Students
CUL 120 – Living Culture
2014 – S1 Day
General Information
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| Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Unit Convenor
Ian Collinson
Contact via ian.collinson@mq.edu.au
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| Credit points |
Credit points
3
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| Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
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| Corequisites |
Corequisites
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| Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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| Unit description |
Unit description
From the printed page to the internet, from figurative painting to digital photography, from radio to the iPod, from film to the webcam, the last hundred years have seen a radical transformation in the way ideas and values are communicated, and how we're entertained. These changes aren't just a revolution in technology, however. They have been accompanied by an even more radical transformation in how people understand their place in the world. From modem authority to post-modern multiplicity, from national identity to global fluidity, from passive consumption to interactivity, our understandings of who we are, how we relate to one another and how we identify ourselves have also been transformed. The aim of this unit, and cultural studies in general, is to introduce you to how these changes are related to one another, and how they affect the way we live, play and work.
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Important Academic Dates
Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Demonstrate knowledge of the discipline of Cultural Studies, in particular, the concepts and thinkers that are central to the field.
- Engage critically with cultural texts and practices from everyday life.
- Demonstrate a critical awareness of the material effects of ways of knowing, and a capacity to intervene in those processes.
- Demonstrate commitment to the problematisation of inequality.
- Create alternative solutions to everyday problems.
- Engage with the ideas of others, present ideas in a coherent manner, and offer evidence to support their arguments.
Assessment Tasks
| Name | Weighting | Due |
|---|---|---|
| In-class quiz | 30% | Variable |
| Minor Essay | 20% | 8 April 2014 (Wk 6) |
| Essay plan | 15% | 13th May 2014 (Wk 9) |
| Major Essay | 35% | 18 June 2014 (wk 14) |
In-class quiz
Due: Variable
Weighting: 30%
We will have three ‘surprise’ in-class quizzes during the semester between weeks 3 and 12.
In each you will be asked to display your knowledge of particular key terms and concepts introduced in the lectures and readings. Each quiz will be worth 10%. If you are absent you must produce a medical certificate if you wish to sit a supplementary quiz.
Please note: one of these in-class quizzes will occur before week 5 (in either week 3, 4 or 5) as an early assessment task.
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Demonstrate knowledge of the discipline of Cultural Studies, in particular, the concepts and thinkers that are central to the field.
- Engage critically with cultural texts and practices from everyday life.
- Engage with the ideas of others, present ideas in a coherent manner, and offer evidence to support their arguments.
Minor Essay
Due: 8 April 2014 (Wk 6)
Weighting: 20%
Length: 1,000 words
Essays must be submitted through Turnitin. Instructions will be available on the unit webpage.
Essay questions will be posted on the iLearn site in week 2.
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Demonstrate knowledge of the discipline of Cultural Studies, in particular, the concepts and thinkers that are central to the field.
- Engage critically with cultural texts and practices from everyday life.
- Demonstrate a critical awareness of the material effects of ways of knowing, and a capacity to intervene in those processes.
- Engage with the ideas of others, present ideas in a coherent manner, and offer evidence to support their arguments.
Essay plan
Due: 13th May 2014 (Wk 9)
Weighting: 15%
Students must submit a detailed plan of their final essay for feedback from their tutor. Detailed instructions for this task will be posted on the unit webpage.
Essays questions, guidelines for plans, and rubrics will be posted on iLearn in week 6.
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Demonstrate knowledge of the discipline of Cultural Studies, in particular, the concepts and thinkers that are central to the field.
- Engage critically with cultural texts and practices from everyday life.
- Demonstrate a critical awareness of the material effects of ways of knowing, and a capacity to intervene in those processes.
- Demonstrate commitment to the problematisation of inequality.
- Create alternative solutions to everyday problems.
- Engage with the ideas of others, present ideas in a coherent manner, and offer evidence to support their arguments.
Major Essay
Due: 18 June 2014 (wk 14)
Weighting: 35%
Length: 1,500 words
Essay must be submitted through Turnitin
A selection of essay questions will be posted on iLearn in week 4.
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Demonstrate knowledge of the discipline of Cultural Studies, in particular, the concepts and thinkers that are central to the field.
- Engage critically with cultural texts and practices from everyday life.
- Demonstrate a critical awareness of the material effects of ways of knowing, and a capacity to intervene in those processes.
- Demonstrate commitment to the problematisation of inequality.
- Create alternative solutions to everyday problems.
- Engage with the ideas of others, present ideas in a coherent manner, and offer evidence to support their arguments.
Delivery and Resources
For lecture times and classrooms please consult the MQ Timetable website: http://www.timetables.mq.edu.au. This website will display up-to-date information on your classes and classroom locations.
Lectures will be held on Tuesdays, 2p-3pm, in the W5A P.G. Price Theatre
There is a reader for this unit which can be purchased at the Co-op Bookshop on campus. there is no text book for CUL120.
Please make sure that you are enrolled in a tutorial. Tutorials for this unit begin in week 2.
New for the 2014 interation of CUL120 is a week devoted to a critical analysis of the relationship between culture and nature.
Unit Schedule
Week 1 (week beginning Monday 3rd March): Introduction: What is Cultural Studies?
Week 2 (week beginning Monday 10th March): Humanism & Poststructuralism
Sullivan, N. (2012) ‘Humanism and Poststructuralism’ – notes for CUL120
Week 3 (week beginning Monday 17th March): Subjectivity & Otherness
Mansfield, N. (2000) "Foucault: the Subject, and Power," Subjectivity: Theories of Self from Freud to Haraway, Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 51-65.
Week 4 (week beginning Monday 24th March): Bodies
Lewis, J. (2002) "The Body", Cultural Studies: The Basics, London: Sage.
Week 5 (week beginning Monday 1st April): Performance/Performativity
Carlson, M. (2004) Performance: A Critical Introduction, 2nd ed., New York & London: Routledge pp.11-18, 31-37, 61-63 & 76-79
Week 6 (week beginning Monday 7th April): Class & Habitus
Swartz, D.L. (2002) "The Sociology of Habit: The Perspective of Pierre Bourdieu" The Occupational Therapy Journal of Research, v22, Winter, pp.61s-69s
MID SEMESTER BREAK
Week 7: (week beginning Monday 28th April): Gender
Alsop, R., A. Fitzsimons and K. Lennon (2002) "Natural Women and Men" Theorizing Gender, Cambridge: Polity Press.
Week 8: (week beginning Monday 5th May): Sexuality
Weeks, J. (1986) “The Invention of Sexuality”, Sexuality, London: Routledge.
Week 9: (week beginning Monday 12th May): Race
Hall, S. (1997) "The Spectacle of the Other", Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices, Milton Keynes: Open University Press.
Week 10: (week beginning Monday 19th May): Ethics
Zylinska, J. (2006) "Cultural Studies and Ethics", in G. Hall and C. Birchall (eds) New Cultural Studies: Adventures in Theory, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Week 11:(week beginning Monday 26th May): Nature
Sunberg, J. and Dempsey, J. (2009) “Culture/Natures”, in K.Kitchen, and N. Thrift (eds) International Encyclopedia of Human Geography, Rotterdam: Elsvier.
Plumwood, V. (2002) Environmental Culture: The Ecological Crisis of Reason, London: Routledge.
Week 12: (week beginning Monday 2nd June): Place/Space
Thrift, N. (2009) "Space: The Fundamental Stuff of Geography", in G. Valentine, S. Holloway & S. Price (eds.) Key Concepts in Geography, London: Sage.
Week 13: No Lecture
Policies and Procedures
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html
Assessment Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy.html
Grading Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grading/policy.html
Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html
Grievance Management Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grievance_management/policy.html
Disruption to Studies Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html The Disruption to Studies Policy is effective from March 3 2014 and replaces the Special Consideration Policy.
In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.
Student Code of Conduct
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/
Student Support
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.
Student Services and Support
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
Student Enquiries
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
IT Help
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://informatics.mq.edu.au/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.
Graduate Capabilities
Discipline Specific Knowledge and Skills
Our graduates will take with them the intellectual development, depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content in their chosen fields to make them competent and confident in their subject or profession. They will be able to demonstrate, where relevant, professional technical competence and meet professional standards. They will be able to articulate the structure of knowledge of their discipline, be able to adapt discipline-specific knowledge to novel situations, and be able to contribute from their discipline to inter-disciplinary solutions to problems.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Learning outcomes
- Demonstrate knowledge of the discipline of Cultural Studies, in particular, the concepts and thinkers that are central to the field.
- Engage critically with cultural texts and practices from everyday life.
- Demonstrate a critical awareness of the material effects of ways of knowing, and a capacity to intervene in those processes.
- Demonstrate commitment to the problematisation of inequality.
- Create alternative solutions to everyday problems.
Assessment tasks
- In-class quiz
- Minor Essay
- Essay plan
- Major Essay
Critical, Analytical and Integrative Thinking
We want our graduates to be capable of reasoning, questioning and analysing, and to integrate and synthesise learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments; to be able to critique constraints, assumptions and limitations; to be able to think independently and systemically in relation to scholarly activity, in the workplace, and in the world. We want them to have a level of scientific and information technology literacy.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Learning outcomes
- Demonstrate knowledge of the discipline of Cultural Studies, in particular, the concepts and thinkers that are central to the field.
- Engage critically with cultural texts and practices from everyday life.
- Demonstrate commitment to the problematisation of inequality.
- Create alternative solutions to everyday problems.
- Engage with the ideas of others, present ideas in a coherent manner, and offer evidence to support their arguments.
Assessment tasks
- In-class quiz
- Minor Essay
- Essay plan
- Major Essay
Problem Solving and Research Capability
Our graduates should be capable of researching; of analysing, and interpreting and assessing data and information in various forms; of drawing connections across fields of knowledge; and they should be able to relate their knowledge to complex situations at work or in the world, in order to diagnose and solve problems. We want them to have the confidence to take the initiative in doing so, within an awareness of their own limitations.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Learning outcomes
- Engage critically with cultural texts and practices from everyday life.
- Demonstrate commitment to the problematisation of inequality.
- Create alternative solutions to everyday problems.
Assessment tasks
- Minor Essay
- Essay plan
- Major Essay
Creative and Innovative
Our graduates will also be capable of creative thinking and of creating knowledge. They will be imaginative and open to experience and capable of innovation at work and in the community. We want them to be engaged in applying their critical, creative thinking.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Learning outcomes
- Engage critically with cultural texts and practices from everyday life.
- Demonstrate a critical awareness of the material effects of ways of knowing, and a capacity to intervene in those processes.
- Demonstrate commitment to the problematisation of inequality.
- Create alternative solutions to everyday problems.
Assessment task
- Major Essay
Effective Communication
We want to develop in our students the ability to communicate and convey their views in forms effective with different audiences. We want our graduates to take with them the capability to read, listen, question, gather and evaluate information resources in a variety of formats, assess, write clearly, speak effectively, and to use visual communication and communication technologies as appropriate.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Learning outcomes
- Demonstrate a critical awareness of the material effects of ways of knowing, and a capacity to intervene in those processes.
- Demonstrate commitment to the problematisation of inequality.
- Create alternative solutions to everyday problems.
- Engage with the ideas of others, present ideas in a coherent manner, and offer evidence to support their arguments.
Assessment tasks
- In-class quiz
- Minor Essay
- Essay plan
- Major Essay
Engaged and Ethical Local and Global citizens
As local citizens our graduates will be aware of indigenous perspectives and of the nation's historical context. They will be engaged with the challenges of contemporary society and with knowledge and ideas. We want our graduates to have respect for diversity, to be open-minded, sensitive to others and inclusive, and to be open to other cultures and perspectives: they should have a level of cultural literacy. Our graduates should be aware of disadvantage and social justice, and be willing to participate to help create a wiser and better society.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Learning outcomes
- Demonstrate a critical awareness of the material effects of ways of knowing, and a capacity to intervene in those processes.
- Demonstrate commitment to the problematisation of inequality.
Assessment tasks
- Essay plan
- Major Essay
Socially and Environmentally Active and Responsible
We want our graduates to be aware of and have respect for self and others; to be able to work with others as a leader and a team player; to have a sense of connectedness with others and country; and to have a sense of mutual obligation. Our graduates should be informed and active participants in moving society towards sustainability.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Learning outcomes
- Demonstrate a critical awareness of the material effects of ways of knowing, and a capacity to intervene in those processes.
- Demonstrate commitment to the problematisation of inequality.
Assessment tasks
- Essay plan
- Major Essay
Assignment Submission
Written work must be submitted through the Arts Students Centre (via the appropriate assignment box) on Level 1, W6A. Students must print and attach a completed bar-coded coversheet to all submitted work. A personalised coversheet is generated from the student section of the Faculty of Arts website at:
http://www.arts.mq.edu.au/current_students/undergraduates/admin_central/coversheet
Please generate you student details and click the GET MY ASSIGNMENT COVERSHEET button. No other coversheets will be provided by the Faculty.
Marked work will be returned in tutorials. Residuals will be available for collection from the Arts Student Centre (W6A Foyer) after Week 13.
Late Penalties
Essays that are submitted late will be penalised 5% per day late unless the student has organised an extension of time beforehand. Students will be expected to provide a medical certificate or other written evidence of serious misadventure. Weekends count towards the late period.