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Unit of study_

GCST3604: Using Cultural Theory

Semester 2, 2022 [Normal day] - Remote

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

Unit code GCST3604
Academic unit Gender and Cultural Studies
Credit points 6
Prohibitions
? 
None
Prerequisites
? 
(12 credit points at 2000 level Gender and Cultural Studies) or (12 credit points at 2000 level Digital Cultures)
Corequisites
? 
None
Assumed knowledge
? 

None

Available to study abroad and exchange students

Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator Nicholas Fogarty, nicholas.fogarty@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s) Nicholas Fogarty, nicholas.fogarty@sydney.edu.au
Tutor(s) Nicholas Fogarty, nicholas.fogarty@sydney.edu.au
Type Description Weight Due Length
Assignment Essay or take-home exercise
Research essay and/ or take-home exam.
40% Formal exam period 3000 words
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5
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: LO1
Assignment Critical exercise 1
Critical analysis and readings of key texts.
25% Week 05
Due date: 04 Sep 2022 at 23:59
750 words
Outcomes assessed: LO1
Assignment Critical exercise 2
Critical analysis and readings of key texts.
25% Week 09
Due date: 09 Oct 2022 at 23:59
750 words
Outcomes assessed: LO1

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 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.

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.

WK Topic Learning activity Learning outcomes
Week 01 Introduction Lecture (2 hr) LO1
Week 02 Feminism and the Body: Thinking with the work of philosopher Moira Gatens and 'The Handmaid's Tale' Lecture (2 hr) LO1 LO2
Feminist philosophies of the body and their continued significance Tutorial (1 hr) LO1 LO3 LO4
Week 03 Collective imaginations of our social and juridical worlds Lecture (2 hr) LO1 LO2
Is 'imagination' useful to help understand women's rights within juridical systems and the failings of those systems? Tutorial (1 hr) LO1 LO3 LO4
Week 04 Feminism and psychoanalysis Lecture (2 hr) LO1 LO2
Is gender “unconscious”? Is “the symbolic order” still “the law of the father”? Tutorial (1 hr) LO1 LO3 LO4
Week 05 Politics of Race and Imagination in the Handmaid's Tale Lecture (2 hr) LO1 LO2
Do liberalist understandings of the subject refuse critical analyses of race? Tutorial (1 hr) LO1 LO3 LO4
Week 06 The Contradictions and Political Economies that underpin Popular Culture: Stuart Hall and 'Rocky' Lecture (2 hr) LO1 LO2
Is an analysis of political economy a useful explanatory tool for the everyday realities of cultural life? Tutorial (1 hr) LO1 LO3 LO4
Week 07 Cultural Marxism Lecture (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO4
What is “ideology”; or, what isn’t? Why do we "labour"? Tutorial (1 hr) LO1 LO3 LO4
Week 08 Power and Race Lecture (2 hr) LO1 LO2
Is “intersectionality” post-structuralist? Can “theory” decolonise? Tutorial (1 hr) LO1 LO3 LO4
Week 09 Structuralism and post-structuralism Lecture (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO4
How do we tell structuralism from post-structuralism? What defines the post-structuralist “subject”? Tutorial (1 hr) LO1 LO3 LO4
Week 10 'Cruel Optimism' in the commercial world of 'Mad Men': Lauren Berlant and affect studies Lecture (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO4
What is the utility of optimism in everyday life and are fantasies of the 'good life' counter to our flourishing? Tutorial (1 hr) LO3 LO4 LO5
Week 11 The subject of enlightenment Lecture (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO4
What is “the humanist subject”? What is “modernity”? Tutorial (1 hr) LO1 LO3 LO4
Week 12 Critique and (the end of) “Grand Narratives” Lecture (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO4
What is “empiricism”? What is “critique”? Tutorial (1 hr) LO1 LO3 LO4
Week 13 Optimism as 'Magic': Cycling lives and the strategic use of mythology in the stories we tell Lecture (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO4 LO5
Can thinking with the Anthropological concept of 'magic' offer a useful alternative to Berlant's thought on Cruel Optimism? Tutorial (1 hr) LO1 LO3 LO4 LO5

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 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.

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
GQ1 GQ2 GQ3 GQ4 GQ5 GQ6 GQ7 GQ8 GQ9

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.