Humanitarian Communication Essay Questions
Word limit: 1200 words
Arjun Appadurai (2000) asks: ‘Can the media ever be turned to the interests of the poor?’ Answer by critically reflecting on the opportunities and challenges today’s changing media landscape presents for humanitarian communication.
According to Scott (2014: 138), ‘there is no ideal form of humanitarian communication’ used by international NGOs but ‘only a series of similarly problematic compromises’. Do you agree or disagree with this assessment? Answer by critically analysing at least two different strategies of humanitarian communication used by international NGOs.
To what extent does ‘Afro-optimism’ mark a decisive break with past western media representations of Africa? Critically discuss both the changes and continuities between ‘Afro-optimism’ and ‘Afro- pessimism’, drawing on relevant theoretical literature and empirical evidence.
Is ‘compassion fatigue’ an ‘unavoidable consequence’ of the way humanitarian disasters and crises are routinely reported by the news media, as Susan Moeller (1999) argues? With reference to at least two specific examples, critically discuss patterns in media coverage of humanitarian crises and why this might matter for public attitudes towards distant suffering.
Why does it matter how international journalism is funded?
Does mainstream media visibility increase or impede the ability of protest movements to affect social or political change? In your answer, you should critically discuss one or two specific examples and draw on relevant theoretical literature.
According to Bonilla and Rosa (2015: 12), protests on social media showed that “#Ferguson is everywhere”. Critically reflect on the capacity of digital activism to generate transformative social and political change, using at least one case study and relevant theoretical literature.
Does celebrity humanitarianism encourage or impede greater public participation in development politics? Critically discuss the role and impact of celebrities in international development, drawing on relevant empirical evidence and theoretical literature. You must apply the concepts of ‘post- democracy’ AND/OR ‘philanthrocapitalism’, amongst others, in your discussion.
To what extent does social media offer the opportunity for NGOs to contextualise their programmes activity and engage in meaningful discussion with their supporters? Your answer must refer to at least one recent charity or NGO campaign and engage with relevant academic literature. You should consider the various roles of social media such as fundraising, advocacy, education, brand awareness and donor retention.
Summative Essay
Students are required to choose one of the essay questions on Blackboard. Most essay questions will relate directly to specific learning objectives within particular lectures but you are advised to draw on relevant material from across the module.
The summative essay should be analytical rather than descriptive and provide a clear answer to the chosen essay question. It is crucial to support the arguments in your essay with references to scholarly sources and evidence/examples drawn from existing literature – references from non-academic sources (e.g. Wikipedia) are discouraged unless absolutely necessary for your evidence (e.g. reference to news coverage). The online reading list is a good starting point but you are strongly encouraged to source other relevant (academic) material through the library search engine and/or GoogleScholar. If in doubt, you may want to ask the module convenor for guidance.
| Summative Essay Students are required to choose one of the essay questions on Blackboard. Most essay questions will relate directly to specific learning objectives within particular lectures but you are advised to draw on relevant material from across the module. The summative essay should be analytical rather than descriptive and provide a clear answer to the chosen essay question. It is crucial to support the arguments in your essay with references to scholarly sources and evidence/examples drawn from existing literature – references from non-academic sources (e.g. Wikipedia) are discouraged unless absolutely necessary for your evidence (e.g. reference to news coverage). The online reading list is a good starting point but you are strongly encouraged to source other relevant (academic) material through the UEA library search engine and/or GoogleScholar. If in doubt, you may want to ask the module convenor for guidance. Students must submit their essay through the submission page on Blackboard before 3pm Monday 11 May. The word limit for the essay is 1,500 words, excluding bibliography. You are allowed to go 10% above the 1,500 words target, but there will be a penalty for all essays that are more than 1,650 words long. See Section 15 of the UEA Student Handbook, available at https://www.uea.ac.uk/learningandteaching/getting-started/handbooks, for detailed information on what is included in the word count, and penalties for exceeding the word count. The essay must be typed on a computer, contain full bibliographic references and a word count. It is not necessary to provide a cover page. The essay should be anonymous when you submit it, i.e. only include your student ID, but not your name. For further guidance, please consult the DEV format guide for coursework assignments which can be found on the DEV intranet, the DEV Guide to Academic Writing (also on the DEV intranet), as well as the feedback on your first assignment. Important: Submission Deadlines and Penalties for Late Submissions and Plagiarism Your attention is drawn to the penalties that apply for late submission and plagiarism. These are given in detail in your student handbook. Note that students are required to keep electronic copies of all assignments for the duration of their degree. In line with UEA policy, this coursework will be marked anonymously. Please make sure that your name does not appear anywhere on the submitted work. Your work should be identified by your registration number on the first page and if possible on all pages in either the footer or header. For the second summative assessment (essay) the seven Senate Scales criteria will be interpreted as follows: Senate Scale Criteria for UG Coursework (University Wide): Marking Criteria applied to this coursework Learning outcomes & scholarship 15% Does the essay as a whole meet the learning outcomes? Does it demonstrate the use and application of concepts and ideas discussed in the lectures and literature that link to the essay question that has been chosen? Argument & Understanding 25% Have all areas of the task set been addressed precisely and fully? Does the essay demonstrate thorough engagement with and understanding of the relevant academic debates/issues? Does it present coherent and articulate arguments? Criticality & Analysis 20% Critical discussion (rather than mere description) of the issues emerging in the context of each essay question employing ideas and concepts from relevant academic literature; originality in either argumentation, choice of literature and/or case studies/example, going beyond lecture notes; nuance and clear line of argumentation and logical sequencing of arguments Use of Sources & Evidence 15% Did you select an appropriate range of mostly academic sources to inform your discussion and support your arguments? Are key arguments supported with relevant evidence? References from non-academic sources (e.g. Wikipedia) are discouraged unless absolutely necessary for your evidence (e.g. reference to news coverage) Written Communication 10% The accuracy, clarity and style of written English in your essay – with attention to vocabulary and grammar. Well-structured work: include an introduction in which you set the scene and lay out the aims and structure of the essay, the main body of the essay in which you develop your argument and address the question, and a conclusion in which you briefly sum up your argument and return to the essay question. Good use of paragraphs and sign-posting. Academic Referencing 10% All sources used must be referenced using the ‘Harvard’ system. In-text (author, year) citation must be done accurately. A well-formatted bibliography, giving all cited works in alphabetical order of author name and including all required information must be given at the end of the essay. Presentation 5% Editing, typography, layout of work, format of tables, charts or images where applicable. |
In this thread, please post 2 key concepts that you think are most relevant to your chosen essay question. You can also include a brief definition and/or the main source that you will be drawing on to discuss these concepts .
Examples of key concepts on this module include “deliberate positivism”, “compassion fatigue”, “post-humanitarianism”, “post-democracy”, “slacktivism”, etc.
Essay tips
- Read the question carefully
- Keep your essay focused on the core themes of the question;
- Prioritise depth over breadth (you only have 1200 words)
- Clearly define keyconcepts (avoid dictionary definitions; instead draw on or quote from key scholars)
- Use concrete examples/case studies and/or empirical evidence from existing literature to support your arguments; you are not expected to conduct your own media content/discourse analysis
- Do not over-generalise (avoid phrases such as ‘western society suffers from compassion fatigue’/’Western media have always portrayed Africa in a negative way’) – contextualise, qualify, evidence your claims (e.g. ‘A number of studies suggest that Western news media present a largely negative and homogenised discourse about Africa. For instance, research by [scholar X], shows that XX% of British newspaper coverage between 2010-2015 focused on topics such as conflict, terrorism, or poverty…’)
- Build your discussion around the evidence and claims in academic literature
- You do not need to restrict yourself to material from one week only; try to synthesize material across the module
- Do not rely only on lecture notes and literature listed in handbook – show us that you’ve done own research
- Structure your essay clearly:
- Introduction: set the context + main aim/argument
- Main body: use sub-headings to divide your discussion into 2-3 key sections
- Conclusion: more than just a summary or afterthought – it’s where you present your central argument (yes, your “opinion”, but grounded in the theory/evidence you have reviewed!)
- Rule of thumb: 10% for introduction, 10% conclusion, 80% main body
- Think about how individual paragraphs/sections relate to each other, how you sequence key points
- Keep sentences short; don’t overcomplicate language
- Pay attention to precision (e.g. are you making a point about images used by NGOs in humanitarian appeals or how the news media portray humanitarian disasters?)
- referencing guide) – always show the reader where you are sourcing your ideas from
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