Access To Higher Education Diploma: Media, Literature & Culture This Access course includes a range of exciting topics and will be of interest to those who enjoy reading, discussion, literature, poetry, drama, films, media studies, production and filming techniques, culture and counter culture. There is an equal balance of time spent on each aspect of the course and connections made between them. Progression Successful completion of the course enables students to accumulate transferrable skills and progress onto a diverse range of degree programmes including: Literature, Creative Writing, Media Studies with both a practical and/or theoretical focus, Film Studies, Marketing, Advertising, Journalism, Social/ Cultural Anthropology, Sociology and History.
Unit Information To gain the Access Diploma you must achieve all 60 credits. 45 of these credits are at level 3 and graded. The remaining 15 are also at level 3 but ungraded. Graded Units Media Studies Media Production 9 Credits The Study of Culture 9 Credits Literature from the Counter Culture 45 Credits compulsory units for your Diploma This unit examines different theories, methodology, some of the restraints, analysis of media text including images and representations of gender, ethnicity and age. This unit covers pre-production techniques, storyboarding and shooting scripts, sound and vision camera techniques, collaborative media production and editing/postproduction techniques This unit covers conceptions of high verses low culture, Marxism and ideology, semiotics, modernism and post-modernism and the history and development of cultural studies. Here we examine the rise and development of the counter culture, its challenge to mainstream culture, and its representation in a specific novel. The Pre 20th century Novel This unit explores a specific novel s plot, character and themes and relates these to wider historical and social developments as well as the writer s style and literary
techniques. Poetry and Drama 6 credits Narrative Writing Extended Independent Academic Study This unit examines a range of poetry and drama exploring form, structure and language. You examine both explicit and implicit meaning and make personal and critical responses. This unit will examine how writers communicate with their readers and you will then use some of these techniques in your own creative writing. In the second term you will undertake an independent research project and write a report on a topic agreed with your tutor. 9 credits Ungraded Units 15 Credits in Total Compulsory Units for your Diploma Reviewing and Planning for the Future In the tutorials, we guide you through the UCAS application process and support you to write your personal statement. Communication and Presentation Skills You will also complete some pieces of work to substantiate this process and meet the criteria. For this unit you will required to present work that demonstrates you are able to write for different purposes, for example: essay, report, case studies, drafting, final copy with accurate referencing. You will also use
seminar presentation skills with evaluation. Critical Thinking Using ICT for Study Essay Skills GCSE Maths Foundation Tier GCSE English This unit explores understanding and evaluation of reasoning and applies the skills to a relevant argument. For this unit you use software to present work, design a presentation, organise data and use the internet to support your academic study. For this unit you will prepare a plan, draft and final copy of an essay with accurate structure, writing, referencing and bibliography. If you do not have a grade C or above in GCSE Maths and English you will automatically join one of these options for this additional qualification if required for entry to your chosen degree/university. *Please ensure you check the entry requirements at universities/degrees in relation to the English and Maths prior to the start of your course.
Additional Information The following are recommended as preparatory reading and some will be included in the course content: Media and Culture The Manufacture of Consent Noam Chomsky Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction (5th Ed.) John Storey, Pearson. The Shock of the New Robert Hughes Mythologies Roland Barthes Reading Popular Narrative (Edited) Bob Ashley Introduction to Theories of Popular Culture Dominic Strinati A History of the Non-Fiction Film- Eric Barnouw Directing: Film Techniques and Aesthetics - Rabiger M Making Short Films: The Complete Guide from Script to Screen - Thurlow C Drama Look Back in Anger - John Osbourne Loot Joe Orton Recommended Textbooks Literary Terms and Criticism (Third Edition) John Peck & Martin Coyle, Palgrave Study Guides. Living Literature Frank Myszor & Jackie Baker, Hodder & Stoughton. An Introduction to English Poetry James Fenton. Penguin Poetry. 2002 A Reader s Guide to Contemporary Literary Theory - Selden R (1997), Harvester Wheatsheaf Poetry
Carol Ann Duffy Collected Poems Philip Larkin Collected Poems Sylvia Plath Collected Poems Stevie Smith Collected Poems Howl - Allen Ginsberg Novels Frankenstein Mary Shelley (MUST READ!!) Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Hunter S. Thompson (MUST READ!!) Naked Lunch William S. Burroughs The following Journals and Newspapers are also good preparation: Broadcast Sight and Sound Times Literary Supplement Book review section The Sunday Times Review supplement The Guardian (Saturday) There is also a wealth of information available online; we recommend the following sites; http://www.filmunderground.com/ http://www.undercurrents.org/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/filmmaking/ http://dir.yahoo.com/arts/humanities/literature/criticism_ and_theory/ http://www.english.upenn.edu/~afilreis/88/poeticterms.html http://uk.dir.yahoo.com/arts/humanities/literature/authors /