106-428 Media, Politics and Cultural Diaspora

Formerly available as 106-125. Students who have completed 106-125 are not eligible to enrol in this subject.

Usually admission to the postgraduate diploma or fourth year honours in English or cultural studies, see Honours entry.

This subject looks at the study of diaspora in a historical context from the histories of dispersion and migration, to model minority discourses, and the forces of globalisation/internationalisation. The subject emphasises the changing meanings of the space, place and position of 'home' as they relate to the politics of identity and the mobility of location. Through the interfaces of race, class, gender and sexuality, the cultural productions of diasporic communities are examined as sites of resistance and new desires of belonging. The subject asks students to focus on new technologies, such as cable and minority television, transnational cinema, and the computer network, to explore the relationship between technology and media as diasporic tools for cultural maintenance and negotiation.

• have advanced research and analytic skills;

• develop critical and ethical self-awareness;

• have the ability to develop and communicate effective arguments in both oral and written form.

An essay of 5000 words for 4th year and 6000 words for masters students 100 (due at the end of semester).

A subject reader will be available from the University Bookshop.