London: Ablex.
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• Featherstone, M. (1990). Consumer culture and postmodernism. London: Sage.
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• Featherstone, M. (2006). Genealogies of the global. Theory, Culture & Society, 23(2–3), 387–419.
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• Flew, T. (2007). Understanding global media. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
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• Giddens, A. (1999). Runaway world: The Reith lectures revisited. Retrieved from http://www.globalpolicy.org/globaliz/define/1999/1110giddens.pdf
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• Gitlin, T. (2002). The Unification of the World under the Signs of Mickey Mouse and Bruce Willis: The Supply and Demand Sides of American Popular Culture. In Chan, Joseph M. & McIntryre, Bryce T. (eds.), In search of boundaries: communication, nation-states and cultural identities. Westport, Conneticut; London: Ablex.
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• Gokulsing, K. M. & Dissanayake, W. (1998). Indian popular cinema : a narrative of cultural change. Stoke on Trent: Tretham Books.
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• Govil, N. (2006). Bollywood and the Frictions of Global Mobility. In Thussu, Daya, K. (ed.), Media on the move : global flow and contra-flow. London: Routledge.
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•http://www.mythingswp7.com/dissertation_sample/New_Zealand_Dissertaion_Sample/ Hall, S. (1990). Cultural identity and diaspora. In J. Rutherford (Ed.), Identity (pp. 222–237). Lawrence and Wishart.#p#分頁標題#e#
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• Hall, S. (1991). The local and the global: Globalization and ethnicity. In A. D. King (Ed.), Culture, globalization and the world-system: Contemporary conditions for the representation of identity (pp. 19–39). London: Macmillan.
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• Hannerz, U. (2002). Notes on the global ecumene. In J. X. Inda & R. Rosaldo (Eds.), The anthropology of globalization: A reader (pp. 37–45). Maldon and Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.
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• Hesmondhalgh, D. (2007). The cultural industries. London and Los Angeles: Sage (esp. Chapter 8)
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• Jameson, F. (1999). Notes on Globalization as a Philosophical Issue. In ibid. & Miyoshi, Masao (eds.). The cultures of globalization. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.

• Lash, S., & Urry, J. (1994). Economies of signs and space. London: Sage.
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• Lechner, F. J. & Boli, J. (2008, eds.). The globalization reader. Oxford: Blackwell. (esp. Introduction to Part II – Explaining Globalisation; and Chapter 10 by Roland Robertson – Globalization as a Problem)
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• Lull, J. (2000). Media, communication, culture : a global approach. Cambridge: Polity Press. (esp. Chapter 9 - Globalisation and Cultural Territory)
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• Lury, C. (2004). Brands: The logos of the global economy. London and New York: Routledge.
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• Machin, D. (2004). Building the world’s visual language: The increasing global importance of image banks in corporate media. Visual Communication, 3(3), 316–336.
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• Machin, D., & van Leeuwen, T. (2003). Global schemas and local discourses in Cosmopolitan. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 7(4), 493–512.
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• Machin, D., & van Leeuwen, T. (2004). Global media: Generic homogeneity and discursive diversity. Continuum: Journal of Media and Cultural Studies, 18(1), 99-120.
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• Machin, D., & van Leeuwen, T. (2005). Language style and lifestyle: The case of a global magazine. Media, Culture & Society, 27(4), 577–600.
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• Smith, A. D. (1990). Towards a global culture?. Theory, Culture & Society, 7(2), 171–91.
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• Tomlinson, John (1999). Globalization and culture. Oxford: Polity Press.
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• Tyrell, Heather (2007). Bollywood versus Hollywood: Battle of the Dream Factories. In Lechner, Frank J. & Boli, John (2008), The globalization reader. Oxford: Blackwell.
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• Urry, J. (2005). The complexities of the global. Theory, Culture & Society, 22(5), 235–54.
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• Wasko, Janet; Phillips, Mark & Meeham, Eileen R. (2001, eds.). Dazzled by Disney? : the global Disney audiences project. (esp. Introduction and Conclusions)
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• Waters, M. (2001). Globalization (2nd ed.) London: Routledge.
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#p#分頁標題#e#• Wilson, R., & Dissanayake, W. (1996). Introduction: Tracking the global/local. In R. Wilson & W. Dissanayake (Eds.), Global/local: Cultural production and the transnational imaginary (pp. 1–18). Durham, NC: Duke University Press.