Delivery Mode

Day (Internal).

Unit Requirements

A 3-credit point unit equates to an average of 10 hours of work per week over the 15 weeks of session (150 hours). Therefore, it is expected that you will spend 10 hours per week on MAS105, which includes lectures, tutorials, and private study. Private study may include reading time and preparation for assignments.

Students are reminded that they will be assessed on their knowledge of the unit content, which includes the lectures, set readings, as well as in-class discussions.

Required Readings

You will be required to read two articles each week - a full list of topics are in the Unit Schedule section below. All required readings will be listed on iLearn, and can be accessed through the library's MultiSearch function. Students must read the required readings for each week before the lecture, and certainly before the tutorial. These readings must be easily accessible in class, so required readings should either be printed out or downloaded and saved to your device.

​Recommended Text

Meikle, Graham & Young, Sherman (2012) Media Convergence: Networked Digital Media in Everyday Life, Palgrave is recommended and available in the Coop Bookshop.  Two chapters from the book are required readings for the unit.

Technology Used and Required

The assignments in this unit require word-processing skills and access to a web browser. Students will be expected to submit written material in class and online, and should therefore be equipped with appropriate technology and writing materials to do so.

MAS105 uses iLearn and it is expected that students will regularly check iLearn for details about lectures, assessments and further readings. The iLearn site will also give you an opportunity to discuss administrative and intellectual issues with your peers. You may bring tablets and laptops to class if you wish but you will be expected to have completed core readings BEFORE tutorials. These readings must be easily accessible in class, so required readings should either be printed out or downloaded and saved to your device. It is not essential that you bring a device to tutorials. Some computers are available for use in the Library.

Lectures and Tutorials

This unit comprises of a one-hour lecture every week throughout the semester, followed by a one-hour tutorial. Lectures and Tutorials begin in week one. Students are expected to attend every lecture. Lectures will be on Mondays 2-3pm in the Lotus Theatre, and are also recorded on ECHO360 which can be accessed via iLearn. Students are expected to attend every tutorial. Not attending tutorials, not preparing for tutorials, and not productively contributing to class discussions will negatively impact upon your 'Active Contribution' mark for the unit. You should read the required readings for each week before the lecture, and certainly before the tutorial. See the timetable website for further details: https://timetables.mq.edu.au/2017/.

Please note that we are unable to assist with changes of tutorial time. If you want to change to a different tutorial time you will need to go to the e-student website and try to change through that system. All changes to tutorial enrolment need to be made in this way by the student concerned - you will not just able able to turn up at the tutorial you want and hope the tutor lets you stay, as this is likely to cause unacceptable overcrowding.

Assignment submission

Written assignments will be submitted to turnitin via the links on the MAS105 iLearn website. Please make sure your full name, student number and tutor's name appears on the first page of your document. See below for information regarding late penalties and extensions.

Contacting your Tutor

Please record your tutor's email address at the beginning of semester and questions about MAS105 should first be directed to your tutor. Students should ensure that they can receive emails sent to their MQ email addresses. Tutors may take up to 48 hours to respond to students due to other teaching and research commitments.

Extensions and Late Penalties

Assignments which are submitted late without a previously negotiated extension will incur a 5% late penalty per day (including weekends and public holidays).

Extensions on the final version may be granted if Disruption to Studies is approved, or may be approved at the convenor's discretion upon receipt of appropriate documentation in cases where Disruption to Studies may not be applicable. Please see the Disruption to Studies policy: http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html.

Please contact the convenor Dr Rachael Gunn via email BEFORE the due date if you have health issues and/or serious family difficulties that mean you are unable to submit one of the assessed items by the due date. You may be given a short extension.

If you are unable to attend a tutorial due to a brief illness such as a cold or flu, please contact your tutor by email to explain the circumstances. Your tutor will record the reason for your absence.

Students with prolonged adverse circumstances or a pre-existing disability/health condition may be eligible for ongoing assistance and support. Such support is governed by other policies and may be sought and coordinated through Campus Wellbeing and Support Services.

What you can expect in MAS105

Our strategy in MAS105 is to get you to deepen and broaden your interest in media studies by exposing you to some critical theoretical frameworks that will help you understand the contemporary media landscape. 

A lot of nonsense is written and talked around the media, and media studies can help you excavate the assumptions people (scholars and civilians) make when they pronounce on the media.  You will have an opportunity to critically interrogate those assumptions, compare different perspectives on related issues, and test the evidence that is offered to support some of the big statements people make about ‘the media’ and especially ‘new media’.  In short we’ll expect you to come out at the end of the unit able to be critical of others’ (and your own) preconceptions about new media. 

We will ask a lot of you in this unit – you won’t be able to slowly fall asleep in lectures and tutorials and then regurgitate hastily memorised material in a final exam.  To pass the unit you will need to consistently attend and participate in lectures and tutorials, read every week, and start working towards your major essay right at the beginning of semester.  While there are a lot of assessments in the unit, most of them build on each other, so the work you put in to prepare for a Quiz in Week 3 will come to fruition in the richer Essay you submit in Week 13.  However, you will need to be organised.  We will remind you of upcoming deadlines, but you also need to keep close track of them yourself.

You’ll also need to talk to your fellow students, right from the beginning – we think you learn as much from each other as from listening to lectures and tutors.  Tutorials and also the iLearn site will give you an opportunity to discuss administrative and intellectual issues with your peers.

Even though some of the ideas, readings and tasks we’ll ask you to engage with are really challenging, we will give you lots of help and support in building towards (and then planning beyond) your Final Essay.  You will have opportunities to get feedback on your Outlines, and to get extra marks for a thoughtful contribution to class.

Opportunities for receiving feedback in MAS105

There are many opportunities for feedback on your ideas and understandings in MAS105. Sometimes you will be offered specific, direct feedback on your own individual work. Individual feedback on your understanding of readings and lectures is provided when the results and answers to the quiz are released from Week 3 onwards. Written feedback and marks will be provided by your tutor on your Essay Outline and your Final Essay. At other times, you will have the opportunity to get more general feedback on ideas and understanding as part of a group, for example, when you listen to peers and your tutor in tutorials or participate in interactive elements of lectures.

MAS105 Media Cultures, Semester 2, 2017

Please note: Lectures and tutorials begin in Week 1. There are no lecture or tutorials in Week 13. Students need to refer to iLearn for the weekly readings - all listed readings are essential.

Week 1: Convergent media, current contexts (July 31)

Week 2: How did we get here (Aug 7)

Week 3: What makes media change? (Aug 14)

Week 4: Global media flows (Aug 21)

Week 5: Measuring Media Audiences (Aug 28)

Week 6: Research and Writing (Sept 4)

Week 7: Vulnerable Viewers? (Sept 11)

MID-SEMESTER BREAK

Week 8: Regulating the media (October 2)

Week 9: Ownership (Oct 9)

Week 10: The end of public service broadcasting? (Oct 16)

Week 11: Social media, new public spheres? (Oct 23)

Week 12: Privacy or Participation? (Oct 30)

There have been some changes to weekly readings to reflect recent changes in the media. The weekly lectures have also been updated and lecturers have been changed to provide fresh areas of expertise within the course.

The Essay Outline has been moved from Week 5 to Week 7 so that students can draw on more of the unit material in their assessment. The Final Essay has been moved from Week 10 to Week 13, and the 'Essay Evaluation' in Week 13 has been removed so that students have more time to develop their Final Essay and to critically engage with the unit material.

The 'Quizzes' (online, multiple-choice) have been weighted more heavily at 25% rather than 20% and the 'Essay Outline' has been weighted at 25% instead of 20% to replace the 'Essay Evaluation' that was worth 10%.

'Participation' has been changed to 'Active Contribution' to more accurately reflect the aims of the assessment.

Readings are no longer available in the form of a reader, and are now listed on iLearn and can be accessed through the library.

The order of the weekly topics has been slightly amended to emphasise key topics earlier in the semester.

Assignments which are submitted late without a previously negotiated extension will incur a 5% late penalty per day (including weekends and public holidays).

Extensions on the final version may be granted if Disruption to Studies is approved, or may be approved at the convenor's discretion upon receipt of appropriate documentation in cases where Disruption to Studies may not be applicable. Please see the Disruption to Studies policy: http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html.

Please contact the convenor Dr Rachael Gunn via email BEFORE the due date if you have health issues and/or serious family difficulties that mean you are unable to submit one of the assessed items by the due date. You may be given a short extension.

If you are unable to attend a tutorial due to a brief illness such as a cold or flu, please contact your tutor by email to explain the circumstances. Your tutor will record the reason for your absence.

Students with prolonged adverse circumstances or a pre-existing disability/health condition may be eligible for ongoing assistance and support. Such support is governed by other policies and may be sought and coordinated through Campus Wellbeing and Support Services.