Students

MMCC6030 – Media and Communications: Representations

2021 – Session 1, Special circumstances, North Ryde

Notice

As part of Phase 3 of our return to campus plan, most units will now run tutorials, seminars and other small group activities on campus, and most will keep an online version available to those students unable to return or those who choose to continue their studies online.

To check the availability of face-to-face and online activities for your unit, please go to timetable viewer. To check detailed information on unit assessments visit your unit's iLearn space or consult your unit convenor.

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Lecturer Convenor
Virginia Madsen
virginia.madsen@mq.edu.au
Contact via Email first. Office 0298502180 or mobile will be available if required
10 Hadenfeld Ave, 10HA 191J
Wednesday 3-4pm or by appointment
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Admission to MMediaComm or MCrInd or MIPD
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit explores the practical and political realities of creative and media production as it applies to fiction, non-fiction, public relations, advertising, journalism, screen, radio, and other sorts of representational strategies. Drawing from the unit title students are exposed to major debates around: 1) the structural elements required to represent reality, both in and off media; 2) the politics of representation as a social practice; 3) the ethics of representing as an individual act; and 4) the unstable nature of representation received, modified, and re-circulated as "renewed reality", especially via private, gated, public and "super-public" spheres.

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:

  • ULO1: evaluate how media content can be represented across a range of formats, genres, and platforms.
  • ULO2: apply independent scholarly research to media cases with global/multicultural/ transnational foci.
  • ULO3: communicate and present information in modes suited to a range of audiences, and in a range of text-based and audio-visual media.
  • ULO4: analyse the political and economic impact of media representations.

General Assessment Information

  • All assessment submissions must be done using TurnItin. No paper or emailed submissions will be accepted.  iLearn Student Guide on Assignments and Turnitin  
  • If you are submitting audio or audiovisual media work, still submit a short plan of production, storyboard, or script via Turnitin, and the media work may be provided by other means if required, eg USB/memory stick or linked to via online platform, egs SoundCloud, YouTube etc (see convenor during semester for options).
  • 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 (including weekends) after the original submission deadline. No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments – e.g. quizzes, online tests

  • You will need to supply appropriate documentation to your unit convenor for any missed tutorial or lack of pre-tutorial materials (if less than three consecutive days). You will need to apply for Special Consideration to cover any absences more than three consecutive days.

  • MQ Policy: Academic Honesty Policy 

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Presentation 30% No Live Week 3-8 in class or as recorded presentation
Project Proposal 20% No Week 7 April 21 11:59pm
Final Project 50% No 02/06/2021 11:59pm

Presentation

Assessment Type 1: Presentation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 19 hours
Due: Live Week 3-8 in class or as recorded presentation
Weighting: 30%

Task: Once this semester, you will be responsible for giving a five minute “provocation presentation”, based on an assigned weekly reading. In this presentation, you will be expected to: introduce and teach your peers one CONCEPT (or argument, or observation) of your choosing, taken from the class readings on offer that week.

introduce and detail one CASE STUDY of your choosing that you found to be a useful illustration of the concept (or argument, or observation) you just taught the class about. introduce and consider one QUESTION you have, connected to your case study, and/or concept, in a way that invites and encourages class conversation.

Refer to iLearn for further information.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • apply independent scholarly research to media cases with global/multicultural/ transnational foci.
  • analyse the political and economic impact of media representations.

Project Proposal

Assessment Type 1: Plan
Indicative Time on Task 2: 29 hours
Due: Week 7 April 21 11:59pm
Weighting: 20%

Task: For this assessment, you will provide a written proposal that explains what you are planning to create for your final project in this class (see more on that in Assessment 3.) In class, you will receive a template to guide you as you prepare your proposal. At minimum, your proposal should indicate: - Your desired media format and narrative position for this project. - A detailed description of what you wish to create (i.e. “a ___ about ____”). - A rationale explaining how this project dialogues with issues from class. - A detailed explanation of an objective you hope achieve with their project, and why (e.g.” I want to teach people about X, because Y,” or “I want to show how I felt during X because Y”. - An intended timeline for completing your project.

Refer to iLearn for further information.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • evaluate how media content can be represented across a range of formats, genres, and platforms.
  • communicate and present information in modes suited to a range of audiences, and in a range of text-based and audio-visual media.

Final Project

Assessment Type 1: Media presentation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 50 hours
Due: 02/06/2021 11:59pm
Weighting: 50%

Task:

Drawing on the ideas that have been investigated through the course of this semester, you will produce an original project that engages with at least one key concept or debate from the unit readings/lectures. When we say “engages with,” we don’t necessarily mean “agrees with.” In your project, you can feel free to question, critique, reframe, expand on, or otherwise interact with ideas from class.

Format:

Your project can take any form you wish: it could be an essay; a short story; a short video; a curated photo series; a staged prank or social experiment of some sort, etc.** We’ll discuss ideal lengths for different formats during tutorials. Regardless of format, you’ll need to ask yourself, questions like:

- As a student in a class called Representing Realities, am I interested in creating a project that deals in facts, in fictions, or in a mix of these? Why?

- Do I want readers/viewers to perceive my display of reality in this project as reliable, unreliable, hard to verify, or a mix of these? Why?

- Do I want readers/viewers to experience my narration of reality as objective, omniscient, personally invested/affected, or something else? Why?

**Please be advised that the range of format options above has been provided to allow students across all areas of the department to exercise their existing creative strengths. However, this is NOT a production class, and we do not teach production-oriented skills. If you are in doubt about format, we urge you to choose the essay approach, as it is one most students have encountered in the past.

Refer to iLearn for further information.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • evaluate how media content can be represented across a range of formats, genres, and platforms.
  • communicate and present information in modes suited to a range of audiences, and in a range of text-based and audio-visual media.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Delivery of unit

This unit will begin in WEEK 2 of the semester (i.e. on Wednesday 3 March 2021). Ten sessions or classes will be held on Wednesdays, from 12-2 pm Australian time. These will be delivered on campus and online as a two-hour interactive seminar, featuring lecture-style material with guided inquiry, production tasks, writing workshops, small group activities and discussions.  Classes are held in 10 Hadenfeld Ave, The Futures Lab, unless notified of a change. For all classroom information, please consult the MQU Timetable  Online link for online attendance will be provided. Lecture portions of the class will be recorded for review purposes. Workshops, discussions, or activities will not be recorded. ​Slides and or notes to lectures given will be posted to iLearn after each class. See Echo block on iLearn for more information about recordings and schedule for seminar classes.

Attendance policy

Students are advised that although we will not take attendance in seminar, your assessments require you to be familiar with a range of scholarly techniques you probably have not encountered before. These techniques will be taught to you during seminar, which means class attendance is mandatory for those wishing to pass the unit.In addition to attendance you will be expected to be making headway on your assessment projects. To ensure this is happening, we will periodically ask you to upload written materials (class notes, brainstorming, screenshots from research) to demonstrate your engagement in this unit. This material will not be marked, but will be referenced in the case of students requesting last minute assistance, or disputing marks. 

Reading

All required readings are available online via the Leganto system, as are most of the recommended readings, or there will be a Link to the Library provided. Each week on iLearn, you'll also receive links to case studies or examples discussed during lecture, or in tutorials (some of these will be on external sites, and may also include podcasts, articles, audiovisual works, but none will have a cost). 

Laptop Policy

Please DO bring your own devices for use in class (laptops or tablets + mobile phones). The library has laptops and iPads available for lending if you don't have your own. http://www.mq.edu.au/about/campus-services-and-facilities/library/facilities/computer- facilities and there are other computer labs on campus. Please also bring a pen or pencil and paper or notebook to class.  

Other Technology Matters

Students are expected to make use of everyday information technologies to complete their assignments (i.e. Personal Computers, mobile Phones, freely available editing software and online publishing platforms). As this is not a production unit, students should not contact the department's technical staff for equipment or support. Feel free to challenge yourself but work within your technical abilities.  

School Break

Students are advised that we will NOT physically meet in class the following weeks this semester:

  • Week of 5 April—school break
  • Week of 12 April—school break

 

Unit Schedule

Unit schedule will be available to students via iLearn prior to the start of classes. 

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

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

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) 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 or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

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 help you improve your marks and take control of your study.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

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

If you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@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.

Changes from Previous Offering

While the content and approach will be similar to the 2020 iteration of this unit, there will be newly introduced lecture material, exercises, case studies, readings and media materials.

Unit information based on version 2021.02 of the Handbook