Module manager: Ludmila Lupinacci
Email: L.Lupinacci@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable
Year running 2026/27
This module is not approved as a discovery module
This module examines the contemporary ecology of mobile media in the context of everyday life, blending theory and creative practice. “Mobile media”, here, refers to a wide range of sociotechnical practices carried out with portable digital devices – especially smartphones. We will look not only at the technologies, devices, and apps themselves but also at the experiences, habits, and cultures that develop around them once they become part of our daily routines. Mobile media now play a central role in many aspects of life: communication, entertainment, information, transport, banking, shopping, and more. Starting from a focus on everyday life, the aim is to give students tools to think critically about these everyday interactions from a media and communication perspective. Centring students’ own experiences, the module’s activities and assessments will encourage them to reflect on how these technologies shape daily life and to challenge assumptions that are usually taken for granted. Please note this is an optional module and runs subject to enrolments. If a low number of students choose this module, then the module may not run and you may be asked to choose another module.
The module will offer knowledge of theoretical and methodological frameworks that can be used to understand and critically assess contemporary mobile media technologies and ecologies, and foundational practical skills to imagine and prototype alternative applications. The module aims to allow students to develop an in-depth and relational understanding of how these technologies and practices are situated within broader debates in social theory, addressing both what is specific to mobile media and what reflects previously theorised artefacts, practices, and experiences. Students should be able to reflect on these objectives and apply them to critical thinking about mobile and other digital systems of the future, and the society that they will help to create.
On successful completion of the module students will be able to:
1. Examine mobile media-related problems and debates from a nuanced perspective.
2. Critically analyse and evaluate technologies and practices that are pervasive in the context of everyday life.
3. Formulate arguments and interventions with the support of relevant theoretical frameworks and critical practice.
4. Apply research findings to reimagine mobile media solutions, concepts, or applications.
On successful completion of the module students will be able to:
Reflect on their own practices and experiences with mobile media.
Identify and engage with relevant debates in scholarship pertaining to a specific research question.
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Practical | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Seminar | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Private study hours | 170 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 30 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
Assessment for this module includes a reflective log submitted during the teaching term, and an independent project submitted in the exam period after the teaching term.
Feedback from the first assessment will highlight how you have met (or failed to meet) the marking criteria and learning outcomes for the module, which should provide useful guidance while you finalise work for the second assessment.
Every week, you will have the opportunity to check your understanding of key concepts, frameworks, methods, and assessment requirements during the seminars and workshops. During these sessions, you will be mobilising and applying concepts, frameworks, and methods through directed discussion and activities, for which you will receive formative feedback.
The final week of teaching is dedicated to reviewing key topics, concepts, and frameworks, and to the clarification of any questions about Assessment 2.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Reflective log | reflective log | 30 |
| Project | project | 70 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Resits consist of revision and resubmission of the original brief.
Check the module area in Minerva for your reading list
Last updated: 30/04/2026
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team