CMS1011 Understanding Television

CMS	1011	66640	2, 2007	EXT	Understanding Television	1.00	Toowoomba
Subject	Cat-nbr	Class	Term	Mode	Description	Units	Campus

Academic group:	FOART
Academic org:	FOA003
Student contribution band:	1
ASCED code:	100700

Staffing
Synopsis
Objectives
Topics
Texts
Reference materials
Student workload
Assessment details
Important assessment information
Assessment notes
Other requirements
Production date
PDF version

STAFFING

Examiner: Andrew Mason
Moderator: Karey Harrison

SYNOPSIS

The narratives and images of mass media contribute to the repertoire of cultural meanings and practices of everyday life. This course surveys the cultural functions and institutional structures of television. Examples of televisual genres will be selected for detailed analysis and criticism.

OBJECTIVES

On completion of this course students will be able to:

a knowledge of selected televisual forms and institutions and their relation to contemporary Australian culture and society (assignments 1, 2, 3 and CMA 1 & 2 refer);
an understanding of the commodification of culture and its effects upon the construction, circulation and reception of texts (assignment 1, CMA 1 & 2 refer);
an ability to analyse texts as sites of meaning constituted through various competing discourses (assignments 2 & 3 refer);
an understanding of the significance of textual pleasure in reading and criticising television texts (assignments 1 & 3, CMA 1 & 2 refer).

TOPICS

	Description	Weighting (%)
1.	Introduction: The emergence of the media as an institution	20.00
2.	Ideology	20.00
3.	Audience	20.00
4.	Narrative forms	20.00
5.	Study of selected genre	20.00

TEXT and MATERIALS required to be PURCHASED or accessed

ALL textbooks and materials are available for purchase from USQ BOOKSHOP (unless otherwise stated). Orders may be placed via secure internet, free fax 1800642453, phone 07 46312742 (within Australia), or mail. Overseas students should fax +61 7 46311743, or phone +61 7 46312742. For costs, further details, and internet ordering, use the 'Textbook Search' facility at http://bookshop.usq.edu.au click 'Semester', then enter your 'Course Code' (no spaces).

Turner, G & Cunningham, S (eds) 2000, The Australian TV book, Allen & Unwin, St Leonards.

REFERENCE MATERIALS

Reference materials are materials that, if accessed by students, may improve their knowledge and understanding of the material in the course and enrich their learning experience.

Brown, ME (ed) 1990, Television and women's culture: The politics of the popular, Sage, London.

Corner, J 1995, Chapter 5 Adworlds, Television form and public address, Edward Arnold, London, pp105-134.

Cunningham, S & Jacka, E 1996, Australian television and international mediascapes, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge & New York.

Curran, J & Gurevitch, M (eds) 2000, Mass media and society, 3rd edn, Edward Arnold, London.

Dyer, G 1988, Advertising as communication, Routledge, London.

Fairclough, N 1995, Media discourse, Edward Arnold, London.

Fiske, J 1989, Reading the popular, Unwin Hyman, Boston.

Fiske, J 1989, Understanding popular culture, Routledge, London.

Geraghty, C 1991, Women and soap opera: a study of prime time soaps, Polity Press, Cambridge.

Goldman, R 1992, Reading ads socially, Routledge, London.

Hartley, J et al 2002, Communication, cultural and media studies: the key concepts, 3rd edn, Routledge, London.

Jhally, S 1990, The codes of advertising: fetishism and the political economy of meaning in the consumer society, Routledge, New York.

Leiss, W, Kline, S & Jhally, S 1990, Social communication in advertising: persons, products and images of wellbeing, 2nd edn, Routledge, New York.

Messner, MA 1992, Power at play: sports and the problem of masculinity, Beacon Press, Boston.

Messner, MA & Sabo, Donald F (eds) 1990, Sport, men and the gender order: critical feminist perspectives, Human Kinetics Books, Champaign, Illinois.

Moragas, SM, Rivenburgh, N & Larson, J 1995, Television in the Olympics, John Libbey, London.

O'Regan, T 1993, Australian television culture, Allen & Unwin, St Leonards.

Stevenson, N 1995, Understanding media cultures: social theory and mass communication, Sage, London.

Ward, I 1995, Politics of the media, MacMillan Education Australia, South Melbourne.

Wernick, A 1991, Promotional culture: advertising, ideology and symbolic expression, Sage, London.

Whannel, G 1992, Fields in vision: television sport and cultural transformation, Routledge, London.

Williams, L (ed) 1995, Viewing positions: ways of seeing film, 2nd edn, Athlone Press, New Brunswick.

Williams, R 1999, Advertising: the magic system, The cultural studies reader, Routledge, London, pp320-336.
({Also available online via library catalogue})

Williamson, J 1978, Decoding advertisements: ideology and meaning in advertisements, Boyars, London.

STUDENT WORKLOAD REQUIREMENTS

ACTIVITY	HOURS
Private Study	165.00

ASSESSMENT DETAILS

Description	Marks out of	Wtg(%)	Due date
ASSIGNMENT 1	100.00	35.00	21 Aug 2007
CMA TEST 1	100.00	5.00	07 Sep 2007
ASSIGNMENT 2	100.00	35.00	17 Sep 2007
CMA TEST 2	100.00	5.00	22 Oct 2007
ASSIGNMENT 3	100.00	20.00	26 Oct 2007

IMPORTANT ASSESSMENT INFORMATION

Attendance requirements:
There are no attendance requirements for this external course. However, it is the student's responsibility to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration.
Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
To successfully complete an individual assessment item, a student must achieve at least 50% of the marks or a grade of at least C-. This statement must be read in conjunction with Statement 4 below.
Penalties for late submission of required work:
If students submit assignments after the due date without prior approval, then a penalty of 10% of the total marks available for the assignment will apply for each of the first FIVE working days late, after which a zero mark will be given.
Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must achieve at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course.
Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the aggregate of the weighted marks obtained for each of the summative assessment items in the course.
Examination information:
There is no exam for this course.
Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
Given the details under (6) above, there are no deferred exams for this course. However, if any deferred/makeup work is granted, it would have to be submitted by a date set by the examiner.
University Regulations:
Students should read USQ Regulations 5.1 Definitions, 5.6 Assessment, and 5.10 Academic Misconduct for further information and to avoid actions which might contravene University Regulations. These regulations can be found at the URL http://www.usq.edu.au/corporateservices/calendar/part5.htm

ASSESSMENT NOTES

(a) The due date for an assignment is the date by which a student must lodge the assignment at the USQ. (b) All Faculty of Arts assignments must be lodged in the Faculty Assessment Centre on the Ground Floor of Q Block no later than 12 noon on the due date. (c) In the event that a due date for an assignment falls on a local public holiday in their area, such as a Show holiday, the due date for the assignment will be the next day. Students are to note on the assignment cover the date of the public holiday for the examiner's convenience. (d). Students must retain a copy of each item submitted for assessment. This must be despatched to USQ within 24 hours if requested by the Examiner. (e) In accordance with University's Assignment Extension Policy (Regulation 5.6.1), the examiner of a course may grant an extension of the due date of an assignment in extenuating circumstances such as documented ill-health. (f) Students who have undertaken all of the required assessments in the course but who have failed to meet some of the specified objectives of the course within the normally prescribed time may be awarded the temporary grade: IM (Incomplete-Makeup). An IM grade will only be awarded when, in the opinion of the examiner, a student will be able to achieve the remaining objectives of the course after a period of non-directed personal study. (g) Students who, for medical, family/personal, or employment-related reasons, are unable to complete an assignment or sit for an examination at the scheduled time, may apply to defer an assessment in the course. Such a request must be accompanied by appropriate supporting documentation. One of the following temporary grades may be awarded: IDS (Incomplete - Deferred Examination; IDM (Incomplete Deferred Make-up); IDB (Incomplete - Both Deferred Examination and Deferred Make-up).

10.

Students can expect that questions in assessment items in this course may draw upon knowledge and skills that they can reasonably be expected to have acquired before enrolling in the course. This includes knowledge contained in pre-requisite courses and appropriate communication, information literacy, analytical, critical thinking, problem solving or numeracy skills. Students who do not possess such knowledge and skills should not expect to achieve the same grades as those students who do possess them.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS

Students will require access to email and have internet access to USQConnect for this course.

This version produced 20 Dec 2007.