Is this subject right for me?

• Do you enjoy presentations and oral work OR are you looking to improve your presentation skills?
  
  
• Do you enjoy looking in detail at magazines, newspapers and on-line media? Are you interested in a career working with the public, eg. nursing, teaching, law, journalism, sports coaching or business?

Communication and Culture is a wide-ranging subject which develops your own communication skills by studying many different types of communication in our culture. For example, you will learn to analyse body language, the spoken word, traditional printed and written texts, as well as modern forms of on-line media.

The subject includes important practical and creative elements: in AS you prepare an oral and visual presentation (using Powerpoint) and in A2 you are required to complete an independent project producing a web-based presentation and folio of research on a cultural topic.

Since communication is so central to our everyday lives, the course naturally includes aspects of many other subjects – English Language, Psychology, Sociology, ICT, Media, Health & Social Care, PE and Business Studies – all of which combine well with it at this level.

Most Universities offer well established Communications and Cultural Studies courses, allowing clear progression to Higher Education. The course is ideal preparation for careers which involve large and varied amounts of communication – such as working within business organisations (eg. personnel, public relations, sales and marketing) or working directly with the public (eg. teaching, the police, the medical profession). It is also an excellent course for those wishing to pursue a career in the media or journalism.

What is the course content?

AS Level (Year 1)
Unit 1 Understanding Communication & Culture (exam)
Topics include:

Understanding Communication

• Verbal & non-verbal communication
• Identity & Self- presentation
• Group Communication
• Reading Images & Products

Understanding Culture

• Definitions of culture
• High culture & popular culture
• The meanings of ‘everyday life’

Assessment
Written exam (1 hour 45 mins)
You answer FOUR questions in total
This exam is worth 50% of the total AS mark

Unit 2 The Individual & Contemporary Culture (coursework)
You independently research and give a presentation on a choice of Communications and Culture topics set by the exam board, including “My Culture” and “Communication, Culture and the Individual.”

Assessment
Coursework portfolio/webfolio, which includes:
500 word investigation into Communication, Culture & the Individual
1000 word exploration of Cultural Products
Oral & Visual presentation on “My Culture”
This coursework portfolio is worth 50% of the total AS mark

All Communication & Culture students are offered additional practical skills classes to support their AS coursework. This can also lead to an NCFE level 2 award in Interactive Multi-Media.

A Level (Year 2)
At A2 you work on a further TWO units:
Unit 3: Communicating Culture
2 hour written exam – essay-based, answering TWO questions
Unit 4: Further Aspects of Personal, Social & Cultural Identities
Coursework web-folio/portfolio - including a major independent Case Study (2000 words) and a web-based presentation.

What are the entry requirements?
The general entry requirements for studying at Advanced Level apply, and a minimum of grade C in English Language is preferred.

Other Information
In Communication & Culture you give a presentation and study all forms of communication (concentrating on communication between individuals, within groups and through print & on-line forms of media)

The main differences between Media Studies, Film Studies and Communication & Culture are:

Media Studies focuses on television, film, magazines and on-line media and includes a major practical (film-making) project at both AS and A2.

Film Studies focuses on film but only includes a limited amount of practical film-making at AS.

Communication & Culture focuses on people in everyday life and in the media, studying all major forms of communication, whilst working practically on print & on-line forms of media.

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