The Master of Social Sciences (MSS) in Television, Film and Photography is a two-semester, 32-credit program, with English as the medium of instruction. Students will complete 8 courses, including a thesis or a production. The aim of this program is to provide students a broad-based education in television, film, and media studies. It examines television and film as art forms, industries, and means of mass communication. To fulfill this objective, the program includes advanced theoretical and practical courses on television journalism, television theory and criticism, documentary and filmmaking, and film theory and criticism.
10 courses · 40 credit hours across 2 terms
| Code | Course title | Credits | |
|---|---|---|---|
| TFP 501 | Film Theory and Criticism | 4 | At the end of the semester the students will: 1. understand and employ critical terms and get familiar with the discipline affiliated register 2. have studied the major trends in film criticism and theory 3. be able to initiate discussions and be able to analyze films using different critical approaches 4. have an enhanced proficiency at textual analysis 5. have written a capstone paper 6. have given a presentation defending their proposition |
| TFP 502 | New Media and Society | 4 | It is assumed that we are living in an information society created based on a mutual constitution of digital technologies and social, political, economic, and cultural forces. This information society is global with its local and regional nuances and tensions. Digital technologies are in flux and shaping social infrastructures and challenging identity, politics, economics, and culture. This course has the following objectives: a) To investigate the evolving technological phenomena such as AI, big data, robotics, and platformization. b) To understand the relations between technology, society, culture, politics, and economics. c) To understand the risks and threats in the information society such as cyber threats, cyber warfare, surveillance, and digital colonialism. d) To explain the geopolitical tensions in the global information society This course will address the issues from the perspective of the global south. After doing this course students will develop a critical understanding of the new media and their social implications. It will prepare them as conscious digital citizens. |
| TFP 503 | Television Criticism | 4 | The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the basic concepts, form, practices, functions and policies that have guided the evolution and operation of television industries around the world and especially in Bangladesh. It will also examine developments in programing, industrial and institutional structure, regulation, audiences, technological innovation and cultural significance of television over time. Specific Objectives: • To identify, assess and employ primary concepts and methods of televisual analysis and criticism • To apply those concepts and methods to various narrative television programs • To identify and evaluate how television’s forms relate to wider economic and cultural contexts • To channel critical observations into competent written criticism • To gain a greater appreciation for television texts and contexts |
| TFP 504 | Advanced Documentary Production | 4 | This course will give a comprehensive understanding into the practices of Documentary film making and develop skills of storytelling. It will predominantly deal with the hands-on concepts of Documentary cinema. Students will know the genesis of documentary film and it’s recent trends and languages? To reach to the international market with the full potential, students will prepare their idea. This course will guide them to bring their idea into script and represent through different forms and structures and make them able to be prepared for the local and international market. |
| Code | Course title | Credits | |
|---|---|---|---|
| TFP 505 | Investigative Journalism | 4 | The goal of this course is to improve the student journalist's ability to thoroughly, research, investigate, and report for television on a variety of topics, including politics, crime, the legal system, the environment, health, and business, as well as to be able to develop and test new ideas before presenting them in a straightforward, objective television story format that complies with the standards of accuracy and objectivity. After completion of the course students will have: 1. Solid understanding of what investigative reporting is and how it differs from other types of reporting, and the role of an investigative reporter. 2. Ability to generate story ideas for investgative and in-depth stories. 3. Ability to write and present in-depth material in compelling way, and 4. Commitment to accuracy and fair play. Understanding of ethical issues involved in investigative reporting. |
| TFP 506 | Political Economy of Cultural Production | 4 | The primary aim of the course is to develop a critical, conceptual, and awareness of the complex factors influencing communication/media production, representations, and reception through politics and economy and political economy. For example, how mediated power is produced, perceived and received in society. This course introduces students to the field of Political Economy, Cultural Studies, helping them develop an understanding of the approach as an analytical tool. Given that communication processes are ingrained in culture, and culture itself being a social process, this course shall enable students to use a Cultural Studies lens to examine and engage critically with the meaningful yet often neglected relationship between culture and communication and other signifying practices. As a result, students in general will emerge as more informed and critical observer of the social world they live in. Interactive and interdisciplinary in nature, the course will have a dual focus: KNOWING and DOING culture— how political economy influence culture production; how ideological leaning promotes social perception through political economy and culture. The former aims to familiarize students with some key concepts/issues. The latter is more geared towards doing culture– making the concepts functional and relevant in the context of everyday life. This two-fold engagement will enable students to examine the link between society, communication, politics and culture first hand. Objectives: Upon completion of this course, students are expected to: 1. Demonstrate the ability to analyze everyday life from cultural studies perspectives. 2. Be familiar with key concepts like ideology, power, representation, gender as analytical tools to critically examine communication patterns, processes and other signifying practices. 3. Identify underlying social structures in existing or new cultural formations |
| TFP 507 | Broadcast and Film Policy | 4 | At the end of the semester the students will: 1. be able to define and understand policy and policy studies in general 2. be able to explore explore the policy issues and principles in the contexts of broadcasting and film 3. be able to critically review the broadcast and film policies and acts of Bangladesh in comparison to other countries. |
| TFP 508 | Thesis | 4 | The students may write a 20-25,000-word thesis based on research in any area of media studies. Assessment methods: Oral – 25 Thesis Paper - 75 |
| TFP 509 | Graduate Production | 4 | The students may produce a 5-7-minute feature film or a 20-25-minute documentary for television. Assessment methods: Oral (with screening the production) – 25 Final Production - 75 |
| TFP 510 | Photography Portfolio | 4 |