ARIN6903: Semester 2, 2020

University home

Library

Current students

Staff intranet

Find an event

Give

Current students

Units ARIN6903 Semester 2 2020 [Normal day]

Unit of study_

ARIN6903: Digital Media and Society

Semester 2, 2020 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Digital media technologies are increasingly central to culture, society and everyday life. They mediate individual experience and reconfigure communities. They structure work, play and social interaction. This unit explores the role of digital media in visuality, feelings, identities, power relations, activist practices, mobilities and algorithmic cultures. Students are equipped with tools for researching digital sociality to design a research project using ethnographic and/or text-mining methods.

Unit details and rules

Unit code	ARIN6903
Academic unit	Media and Communications
Credit points	6
Prohibitions ?	None
Prerequisites ?	None
Corequisites ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Chris Chesher, chris.chesher@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s)	Chris Chesher, chris.chesher@sydney.edu.au
Tutor(s)	Bruno Rodriguez Armesto, bruno.rodriguezarmesto@sydney.edu.au
Tutor(s)	Cheryl O'Byrne, cheryl.obyrne@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Participation	Attendance & participation Attendance & participation in class. Exercises posted to Canvas discussions	10%	Ongoing	500 words equivalent
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Theories short essay Write an essay on one of the questions provided.	30%	Week 06 Due date: 02 Oct 2020 at 23:59 Closing date: 16 Oct 2020	2000 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Project presentation video Prepare and upload an 8 minute video outlining your research	20%	Week 09 Due date: 26 Oct 2020 at 23:59 Closing date: 03 Nov 2020	8 minute video (1000 words equiv each)
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Research report (in pairs) Research report on activities in an online group or community	40%	Week 12 Due date: 20 Nov 2020 at 23:59 Closing date: 04 Dec 2020	2500 words each. 5000 words total.
Outcomes assessed:
= group assignment ?

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 standard with awareness of the discipline, critical insight and independent research
Distinction	75 - 84	Work is of a high standard demonstrating awareness of the discipline, critical insight and independent research
Credit	65 - 74	Fulfills the requirements of the assessment to a good standard with demonstrated effort.
Pass	50 - 64	Fulfills the requirements of the assessment to an acceptable standard.
Fail	0 - 49	When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see sydney.edu.au/students/guide-to-grades.

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.

You may only use artificial intelligence and writing assistance tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator, and if you do use them, you must also acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section.

Studiosity is permitted for postgraduate units unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission.

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	Digital society	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 02	Social media	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 03	Cyber debates	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 04	Interaction and identity	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 05	Communities and networks and digital social research	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 06	Digital visuality and visibility and the research process	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 07	Feeling digital and digital ethnography	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 08	Digital citizenship and mapping and mining digital society	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 09	Digital power and exploitation / Video presentations 1	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 10	Digital activism / Video presentations 2	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 11	Mobile culture	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 12	Software, algorithms and data / A theory of digital media and social change	Seminar (2 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: Seminars are not recorded. If this unit is run online the lecturer will prepare a mini-lecture and classes will be conducted on Zoom.
Preparation: Students should commit to spend approximately three hours’ preparation time each week (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

Required textbook:

Lindgren, Simon (2017) Digital Media & Society. London: Sage.
Additional readings for this unit can be accessed through the Library eReserve, available on Canvas, or in the Library.

This unit will be taught online using Zoom. Please turn on your camera for the duration of the class.

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. demonstrate a critical understanding of key concepts in social studies of digital media
LO2. understand key debates in digital media
LO3. demonstrate collaboration and teamwork
LO4. collaboratively conceive and develop a research design and proposal.

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.

This unit has been revised to include additional optional readings based on the feedback from the previous time that this unit ran. We clarified the exercise instructions. We made the quiz non-assessable.

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

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect