In this course, we explore the ways in which communications are increasingly being created, disseminated, and

received by and through the body, and often in intimate and relational ways, leading to a recognition of the body

as a communications platform. While theories of embodiment and communications will be used as a lens, the course will consider some very practical applications of embodied communications such as wearable fitness trackers, implantable delivery of medication, and communicating with A.I.

9 x 2hr on-campus seminar

1 x workshop

This is one of the MSc options in Communications and may not run every year. The options that are running this session are available on MyCampus.

None

None

The standard assessments for this course are: 

■ Individual presentation (25%) 

■ 500 word reading response (25%) 

■ 2000 word essay (50%) 

If required, for instance where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, the following alternatives are available: 

■ A recorded presentation or one-to-one presentation / discussion/Q&A with staff (where presentation would normally be in class) as alternative to presentation.

■ There are no alternatives to 500 word reading response, but flexible deadlines can be offered as reasonable adjustment (Students should follow the usual process for extensions). 

■ There are no alternatives to the 2000 Word Essay, but flexible deadlines can be offered as reasonable adjustment (Students should follow the usual process for extensions). 

Further reasonable adjustments may be provided where necessary. Students are encouraged to consult with the course convenor.  

This course aims to:

- assess how platforms are no longer external to us but now embedded, both literally and figuratively in our lives and bodies;

- understand how bodies can be leveraged as social, cultural, and political forms of communication;

- examine how digital communications are developed and disseminated in ways that have very real and material effects, including effects on the body;

- work to balance both the affordances of such forms of communication, as well as the risks;

- provide practical understandings of intimate communications technologies that will be valuable in the fields of regulation, politics and governance, technology design, and law.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

- Question, challenge, and extend the notion of 'body as platform', and mapping it onto a diverse range of communications phenomena;

- Use course concepts in application to their own work and research and future career;

- Compare a range of languages and lenses for contributing to the growing body of scholarship at the intersection of intimacy, platform, and communications studies;

- Synthesise the both critical and practical perspectives on the future of communications technologies and their application to real world challenges.