Outline

Overview

This unit examines cultural policy across a range of sectors such as museums and heritage, the arts, media, and the 'cultural industries'. It will provide theoretical perspectives and practical insight into policy formation processes in Australia and internationally. The multiple actors and rationales that shape policy and ground claims for its relevance amid social change and cultural diversity are considered. Students learn how to analyse policies in relation to the institutional, social and political contexts of their emergence.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	Gender and Cultural Studies
Credit points	6
Prerequisites ?	None
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Anthea Taylor, anthea.taylor@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Assignment	Research essay Student will execute the research they proposed in their essay proposal.	50%	Formal exam period Due date: 17 Nov 2021 at 23:59	3000 words
Outcomes assessed:
Participation	Tutorial participation Participation will be either online via Zoom or in-person	10%	Ongoing	n/a
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Policy analysis Analysis of a chosen policy selected from a list provided by the lecturer.	30%	Week 06 Due date: 13 Sep 2021 at 23:59	1250 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Research plan Research plan in preparation for final research essay	10%	Week 11 Due date: 25 Oct 2021 at 23:59	250 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	Work is of an exceptional quality and demonstrates independent learning and application of course content. Learning outcomes are met.
Distinction	75 - 84	Work is of a high quality and demonstrates a strong understanding of the course content and learning outcomes.
Credit	65 - 74	Work demonstrates a good understanding of the course content and learning outcomes.
Pass	50 - 64	Work demonstrates some understanding of the course content and learning outcomes .
Fail	0 - 49	Work does not 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.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

5% per day in accordance with University policy.

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 (culture + policy)	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 02	Cultural policy in Australia	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 02	Tutorial 1	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 03	'Valuing' culture	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 03	Tutorial 2	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 04	The 'creative cities' debate	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 04	Tutorial 3	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 05	Policy analysis consultation week	Workshop (1 hr)
Week 06	Cultural policy as public policy	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 06	Tutorial 5	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 07	Between State and Screen	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 07	Tutorial 6	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 09	Creative labourers	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 09	Tutorial 8	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 10	Research essay reading/consultation week	Workshop (1 hr)
Week 11	Audiences and participation	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 11	Tutorial 10	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 12	Museums, digital media and the pandemic	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 12	Tutorial 11	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 13	Overview, reflections and final essay workshop	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 13	Tutorial 12	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.
Participation: Attendance for this unit will be only online until further. Students are expected to have webcams that enable them to participate in the class. If this is not possible, please contact your lecturer at the earliest convenience. Participation through Canvas forums will also contribute to your participation grade.
Lecture recording: Lectures will be delivered live through Zoom and recorded. Every lecture will be made available to students on Canvas. As tutorials follow the lecture, please ensure you have accessed this recording before attending your tutorial.
Preparation: Students should commit to spend approximately three hours’ preparation time (reading, studying, homework, essays, etc.) for every hour of scheduled instruction.

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 appear in Canvas under the ‘Reading List’ tab.

Week 1 (9 August): Introduction

Required Readings:

Rosenstein, C. (2018), Chapter 2 ‘What is Cultural Policy?’ in Understanding Cultural Policy, Routledge, pp. 48-69.

Mulcahy, K. V. (2006). ‘Cultural Policy: Definitions and Theoretical Approaches’, Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society, 35.4: 319–330.

Week 2 (16 August): Cultural Policy in Australia

Required readings:

Craik, J., McAllister, L., & Davis, G. (2003). ‘Paradoxes and contradictions in government approaches to contemporary cultural policy: an Australian perspective’, International Journal of Cultural Policy, 9.1: 17–33.

Caust, J. (2019) ‘The continuing saga around arts funding and the cultural wars in Australia’, International Journal of Cultural Policy, 25.6: 765-779.

Recommended readings:

Eltham, B. & Verhoeven, D. (2020) ‘A “natural experiment” in Australian cultural policy: Australian Government funding cuts disproportionately affect companies that produce more new work and have larger audiences’, International Journal of Cultural Policy, 26.1: 81-94.

Rowe, D. et al (2016) ‘Transforming cultures? From Creative Nation to Creative Australia’, Media International Australia, 158.1: 6-16.

Week 3 (23 August): ‘Valuing’ culture

Required readings:

C. Gray (2007) ‘Commodification and Instrumentality in Cultural Policy’, International Journal of Cultural Policy, 13.2: 203-15.

Belfiore, E. (2020) ‘Whose cultural value? Representation, power and creative industries’, International Journal of Cultural Policy, 26.3: 383-397.

Recommended readings:

Gibson, L. (2008) ‘In defence of instrumentality’, Cultural Trends, 17.4: 247-257.

O’Brien, D. (2014) Chapter 6: ‘The Value of Culture’ in Cultural Policy Management: Value and Modernity in the Creative Industries, Routledge, pp. 112-130.

Week 4 (30 August): The ‘Creative Cities’ debate

Required readings:

A.J. Scott (2006) ‘Creative Cities: Conceptual Issues and Policy Questions’, Journal of Urban Affairs, 28.1: 1-17.

L. Kong (2014) ‘Transnational Mobilities and the Making of Creative Cities’, Theory, Culture & Society, 31.7/8: 273–289.

Recommended readings:

J. McGuigan (2009) ‘Doing a Florida thing: the creative class thesis and cultural policy’, International Journal of Cultural Policy, 15.3: 291-300.

Flew, T. (2013) ‘Introduction: Creative Industries and Urban Development’ in Creative Industries and Urban Development: Creative Cities in the 21St Century, Routledge, pp.12-61.

Week 5 (6 September): Consultation week (to work on policy analysis: chose from City of Sydney’s Creative City, Victoria’s Creative State; South Australia’s Arts & Culture Plan; Tasmania’s Cultural and Cultural Industries Recovery Strategy: 2020 and Beyond).

Week 6 (13 September): Cultural Policy as Public Policy

Required readings:

D. Bell & K. Oakley (2014) Chapter 3: ‘The Policy of Cultural Policy’ in Cultural Policy, Routledge, pp. 45-75.

D. Throsby (2010) Chapter 3: ‘The Policy Process’ in The Economics of Cultural Policy, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, pp. 32-57.

Recommended readings:

D. Hesmondhalgh (2005) ‘Media and Cultural Policy as Public Policy’, International Journal of Cultural Policy, 11.1: 95-109.

A. Pratt (2006) ‘Cultural Industries and Public Policy: An Oxymoron?’, International Journal of Cultural Policy, 11.1: 31-44.

Policy analysis due.

Week 7 (20 September): Between State and Screen

Required readings:

Enli, Gunn et al. (2018) ‘The Welfare State and the Media System: The Role of Media and Communications in the Evolution and Transformation of Scandinavian Welfare States’, Scandinavian Journal of History, 43.5: 601-623.

Hjort, M. (2009) ‘Living with Diversity: What Difference Can Film-Making Make?’ Northern Lights: Film & Media Studies Yearbook, 7.1: 9-27.

Recommended readings:

Podkalicka, A. (2008) ‘Public Service Broadcasting as an Infrastructure of Translation in the Age of Cultural Diversity: Lessons for Europe from SBS Australia’, Convergence, vol. 14.3: 323–33.

Hallsworth, D. (2020) ‘National Broadcasting, International Audiences: How Cultural Difference Is Represented in the Danish Television Dramas Ride Upon the Storm, Liberty and Greyzone’, Journal of Scandinavian Cinema, 10. 2: 21–36.

Mid semester break 27 September

Week 8 (4 October public holiday): No classes.

Week 9 (11 October): Creative labourers

Required readings:

McRobbie, A. (2016) ‘Unpacking the Politics of Creative Labour’, Be Creative: Making a Living in the New Culture Industries, Polity Press, pp. 33-59.

Comunian, R. & England, L. (2020) ‘Creative and cultural work without filters: Covid-19 and exposed precarity in the creative economy’, Cultural Trends, 29.2: 112-128.

Recommended readings:

Stevenson, D. (2020) ‘The unfashionable cultural worker? Considering the demography and practice of artists in Greater Western Sydney’, International Journal of Cultural Policy, 26.1: 61-80.

Allen, K. (2020) ‘Young Women’s Aspirations and Transitions into, through and away from Contemporary Creative Work’ in S. Luckman & S. Taylor, Pathways into Creative Working Lives, Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 83-99.

Week 10 (18 October): Reading week – research essay proposal preparation.

Week 11 (25 October): Audiences and participation

Required readings:

Hadley, S. (2018) Chapter 2 in Audience development and cultural policy, Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 25-56.

Jancovich, L. & Stevenson, D. (2019), ‘The “problem” of participation

in cultural policy’ in B. Eriksson, C. Stage, B. Valtysson (eds), Cultures of Participation: Arts, Digital Media and Cultural Institutions, pp.167-184.

Recommended readings:

Beanman, J. (2016) ‘Citizenship as cultural: Towards a theory of cultural citizenship’, Sociology Compass, 10.10: 849-857.

Mihelj, S, Leguina, A, Downey J. (2019) ‘Culture is digital: Cultural participation, diversity and the digital divide’, New Media & Society, 21(7):1465-1485.

Research essay proposal due.

Week 12 (1 November): Museums, digital media and the pandemic

Required readings:

Samaroudi, S. Rodriguez, K. Echavarria & Perry, L. (2020) ‘Heritage in lockdown: digital provision of memory institutions in the UK and US of America during the COVID-19 pandemic’, Museum Management and Curatorship, 35:4, 337-361.

Agostino, D., Arnaboldi, M. & Lampis, A. (2020) ‘Italian state museums during the COVID-19 crisis: from onsite closure to online openness’, Museum Management and Curatorship, 35:4, 362-372.

Required readings:

Valtysson, B. (2020) Chapter 2: ‘Digital Communication, Digital Media and Cultural Policy’, in Digital Cultural Politics: From Policy to Practice, Palgrave Macmillan, pp.13-46.

Hylland, O. (2017) ‘Even Better than the Real Thing? Digital Copies and Digital Museums in a Digital Cultural Policy’, Culture Unbound, 9.1.

Week 13 (8 November): Course wrap up/essay prep

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. identify and critically assess theoretical perspectives on cultural policy
LO2. analyse cultural policies in relation to the institutional, cultural and political contexts of their emergence
LO3. comprehend the range of actors, rationales and factors that bear upon processes of policy formation, implementation and evaluation
LO4. assess the relationships between policy, social change and cultural diversity
LO5. clearly express well-informed knowledge of cultural policy through written and verbal forms of academic communication.

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.

The weekly topics have been updated to take account for developments in the field.

Additional information

Work, health and safety

If you, at any time during the semester, feel unwell or experience flu-like symptoms such as sore throat, cough or fever, please DO NOT come to campus, and contact your lecturer to make alternative arrangements. If you are concered for your health or the health of others, it is recommended that you ring your GP or the University Health Centre to ask for advice.

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

Additional information

Additional information

Work, health and safety

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

GCST6901: Cultural Policy

Semester 2, 2021 [Normal day] - Remote

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

Additional information

Additional information

Work, health and safety

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect