Handbook 1996 : Faculty of Arts
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Cultural Studies (Interdepartmental Program)


Overview

Convenors: Jodi Brooks and Chris Healy (Department of English)

The Faculty of Arts offers an interdepartmental program in Cultural Studies housed in the Department of English. The program allows students to study the interrelationships of popular, national and class cultures and sub-cultures, as they are formed in and through everyday life, the contemporary print media, broadcasting, film and popular music.

The program combines interdepartmental coursework in the methodologies of cultural studies as a discipline. It also provides opportunities for concentrated study of specific areas of cultural production, and specific issues in and sites of cultural politics, including those of nation, class, gender, ethnicity and race. It addresses questions about the social functions of culture, the institutions in which culture is produced and transmitted, and its role in the formation of identities.


Strengths of the Area of Study

The Cultural Studies program at the University of Melbourne has three areas of focus: postcolonialism, theories of transgression (in particular queer theory), and theories of the popular media and media technologies. Students may choose to either focus on one of these areas or strands, or they may choose to select subjects from across these areas.


Career Opportunities

The Cultural Studies program is of particular interest and value for students planning to work in the arts, in the media, and in cultural policy.


First Year

Students interested in undertaking a major in Cultural Studies are strongly advised to enrol in both of the following subjects, but they are not formal prerequisites for second year Cultural Studies.

Students who intend to continue working in the postcolonial strand of the program are advised to enrol in one or both of the following subjects, though again it is not a formal prerequisite for second year Cultural Studies.

Prerequisites

Students can enter the Cultural Studies program at 2nd year level after having completed 50 credit points at first year level from across any one or more of the following departments:

Cinema Studies

English

Fine Arts

History

HPS (History and Philosophy and Science) & Anthropology

Philosophy

Political Science


Requirements for a Major

For a major in Cultural Studies students are required to pass five subjects, totalling 83.3 points, in the following way:

All students must complete the foundation subject 106-290/390 Contemporary Cultural Studies. Of the remaining 4 subjects, at least three should be taken from the list of second or third year subjects below. Where students elect to take only three subjects from this list, one subject may be taken from the list of 'Optional Departmental Subjects'.


Second Year and Third Year Cultural Studies subjects

1st Semester

2nd Semester

Not available 1996

Optional Departmental Subjects

These subjects may be taken in conjunction with Interdepartmental Cultural Studies subjects. Students should consult with the relevant department for timetable verification. (Note: students should check that they meet the enrolment prerequisites, if any, of the following subjects. Prerequisites may be waived for students undertaking an interdepartmental program. Please consult a Faculty Course Adviser for details. )

Department of Classics and Archaeology

Department of English

Department of Fine Arts

Cinema Studies (Department of Fine Arts and Cinema Studies)

Department of Geography

Department of History

Department of HPS and Anthropology

Department of Philosophy

Department of Political Science

Department of Linguistics and Applied Linguistics

Faculty of Music

Students interested in further subjects in Ethnomusicology and Australian Music Studies should consult the Faculty of Music Handbook.


Entry to Honours

Students wishing to enrol in a Combined Honours course in Cultural Studies are required to reach an average standard of H2A or above in the Cultural Studies major.


Honours Requirements

Students must take two single-semester Cultural Studies subjects from the following list (or alternative subjects if approved by the Convenor of Cultural Studies). Entry into the combined honours is available to those who have completed a major in Cultural Studies with an average of H2A or above. Exceptions to this provision may only be made with permission of the Convenors of Cultural Studies. Students can elect to write an Honours thesis in either Cultural Studies or the combining area of study.

First semester

Second semester

Not available 1996


Opportunities for Further Study

In 1996 an MA in Cultural Studies will be offered for the first time, in which students have the opportunity to undertake postgraduate work in Cultural Studies. The MA in Cultural Studies is an MA by thesis and there is no coursework involved.


For more information

Enquiries about the Cultural Studies Program should be directed to Jodi Brooks or Chris Healy

Department of English

The University of Melbourne

telephone: (03) 9344 5506


Subject Descriptions

First Year

Students who intend to continue working in the postcolonial strand of the program are advised to enrol in the following subject, though again it is not a formal prerequisite for second year Cultural Studies.

Second and Third Year

Fourth Year Honours


Cultural Studies : Next:Earth Sciences | Prev:Criminology | Search | Help
Handbook 1996 : Faculty of Arts

Status:          Official 1996
Date created:    Oct 10 1995
Last modified:   Oct 10 1995
Authorised by:   Academic Registrar
Email enquiries: Course_Information@registrar.unimelb.edu.au
Maintained by: Faculty of Arts

Copyright © University of Melbourne 1995,1996.