MC416 Half Unit
Representation in the Age of Globalisation
This information is for the 2025/26 session.
Course Convenor
Prof Shani Orgad
Yael Gordon
Availability
This course is available on the MPhil/PhD in Media and Communications, MSc in Global Media and Communications (LSE and Fudan), MSc in Global Media and Communications (LSE and UCT), MSc in Global Media and Communications (LSE and USC), MSc in Media and Communications and MSc in Media and Communications (Research). This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit. This course uses controlled access as part of the course selection process.
How to apply: Priority will normally be given to students enrolled on Media and Communications degree programmes; however, course specific availability is indicated via the 'Availability' section of each individual course guide webpage. The number of students that can be accommodated is limited. If a course is oversubscribed, places will be allocated at the Department's discretion. Students are advised to have an alternative course in mind in case they are unable to secure their first-choice course selection.
A list of all taught master's courses in this Department are listed on the Department's Course Selection and Videos webpage.
Students who have this course listed as compulsory are guaranteed a place and no written statement is required.
For all other students, places on these controlled access courses will be allocated via a random ballot process with priority given to students with the course listed on their programme regulations, followed by other Department of Media and Communications students, then students from elsewhere in the School. By submitting an application, students are confirming that they meet any pre-requisites specified. Providing an additional written statement will not aid a student's chances of being accepted onto a course that does not require a written statement.
Deadline for application: Students required to take this compulsory course will be automatically enrolled on LSE for You.
All other students must apply by 10am UK time on Friday 26 September 2025. No offers will be made before this deadline. Offers will be made after 10am and will continue until all places are filled.
For queries contact: Contact Media.MSc@lse.ac.uk with queries.
Please do not email the teacher with personal expressions of interest as these are not required and do not influence who is offered a place.
This course is 'controlled access', meaning that there is a limit to the number of students who can be accepted. If the course is oversubscribed, offers will be made via a random ballot process, with priority given to students with the course listed on their Programme Regulations. Whilst we do our best to accommodate all requests, we cannot guarantee you a place on this course.
Requisites
Additional requisites:
There are no pre-requisites for this course. Students should apply via LSE for You without submitting a statement.
Please do not email the teacher with personal expressions of interest as these are not required and do not influence who is offered a place.
Course content
Images and stories circulated in the media play a central role in informing how we imagine the world, others and ourselves. We become increasingly dependent, often exclusively, on what we see, read and hear in the news, on social media, our favourite television drama series, in advertisements, films, NGO communications or on the radio and podcasts. This course focuses on the way media representations are implicated in the exercise of power over how we think and feel through the construction of meaning. It explores the opportunities that media representations present for the creation of a global and interconnected space, which enables the people living in it to conduct their social, cultural, political and economic lives in more just and inclusive ways. At the same time, the course discusses some of the critical challenges, limits and threats representations circulating in the contemporary media present. The discussion focuses on the representation of the Other and the production of difference, examining two key themes: the representation of gender, and the representation of migration - timely issues which are ever more urgent in contemporary public life. The course examines how transformations in the contemporary media landscape, such as the expansion of social media platforms, the increasing commodification and global scope of communication, shape the ways in which public issues are framed, imaged, and constructed, the consequences this may have for the moral judgements people make and the possibilities for disrupting dominant narratives and imaginaries.
Teaching
15 hours of seminars and 15 hours of lectures in the Autumn Term.
This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Autumn Term.
Formative assessment
All students are expected to complete advance reading, prepare seminar presentations, and submit one essay of 1500 words.
Indicative reading
- Amin, A. (2012). Land of Strangers, Polity.
- Bauman, Z. (2016). Strangers at Our Door, Polity.
- Hall, S. (1997) Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practice, Sage.
- hooks, bell. (2014). Black Looks: Race and Representations. London: Routledge.Macdonald, M. (2003) Exploring Media Discourse, Arnold.
- Orgad, S. (2012) Media Representation and the Global Imagination, Cambridge: Polity.
- Pickering, M. (2001). Stereotyping: The Politics of Representation, Palgrave.
Assessment
Essay (100%, 3000 words)
Key facts
Department: Media and Communications
Course Study Period: Autumn Term
Unit value: Half unit
FHEQ Level: Level 7
CEFR Level: Null
Total students 2024/25: 40
Average class size 2024/25: 13
Controlled access 2024/25: NoCourse selection videos
Some departments have produced short videos to introduce their courses. Please refer to the course selection videos index page for further information.
Personal development skills
- Self-management
- Team working
- Communication
- Specialist skills