School of East Asian Studies

Module Outline

EAS6149/6158
Media and Public Communication in Japan

Autumn Semester 2020-21

15/30 Credits

This module outline is correct as of 20 October 2020.

Module Organiser

Dr. Peter Matanle

Senior Lecturer in Japanese Studies
School of East Asian Studies, University of Sheffield
University of Sheffield Academic Profile
Personal Website; Personal Research Archive

Contact Details
Email: p.matanle@sheffield.ac.uk
Office: Google Hangouts
Twitter: @matapet
Instagram: @matapet64

Communication Preferences
The best way to contact me is via email. SEAS policy is that staff should answer student
emails within three working days of receipt. Normally, I will not answer emails outside of
normal working hours (Mon-Fri, 9-5) or at the weekends, so an email received late on Friday
afternoon might not be answered until late the following Wednesday. Any time I am
unavailable for normal communication, students will receive an email auto-response, giving
an alternative contact. More information on communication is available in the Blackboard site
for this module under: Consultation and Contact Information.

Consultation Hours
Mondays and Tuesdays During Semester: 10.00-12.00.

Class Times and Locations

Online via Blackboard
Module Overview
Media and communications are a central aspect of contemporary public life, and permeate
all our activities. Their influence is pervasive, and yet sometimes we forget their constant
presence. Media is also entertaining and informative, and assists us in realising our aims,
ambitions, and desires. Media organisations, technologies and environments are also
constantly and rapidly changing. Japan is at the forefront of all developments in media and
communications, and Japanese media organisations are some of the most innovative and
influential worldwide.

The module will begin by introducing the Japanese media environment, providing students
with a broad understanding of the structure, function, value, impact, and control of the media
industry in Japan. From there students will develop an understanding of how Japanese
media functions transnationally and an awareness of the key issues relating to the
globalisation of media. Teaching will normally consist of a mixture of lectures, seminars, and
films. Students will be expected to participate in presentation and discussion during
seminars. Clips, articles and discussion questions will be provided to facilitate this. Some
required reading will also be given.
Skills Development

Academic Critical Independent

Communication Practical
Knowledge Presentation Learning
IT Skills
Writing Ability Cultural
Skills Skills Skills
Agility

● Academic Writing will be developed via the end-of-term essay & supplementary
activities.
● Communication Skills will be developed during in-class & online participation,
and in written assignments.
● Critical Ability will be developed through discussion of assigned readings &
films, and analysing issues in written form for assignments.
● Cultural Agility will be developed via in class and online discussions &
participation, and student assignments of comparative environment &
development in Western and East Asian settings.
● Independent Learning will be developed through out-of-class tasks, literature &
information search, and writing for the bibliographic essay assignment.
● IT Skills will be developed through data analysis and presentation in formative
learning tasks and the summative assessment.
● Knowledge will be developed via the lectures & seminars, assessments,
readings and viewings on the module.
● Practical Skills will be developed via the formative learning tasks, such as
information visualisations.
● Presentation Skills will be developed via in-class tasks and assessments.
● Teamwork will be developed via online group discussions and formative learning
tasks.
Programme Learning Outcomes and Sheffield
Graduate Attributes
1. Via the lectures, seminars and films, students will understand the value of a sociological
approach to media and public communication worldwide.

2. In lectures and independent reading students will critically understand the similarities and
differences between people’s experiences of media and communication in East Asia across
different dimensions of analysis, such as country, class, education, gender, race etc.

3. In their oral and written assessments students will develop their abilities to critically
understand and evaluate empirical data and situate it within theoretical discourse.

4. In their assessments students will demonstrate the ability to make meaningful and
accurate comparisons using empirical and theoretical analysis.

5. Students will acquire skills in presenting information, ideas, perspectives and arguments
through their participation in class and in their assessments.

6. Students will gain skills in information management and organisation for efficient and
effective learning and knowledge production.

7. In the end of semester workshop students will improve their ability to communicate their
own attributes to potential employers via written and oral tasks.

Overview Schedule of Classes

Under the University of Sheffield’s COVID-19 teaching plan most teaching will be
asynchronous and delivered via the online Blackboard system. As and when
synchronous or face-to-face teaching takes place you will be notified by email and
the Blackboard system directly of the times and methods of delivery. Please check
the module outline, the Blackboard system and your emails on a regular daily basis
to keep yourself up to date.
Detailed Schedule of Classes
Please consult with the module’s online Blackboard site for detailed learning instructions

Week 1 - Key Concepts and Issues

Module Introduction. What are the key issues facing media and society in the 21st century?
What media and communication issues are you interested in and why?
No synchronous seminar.

Week 2 - Mainstream and Mass Media in Japan

Which are the main media industries and organisations in Japan? How is the mainstream
and mass media organised in Japan? How is mainstream and mass media changing, and
why? What are the big issues facing mainstream and mass media in the information and
internet age?
Synchronous Seminar: Getting to know Blackboard; Saying hello and making friends.

Week 3 - Media and Politics in Japan

How does media and politics work in Japan? What are the advantages and disadvantages of
the kisha club system? How is politics responding to the expansion of internet
communications?
Synchronous Seminar: Module Feedback; Discussion Board Follow up.

Week 4 - Skills Development and Assessment Preparation

How can we learn to be more self-reliant in our learning and development? What makes a
good reference list? Why do we use citations in our work? How does one format references
properly?
Synchronous Seminar: Skills Development; Assessment Overview.

Week 5 - TV Advertising in Japan and the UK and Further Skills Development

Why do companies advertise their products and services on TV? Does advertising differ
from one country to another? Why? How do we use web tools for collaborative learning?

Week 6 - Media Literacy and Foreign Reporting on Japan

How do foreign media report on Japan? Why do they tend to adopt stereotypical portrayals
of Japanese life? What can we do as individuals to respond to increasing bias and
inaccuracy in reporting? What is media literacy and how can we develop it?

Week 7 - Idols and Celebrity in Japanese Media Culture

Who or what are idols and celebrities? Are they the same as tarento? How does Japanese
media deploy idols, celebrities and tarento? Why? What differences are there between
Japanese media and foreign media in their use of idols and celebrities?

Week 8 - Popular Media and Society in Japan

How does popular culture and media portray gender in the workplace and in society? Does
popular culture affect the way in which we understand and perform gender in real life? How
and Why?

Week 9 - Your Employability

What aspects of employability do you think are important? Are there any hidden factors that
we can improve upon ourselves, to increase our chances?

Week 10 - Roundup and Module Evaluation

Assessment
There is ONE assessment for both EAS6149 and EAS6158, which will take the form of a
Literature Search and Bibliographic Review. The assessment is a FORMATIVE piece of
work intended as preparation for the programme level SUMMATIVE essay that will be
delivered outside of this module.

Formative Assessment
EAS6149
This will be in the form of a literature/evidence search with at least ten items to be used for
reading and building an essay. You should choose a topic from the essay titles printed below
and perform a literature search to gather suitable reading and information as if you are
preparing to answer that question. In addition, you will need to include a section describing
how you went about your search and provide a few sentences on each item in your
bibliography describing your reasons for inclusion.
Word Count: 1,000-1,500 words including bibliography.
Weighting: 15 credits and 60% for the semester.

EAS6158
This will be in the form of a literature/evidence search with at least fifteen items to be used
for reading and building an essay. You should choose a topic from the essay titles printed
below and perform a literature search to gather suitable reading and information as if you are
preparing to answer that question. In addition, you will need to include a section describing
how you went about your search and provide a few sentences on each item in your
bibliography describing your reasons for inclusion.
Word Count: 2,000-2,500.
Weighting: 30 credits and 60% for the semester.