1997 Swinburne Higher Education Handbook

ALM310 Electronic Writing
3 hours per week Hawthorn Prereqttisite: two stage two
literature subjects, one of which must be AL204 Assessment:
continuous
A subject in the Bachelor of Arts
Objecives and Content
The purpose of this subject is to introduce students to the
convergence of print with electronics, and to the status of
writing in the contemporary world of electronic
communication technologies. Far from being outmoded,
writing continues to be at the forefront of electronic cultural
technologies. This subject will include consideration of the
impact of what computer techniques offer, and then demand
from the readedwriter. It offers students the opportunity to
consider the most advanced state, so far, in the
transformation of the word. At the same time, it will focus
on the links between traditional forms and conceptions of
text, as well as the literacies with which we approach
different writing technologies (such as the book, desk top
publishing software, hypertext and hypermedia, which
combine written words, images and sound). Students will
access to Internet and will develop writing skills designed for
the electronic environment, using desk top publishing
packages and authoring software.
Recommended reading.
Ulmer, G. Heuretics, The Logic of Invention. Baltimore, Johns
Hopkins University Press, 1994
Delany, P. and Landow, G (eds). Hypermedia and Literary Studies.
Cambridge (Mass.), M.1.T Press, 1991
Bolter,. J. Writing Space. The Computer, Hypertext and the History
of Writing, Hillsdale, N.J., Earlbaum, 1991
ALM312 Literature/Media Project (Industry
Placement)
Hawthorn 15 days or equivalent Prerequisites: 5
Literature/Media subjects, including AL204 or AL209 and
ALM310 Assessment: continuous Equvalent value: one
semester subject.
A subject in the Bachelor of Arts
Obiectives and Content
In this subject, students undertake a literature project, a
work placement in industry or a combination of both.
Students undertaking a literature project are supervised in
both the design and implementation of a product of their
choice (for example; an electronic journal; a multi-media
presentation; a research report) targeted and delivered to a
client. Students undertaking work attachment will be placed
i at one of a variety of institutions and will be required to
report on that institution as part of their assessment.
Alternatively, students can negotiate a combination of work
attachment and project with their supervisor.
The other option for this unit is exclusive to Literature
students, and involves an independent research project,
conducted over a semester, under the supervision of a
member of the Literature staff, Once again, numbers will be
limited, and students must have a proven, ongoing work in
progress that will form the basis of their Literature project.
Eligibility for this program will depend upon the student
having a project on which they have been preciously
working (say, a book of poems, a novel, a critical essay), and
which has been approved by the subject convenor. The
subject is designed to develop a work to completion, and
prepare it for publication, or at least submit it for
publication. This work can be of a critical nature, and
students will be expected to work closely with a supervisor
throughout the semester.
For another stage one media subiect please refer to
ALM104 listed in alpha-numeric order on previous
pages.
AM1 02 Media and Meanings: An Introduction
3 hoursper week Hawthorn Prerequisite: nil
Assessment: continuous
A subject in the Bachelor of Arts
Obiedives and Content
his subject introduces an analytical approach to media
texts. Though it will refer to print and radio forms, it will
primarily concern itself with film and/or television. Our
interest in studying these texts is not so much to establish
their worth, or otherwise, as to draw attention to the
mechanics of our work as readers, to the ways in which we
produce meanings from (or are confused by) the texts, to the
methods they use in order to produce meanings, and to the
values they embody in their representations. The texts for
study will be selected from fiction and documentary films,
television series, news and current affairs programs, music
videos, advertisements, variety and sports shows, and
children's programs. They will be examined within the
context of textual theory, with particular attention being
given to their visual aspects.
Recommended reading
Bordwell, D. and Thompson, K. Film Art An Introduction, 4th
edn, New York, McGraw-Hill, 1993
Sobchack, T. and Sobchack, V.C., An Introduction to Film, 2nd
edn, Boston, Little, Brown & Co, 1987
Fiske, J., Television Culture, London, Methuen, 1987
AM1 05 The Media in Australia
3 hours per week Hawthorn Prwequisite: nil
~ssessment: continuous
A subject in the Bachelor of Arts
Objedives and Content
This subject is an introduction to some of the major
historical and contemporary issues about broadcasting as a
medium of mass communication, primarily in an Australian
context. It examines the political context of broadcasting
institutions,public and private, and their relationship with
other social ~nstitutions. Key political, social and ethical
issues associated with the media are canvassed, such as the
ownership and control of radio, television stations,
newspapers and Pay-TV, the regulatory climate,
accountability in programming, relationships to audiences,
and journalistic practices and ethics. Vexed issues, such as