Cultural Policy and Power

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2016:

Total expected time commitment is 170 hours accross the semester, including class time.

Admission to the postgraduate diploma or fourth-year honours in cultural studies or screen studies, postgraduate diploma or fourth-year honours in media and communication, Master of Arts and Cultural Management (Moving Image), Master of Global Media Communication

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For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements of this entry.

The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison Unit website: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

This subject introduces students to cultural policy studies as a distinct domain of cultural studies. It examines the stakes involved in defining and operating within cultural policy studies by working through the characterisations of creative industries, cultural practices, cultural politics and power. Students will analyse specific instances of cultural policy and creative industry developments in Australia, Asia and elsewhere, produce specific studies of the political dimensions of cultural practices in order to re-think perceived notions of identity, ideology and representation, and comprehend the range and consequences of scholarly involvement in cultural policy studies. Students completing the subject will appreciate the relationship between critical analysis and policy orientation in cultural studies and be familiar with specific instances of cultural policy, creative industry and cultural citizenship development at local, state, federal and international levels.

Students who complete this subject will:

• be able to comprehend the analytical domain of cultural policy studies and cultural politics;
• be able to understand the key theoretical and methodological issues involved in cultural policy studies and cultural politics;
• be able to appreciate the interrelations and dynamic of cultural policy, practices and politics in contemporary societies;
• be familiar with a range of specific instances and institutions in Australian cultural policy; and
• be able to produce studies in cultural policy studies and cultural politics.

A 1500 word essay 30% (due mid-semester); a 2500 word essay 40% (due during the examination period); LMS-based blogging assessment exercise equivalent to 1000 words 30% (due throughout the semester). All students must have completed a multimedia class presentation and a seminar presentation. Students are required to attend a minimum of 80% (or 10 out of 12) classes in order to qualify to have their written work assessed. Any student who fails to meet this hurdle without valid reason will not be eligible to pass the subject. All required written work must be submitted in order to pass the subject. Essays submitted after the due date without an extension will be penalised 2% per day.

A subject reader will be available.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

Students who successfully complete this subject will acquire skills in the following areas:

• social, ethical, and cultural understanding of self and others through detailed analysis of contemporary culture in its various local, national and transnational contexts, the reception of new ideas and the contextualisation of judgments, the adaptation of knowledge to new situations;
• critical analysis and synthesis through the study of competing theories of contemporary culture and their application to diverse examples, the engagement with and processing of different critical perspectives across the interdisciplinary field of cultural studies, the development of independent thought and arguments;
• effective written and oral communication through seminar discussions and debates, the preparation and execution of written assessment exercises, exposure to and emulation of competing genres and protocols of critical writing;
• information management and information literacy through the practice of library and archival research and engagement with electronic databases;
• teamwork, flexibility, and tolerance through group discussions in seminars, reception of new ideas and opinions, engaging and cooperating with other people from diverse backgrounds; and
• time management and planning through managing and organizing workloads for recommended reading, seminar presentations, and assessment requirements.