Students

MAS 304 – Screens, Images, Ideas

2018 – S2 Day

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor/Lecturer
Intan Paramaditha
intan.paramaditha@mq.edu.au
Y3A 193B
By appointment
Convenor/Lecturer
Ilona Hongisto
ilona.hongisto@mq.edu.au
Y3A 193F
By appointment
Credit points Credit points
3
Prerequisites Prerequisites
39cp at 100 level or above
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description
This unit analyses issues in film culture by screenings and discussion of fictional and non-fictional media including films, television and online content from a range of countries. The unit examines contemporary and historical examples and their relation of philosophical concepts, critical and genre theory and cultural contexts.

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:

  • Understand the main debates relevant to a specific sub-region of film studies
  • Develop an expanded historical knowledge of genre film and theory
  • Develop skills in film-critical research and film-textual analysis
  • Evaluate and appreciate different stylistic modes of writing about films
  • Produce and communicate work in a manner consistent with accepted academic standards

General Assessment Information

SUBMISSION

All written work must be submitted to Turnitin, via the link on iLearn. Please make sure your full name and student number appears on the first page of your document. All written work should be double spaced and justified to the left of the page. 

 

ASSESSMENT STANDARDS

Assessment standards in this unit align with the University's grade descriptors, available at:

https://staff.mq.edu.au/work4/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/assessment

 

LATE SUBMISSION POLICY

“Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, (a) a penalty for lateness will apply – two (2) marks out of 100 will be deducted per day for assignments submitted after the due date – and (b) no assignment will be accepted more than seven (7) days (incl. weekends) after the original submission deadline. No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments – e.g. quizzes, online tests.”

 

RE-MARKS

The Re-mark Application form is available at http://www.mq.edu.au/pubstatic/public/download/?id=167914

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Online Quizzes 30% No Weeks 3-12
Active Participation 20% No Weeks 1-12
Short Essay 1 25% No 17 Sep 2018 (11:59 PM)
Short Essay 2 25% No 9 Nov 2018 (11:59 PM)

Online Quizzes

Due: Weeks 3-12
Weighting: 30%

In MAS304 it is important to understand key concepts and theoretical positions pertaining to the major topics in Screen, Images, Ideas.

To assess your understanding of the readings and the lecture content, you will undertake weekly online multiple choice quizzes from week 3 to week 12 accessed via iLearn. These are worth 3% of your total mark each, 30% in total.

For each quiz, there will be 5 questions that you need to answer in 30 minutes. These questions are based on the readings and lecture content. Students will be notified by a unit announcement on iLearn when the quizzes are available for completion.

Assessment criteria:

- Ability to recognise the correct answer(s) to quiz questions.

- Demonstrated understanding and comprehension of unit readings and lecture content.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Understand the main debates relevant to a specific sub-region of film studies
  • Develop an expanded historical knowledge of genre film and theory
  • Develop skills in film-critical research and film-textual analysis

Active Participation

Due: Weeks 1-12
Weighting: 20%

Students are expected to attend tutorials and contribute to class discussions. You should demonstrate an ability to articulate and share ideas on concepts raised in the readings, screenings and lectures. Participation also involves asking pertinent questions that stimulate further discussions. It is essential that you do the readings and take the quiz before attending the tutorial.

Assessment criteria (for a full assessment rubric, please refer to iLearn):  

Reading and reflection: Evidence of engagement with the unit readings, demonstration of in-class reflection through participation in assignments and discussions.

Communication: Demonstration of clear communication skills, evidence of engagement with arguments of others.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Understand the main debates relevant to a specific sub-region of film studies
  • Develop an expanded historical knowledge of genre film and theory
  • Develop skills in film-critical research and film-textual analysis

Short Essay 1

Due: 17 Sep 2018 (11:59 PM)
Weighting: 25%

Students will write an academic essay of 1,000 words (not including footnotes or bibliography) that covers unit materials from week 1-7. Students will write about a film that they have seen in class and analyse the representation of travel with regards to a specific theme or concept introduced in the unit. In the essay, social, political, and/ or historical contexts must be discussed in relation to the formal elements of the film. Bibliography must include at least four academic references, and two of them must be from the unit readings.

The short essay is to be submitted electronically via Turnitin on ilearn.

Assessment criteria: 

Reading and research: Evidence of critical engagement with key concepts, themes, and social, political, and historical contexts introduced in the unit. Ability to identify key concepts in the readings and apply those concepts to the chosen film. Evidence of independent research outside the unit readings.

Argument and analysis: Ability to formulate a clear and specific thesis about how travel is portrayed in the chosen film. Ability to interpret ideas and support it with examples from the film. Ability to relate formal elements of the film and the larger contexts.

Writing and structure: Logical and coherent structure; clarity of expression; appropriate referencing; length.  

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Understand the main debates relevant to a specific sub-region of film studies
  • Develop an expanded historical knowledge of genre film and theory
  • Develop skills in film-critical research and film-textual analysis
  • Evaluate and appreciate different stylistic modes of writing about films
  • Produce and communicate work in a manner consistent with accepted academic standards

Short Essay 2

Due: 9 Nov 2018 (11:59 PM)
Weighting: 25%

For the second short essay, students will engage with unit materials from weeks 8-12. Students will choose two scenes from two different films and compare the ways in which fact and fiction intertwine in the chosen scenes. Students are expected to analyse the chosen scenes closely, relate their analysis to the academic arguments discussed in weeks 8-12, as well as reflect on the importance of the scenes on the films’ overall meaning. Students must refer to 4 unit readings as well as demonstrate independent research on the chosen films. The essay length is 1000 words excluding the bibliography. The films screened in weeks 8-12 are accessible online through Macquarie University’s library (Kanopy or EduTV).

Assessment criteria:

Reading and research: Evidence of critical engagement with set course materials (unit readings, screened films and unit topics). Evidence of independent research on the films the chosen scenes are from. Ability to relate unit readings and independent research to the chosen scenes.

Argument and analysis: Evidence of critical thinking in relation to fact and fiction in the documentary. Identification of key audiovisual strategies used in the chosen examples. Analysis of the audiovisual strategies in relation to the overall meaning of the films.

Writing and structure: Logical and coherent structure; clarity of expression; appropriate referencing; length.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Understand the main debates relevant to a specific sub-region of film studies
  • Develop an expanded historical knowledge of genre film and theory
  • Develop skills in film-critical research and film-textual analysis
  • Evaluate and appreciate different stylistic modes of writing about films
  • Produce and communicate work in a manner consistent with accepted academic standards

Delivery and Resources

CLASSES

Unit lectures will be delivered as videos accessible via iLearn. All students are expected to attend tutorials.  Before coming to the weekly tutorial, students need to make sure that they do the following:

1) Watch the lecture video on iLearn. 2) Watch the film of the week, available at Macquarie University library (on reserves or via Kanopy/ EduTV). 3) Read the required articles. 4) Take the online quiz.

Please check with MQ Timetables for the time and location of your tutorial.

 

REQUIRED READINGS

Required readings will be available through the library’s mulisearch function: http://www.mq.edu.au/about/campus-services-and-facilities/library/multi-search/multisearch 

 

TECHNOLOGIES USED AND REQUIRED

Films are available via kanopy Streaming Service and on library reserves. Details on readings, assessments, and screenings will be available via iLearn. Students are expected to regularly check iLearn and their MQ email addresses for an announcement.

 

 

Unit Schedule

Required readings and weekly topics:

 

Week 1 (Intan) Travel – from exploration to travel to tourism

Film:

The Wizard of Oz (U.S.: dir. Victor Flemming, 1939). 1hr 52m.

Readings:

  • Paul Fussell, Abroad: British Literary Traveling between the Wars (New York: Oxford University Press, 1980). Chap. “From Exploration to Travel to Tourism,” pp. 37-64.
  • Salman Rushdie, “Out of Kansas,” The New Yorker, May 11, 1992.

 

Week 2 (Intan) Figures of travelers: the tourist and/ as the flaneur

Film:

Easy Rider (U.S.: dir. Dennis Hopper, 1969). 1hr 35 m.

Readings:

  • John Urry, The Tourist Gaze: Leisure and Travel in Contemporary Societies (London: Sage Publications, 1990). Chapter 1 (The Tourist Gaze) and Chapter 7 (Seeing and Theming) .
  • Janet Wolff, "The Invisible Flaneuse: Women and the Literature of Modernity,” Theory, Culture and Society 2 (1985): 37-48.

 

Week 3 (Intan) Women on the Road

Film:

Thelma and Louise (U.S.; dir. Ridley Scott, 1991). 2hr 10m.

Readings:

  • David Laderman, Driving Visions: Exploring the Road Movie (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2002). Chapter 1: Paving the Way, pp. 1-42.
  • Dargis, Manohla, ‘Thelma and Louise and the Tradition of the Male Road Movie’, in Women and Film: A Sight and Sound Reader, ed. by Pam Cook and Philip Dodd (London: Scarlet Press, 1993), pp. 86-92

 

Week 4 (Intan) Queer Mobility

Film:

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (Australia; dir. Stephan Elliott, 1994). 1hr 44m.

Readings:

  • Pamela Robertson, “Home and Away: Friends of Dorothy in the Land of Oz,” in The Road Movie Book, pp. 271-296.
  • Philip Butterss "Australian masculinity on the road." Media International Australia incorporating Culture and Policy 95.1 (2000): 227-236.

 

Week 5 (Intan) Travel and Empire

Film:

The Black Narcissus (UK, dir. Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, 1947). 1hr 42m.

Readings:

  • Ella Shohat, “Gender and Culture of Empire: Toward a Feminist Ethnography of the Cinema,” Quarterly Review of Film and Video, Vol. 13 (1-3), pp. 45-84.
  • Edward Said, Orientalism (New York: Vintage, 1979). Introduction.

 

Week 6 (Intan) Ethnographic Film and Counterdiscourses

Film:

Samson and Delilah (Australia, dir. Warwick Thornton, 2009), 2hr 14m.

Readings:

  • Fatimah Tobing Rony, The Third Eye: Race, Cinema, and Ethnographic Spectacle (Duke University Press, 1996). Introduction.
  • Faye Ginsburg, “Native Intelligence: A Short History of Debates on Indigenous Media and Ethnographic Film,” in Marcus Banks and Jay Ruby. Made to be Seen: Perspectives on the History of Visual Anthropology (University of Chicago Press, 2011), pp. 234-255.

 

Week 7 (Intan) Migrant cinema

Screening:

My Son the Fanatic (UK; dir. Udayan Prasad, 1997). 1hr 27m.

Readings:

  • Hamid Naficy, An Accented Cinema: Exilic and Diasporic Filmmaking (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2001), pp. 10-39.
  • Laura Copier, “Radicalism begins at home: Fundamentalism and the family in My Son the Fanatic,” in Patricia Pisters and Wim Staat, eds. Shooting the Family: Transnational Media and Intercultural Values (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University press, 2005), pp. 89-101.

 

Recess

 

Week 8 (Ilona) – Animation

Film:

Waltz with Bashir (Ari Folman, 2008) 1hr 30min

Readings:

  • Ohad Landesman and Roy Bendor: “Animated recollection and spectatorial experience in Waltz with Bashir”, Animation: An Interdisciplinary Journal 6:3 (2011): pp. 353–370.
  • Garrett Stewart: “Screen Memory in Waltz with Bashir”, Film Quarterly Vol. 63 No. 3 (Spring 2010: pp. 58-62. DOI: 10.1525/fq.2010.63.3.58

 

Week 9 (Ilona) – Fabulation

Film:

Stories We Tell (Sarah Polley, 2012) 1hr 58min

Readings:

 

Week 10 (Ilona) – Subjectivation  

Film: Cameraperson (Kristen Johnson, 2016) 1hr 42min

Readings:

 

Week 11 (Ilona) – Power and imagination  

Film: I Am Not Your Negro (Raoul Peck, 2016) 1hr 35min

Readings:

  • Dagmawi Woubshet: “The Imperfect Power of I Am Not Your Negro”, The Atlantic Feb 8 (2017): https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/02/i-am-not-your-negro-review/515976/
  • Laura Rascaroli: “Montage: Essayistic Thinking at the Juncture of Images”, How the Essay Film Thinks. Oxford: Oxford University Press (2017): Chapter 2.

 

Week 12 (Ilona) – Seriality 

Film:

Love, Lust and Lies (Gillian Armstrong, 2010) 1hr 27min

Readings:

  • Katherine Miller Skillander and Catherine Fowler “From longitudinal studies to longitudinal documentaries: revisiting infra-ordinary lives”, Studies in Documentary Film, 9.2 (2015): 127–142, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17503280.2015.1031569
  • Richard Kilborn: “Reflections on longitudinal documentary: form and function”, Taking the Long View: a study of longitudinal documentary”. Manchester: Manchester University Press (2010): 9-31.  

 

Week 13 (Ilona) – Essay consultations

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Undergraduate students seeking more policy resources can visit the Student Policy Gateway (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/student-policy-gateway). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

If you would like to see all the policies relevant to Learning and Teaching visit Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/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/study/getting-started/student-conduct​

Results

Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.

Additional information

MMCCS website https://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/faculties_and_departments/faculty_of_arts/department_of_media_music_communication_and_cultural_studies/

MMCCS Session Re-mark Application http://www.mq.edu.au/pubstatic/public/download/?id=167914

Information is correct at the time of publication

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://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/. 

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Graduate Capabilities

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

  • Develop skills in film-critical research and film-textual analysis
  • Evaluate and appreciate different stylistic modes of writing about films
  • Produce and communicate work in a manner consistent with accepted academic standards

Capable of Professional and Personal Judgement and Initiative

We want our graduates to have emotional intelligence and sound interpersonal skills and to demonstrate discernment and common sense in their professional and personal judgement. They will exercise initiative as needed. They will be capable of risk assessment, and be able to handle ambiguity and complexity, enabling them to be adaptable in diverse and changing environments.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Understand the main debates relevant to a specific sub-region of film studies
  • Evaluate and appreciate different stylistic modes of writing about films

Assessment tasks

  • Active Participation
  • Short Essay 1
  • Short Essay 2

Commitment to Continuous Learning

Our graduates will have enquiring minds and a literate curiosity which will lead them to pursue knowledge for its own sake. They will continue to pursue learning in their careers and as they participate in the world. They will be capable of reflecting on their experiences and relationships with others and the environment, learning from them, and growing - personally, professionally and socially.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Understand the main debates relevant to a specific sub-region of film studies
  • Develop an expanded historical knowledge of genre film and theory
  • Develop skills in film-critical research and film-textual analysis
  • Evaluate and appreciate different stylistic modes of writing about films
  • Produce and communicate work in a manner consistent with accepted academic standards

Assessment tasks

  • Active Participation
  • Short Essay 1
  • Short Essay 2

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

  • Understand the main debates relevant to a specific sub-region of film studies
  • Develop an expanded historical knowledge of genre film and theory
  • Develop skills in film-critical research and film-textual analysis
  • Evaluate and appreciate different stylistic modes of writing about films

Assessment tasks

  • Online Quizzes
  • Active Participation
  • Short Essay 1
  • Short Essay 2

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

  • Understand the main debates relevant to a specific sub-region of film studies
  • Develop an expanded historical knowledge of genre film and theory
  • Develop skills in film-critical research and film-textual analysis
  • Evaluate and appreciate different stylistic modes of writing about films
  • Produce and communicate work in a manner consistent with accepted academic standards

Assessment tasks

  • Online Quizzes
  • Active Participation
  • Short Essay 1
  • Short Essay 2

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

  • Understand the main debates relevant to a specific sub-region of film studies
  • Develop an expanded historical knowledge of genre film and theory
  • Develop skills in film-critical research and film-textual analysis
  • Evaluate and appreciate different stylistic modes of writing about films
  • Produce and communicate work in a manner consistent with accepted academic standards

Assessment tasks

  • Online Quizzes
  • Active Participation
  • Short Essay 1
  • Short Essay 2

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

  • Understand the main debates relevant to a specific sub-region of film studies
  • Develop an expanded historical knowledge of genre film and theory
  • Develop skills in film-critical research and film-textual analysis
  • Evaluate and appreciate different stylistic modes of writing about films
  • Produce and communicate work in a manner consistent with accepted academic standards

Assessment tasks

  • Active Participation
  • Short Essay 1
  • Short Essay 2

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

  • Understand the main debates relevant to a specific sub-region of film studies
  • Develop skills in film-critical research and film-textual analysis
  • Evaluate and appreciate different stylistic modes of writing about films

Assessment tasks

  • Active Participation
  • Short Essay 1
  • Short Essay 2

Changes from Previous Offering

Unit readings have been updated and assessment tasks have been modified.