Students

MMCC2023 – Visual Countercultures: Graffiti, Kitsch and Conceptual Art

2023 – Session 2, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor, Lecturer and Tutor
Jillian Kramer
jillian.kramer@mq.edu.au
Contact via please contact via email
Building: 10HA, office: 191 F
Please see ilearn for zoom drop-in times
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
40cp at 1000 level or above
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit explores countercultural practices in everyday life. It will introduce students to critical theories and skills that can be used to re-evaluate hierarchies that are often taken for granted. Students will explore topics such as graffiti and the cultural politics of public space; conceptual art; sites of protest in both local and international contexts; and the politics of popular culture.

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 those practices of everyday life that are often dismissed as worthless or ephemeral.
  • ULO2: analyse hierarchies of value that classify, judge and position cultural objects and practices.
  • ULO3: communicate theorised, contextualised and informed accounts of countercultural practices.
  • ULO4: employ cultural literacy skills to analyse cultural difference and ethical relations across diverse social and political contexts.

General Assessment Information

Feedback

Feedback on assessments and student learning and performance will be provided in a range of ways. Students will receive formal individual feedback on their performance in assessments in the form of general comments, rubric, and in-text comments attached to assignments marked in Turnitin. They may receive further individual feedback from unit staff in email communication and personal consultations. Marks are made available in the Gradebook function in iLearn.

Late Submission:

The Faculty policy in relation to late assessment submissions is as follows:

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a mark of ‘0’ (zero) will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical issue. This late penalty will apply to written reports and recordings only. Late submission of time sensitive tasks (such as tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, scheduled practical assessments/labs will be addressed by the unit convenor in a Special consideration application.

To be very clear:

  • Unless you have applied for special consideration and had your application approved, for each day your assignment is late, 5 marks will be deducted. For example, if you submit your assignment 7 days late, 35 marks will be deducted, which means you will likely fail that assignment.
  • If your assignment is more than 7 days late (including weekends), you will get 0 for your assignment.

These are serious penalties that will substantially alter your final grade and even determine whether you pass or fail this unit. Please make every effort to submit your assignment by the due date.

Special Consideration:

If you find you cannot submit your assignment on time, and have experienced an unavoidable and serious disruption, please apply for Special Consideration through AskMQ. Make sure you read Macquarie University's policy regarding Special Consideration requests before you apply: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/assessment-exams/special-consideration

Students with a pre-existing disability/health condition or prolonged adverse circumstances may be eligible for ongoing assistance and support. Please contact Campus Wellbeing and Support Services.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Concept Video 20% No 18/08/2023 11:55pm
Visual Analysis 30% No 29/09/2023 11:55pm
Final Essay 50% No 01/11/2023 11:55pm

Concept Video

Assessment Type 1: Media presentation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 18 hours
Due: 18/08/2023 11:55pm
Weighting: 20%

 

Students will create a short video on a selected course concept. They will submit their video and transcript for assessment. Refer to iLearn for further information.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • communicate theorised, contextualised and informed accounts of countercultural practices.

Visual Analysis

Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 27 hours
Due: 29/09/2023 11:55pm
Weighting: 30%

 

Students will build on their understanding of the key concepts to perform a visual analysis. Refer to iLearn for further information.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • evaluate those practices of everyday life that are often dismissed as worthless or ephemeral.
  • analyse hierarchies of value that classify, judge and position cultural objects and practices.
  • communicate theorised, contextualised and informed accounts of countercultural practices.

Final Essay

Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 45 hours
Due: 01/11/2023 11:55pm
Weighting: 50%

 

Students are required to write a final essay in response to questions available in iLearn. Refer to iLearn for further information.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • evaluate those practices of everyday life that are often dismissed as worthless or ephemeral.
  • analyse hierarchies of value that classify, judge and position cultural objects and practices.
  • communicate theorised, contextualised and informed accounts of countercultural practices.
  • employ cultural literacy skills to analyse cultural difference and ethical relations across diverse social and political contexts.

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

Unit Delivery:

Lectures and tutorials begin in week one. The lectures will be pre-recorded and made available in ilearn. The tutorials will be on-campus or via zoom. Please consult the timetable for further information.

Unit Resources:

This readings and resources required for this unit are available via ilearn and the University Library. If you have any questions, please let Jillian know via email.

Unit Schedule

Please see ilearn for a breakdown of the weekly topics.

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

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

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

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via AskMQ, or contact Service Connect.

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 since First Published

Date Description
04/07/2023 Update due date of the Final Essay from 11:59 to 11:55pm

Unit information based on version 2023.01R of the Handbook