Here in Screen and Media Studies we believe that communication is the most fundamental of all
human activities, and that in the 21st century the media, in the broadest sense, will be the most
important aspect of communication. The variety and connectivity of cultures, identities and
practices will be central to the new media and our curriculum.
CRITICISM AND CREATIVITY - A CURRICULUM FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
We live and work in the 21st century, and all our students will spend their working lives
there. That is why the Screen and Media Studies curriculum is oriented towards the future.
Everything we do is guided by the question: how relevant is this to the future of the media?
We respect the vast experience of media that students bring with them. But we know that to be
professionals in the new millennium, common sense is not enough. The future media professional
questions everything, in the active pursuit of innovation.
We believe that the future will be global, multicultural, multi-skilled, digital, creative and
smart. That is why our curriculum combines thinking and making. You cannot understand the media
without making them; you cannot make media without understanding how they work.
The new professional, the new citizen, the new critic and the new maker all need to understand
the whole process of media. So we will study media technologies, political economy, styles and
techniques, ideologies and meanings, audiences and reception.
We know that the future will demand more mobility and flexibility. Therefore we will not only
supply students with the skills and understanding necessary to think about and through the media.
We want all our students to have the full range of skills for research and communication, because
these will be the key skills of the coming decades, whatever careers they move into.
A DIVERSE AND INNOVATIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
Screen and Media Studies is about communication. So is our teaching, our learning and our
assessment.
We aim to provide teaching that is responsive to the many cultural backgrounds of Waikato students,
to the challenges of the subject, and to the changing work environment.
You can expect lectures and discussions, but also TV studio and computer laboratory sessions,
role-play exercises, group activities, screenings, seminars and online tutorials and
activities.
In tune with the changing networked world, we seek a more open and dynamic learning environment.
All our graduate students are allocated a personal tutor to help guide them through the degree,
and to help choose the learning activities that best suit them.
The future media are collaborative. We emphasise the need to work in groups.
The future media are innovative. We stress the need for students to become independent learners,
capable of designing and carrying out their own programmes of work.
Expect Screen and Media Studies to be a leader in the use of online media as a powerful element
in 21st century education.
A NEW AGENDA FOR CREATIVE AND CRITICAL RESEARCH
Our research in Screen and Media Studies is both critical and creative: we write books, we
make television, we build websites, we are involved in policy-making.
That research helps us evolve the course design, the assessment, the teaching and learning and
of course the content of the degrees.
It also means that we welcome student involvement in our research activities.
And that we look forward to pioneering creative as well as critical work in higher degrees.
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