Units

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Sample subject outline - Semester 1 2013

Note: Subject outlines often change before the semester begins. Below is a sample outline.

Rationale

Film and television are a major part of our daily lives and both project and help to shape people's understanding of the world and the way society and culture work. All too often fictional film and television are simply dismissed as 'entertainment', thereby minimising the very real impact that these cultural forms have in expressing and shaping the way people think and act in the world at an everyday level. There is, in particular, a need for teachers to engage with this area, given that much of the cultural consumption of their students outside of school involves film and television. This unit analyses and explores the way contemporary thought about society and culture emerges in fictional film and television. Although this unit can be studied as an independent unit, it is also designed to complement other units which focus on film and media and on media literacy and education.

Aims

This unit aims to equip students with an understanding of key concepts in socio-cultural theory and to increase their knowledge of the corpus of fictional film and television narrative. It also aims to provide students with the tools to critically analyse the way in which fictional film and television as cultural products, both perpetuate and help to shape ways of thinking and acting in the social and physical world and in institutions such as schools

Objectives

On completion of this unit, students should be able to:

1. gather, form and critique knowledge (or new configurations of knowledge) from a variety of film, television and textual sources (EPA 1.1);

2. retrieve, evaluate and present information using appropriate technologies and demonstrate personal proficiency in multiliteracies (EPA 1.3);

3. as a scholar-educator-researcher, adopt a problem-solving and inquiry-based approach to their own learning and that of others (EPA 1.4);

4. display a positive orientation to personal learning and teaching which foregrounds reflection on practice; such reflections will indicate a growing critical awareness of the multiple and often conflicting meanings within which they operate as they struggle towards increasingly ethical and socially just professional practices (EPA 1.5).

Content

This unit covers the following topics:

1. Overview of the history of film and introductory overview of some popular methods of film and cultural analysis..

2. Through the analysis of film and television texts, an introduction to key thinkers and major schools of thought including Plato, Marx, Foucault, liberalism, existentialism, critical theory, structuralism, postmodernism.

3. Specific ideas and issues that are examined in this unit via the medium of film include philosophical issues concerning the nature of reality and', self and identity, also history and propaganda, politics, gender, difference, ethnicity, definitions of art and culture, war and terrorism, science and technology, celebrity and fan culture, ethics, social surveillance normalization and teaching and teachers.

Approaches to Teaching and Learning

This unit will focus on the critical analysis of film and television and on social, cultural and critical analyses of these forms. There is a weekly lecture which will provide the theoretical framework for the unit with media illustrations. Tutorials will consist of discussion of the unit content and readings and student seminars. A variety of resources (film, television, web, texts) will be drawn on in the lecture and tutorials.

Assessment

Formative assessment will be provided in the form of guided oral feedback in relation to the weekly student seminars. You will be required to discuss your presentation with the tutor the week before it is due to check that you are on the right track. Feedback will also be provided during the seminar and afterwards. Written comments will also be provided on final papers.

Summative assessment is as follows:

Assessment name: Seminar presentation
Description: An investigation of a socio-cultural issue through the analysis of specific film and television texts.
Length: Group or individual presentation of 20 minutes. Individual essay of 1500 words to be handed in 1 week after seminar presentation.
Relates to objectives: 1, 2, 3, & 4
Weight: 40%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Group with Individual Component
Due date: Early / Mid semester

Assessment name: Exam / Research essay
Description: Option 1: Take home examination on content of the unit
Option 2: Research essay and annotated bibliography: An investigation of a socio-cultural issue through the analysis of specific film and television texts, and an annotated bibliography of texts consulted. You must address a different area from the one dealt with in assessment item 1.
Length: 2,500 words
Relates to objectives: 1, 2, 3, & 4
Weight: 60%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: End of semester

Academic Honesty

QUT is committed to maintaining high academic standards to protect the value of its qualifications. To assist you in assuring the academic integrity of your assessment you are encouraged to make use of the support materials and services available to help you consider and check your assessment items. Important information about the university's approach to academic integrity of assessment is on your unit Blackboard site.

A breach of academic integrity is regarded as Student Misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties.

Resource materials

References

Barker, C. (2004). The Sage Dictionary of Cultural Studies. London: Sage.

Braudy, L. (Ed.). (2004). Film Theory and Criticism. Introductory Readings. (6th ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Falzon, C. (2002). Philosophy Goes to the Movies: An Introduction to Philosophy. London: Routledge.

Films

Students will need to view a number of films for this unit. These will be listed in the unit materials on the QUT Blackboard site. Films will be available from the library or video rental shops, in particular Trash Video in West End - a well-known location for resources for film students in Brisbane.

Risk assessment statement

There are no out-of-the ordinary risks associated with the general conduct of this unit. Workplace health and safety protocols in relation to computer use will apply.

Disclaimer - Offer of some units is subject to viability, and information in these Unit Outlines is subject to change prior to commencement of semester.

Last modified: 10-Jan-2013