Module description
Digital culture and technology have transformed many aspects of publishing, challenging existing roles, methodologies and business practices. The ongoing negotiation between print era paradigms and new models for publishing is still far from being resolved, but networked digital content has fundamentally changed the manner in which we create, disseminate and evaluate information/culture and this has affected the whole publishing process, from content creation to final production and beyond. In this module we will study numerous digital publications and evaluate their target audience, design, usability, and marketing strategy. These will be explored through a range of factors, usually including: the differences between digital and print; the impact of user-generated content and social media; the impact of digital culture on the act of reading; eReaders and eBooks; the effect of mass digitisation; content creation; open access and intellectual property; publishing models, systems and flows; innovations in publishing; and the future of publishing.
We will consider different formats of digital publication, formal (such as books and journals) and informal (blogs, wikis), on the web and across different devices. While the module is not principally practical in nature, we will also engage in practical exercises to test some of the issues we discuss, reviewing case studies and hearing from practitioners in the field. In addition, we will also hear from guest speakers with widespread experience in editing, publishing and digital technologies.
Assessment details
Coursework - 4,000 word essay or project report (100%)
Educational aims & objectives
- To familiarise students with key concepts in the ever changing world of digital publishing, from an academic, technical and business point of view;
- To analyse case studies from a variety of publishing ecosystems, and including content from the scholarly, educational, reference and trade/commercial sectors
- To develop critical analytical skills in relation to the methods, cultures and technologies which underpin digital publishing in its various forms
- To develop some practical skills for planning new digital publications
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students will:
- gain a deep theoretical grounding in key aspects of the history of digital publishing and the current state of the art, including comparison with print and other media
- develop critical and reflexive skills for assessing the quality of a digital publication, its ability to meet the needs of a target audience and its relationship to other forms of publication
- be able to critically appraise a range of design and technological approaches, and make informed recommendations for new publishing projects, stating their rationale
- be able to carry out practical research into the organization and usability of digital publications, using appropriate techniques to explore how they are made and used