DELIVERY

MAS104 AUSTRALIAN MEDIA consists of a weekly 1-hour lecture and a weekly 1-hour tutorial. While the lectures are recorded through the ECHO system, students are encouraged to attend every lecture - these are lively, sometimes interactive sessions. Students are required to attend every tutorial. Students that miss more than two tutorials, without evidence of sickness or unavoidable disruption, will have to defend their continuation in the unit. Besides attending lectures and tutorials, and completing required readings, MAS104 also requires students follow the unit on iLearn, and stay informed of special Announcements and additional information posted there. 

It is the student's responsibility to record their tutor's email address ASAP. ALL questions and concerns about MAS104 should be, in the first instance, emailed to the tutor. Generally, student emails will be replied to within 48 business hours.       

REQUIRED AND RECOMMENDED TEXTS AND/OR MATERIALS

The compulsory readings for this course can be found in the MAS104 Unit Reader. This is available from the university’s Co-op Bookshop. Students must read the weekly readings BEFORE each week's tutorial. 

PLEASE NOTE THAT YOUR WEEKLY READINGS ARE IN THE UNIT READER AND ARE LISTED IN iLearn, WEEK BY WEEK. THE WEEKLY 'DISCUSSION QUESTIONS' - WHICH DOUBLE AS (POTENTIAL) QUIZ QUESTIONS - ARE ALSO LISTED IN iLEARN. 

LECTURE SCHEDULE

WEEK 1 (26 FEBRUARY): INTRODUCTION

This week we provide an overview of the central themes and concepts of MAS104, and briefly discuss the various assessment tasks. Please note that tutorials for MAS104 begin in week one. Use this first week to look through your unit guide thoroughly and ask your tutor if you would like anything clarified. If you haven't yet done so, remember to purchase your course reader from the Co-Op bookshop. As you go through the unit guide, take note of the course’s various emphases and consider what has been included. Why do you think we will study these issues more closely?

WEEK 2 (5 MARCH): REPRESENTATION & ANALYSIS

Different disciplines require different analytical approaches. This week we look at the issue of representation in the media. We also present some of the tools of media analysis and explore what types of things media students need to consider for their analyses of media texts.

WEEK 3 (12 MARCH): MEDIA & THE NATION

The rise of capitalism and the printing press were integral to the notion of ‘imagined communities’ and the formation of nation states. This week we look at how the world in general is ‘mediated' by language and media. We also examine the role media plays in constructing, perpetuating and/or contesting the idea of Australian nationhood.

WEEK 4 (19 MARCH): THE PRESS & THE PUBLIC SPHERE

Print is the oldest form of media in Australia and was fundamental in helping Australians forge a sense of nationhood. As important as they’ve been to our political culture though, and despite their historic links to democratic processes, traditional newspapers must now try harder to retain the popularity and importance they enjoyed in the 19th and 20th centuries. Competition from new media has challenged newspapers to ‘adapt or die’: this week, we consider this challenge. We also consider how, despite the scale and severity of the challenge, the press continues to underpin and animate national conversations - about Canberra, the world, and ourselves.

WEEK 5 (26 MARCH): MAGAZINES & GENDER

While often dismissed as trivial or exploitative, magazines are nonetheless immensely popular in Australia. This week we consider the historical development of some of Australia’s most popular titles, and survey how they have helped shape important discourses - especially to do with gender. Our aim is to see how magazines function (or fail) as glossy ‘how-to’ guides for contemporary Australian culture.

WEEK 6 (2 APRIL): RADIO - POWER & PRIVILEGE

Radio was once the unrivalled broadcast medium in the average Australian home, and the prime source of news and entertainment. With the arrival of television, radio’s ‘golden days’ were over – but radio remained an influential presence in popular culture and political debate. This week we consider how radio continues to not only survive but also affect public opinion about prominent issues.             

WEEK 7 (23 APRIL): AUSTRALIAN TV - MILESTONES & CHALLENGES

Since 1956 free-to-air TV has provided so many of the myths and motifs that contribute to our national culture. This week we consider the various milestone moments in Australia’s television history - the programs, personalities and policy decisions that have shaped this country’s television culture. Our aim is to see how Australian TV has distinguished itself in the global marketplace, despite the dominance of US television.

WEEK 8 (30 APRIL): TV COMEDY - STEREOTYPES, SATIRE & PARODY

Humour is a unique insight into identity - fears, aspirations and anxieties, individual and collective. Australian humour is often described as self-deprecating and laconic: do you agree? This week we consider how comedy is often delivered on Australian TV: through parody and satire. By examining more closely shows like Summer Heights High and Salam Café we consider the uniqueness and cultural significance of local humour.

WEEK 9 (7 MAY) AUSTRALIAN CINEMA - CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES

Since the birth of Australian cinema in 1896 the industry has been characterised by periods of boom and bust. This week we will present you with a brief history of the industry and put various policies within context. We will thus consider the economic, political and cultural factors that have shaped and challenged the Australian film industry, and survey some of the key issues facing the industry today.

WEEK 10 (14 MAY): ADVERTISING AUSTRALIA - OCKERS, SHRIMPS & BIKINIS

This week we consider a part of Australia’s mediascape that is, despite its pervasiveness and frequency, often either ignored or under-estimated: advertising. We briefly consider how Australia and Australianness have been ‘sold’, and canvass the implications for its ‘imagined community’. 

WEEK 11 (21 MAY): AUSTRALIAN PR - GROWTH INDUSTRY?

This week we consider the tense relationship between Public Relations and the wider media landscape. As the number and influence of PR personnel in Australia grows, key questions arise: how does PR affect and/or undermine journalism? How are key events and institutions (such as Australia Day or policing) driven by PR? As this industry swells in size and salience, we assess how PR affects both popular culture and the political mood.           

WEEK 12 (28 MAY): SOCIAL MEDIA - CONVERSATIONAL & INTERACTIVE

Social media has radically multiplied and diversified how ‘ordinary’ citizens contribute to the mediasphere. This has challenged traditional hierarchies and conventions, as online debates and discussions are initiated and sustained outside the control of venerable institutions. This week we consider how this has implications for media authority, the public sphere, democracy and the law – and survey the likely consequences for our ‘imagined community’.    

The unit content has been updated to include more recently published research and more topical case studies.