55001 Cultural Studies Honours Seminar
UTS: Communication: Cultural StudiesCredit points: 8 cp
Result Type: Grade and marks
Handbook description
This subject examines in depth some recent cultural studies methods and applies them to concepts of place and space as they emerge through students' original research in the field or archive. Creative and critical research and writing is encouraged so that students' relationships with their materials take up the challenge to originality as well as a critical and knowledgeable engagement with the diverse and interdisciplinary field of cultural studies. Studies of place or space offer a wide variety of ways of engaging with any of: 'city', 'country', 'neighbourhood', 'zone', 'camp', 'dwelling', 'network' or 'site', along with different modes of being in, or moving through, such spaces.
Subject objectives/outcomes
At the completion of this subject, students are expected to have:
- reviewed and consolidated their existing knowledge of a range of theoretical approaches in cultural studies
- developed their knowledge of cultural and aesthetic debates, cultural institutions, traditions and perspectives with a view to refining their critical capacities
- developed their capacity to think creatively about future developments in cultural studies
- refined their rhetorical and empirical skills in spoken and written performance, and taken innovative approaches to their material, which may include multimedia forms of presentation
- undertaken original and contemporary projects in their own work
- built a capacity for advanced and proactive research both in the field and in the archives.
Contribution to graduate profile
This subject:
- prepares students for postgraduate research
- emphasises interdisciplinary approaches
- integrates scholarship with creative approaches to contemporary culture
- undertakes a program of advanced coursework.
Teaching and learning strategies
- Regular seminars with interactive lectures and presentations.
- Advice and suggestions for following up references outside class-sessions.
- Structured encouragement of innovative and creative research through experiential learning.
- Focus on using primary resources and relevant texts.
- Class exercises designed to stimulate collaboration and exchange between students.
- Online discussion forums for sharing ideas and developing concepts.
Content
The weekly topic areas and readings will be discussed with a view to developing students' original topics. The focus of this subject will explore different methodologies and fields of study within cultural studies. The focus will be on theories and ideas of place and space, including the following:
- The Production of Space
- Writing Space, Place and Movement
- Urban Spaces
- Home and Homelessness
- Embodiment and Habitus
- Performing Place
- Feminist Readings of the City
- Ethnoscapes
- Non-Place
- Virtual Space
Assessment
Assessment item 1: Tutorial Presentation - Group Assignment
| Objective(s): | a, b, c, d, f |
| Weighting: | 20% |
| Task: | Leading discussion on the readings for TWO topics in the course of the semester. You need to bring to class a series of questions, problematics, strategies, and if possible illustrations obtained through empirical research, which relate to the topic and readings for a particular week. Questions raised around topics should enable discussion and debate from all class members. |
| Assessment criteria: | Presentations will:
|
Assessment item 2: Short Essay
| Objective(s): | a, b, c,d, e |
| Weighting: | 20% |
| Task: | In the first six weeks of the course, a number of approaches to cultural studies are investigated. Have a look at one and devise a small writing exercise (theoretical, fictocritical, creative) - this can also be in visual or other forms with a written exegesis. Submitted work can take the form of a 1000 word piece (or 500 word commentary if audio/visual). It should show some appreciation of the ways in which a writing self calls upon key problems about where and when an 'I' exists to be written about. |
| Assessment criteria: | The piece of writing will:
|
Assessment item 3: Essay/Project
| Objective(s): | a, b, c, d, e, f |
| Weighting: | 60% |
| Task: | This is the final project of the semester and should display creative thinking and its expression in imaginative and appropriate written forms, quality of presentation (something that someone would like to read, view or hear about that they didn't know about before) and depth of observation. It should also be the result of both empirical and theoretical research. 'Writing' will have been already a concept rehearsed in our workshops and the reflection of the experience will be in evidence here: innovation, solid work in the archive and out in the street and an informed recourse to some of the theoretical writing that you have come in contact with this semester. The result should demonstrate original interpretations of existing approaches within cultural studies, combine empirical, descriptive, theoretical and creative writing strategies, and involve the organization and synthesis of diverse knowledges. 3-4,000 words, minimum 1,500 words commentary if an audio/visual project. |
| Assessment criteria: | A successful essay/project will have the following characteristics:
|
Minimum requirements
Students are expected to read the subject outline to ensure they are familiar with the subject requirements. Since class discussion and participation in activities form an integral part of this subject, you are expected to attend, arrive punctually and actively participate in classes. If you experience difficulties meeting this requirement, please contact your lecturer. Students who have a reason for extended absence (e.g. illness) may be required to complete additional work to ensure they achieve the subject objectives.
Attendance is particularly important in this subject because it is based on a collaborative approach which involves essential workshopping and interchange of ideas. Students who attend fewer than ten classes are advised that their final work will not be assessed and that they are likely to fail the subject.
