GCST3604: Semester 2, 2021

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Units GCST3604 Semester 2 2021 [Normal day]

Unit outline_

GCST3604: Using Cultural Theory

Semester 2, 2021 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Cultural Studies was widely discussed as one of the "New Humanities" in the 1990s, but a long history of debates about and theories of culture precede the discipline, and the processes of deciding what are the key texts and concepts of Cultural Studies is ongoing. This unit overviews foundational and emerging critical concepts and writers in the field. Students will also undertake reading and analysis exercises designed to help them come to grips with using "theory" in their own work.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	Gender and Cultural Studies
Credit points	6
Prerequisites ?	(12 credit points at 2000 level Gender and Cultural Studies) or (12 credit points at 2000 level Digital Cultures)
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Catherine Driscoll, catherine.driscoll@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Assignment	Essay or take-home exercise	40%	Formal exam period	3000 words
Outcomes assessed:
Tutorial quiz	Participation in tutorials, online discussion, and quiz/feedback sessions Elements are unmarked, but engagement with these activities recorded.	10%	Ongoing	n/a
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Critical exercise 1	25%	Week 05	750 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Critical exercise 2	25%	Week 09	750 words
Outcomes assessed:

Assessment summary

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100
Distinction	75 - 84
Credit	65 - 74
Pass	50 - 64
Fail	0 - 49	When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Introduction	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 02	Public/private	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 02	What counts as “public”? Is the self “private”?	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 03	Queer norms	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 03	Are “norms” productive? Can “queer” be “normal”?	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 04	Feminism and psychoanalysis	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 04	Is gender “unconscious”? Is “the symbolic order” still “the law of the father”?	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 05	The Foucault Effect	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 05	What is “discourse”; or, what isn’t? Are all kinds of power “productive”?	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 06	Cultural Marxism	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 06	What is “ideology”; or, what isn’t? Why do we "labour"?	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 07	Hegemony, capital(s), habitus	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 07	Is “hegemony” a synonym for ideology? Can we change our “habitus”?	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 08	Structuralism and post-structuralism	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 08	How do we tell structuralism from post-structuralism? What defines the post-structuralist “subject”?	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 09	Power and race	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 09	Is “intersectionality” post-structuralist? Can “theory” decolonise?	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 10	The subject of enlightenment	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 10	What is “the humanist subject”? What is “modernity”?	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 11	Critique and (the end of) “Grand Narratives”	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 11	What is “empiricism”? What is “critique”?	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 12	Ordinary life/culture	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 12	What makes something “everyday” life? Is culture always “ordinary”?	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 13	Feeling for “affect”	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 13	What does “affect” mean in cultural theory? How do you feel about using cultural theory?	Tutorial (1 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance: According to Faculty Board Resolutions, students in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences are expected to attend 90% of their classes. If you attend less than 50% of classes, regardless of the reasons, you may be referred to the Examiner’s Board. The Examiner’s Board will decide whether you should pass or fail the unit of study if your attendance falls below this threshold.
Lecture recording: All lectures will be both live-streamed and also recorded and made available to students on the LMS.
Preparation: Students should commit to spend approximately three hours’ preparation time (reading, studying, homework, essays, etc.) for every hour of scheduled instruction.
Participation: Participation will be assessed based on engagement with unit materials in classes and/or on the online discussion boards.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

All readings are available online, through the Canvas site. The full syllabus is also available here: https://canvas.sydney.edu.au/courses/34750/assignments/syllabus

During the pandemic, the default option for this unit is online delivery, but a face-to-face on-campus tutorial may be possible from Week 5 if enough students are interested. Please contact the coordinator/tutor on catherine.driscoll@sydney.edu.au to express interest in this kind of tutorial.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. To introduce students to currently dominant and otherwise foundational theories of culture, and to key thinkers and concepts in the field of cultural studies (including gender studies)
LO2. To provide students with a broad historical framework in which to position these thinkers and concepts
LO3. To give students critical reading skills to perform close readings of theoretical texts, and form responses to these
LO4. To develop students’ skills in making effective use of theoretical concepts for analytic tasks
LO5. To give students the writing and discussion skills to convey their knowledge and analysis to an audience

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

There has been both an increase and a greater foregrounding of gender/sexuality theory in this version of the unit, in response to student feedback.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

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