Media

In the 21st century, media is embedded in every aspect of the world we inhabit and at every level of society. We depend on our connectivity in all our relationships from our closest friends and family to the public personas we present to the world through selfies and tweets. Even the President of Ireland has a web site and a twitter account. Our access to Dáil Éireann and the workings of our political system are negotiated through media infrastructure. How do we access the most important issues of our times? From Covid Tracker Apps to the history of RTÉ, the study of media allows us to analyse media and communication as we both consume and produce media. In this networked digital environment we can engage with our present moment and bring history alive through access to online media archives for example the 1916 witness statements or the national census online. Could Hollywood blockbusters or video games have anything to do with our habits or how we understand ourselves? As a media student you will learn to ask how and why media works in the way it does and to explore how the creative arts develop stories for our digital age? Streaming online entertainment from Spotify to Japanese animation our access to media culture is truly global. From data on climate change to community development both locally and globally, the study of media and communications allow us to analyse and interrogate our world. Media studies helps us understand the history and dynamic changes that have taken place in our understanding of images, sound, writing, their relationship to each other and the technology and infrastructure required for this communication. In this flow of data, media studies gives us the critical strategies needed to negotiate the relationship of fact to fiction, viral media to data privacy and citizenship in this digital landscape.