Students

MMCC2023 – Radical Media

2025 – Session 2, Online-flexible

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor
Jillian Kramer
jillian.kramer@mq.edu.au
Contact via Please see ilearn for zoom drop-in times
25B Wally's Walk, room 442.
Please see ilearn
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 radical media that are central to the reproduction and contestation of power. It introduces students to concepts and methods that can be used to analyse the way media enables acts of dissent from individual and fleeting actions to the creation of global movements. We will consider the aesthetics of power, artivism, the spread of misinformation, memes, platforms of protest and censorship.

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: Identify and explain cultural theory and methods that can be used to examine radical media, and apply them through effective analysis of case studies
  • ULO2: Communicate contextualised, reflective and ethical accounts of the use of radical media
  • ULO3: Formulate theoretically informed arguments in written and spoken form
  • ULO4: Recognise the ethical, cultural and social issues at stake in the use of radical media

General Assessment Information

Feedback

Feedback on assessments and student learning and performance will be provided in a range of ways throughout this unit. Students will receive formal group feedback in the form of rubrics and group discussion and individual feedback on their performance in some 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 and Special Consideration

Students with a pre-existing disability/health condition or prolonged adverse circumstances 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.

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.

If you find you cannot submit your assignment on time, 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

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Collaboration and engagement 20% No Ongoing
Concept Video 30% No 21/09/2025
Final Essay 50% No 07/11/2025

Collaboration and engagement

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 32 hours
Due: Ongoing
Weighting: 20%

 

To contribute to the learning process, students are required to demonstrate engagement with unit content and collaborate with their peers. Please see iLearn for further details.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Identify and explain cultural theory and methods that can be used to examine radical media, and apply them through effective analysis of case studies
  • Communicate contextualised, reflective and ethical accounts of the use of radical media
  • Formulate theoretically informed arguments in written and spoken form
  • Recognise the ethical, cultural and social issues at stake in the use of radical media

Concept Video

Assessment Type 1: Media presentation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 18 hours
Due: 21/09/2025
Weighting: 30%

 

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:
  • Formulate theoretically informed arguments in written and spoken form

Final Essay

Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 45 hours
Due: 07/11/2025
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:
  • Identify and explain cultural theory and methods that can be used to examine radical media, and apply them through effective analysis of case studies
  • Communicate contextualised, reflective and ethical accounts of the use of radical media
  • Formulate theoretically informed arguments in written and spoken form
  • Recognise the ethical, cultural and social issues at stake in the use of radical 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

Following feedback from previous cohorts, this unit will be delivered in three modules throughout the semester. A weekly breakdown is below in the unit schedule. In total, the unit will involve: 

  • 10 recorded lectures available in Echo360
  • For on-campus students, there are 9 tutorials throughout the session 
  • For online-flexible students, there will be 9 discussion forums 

Please see below and in ilearn for more details. For specific class times for on-campus students, please see the timetable. Tutorials for this unit begin in week two. 

Unit readings will be made available through the university library and can be accessed online via Leganto. A link to Leganto will be available on the unit's iLearn space. A working internet connection is critical to successfully complete this unit, as well as participate in this unit's classes.

Unit Schedule

This unit is broken into three modules: 

Week 1: Introduction (lecture but no tutorials this week) 

Module one: Radical Aesthetics 

Week 2: War of walls (lecture & tutorial) 

Week 3: Authorised asethetics (lecture & tutorial) 

Week 4: Artivisim (lecture & tutorial) 

Week 5: Engagement & collaboration task due (no lecture or tutorial this week) 

Module two: Radical Influence 

Week 6: Platforms of protest (lecture & tutorial) 

Week 7: Manipulation and mis/disinformation (lecture & tutorial) 

Week 8: Memes & evading moderation (lecture & tutorial), concept video due

Semester Recess: engagement and collaboration task due 

Module 3: Radical Challenges

Week 9: 'Change makers' (lecture & tutorial) 

Week 10: Conspiracy! (lecture & tutorial) 

Week 11: Constant crisis (lecture & tutorial) 

Week 12: engagement and collaboration task due 

Week 13: final essay due 

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 connect.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/

Academic Success

Academic Success 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 the Service Connect Portal, 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.

Unit information based on version 2025.03 of the Handbook