In this unit, students are required to actively engage with their peers in order to develop a shared understanding of the key ideas, concepts and debates that we discuss throughout this unit.

Requirements: From week two to week twelve, students are required to participate in the learning activities within the designated time frame. They must participate in two ways:

1. First, students must post a 150-300 word response to the weekly activity.
2. Second, students must also collaborate and encourage peer learning by commenting on at least one other student post in the weekly forum. 

The forum will be opened when the activity is posted each week on Tuesday and then closed the following Monday. 

Weekly posts and comments: As you complete your weekly posts and comments, please remember that these posts should generate discussion. We do not expect you to present a 'correct' or 'perfectly formed' answer; often you will find there isn't a singular 'right' answer. Instead, we're looking for you to draw on what you've learnt in the lecture, book and readings to respond to the activity or question. We'd like you to add your thoughts on the key concepts, ask questions about the readings and share ideas about the topic to the discussion so that we can collaborate and help one another to understand the concepts. If you have any questions about what we're looking for, please consult the marking criteria below and then contact Chris.

Assessment Criteria: 

1. Completion of weekly post and comment within the designated time frame 
2. Post demonstrates engagement with the relevant lectures, book and required readings 
3. Post demonstrates engagement with the relevant key concepts, debates and discussions 
4. Comment demonstrates active engagement with peers in the learning activities 

Special Consideration: If you cannot complete a weekly activity or discussion due to unavoidable and serious disruption, please email your unit convenor and request Special Consideration via ask.mq.edu.au. For more information about the Special Consideration process please click here.

For this assessment, students are required to perform an 800 word critical analysis of one of the required readings from weeks one, two or three of this unit. In their analysis, students must outline the purpose of their chosen text and the contribution that it makes to scholarly research (such as the theoretical concepts, arguments or methodologies developed by the author). Most importantly, they should also include an informed and nuanced critique of their chosen text that identifies any inadequacies or gaps in the research and explores how the research could be extended and adapted for our contemporary context. 

Assessment Criteria:

Students will be assessed according to the following criteria:

1. Demonstrates the ability to identify and outline the purpose of the selected text 
2. Demonstrates engagement with relevant external scholarly research in order to identify and outline the contribution the selected text makes to the field
3. Demonstrates an understanding of the theoretical concepts, arguments and/or methodologies explored in the selected text
4. Draws on external research to perform an informed and nuanced critique of the chosen text that identifies potential gaps in the research and potential ways in which the research could be extended 
5. Demonstrates the effective use of writing skills to present academic research, including consistent and accurate use of in-text referencing

Submission: Students will submit their Critical Analysis via the Turnitin link on the unit iLearn Site.

Special Consideration: If you have experienced an unavoidable and serious disruption and are unable to complete this task by the due date, please email your unit convenor and request Special Consideration via ask.mq.edu.au. For more information about the Special Consideration process please click here.

Late Penalty: 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.

For this assessment, students are required to write a 1,000 word policy briefing paper that could be submitted to either local, state or federal institutions or government bodies. In order to write this briefing paper, they must select one specific issue or case study that we have discussed so far in the unit. Then, students must prepare a scholarly paper that draws on theoretical concepts and cultural studies methodologies in order to critically analyse the issue at stake and offer productive recommendations.

For this task, you may identify a specific issue that we've examined in the unit so far. After identifying a topic, you must then use (a) cultural studies concepts and methodologies, relevant external research and (b) a case study or example in order to perform a well-informed analysis of the issue. In line with the unit's learning outcomes, you must also outline well-researched and ethical recommendations. 

For example, you may consider writing a paper for the NT Government on the introduction of paperless arrests. Drawing on the critical theories and concepts we've explored in lectures and readings, you could discuss the policy's potential to lead to criminalisation and/or how it resonates with histories of colonial policing. Or, you could identify a media article that criminalises specific groups and write to the media organisation that produced the piece. Using your understanding of critical concepts such as whiteness and criminalisation, you could discuss the media piece and offer recommendations for future publications. Other topics you could explore include: the NT Intervention, representations of Australian history in the History Syllabus, sensationalism in the media, criminalisation on twitter. We will further discuss the components of policy briefings and scholarly research in selected weekly tutorials.

Assessment Criteria: 

Students will be assessed according to the following assessment criteria:

1. Demonstrates a clear and effective grasp of the relevant key concepts and methodologies explored in this unit  
2. Demonstrates scholarly research into the issue under review, including engaging with relevant research papers, case studies and resources such as legislation, institutional policies and government procedures. 
3. Draws on relevant concepts and research in order to provide a well-informed analysis of the issue under review 
4. Deploys cultural literacy and analytical skills in order to put forward well-developed, ethical and responsible recommendations
5. Demonstrates the effective use of writing skills to present the policy briefing paper, including consistent and accurate use of in-text referencing.

Submission: Students will submit their Briefing Paper via the Turnitin Link on the unit iLearn Site.

Special Consideration: If you have experienced an unavoidable and serious disruption and are unable to complete this task by the due date, please email your unit convenor and request Special Consideration via ask.mq.edu.au. For more information about the Special Consideration process please click here.

Late Penalty: 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.

Students must write a 2,000 word essay in response to one of the questions listed below. In their answers, students must use the theoretical concepts discussed over the course of the semester in order to develop an well-informed argument that can be demonstrated via analysis of examples or a relevant case study. 

Essay Questions

1. Discuss the ways in which an ‘insular imaginary’ and related ideas of ‘natural’ boundaries shape dominant Australian culture and the politics of colonial assimilation and border protection. Your essay should draw on a contemporary case study. 

2. Discuss the significance of what Irene Watson calls “proper law-full acknowledgements of the sovereignty of Aboriginal peoples.”

3. With the aid of a contemporary or historical case study, discuss how the legacy of the colonial notion of “the ‘authentic’ Aboriginie” (Ian Anderson) shapes discussions of the sovereignty of Aboriginal peoples.

4. How do key attributes of “invisible whiteness” shape current debates around the sovereignty of Aboriginal peoples orracialised punishment. 

5. Discuss the relationship of state power and concepts of Aboriginal law andterra nullius in the context of a contemporary case study. 

6. How does colonial policing shape racialised punishment? Discuss in the context of contemporary Australian incarceration.

7. Drawing on a contemporary case study, discuss the wider function of race in the ‘ideological construction of crime’ (Angela Davis). Discuss in the context of contemporary racial profiling, policing and crime in Australia. 

8. Discuss the ways in which Australian national identity intersects with the camp as a place of quarantine, internment and punishment of targeted groups.

9. Discuss the wider significance of ethnic architecture in Australia and how it intersects with suburban space as a site of cultural politics. Your discussion should draw on a contemporary case study.

10. What is the significance of Aboriginal “life writing” and oral histories and how do they challenge dominant modes of historiography? Discuss the cultural politics of memory in the context of Auntie Rita and dominant colonial histories. 

11. Discuss the intersections between Australia’s policies on refugees and asylum seekers, colonial possession and the question of Indigenous sovereignty. 

12. In what ways do the politics of fear and terror shape the construction of national identity? Discuss in the context of a contemporary case study.

13. Construct a question of your choice that focuses on a text and any of the issues raised in the course of this unit. Please consult with your tutor if you wish to take up this option. 

Submission: Students will submit their Briefing Paper via the Turnitin Link on the unit iLearn Site.

Special Consideration: If you have experienced an unavoidable and serious disruption and are unable to complete this task by the due date, please email your unit convenor and request Special Consideration via ask.mq.edu.au. For more information about the Special Consideration process please click here.

Late Penalty: 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.