Course syllabus

FTVMS110/G: Advertising and Society

Semester 1, 2016

Points value: 15.0 points

 

 

Course convenor: Dr Suzanne Woodward (s.woodward@auckland.ac.nz)

Office: Arts 2, Room 502

Office Hours: Friday 10.30-12.30 (from Week 2)

Graduate Teaching Assistants: Laura Stephenson, Doug Gaylard, Jeanine Lim, Kirsty Macdonald

GTA contact details

Lectures: Wednesdays 2-4pm (OGGB 115)

Tutorials: Check Student Services Online or the new MyAucklandUni student portal

(NB: Tutorials begin in Week 2)

Class Reps 

Tuākana Programme

Course description:

Often dubbed the "art of capitalism", advertising has become one of the most profound and pervasive influences on our culture. It is a zone where art and commerce meet: where emotional appeals to self and spirit encounter the forces of economic rationalism. An informed perspective on advertising is therefore crucial to an understanding of the workings of contemporary culture.

Advertising and Society pursues a critical examination of advertising, exploring its effects on our notions of society and self within the context of larger economic, social, political and global shifts. Beginning with an overview of the development of advertising, the course will introduce a methodological framework for understanding how advertisements create meaning, and then go on to examine how such meanings interact with, and impact upon, the culture at large. Advertising and Society explores advertising as a site marked by complex constructions of self, gender, class, ethnicity, nationality and local/global identity. This course embraces a wide theoretical spectrum and should prove useful to those pursuing Commerce, Marketing, Fine Arts and Politics, as well as Media, Film and Television.

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the historical development of advertising and its place within commodity culture
• Demonstrate an understanding of the key critical debates regarding advertising’s significance as a commercial tool and a cultural form
• Analyse formal devices and signifying practices used by print, television and online advertisements
• Critically assess the way that advertisements participate in discourses of nation, gender, race and class

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INFORMATION PAGES:

MARK GRADE TABLE

Tutorials

Tuākana Programme

Coursework Presentation and Submission

Learning Resources

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COURSE READINGS: Please note that there is no textbook or hard copy course reader. All readings (required and recommended) will be available as PDFs through the Reading Lists tab on Canvas

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 LECTURE OUTLINE: 

Week 1: Introduction - Advertising and the Everyday	Week 2: The Rise of Consumer Culture	Week 3: From Segmentation to Superbrands	Week 4: TARGETED LEARNING SESSION
Week 5: Audiences and Effects	Week 6: Analysing Ads	Week 7: Globalisation and Nationalism	Week 8: Gender and Sexuality I
Week 9: Gender and Sexuality II	Week 10: 'Race' and Ethnicity	Week 11: Advertising and Postmodernism	Week 12: Digital Advertising
Week 13: Recap/Exam Prep

 

Assessment: 

1. Research Exercise 10% (Due Friday April 1, 6pm)
2. Research Essay 20% (Due Friday April 15, 6pm) - 1000 words
3. Close Analysis 20% (Due Friday 13 May, 6pm) - 1500 words
4. Exam 40% - 2 hours
5. Tutorial Participation 10%

Your overall course mark is the sum of your assignments, exam and participation marks. There is no plussage on this paper. You must sit the exam to pass the course.

Workload: 

As with other 15-point courses, the University of Auckland’s expectation is that students spend 10 hours per week on this course. You should   manage your academic workload and other commitments accordingly. Students attend a two-hour lecture each week. They take part in a one- hour tutorial each week from Week 2 onwards. This leaves 7 hours a week outside the classroom to study for tutorials, assignments and the exam.

Lecture Recording: Lectures will be recorded and uploaded to Canvas under the Module for that week. Powerpoint outlines will be available on Canvas before the lecture.

Facebook Group: There is a Facebook group for this class. It is moderated by the convenor and GTAs. You can use the group to ask course-related questions and share interesting advertising examples.

Inclusive learning:
Students are urged to discuss privately any impairment-related requirements face-to-face and/or in written form with the course convenor, lecturer and/or tutor.