Master of English and New Media Studies

In the first part of the programme you complete a number of papers related to English and new media, as well as a paper on research methods to prepare you for your research thesis.

Areas covered include:

• Game narrative and interactive storytelling
• Multiplatform transmedia narratives
• Web communication
• Corpus, multimodal and critical discourse analysis of new and social media
• Text mining and analytics
• Virtual reality, new media and language education
• Internet memes
• Social media and (virtual) identity
• Intercultural communication and new media
• Social media, communication and creativity

Core papers

• ENMS800 English and New Media Research Methods
• ENMS999 English and New Media Thesis

Elective papers

• ENMS801 New Media Performance and Practice
• ENMS802 Virtual Worlds
• ENMS803 Game Narrative and Interactive Storytelling
• LING812 Discourse Analysis
• CTEC803 Transmedia
• LING811 Language, Culture and Communication

The research thesis is at the heart of this programme.

You could investigate the potential of online virtual worlds or explore complex issues of virtual identity, with many applications, including those for language or literacy learning and teaching. Those interested in translation and interpreting might research the effectiveness of online machine translation tools. More creative-based projects could explore the performative potential of multiplatform transmedia narratives, geo-located augmented reality (AR) sites, games and storyworlds.

Read more about some of the projects our students have worked on.

Interpreting and animating the Tāwhaki myth cycle in a video game

Isaac Waetford

Isaac explored the ways in which video games can be used to preserve and revitalise obscure Māori oral traditions, like the Tāwhaki myth cycle. A range of narratological and ludological approaches were considered, with the eventual creation of a prototype based on the adventure game genre.

An everyday feminist: A corpus-based critical discourse analysis of digital feminist news media

Sarah Batkin

Sarah employed corpus linguistics and critical discourse analysis to analyse popular digital feminist news sites like Jezebel, Bust, and Broadly. The goal of her research was to use these websites as a lens to observe emergent ideological shifts within the feminist movement.

Story meets story world: How do you construct a non-linear, narrative-rich virtual reality experience while working within the confines of a traditional MMORPG?

Nick Jones

Nick's thesis involved the development of the story, history, dialogue, and other in-game writing for the virtual reality game OrbusVR. In doing so Nick was looking to establish a new language for the MMORPG narrative; one that matches the dynamic, non-linear and interactive nature of the medium.

A corpus-assisted critical discourse analysis of crowd-sourced constructions of political identity

Caitlin van Hoffen

Caitlin is using the text analysis software Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) to examine how people construct their own and opposing political identities in the anonymous and unmoderated online setting of Urban Dictionary.

Reflections on the design and development of language educational resources in the three-dimensional virtual reality environment High Fidelity

Andi Chen

Andi’s research involved the design and development of virtual English language educational resources in the totally immersive three-dimensional VR environment of High Fidelity. She also carried out a user evaluation to see how language learners would respond to these resources, and the use of Oculus VR headsets and touch controllers.

Language educational space design in High Fidelity

Simona Xie

Simona’s research involved the design and development of a virtual English language educational space in the totally immersive three-dimensional VR environment of High Fidelity. She also carried out a user evaluation to see how language learners would engage with the space and the use of Oculus VR headsets and touch controllers. This was a collaborative work with Andi Chen.

The master narratives of online discourse surrounding men who knit

Angela Desmarais

Angela is researching gender stereotyping towards men who knit and how this influences the way they perform their identities, both online and offline. She is analysing data collected from the Reddit sub thread r/knitting and face-to-face interviews with men who knit.

Intercultural communication through new media: Interactions of cultures through gaming localisation

Marisa Aoys

Marisa is examining game localisation and its effect on intercultural communication in the current technological environment. It will explore the aspect of identity and culture in the gaming industry, as well as the impact this has on individuals and the gaming climate.

Instagram, influencers and multimodal discourses of influencing

Monique Porteous

Monique is carrying out a multimodal analysis of the images posted by Instagram influencers in order to examine whether there is a statistical correlation between the number of likes a post receives, and the semiotic choices (eg gaze, image act, social distance, size of frame, angle, semiotic space, colour, visual framing) made to construct the image. The goal is to investigate whether certain semiotic choices motivate Instagrammers to follow a particular post.

• New and social media research
• Language and literacy education
• Online journalism
• Public relations
• New and social media practice
• Translation and interpreting
• Advertising
• The arts and cultural industries
• Travel and tourism
• Content development for virtual and augmented realities

You will also be prepared for doctoral study.