Mediehistorie

History and historical approaches are useful tools for understanding society, journalism, and a media industry in change. Media history reflects the changes that have occurred over time and in contemporary history, and studies the relationship between new media and societal development, thus also emphasising contemporary history. Training in historical source work and presentation work, including the opportunities and challenges in so-called digital humanities, are relevant skills for students who want to work with research, different types of documentaries, investigative journalism, etc. The course offers an introduction to public and media history, and media-historical methods in theory and practice. The course covers

• History of the public sphere, media and journalism history and non-fiction history, and the relationship between media and democracy
• Exercises in using historical methods, including working with archives, document analysis, and approaches to digital material
• Basic historical issues, including the relationship between explanations and narratives and between truthfulness and literary forms
• The significance of media history for understanding the practical media field
• The relationship between media and technology

The language of instruction is English.

None.

After completing the course, the student should have the following overall learning outcomes defined in knowledge, skills, and general competence:

Knowledge

The student

• has in-depth knowledge of key aspects of media and public history, including the relationship between media, technology, and democracy
• has advanced knowledge of media historical methods and can apply them in their own historical research
• has advanced knowledge of the specific source-critical and ethical issues in media history research

Skills

The student

• can analyse approaches, methods, and interpretations within media history and work independently with practical and theoretical problem-solving
• can analyse academic issues based on the traditions, uniqueness, and place of media history within media studies
• can apply historical methods in their own academic historical work
• can reflect on and analyse the relationship between explanation and narrative in historical science, and the relationship between non-fiction's 'reality contract' and literary forms of presentation
• can reflect on the periodisation of the field and discuss the placement of their own or others' work within media historical periods

General competence

The student

• can apply knowledge and skills about media history and media-historical methods to carry out advanced tasks and projects, and contribute to generating new knowledge in the field
• can analyse and reflect on ethical and source-critical issues in their own and others' work
• can present and communicate extensive independent work in a concise way, mastering the field's forms of expression

The course consists of lectures, seminars, curriculum studies, and puts considerable emphasis on the student's own independent work on a media history project. The teaching takes place in person, on campus.

In order to be eligible to take the exam, the student must have completed the following approved assignments:

Assignment 1: Attendance at the seminars is mandatory. In addition, attendance at 60 percent of the lectures is also required.

Assignment 2: Present a text from the syllabus at the syllabus seminar. The purpose is for the student to get a deeper understanding of a specific text from the syllabus, and also to contribute to the discussion about the syllabus. The presentation should last about half an hour, including discussion.

Assignment 3: Submit your own draft text for the seminars, as part of the process of writing the semester paper. The length of written assignments is determined by the length of the semester paper. The scope of other practical productions will vary and depends on which media and possibly combinations of these are used. Each student also has a special responsibility for commenting on one fellow student's presented texts and participating in the discussion of the other students' work. The purpose of the assignment is that the work in this course is process-oriented, where both presenting your own texts along the way and commenting on others' texts is part of the learning process.

The assignments must be completed and approved by the set deadline for the student to be allowed to take the exam. In cases of absence due to illness or other serious reasons, the student can submit alternative assignments for assignments 1 and 2 after agreeing with the course instructor, while assignment 3 is fulfilled by submitting a new version of their own text and/or comments on a peer’s work within a set deadline. If the assignments are not submitted by the new deadline, the student loses the chance to complete the assignment, and therefore the right to take the exam.

For the main assessment, the students may choose one of two individual term papers.

Either:

• A media history research production. The paper should be approximately 15 pages (or equivalent for audio/visual productions - the scope will be agreed upon with the supervisor). The theoretical reflection on the work is either included in the text, as is often the case with academic history papers, or a separate reflection of approximately 5 pages). Font type Arial or Calibri, size 12pt, line spacing: 1.5.

Or:

• A theoretical semester paper, e.g. an analysis of historiographical or methodological aspects of media history. The paper should be 12-15 pages. Font type Arial or Calibri, size 12pt, line spacing: 1.5.

Students may choose to submit their exams in either Scandinavian languages or English.

All aids are permitted, as long as the student follows the rules for examinations, source use and referencing, and OsloMet's guidelines for using artificial intelligence (AI) in student assignments.

Grade scale A-F

The exam papers are assessed by internal and external examiners. At least 25% of the exam papers will be assessed by two examiners. The grades awarded for the papers assessed by two examiners form the basis for determining the level for all the exam papers.

Birgitte Kjos Fonn