Students
MMCS260 – Documentary Media: Forms, Histories, Futures
2019 – S2 Day
General Information
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| Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Convenor and Lecturer
Virginia Madsen
Contact via virginia.madsen@mq.edu.au
Building 10HA, Room191
By appointment or see iLearn
Lecturer and Tutor
Stefan Solomon
Contact via stefan.solomon@mq.edu.au
Building 10HA, Room 152
TBA
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| Credit points |
Credit points
3
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| Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
15cp at 100 level or above
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| Corequisites |
Corequisites
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| Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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| Unit description |
Unit description
This unit examines the historical development of documentary and its current relationship to rapidly proliferating digital technologies across a range of formats – including radio, television, cinema and online. From its first gestures in the early twentieth century in radio and film to current multimedia experiments online, the documentary has proved to be a resilient and compelling form. The unit considers the implication of documentary's aesthetic and rhetorical strategies in fashioning our relationship to the real and its corresponding status as a way of knowing and of experiencing the world. It exposes students to this large body of work and the critical writing surrounding it. A range of works, authors and forms are considered with critical attention given to the discussions, dialogues and debates that have surrounded their production, reception and broader influence within societies and within media cultures. Themes covered include questions of style/form, auteurship and notions of authenticity; development of the documentary idea within film/video culture and public service radio; changing concepts and notions of the real and the intersection of creative ideas, industry, new technologies and the hybridisation of forms on the documentary text as it now moves into a post broadcast or convergent and online future.
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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:
- Describe the historical production context of both early and contemporary audio and audiovisual documentary works
- Distinguish and identify key modes relating to both historical and contemporary documentary production.
- Apply key documentary concepts in the analysis of a range of audio and audiovisual non-fiction works.
- Evaluate and reflect on the relationship of current trends in audio and audiovisual documentary works to the contemporary digital environment.
General Assessment Information
Grading Note: Assessment standards in this unit align with the University's grade descriptors, available at: https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/assessment
Attendance in relation to this course: Students are expected to attend all tutorials for MMCS260. These are not optional: they deliver important content and are a central component of meeting the learning outcomes in this unit. Students who elect to not attend tutorials will miss out on unit content, feedback and learning activities, and do so at their own risk. Repeatedly missing tutorials or not attending for a prolonged period, will require an explanation and directing you to support services as necessary. A roll will be taken in tutorials; students entering late are responsible for making themselves known to the tutor so they can be marked as in attendance. If you miss a tutorial due to unforeseen/unavoidable medical or personal disruption, please let your tutor know/apply for Special Consideration if necessary.
Lectures and set screening/listening to content prescribed each week also deliver important content and are a central component of meeting the learning outcomes in this unit. Students who elect to not attend/watch lectures or screenings/listenings will miss out on unit content, and do so at their own risk. Students are expected to have watched online or attended the weekly lecture and completed all required reading/screening/listening preferably before attending each week’s workshop.
Feedback: Feedback in this unit is available in multiple forms: informal feedback through the ‘announcement’ function in iLearn, if there are points of relevance to the whole class; in email communication with individual students by the convenor in response to questions related to unit activities; in personal consultations by phone or face to face as requested by appointment; in class as informal feedback after oral presentations or in response to class discussion; as general comment, rubric and in-text comments attached to assignments marked in Turnitin.
Examples of relevant and related assessment tasks: These will be made available on iLearn, or in class tutorials and lectures, and will be discussed in tutorials.
Late assignments: 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.
Please note the MMCCS Session Re-mark Application link: http://www.mq.edu.au/pubstatic/public/download/?id=167914
Assessment Tasks
| Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
|---|---|---|---|
| Review: written and live/oral | 35% | No | Designated Week (oral); written: one week after presentation |
| Major Essay | 45% | No | Tuesday 12 November |
| Participation: Quiz | 20% | No | Week 11 |
Review: written and live/oral
Due: Designated Week (oral); written: one week after presentation
Weighting: 35%
Drawing on at least one of the required readings set for each week (a reading which is not specific to only one work), students will present a 5 minute spoken 'review' (critical response) of one documentary work of the student's choosing and then write this up as a written review to be submitted one week after the oral presentation. These are individual presentations and should focus on any documentary work accessible through the library (CD, Kanopy or other free service) or other free to air TV but available via iview or other free 'catch up' service, non subscriber free online access or download of audio podcast or radio/screen/other work documentary in nature. Students will select a week in which to present up until Week 9 only.
This assignment is intended to develop students' skills in relation to critically responding to, and discussing, documentary works. In making a short in person presentation to peers, students will need to be able to give a short precis of the work, or extract key ideas in it, comment upon how it conveys its subject etc., i.e commenting on the work as in 'the review' form. Best to be succinct, and focus on key responses/ideas/resonances you find in this work. This 'live' review can include one or two short examples, limited slides or images and sound excerpts to give the class a brief idea of the work addressed (see tutor). As an oral presentation, this exercise does allow you to draw on or speak to notes you have prepared. It is expected that you will have read and be able to draw upon key ideas (eg modes, genres) of one relevant reading as set each week in iLearn, and available in the library or via iLearn. The second part of this assignment involves you writing up your 'review' as a written presentation of (word limit) 1200 words. Note references are not included in the word limit. The assignment is designed to assist you to develop your abilities in communicating and summarizing content – the subject, style or approach of a documentary work – assessing it and applying some key critical ideas and concepts to orient the particular stance or view you are taking. Marks are allocated as 15% mark for the live presentation; 20% for the written review.
Assessment Criteria
Demonstrated ability to reflect upon and critically respond to audio/audiovisual documentary works in an oral presentation
Demonstrated ability to structure ideas and argument in a written review format.
Demonstrated ability to relate critical ideas and concepts to a documentary work in oral and written formats
General communication skills and ability to present a review of a documentary work and engage peers
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Describe the historical production context of both early and contemporary audio and audiovisual documentary works
- Distinguish and identify key modes relating to both historical and contemporary documentary production.
Major Essay
Due: Tuesday 12 November
Weighting: 45%
In this assignment you will build on the critical, analytical and reflective skills you began to develop in your earlier written assignment and in your tutorial presentation. Here you are asked to select a minimum of one or a maximum of two documentary works – audio, online or audiovisual – from the creative corpus presented during this unit.
In an essay of 2500 words (excluding references) you are asked (in either set questions TBA or as follows) to critically reflect on and discuss these chosen work(s) drawing on key terms of analysis offered during the course. If you wish to discuss only one documentary work, it must be selected from those films or audio programs set for each week for student viewing and or auditioning. Should you wish to critically analyze two documentaries, the second work may be drawn from those set each week (in the schedule), or it can be a documentary discussed or referenced at any stage during the unit in lectures or tutorials. NB: You may not select only one documentary that you have already presented on in your tutorial, or 'reviewed' for Assignment 1. In your analysis you should draw on your weekly set readings, and the reading list supplied. Other critical materials you may have researched yourself can also be incorporated.
Themes that you might discuss (depending on your focus, and if you responded to a particular set essay question) include: the historical development of the documentary form; documentary's relationship to digital technologies; documentary's rhetorical strategies and how they shape our perception of the 'real'; documentary as a way of 'knowing' or interacting with the world; notions of genre, mode, authenticity, authorship, point of view, voice; documentary and social change; new technologies; hybridisation; documentary as an expressive or experimental form; the meeting between reality and fiction. Further relevant concepts, themes will be available on iLearn during semester.
Assessment Criteria
Demonstrated ability to critically analyze, argue and reflect on audio and/or audiovisual documentary works utilizing key documentary terms of analysis, concepts and themes.
Demonstrated ability to structure and develop ideas and arguments about the documentary form in a referenced written essay.
Clarity of written style and appropriate referencing.
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Describe the historical production context of both early and contemporary audio and audiovisual documentary works
- Distinguish and identify key modes relating to both historical and contemporary documentary production.
- Apply key documentary concepts in the analysis of a range of audio and audiovisual non-fiction works.
- Evaluate and reflect on the relationship of current trends in audio and audiovisual documentary works to the contemporary digital environment.
Participation: Quiz
Due: Week 11
Weighting: 20%
Your participation in the unit will be gauged through one (short answer and/or multiple choice) quiz worth a total of 20%. The quiz will take approximately 10-15 minutes to complete and the focus will relate to the unit's readings, lectures and set screenings/auditionings up until and including Week 10.
Assessment Criteria
Demonstrated knowledge and comprehension of concepts, history and modes of documentary as offered in the unit's readings, lectures and screenings.
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Describe the historical production context of both early and contemporary audio and audiovisual documentary works
- Distinguish and identify key modes relating to both historical and contemporary documentary production.
Delivery and Resources
Technology used in this unit
Films are projected and/or audio programs broadcast are included as excerpts in most lectures. Students however must locate the set screenings or broadcasts/audio for each week via the library link or links made available on iLearn. Occasionally a temporary link will be available on iLearn for just the week of the screening/auditioning. Occasionally a work may only be available on closed reserve in the library.
Changes from previous offerings
Assessment tasks have been reviewed and amended as part of ongoing review of the unit.
Lectures and Tutorials
Attendance at lectures (in person or via Echolecture) and tutorials in person is strongly recommended.
Absences from a tutorial for reasons of illness etc should be communicated to the tutor and appropriate approval process followed for Special Consideration.
NB: Lectures start Week 1. Tutorials start in Week 2.
Assignments
All written assignments are to be delivered as e-copy and uploaded as preferably a word Document via Turnitin.
Extensions for assignments are only granted on the grounds of illness or misadventure and appropriate supporting documentation must be submitted via Special Consideration process. If you are having problems please speak to your tutor as soon as possible.
Marked work will be available via Turnitin.
Required Readings
MMCS260 Unit Readings will be available via Library links or information given on iLearn to locate the reading. There may be rare occasions where Readings are available on iLearn.
Recommended books
Alter, Nora M., Timothy Corrigan Essays on the essay film. New York: Columbia University Press 2017.
Aufderheide, P. Documentary Film - a Very Short Introduction, OUP: New York 2007.
Balsom, Erika editor, and Hila editor Peleg. Documentary across disciplines. Cambridge: MA: The MIT Press 2016.
Barsam, Richard Meran. 1976. Nonfiction film : theory and criticism. New York: Dutton.
Biewen, John, and Alexa Dilworth. Reality radio: telling true stories in sound. Second edition Chapel Hill, Durham, N.C.: The University of North Carolina Press & Center for Documentary Studies, Duke University 2017.
Bruzzi, S., New Documentary - A Critical Introduction, Routledge: NY 2000.
Corrigan, Timothy. 2011. The essay film: from Montaigne, after Marker. New York; Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Corner, John. The art of record : a critical introduction to documentary. Manchester: Manchester University Press 1996.
Fox, Broderick. Documentary media : history, theory, practice 2017.
Glass, Ira. 2007. The new kings of nonfiction. 1st Riverhead trade pbk ed. New York: Riverhead Books.
Grant, Barry Keith; Jeannette Sloniowski, eds and Bill Nichols Iintroduction). 2014. Documenting the documentary: close readings of documentary film and video. New and expanded edition. ed. Detroit/ProQuest e-book central: Wayne State University Press.
Grierson, John. Grierson on Documentary, Faber & Faber, 1966
Hongisto, Ilona. Soul of the Documentary: framing, ethics, expression of the documentary, Amsterdam University Press 2015.
Kahana, Jonathan. 2016. The documentary film reader: history, theory, criticism. New York: Oxford University Press.
Llinares, Dario, Neil Fox, and Richard Berry (Eds). Podcasting : new aural cultures and digital media. 2018
Loviglio, Jason and Michele Hilmes. 2013. Radio's new wave: global sound in the digital era.
MacDonald, Scott. Avant-doc: intersections of documentary and avant-garde cinema, New York: Oxford University Press 2015.
Most, Stephen. Stories make the world: reflections on storytelling and the art of the documentary. 1st ed. New York: Berghahn 2017.
Nichols, B., Introduction to Documentary, 3rd Edition. Indiana University Press: Bloomington 2017.
Nichols, B., Representing Reality - Issues and Concepts in Documentary, Indiana University Press: Bloomington 1991.
O'Rawe, Des. Regarding the real: cinema, documentary, and the visual arts. 2016.
Plantinga, Carl. Rhetoric and Representation in Non-Fiction Film, 1997.
Rascaroli, Laura. 2009. The personal camera : subjective cinema and the essay film. London: Wallflower.
Rascaroli, Laura author. How the essay film thinks. 2017
Renov, M., (ed.) Theorising Documentary, Routledge: NY 1993.
Spinelli, Martin author, and Lance author Dann. Podcasting: The Audio Media Revolution 2019.
Ulfsdotter, Boel editor, and Anna editor Backman Rogers. Female authorship and the documentary image : theory, practice and aesthetics.2018.
Ungar, Steven. Critical mass: social documentary in France from the silent era to the new wave. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press 2018.
Waldron, Dara author. New nonfiction film : art, poetics, and documentary theory.
Zubrycki, Tom. 2019. The Changing Landscape of Australian Documentary. Vol. 58, Platform Papers. Strawberry Hills, NSW.: Currency House.
AUDIO documentary and non fiction works for radio and podcast: some key sites
Australian work:
ABC Radio National (RN) continues to broadcast and podcast radio documentary and non fiction work of high standard: try
Earshot: http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/earshot/
Earlier now archived programs with radio features and creative documentary work:
Elsewhere Archive: http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/archived/elsewhere/past-programs/
Sound Music Word Archive: http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/archived/soundmusicword/past-programs/
SoundProof archive: http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/archived/soundproof/features/from-the-vault/
Radio Eye Archive: Radio Eye archive: http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/archived/radioeye/past-programs/
See also RadioDoc Review for critical reviews and essays on radio documentary: RadioDoc Review: http://ro.uow.edu.au/rdr/
British work
BBC: BBC World service, Radio 4 and Radio 3 are the main sites for long form documentary work in radio. Try these, or specific programs like
BBC Radio 4 Seriously...: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02pc9qx
BBC Radio 3 Short Cuts: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01mk3f8
BBC The documentary Podcast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02nq0lx
Some archived older radio documentaries may be available here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qmtp/episodes/guide
Irish (and international work)
https://www.rte.ie/radio1/doconone/2009/0428/645964-about/
American work:
Try Third Coast International Audio Festival: https://www.thirdcoastfestival.org/
And https://www.thirdcoastfestival.org/overview/library/all/newest/any
Try https://www.prx.org/
Try https://www.radiotopia.fm/
https://gimletmedia.com/shows
Hearing Voices: https://hearingvoices.com/
http://loveandradio.org/
New American Radio: http://www.somewhere.org/
https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab
https://www.hbmpodcast.com/
https://serialpodcast.org/season-one
https://stownpodcast.org/
Canadian work:
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/docproject
Other
International Features conference
https://ifc2.wordpress.com/
Viewing/Screenings scheduled between Week 2 and 8 will be available either via the Library links or online.
Nanook of the North (Robert Flaherty, 1922)
Titicut Follies (Frederick Wiseman, 1967)
Watching the Detectives (Chris Kennedy, 2017)
77sqm_9:26min (Forensic Architecture, 2017). Available at https://vimeo.com/220840144
Please see iLearn Schedule for full list of screenings and listenings. There may be changes to this information. Please check with Lecturers.
Unit Schedule
Please see iLearn for full unit schedule.
The Course is presented by MMCS staff, Dr Virginia Madsen and Dr Stefan Solomon. Dr Solomon will be presenting primarily in the first 7 weeks lectures, and has prepared Screenings and Readings for this part of the unit. Dr Madsen will present with Dr Solomon in Week 1, then Week 4, then from Week 9 - 13; and these weeks will include screenings and audio presentations (radio documentaries and features). Both sections will engage with historical and more recent material.
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:
- Academic Appeals Policy
- Academic Integrity Policy
- Academic Progression Policy
- Assessment Policy
- Fitness to Practice Procedure
- Grade Appeal Policy
- Complaint Management Procedure for Students and Members of the Public
- Special Consideration Policy (Note: The Special Consideration Policy is effective from 4 December 2017 and replaces the Disruption to Studies Policy.)
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 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 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
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.
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:
Assessment task
- Review: written and live/oral
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:
Assessment task
- Review: written and live/oral
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
- Distinguish and identify key modes relating to both historical and contemporary documentary production.
- Apply key documentary concepts in the analysis of a range of audio and audiovisual non-fiction works.
Assessment tasks
- Review: written and live/oral
- Participation: Quiz
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
- Describe the historical production context of both early and contemporary audio and audiovisual documentary works
- Distinguish and identify key modes relating to both historical and contemporary documentary production.
- Apply key documentary concepts in the analysis of a range of audio and audiovisual non-fiction works.
- Evaluate and reflect on the relationship of current trends in audio and audiovisual documentary works to the contemporary digital environment.
Assessment tasks
- Review: written and live/oral
- Major Essay
- Participation: Quiz
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
- Distinguish and identify key modes relating to both historical and contemporary documentary production.
- Apply key documentary concepts in the analysis of a range of audio and audiovisual non-fiction works.
- Evaluate and reflect on the relationship of current trends in audio and audiovisual documentary works to the contemporary digital environment.
Assessment tasks
- Review: written and live/oral
- Major Essay
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
- Distinguish and identify key modes relating to both historical and contemporary documentary production.
- Apply key documentary concepts in the analysis of a range of audio and audiovisual non-fiction works.
- Evaluate and reflect on the relationship of current trends in audio and audiovisual documentary works to the contemporary digital environment.
Assessment tasks
- Review: written and live/oral
- Major Essay
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
- Describe the historical production context of both early and contemporary audio and audiovisual documentary works
- Distinguish and identify key modes relating to both historical and contemporary documentary production.
- Apply key documentary concepts in the analysis of a range of audio and audiovisual non-fiction works.
- Evaluate and reflect on the relationship of current trends in audio and audiovisual documentary works to the contemporary digital environment.
Assessment tasks
- Review: written and live/oral
- Major Essay
Changes from Previous Offering
Assignment 1 is now in the form of an oral and written presentation: the form required is a 'review' format. Previous assignment 2 of a short essay/critical Abstract has been deleted.