Unit Five

Culture, Context & Communication: copied from Adam Ranson's Site with Thanks

By the end of the course you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of key communication concepts, specifically:

• culture
• ideology,
• identity
• mode of address

You will need to describe, evaluate and illustrate competing claims about the value of different cultural forms.
You will also study the role and function of different forms of communication in the process of cultural transmission.

The module includes a study of theoretical explanations of ways in which cultural communication addresses the individual subject, and knowledge of these should be demonstrated in candidates’ responses to the assessment unit.

Knowledge & Understanding

Knowledge and understanding are organised within two key areas of study:

• Concepts of culture
• Cultural transmission.

Concepts of Culture

This area of study builds upon candidates’ understanding of culture as introduced in AS Module 3. Candidates must be able to:

• explore in more depth definitions of culture
• explore ideas about the nature of high culture, popular culture,mass culture, elite culture, class culture and subculture
  

Place debates about the above in historical context and show understanding of relevant theoretical perspectives in relation to the above, specifically:

• feminism,
• post-colonialism,
• Marxism

• postmodernism

• evaluate competing claims about the value of cultural forms.In this area of study, candidates should examine the evolution of the debate about the relative merits of high culture and popular culture and their social roles. In relation to the question of value, candidates should explore ideas about aesthetics and cultural relativism.

Cultural Transmission

Candidates will develop knowledge and understanding of cultural transmission in the following contexts:

Personal- such as

• Clothing
• Hairstyle
• Body adornment and modification
• Ideolect
• Portable communication devices, eg
  personal stereo
• mobile ‘phone
• laptop computer

Organisational-such as

• Corporate Identity
• Marketing
• Press and Public Relations
• Logos
• Idents
• Uniforms
• Office and workplace design
• Advertising
• Web Sites

Mass Media-such as

• Popular music
• Television
• Magazines
• Internet

The Constructed Environment-such as

• Townscapes
  
• Shopping Centres
  
• Vernacular Architecture
  
• Industrial and Commercial Design
• Public Spaces and Amenities.

The forms of communication indicated here do not comprise exhaustive lists, but candidates able to employ these examples will be
able to meet the demands of the assessment unit associated with this module.

In all the contexts above, candidates will consider the role of communication in forming, reinforcing or contesting identity. The forms of communication will therefore be analysed and evaluated in terms of their ideological content and candidates will, once again, need to site their readings and interpretations within the context of their understanding of relevant areas of theoretical perspectives:
feminism, post-colonialism, Marxism, postmodernism.

Theories

Candidates will examine these theories as they relate to concepts of culture and cultural transmission. For example:

feminism:

• gendered character of language
  
• gendered division of labour within organisations
  
• gendered audience

Marxism:

• ideological state apparatuses
  
• coercion and consent
  
• false class consciousness
  
• hegemony
  
• dominant ideology

post-colonialism:

• imagined communities
  
• constructions of ethnicity
  
• globalisation
  
• anti-Eurocentricism

postmodernism:

• fragmention
  
• consumption
  
• cultural implosion.

Assessment

Written Unit 1.5 hours

15% of the total A Level marks (60 marks)

Candidates will be assessed by answering two questions which test their knowledge and understanding of concepts of culture and cultural transmission across four contexts of cultural communication:

• personal
• organisational
• the mass media
• the constructed environment.

This unit tests Assessment Objectives 1 and 2 and assesses Module 5 of the A2 Subject Content.

See the Following Unit 5 Exemplar Essays:

Candidate V

Candidate W

Candidate X

Candidate Y

Candidate Z