Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Convenor
Professor John Potts
Contact via 9850 2163
10HA 165J
Tuesdays 11 - 1
Justine Martin
|
---|---|
Credit points |
Credit points
4
|
Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
Admission to MRes
|
Corequisites |
Corequisites
|
Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
|
Unit description |
Unit description
This unit is an inter-disciplinary study of authorship. The author is understood as literary author, composer/songwriter, film-maker, visual artist, choreographer or other creator of original works. The unit includes a historical study of changing conceptions of authorship, as well as consideration of the author in the age of the Internet and digital technology.
|
Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
Assessment standards
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
Late submission / Special Consideration
Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved:
no assignment will be accepted more than seven (7) days (including weekends) after the original submission deadline.
Essays in this unit are to be submitted via Turnitin.
Marking criteria for the essays and seminar presentation are available on iLearn. Essay writing and referencing guide is also on iLearn.
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
---|---|---|---|
Minor Essay | 30% | No | 3 May |
Seminar presentation | 20% | No | Weeks 11-13 |
Major Essay | 50% | No | 14 June |
Due: 3 May
Weighting: 30%
The first assignment is a minor research paper, of 2000 words, written on a topic of your choice related to authorship. Assessment criteria for the minor essay are available on iLearn.
Due: Weeks 11-13
Weighting: 20%
A presentation delivered in the seminar of 20 minutes duration, on the student's major research topic concerning authorship. This audio-visual presentation may serve as a work-in-progress on this authorship topic, to be fully developed in the major essay. Assessment criteria for the seminar presentation are available on iLearn.
Due: 14 June
Weighting: 50%
This essay is the major research paper, of 3,000 words, on a topic of your choice within the domain of authorship studies. This essay must be on a different topic to the minor research paper, but it may expand on the topic of your seminar presentation. It should demonstrate wide reading, excellent research skills and in-depth critical analysis. Assessment criteria are available on iLearn.
A book of readings on authorship will be provided by the convenor.
The bibliography lists other relevant works held in the library. Additional readings from these texts are suggested in the weekly schedule. Various press, magazine, film, TV and web sources will be provided throughout the semester.
SEMINAR SCHEDULE
WEEK 2: INTRODUCTION TO THE UNIT
4 March
WEEK 3: WHAT IS THE AUTHOR?
11 March
Michel Foucault, 'What Is an Author?' (1969)
Martha Woodmansee, 'On the Author Effect: Recovering Collectivity' (1994)
Additional Reading: Andrew Sarris (1968) 'Towards a Theory of Film History' (auteur theory) in Bill Nichols (ed) Movies and Methods, Berkeley: University of California Press (1976)
WEEK 4: THE HISTORY OF THE AUTHOR
18 March
Andrew Bennett, 'Authority, Ownership, Originality' in The Author (2005)
Sean Burke, 'Changing Conceptions of Authorship' in Authorship: From Plato to the Postmodern, A Reader (2000)
WEEK 5: COPYRIGHT AND TECHNOLOGY
25 March
Joanna Demers, 'Music as Intellectual Property' in Steal This Music (2006)
Cory Doctorow, 'How Copyright Broke' (2008)
Additional Reading: Lawrence Lessig, Free Culture (2004)
WEEK 6: 'THE DEATH OF THE AUTHOR': POST-STRUCTURALISM AND POSTMODERNISM
1 April
Roland Barthes, 'The Death of the Author' (1969)
A. Murphie & J. Potts, 'Digital Aesthetics: Cultural Effects of New Media Technologies' in Culture and Technology (2003)
Additional Reading: Andrew Goodwin, 'Sample and Hold: Pop Music in the Digital Age of Reproduction' in Frith and Goodwin (eds) On Record, London: Routledge, 1990
WEEK 7: COPYRIGHT: FOR AND AGAINST
8 April
J. Smiers and M. Van Schijndel, 'A Level Cultural Playing Field' (2009)
Steve Collins, 'Kookaburra v. Down Under: It's Just Overkill' in Scan Journal Vol 7 No 1 2010
MID-SEMESTER BREAK
WEEK 8: FILM AUTHORSHIP (Karen Pearlman)
29 April
Aaron Meskin, 'Authorship' (2008) in Livingston and Plantinga (eds) The Routledge Companion to Philosophy and Film, London: Routledge, 2008
WEEK 9: FAN FICTION, BIG DATA, AI AND OTHER AUTHORSHIP CHALLENGES
6 May
Rebecca Tushnet, 'Architecture and Morality: Transformative Works, Transforming Fans' in Darling and Pezanowski(eds) Creativity Without Law: Challenging the Assumptions of Intellectual Property, 2017
Hannah Fry, 'Good artists borrow; great artists steal', from Hello World: Being Human in the Age of Algorithms (2018)
Additional Reading: Rodley, Chris and Burrell, Andrew, 'On the Art of Writing with Data' in Potts, John (ed) The Future of Writing (2014) pp. 77 - 89, available as chapter download from library
WEEK 10: THE NEAR-DEATH OF THE AUTHOR: DOWNLOADING
13 May
Linda Jaivin, 'Big Content' in Phillipa McGuinness (ed) Copyfight (2015)
D. Hunter & N. Suzor, 'Claiming the Moral High Ground in the Copyright Wars' in Copyfight (2015)
Jonathan Taplin (2017) ‘Napster, Spotify and the Fall of the Middle-Class Musician’, Rolling Stone 3 May 2017 at https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/move-fast-and-break-things-book-excerpt-w480401
WEEKS 11 - 13: STUDENT SEMINAR PRESENTATIONS
20 May – 3 June
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bennett, Andrew, The Author, London: Routledge, 2005
Bently, L., Davis, J. and Ginsburg, J (eds) Copyright and Piracy, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010
Bettig, Ronald V., Copyrighting Culture: The Political Economy of Intellectual Property, Boulder: Westview, 1996
Burke, Sean (ed) Authorship From Plato to the Postmodern: A Reader, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2000
Burke, Sean, The Death and Return of the Author, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2010
Darling, Kate and Pezanowski, Aaron (eds) Creativity Without Law: Challenging the Assumptions of Intellectual Property, New York: New York University Press, 2017
Demers, Joanna, Steal this Music: How Intellectual property Law Affects Musical Creativity, Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2006
Doctorow, Cory, Content, San Francisco: Tachyon Publications, 2008
Fry, Hannah, Hello World: Being Human in the Age of Algorithms, New York: W W Norton, 2018
Lessig, Lawrence, Free Culture: How Big Media Uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Control Creativity, New York: Penguin, 2004
Lobel, Orly, You Don't Own Me: How Mattel v. MGA Entertainment Exposed Barbie's Dark Side, New York: Norton, 2017
McGuinness, Phillipa (ed) Copyfight, Sydney: NewSouth, 2015
Miller, Christopher L., Impostors: Literary Hoaxes and Cultural Authenticity, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2018
Moran, Joe, Star Authors: Literary Celebrity in America, London: Pluto Press, 2000
Murphie, Andrew and Potts, John, Culture and Technology, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003
Postigo, Hector, The Digital Rights Movement, Cambridge: MIT Press, 2012
Potts, John (ed) The Future of Writing, Basingstoke: Palgrave Pivot, 2014
Smiers, J. and Van Schijndel, M., Imagine There is No Copyright and No Cultural Conglomerates Too..., Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures, 2009
Taplin, Jonathan, Move Fast and Break Things: How Facebook, Google and Amazon Have Cornered Culture and What it Means For Us, New York: Macmillan, 2017
Woodmansee, Martha and Jaszi, Peter (eds) The Construction of Authorship, Durham: Duke University Press, 1994
Zwar, Jan, Throsby, David, Longden, Thomas, Australian Authors: Industry Brief No. 1: Key Findings, Department of Economics, Macquarie University at http://goto.mq.edu.au/book-industry
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:
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).
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 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
MMCCS re-mark procedure: Additional information MMCCS website https://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/faculties_and_departments/faculty_of_arts/department_of_media_music_communication_and_cultural_studies/ MMCCS Session Re-mark Application http://www.mq.edu.au/pubstatic/public/download/?id=167914 Information is correct at the time of publication
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
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
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.
Our postgraduates will demonstrate a high standard of discernment and common sense in their professional and personal judgment. They will have the ability to make informed choices and decisions that reflect both the nature of their professional work and their personal perspectives.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our postgraduates will be able to demonstrate a significantly enhanced depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content knowledge in their chosen fields.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our postgraduates will be capable of utilising and reflecting on prior knowledge and experience, of applying higher level critical thinking skills, and of integrating and synthesising learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments. A characteristic of this form of thinking is the generation of new, professionally oriented knowledge through personal or group-based critique of practice and theory.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our postgraduates will be capable of systematic enquiry; able to use research skills to create new knowledge that can be applied to real world issues, or contribute to a field of study or practice to enhance society. They will be capable of creative questioning, problem finding and problem solving.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our postgraduates will be able to communicate effectively and convey their views to different social, cultural, and professional audiences. They will be able to use a variety of technologically supported media to communicate with empathy using a range of written, spoken or visual formats.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our postgraduates will be ethically aware and capable of confident transformative action in relation to their professional responsibilities and the wider community. They will have a sense of connectedness with others and country and have a sense of mutual obligation. They will be able to appreciate the impact of their professional roles for social justice and inclusion related to national and global issues
This graduate capability is supported by: