Coursework

2009 will be the second year of the new Master of Cultural Studies program.

The Master of Cultural Studies includes a disciplinary core of four units and then four option units which allow students to explore the diversity of cultural studies at the University of Sydney. With departmental approval of their project, MCS students may also use their optional units to research and write a dissertation on an area of special interest or undertake an internship as a cultural researcher.

Because there are so many units to choose from, special pathways have been recommended for students interested in
– Cultural Studies in Gender
– Media, Society and Culture
– Culture, Diversity and Difference
– Cultural Debates
– Cultural Studies in Religion
From 2010 we will also be offering a recommended pathway in
– Asian Cultural Studies
and students interested in that pathway should contact the convenor of postgraduate coursework for units already on offer in 2009.

For more detailed information see the lists of core units, full list of cross-listed units and recommended pathways below.

The program includes not only the Master of Cultural Studies degree but also two shorter degrees – the Graduate Certificate and the Graduate Diploma in Cultural Studies. With these shorter degrees students can enhance their careers or current studies in other areas. These courses provide students from a wide range of backgrounds with new approaches to their own and other cultures. They can also be used as building blocks towards the Master of Cultural Studies.

The Master of Cultural Studies offers flexibility of study for postgraduate students wishing to pursue research and training in the field of cultural studies with specialisations in areas such gender studies, media and society, difference and diversity, and contemporary social debates.

Entry Requirements
Candidates must have completed an approved Bachelor's degree with a major in a relevant subject area completed at distinction average from the University of Sydney, or an undergraduate degree deemed to be equivalent.

Degree Structure
Candidates will take eight units of study in one full time year. Local students may also complete the degree across five semesters part-time.

Entry Requirements
Bachelor of Arts pass degree, or equivalent qualification. The certificate may be completed in one semester full-time, or across two years part-time.

Degree Structure
The Graduate Certificate in Cultural Studies will require that candidates complete four units of study, two of which are chosen from the Masters “core” units. Graduate Certificate students may choose their final two units from any listed for the Masters program, excluding dissertation and internship units.

Entry Requirements
Bachelor of Arts pass degree with major in Gender Studies or Cultural Studies, or equivalent qualification. The certificate may be completed in one year full-time, or across three years part-time.

Degree Structure
The Graduate Diploma in Cultural Studies requires that candidates complete six units of study, four of which must be the Masters “core” units. Graduate Diploma students may choose their final two units from any listed for the Masters program, excluding dissertation units. By application to the convenor there may be variations on the requirement of completing all four core units.

Students must complete the following units:

– WMST6902 Arguing the Point (semester 1 - convened by Dr Ruth Barcan)
– WMST6903 Gender, Media and Consumer Societies (semester 1 - convened by Dr Jane Park)
– GCST6903 Debates in Cultural Studies (semester 2 - convened by Dr Guy Redden)

Students must also complete one of the following two units to complete the core component of the MCS program:

– GCST5905 Identity, Place and Culture (semester 2)
– GCST5902 Nature and Culture of Bodies (semester 2 and summer school - convened by Dr Kane Race)

With permission from the convenor, it may be possible to replace one of the core units with another cross-listed unit.

Dissertation Units

Students wishing to add a dissertation to their MCS program will need permission from the convenor, and will enrol in the following two units.

– WMST6922 Dissertation I
– WMST6923 Dissertation II

Internship Units

Students wishing to add an internship to their MCS program will need to contact the Internship Officer in advance of their first semester. Students with an approved internship will enrol in the following two units.

– GCST5906 Cultural Studies Internship Placement
– GCST5906 Cultural Studies Internship Project

More information on the internship will be available soon!

GCST 6905 Philosophy in the Feminine (Semester 1)
WMST 6904 Modernism, Modernity and Modern Culture (Semester 1 - convened by Dr Natalya Lusty)
GCST 5901 Sport, Media and Gendered Cultures (Semester 2)
GCST 5903 Teaching Society and Culture (Summer School)
GCST 5904 Youth; Idea, Image, Culture (Winter School)

ARHT 6925 Cinematographic Performance
ARIN 6901 Network Society
ARIN 6902 Internet Cultures and Governance
ARTS 7000 Academic Communication for Postgraduates
ASNS 6905 Asian Popular Culture
HSTY 6912 Exploring Historical Formats
HSTY 6987 Writing the Past
HSTY 6991 Terror in Historical Perspective
ICLS 6901 Literary Comparison: History and Methods
ICLS 6902 Comparative Studies and Literary Debates
JCTC 6912 Holocaust Research: Trends and Problems
LNGS 7006 Cross-Cultural Communication
MECO 6902 Legal and Ethical Issues in Media Practice
MECO 6926 International Media Practice
PACS 6902 Gender and the Development of Peace
PACS 6915 Human Rights: Peace and Justice
PHIL 5921 Cosmopolitanism and Community
PHIL 7607 Rights and Norms
SCLG 6902 Doing Social Research
SCLG 6903 New Debates in Social Theory
SCLG 6910 Social Policy International Perspectives
SPAN 6901 Citizenship and Belonging in Latino USA
USSC 6915 Contemporary American Media
USSC 6916 The American City

Media, Society and Culture
Core units plus four of the following (or two, if choosing a dissertation or an internship):

GCST5901 Sport, Media and Gendered Cultures
GCST5903 Teaching Society and Culture
ARIN6901 Network Society
MECO6902 Legal and Ethical Issues in Media Practice
GOVT6115 Media and International Politics
USSC6915 Contemporary American Media
ASNS6905 Asian Popular Culture

Culture, Diversity and Difference
Core units plus four of the following (or two, if choosing a dissertation or an internship):

ANTH5901 Anthropology of the Nation State
SCLG6903 New Debates in Social Theory
LNGS7006 Crosscultural Communication
ASTR6910 Sydney: Sites, Cultures and Communities
MUSM7035 Ethics of Cultural Property
ASTR6914 Australia and Asia: Cultural Encounters
GOVT6117 International Politics of Human Rights

Students taking this pathway are also invited to specialise their program by including among their electives a combination of any two approved postgraduate units from within a single discipline in the School of Languages and Cultures.

Cultural Debates
Core units plus four of the following:

WMST 6904 Modernism, Modernity and Modern Culture
GCST 5903 Teaching Society and Culture
GCST 5904 Youth; Idea, Image, Culture
PHIL7607 Rights and Norms
HSTY6991 Terror in Historical Perspective
ARHT6930 Film Theory: Art, Industry, Culture 2
PACS6915 Human Rights: Peace and Justice
HSTY6987 Writing the Past
LAWS6862 Hate Crime
LAWS6192 Young People, Crime and the Law
HSTY6994 Globalism, Internationalism and the UN

Cultural Studies in Gender
Core units plus four of the following (or two, if choosing a dissertation or an internship):

GCST 6905 Philosophy in the Feminine
GCST 5901 Sport, Media and Gendered Cultures
ARHT6925 Feminism and Film Theory
PACS6907 Gender and the Development of Peace
SCLG6910 Social Policy International Perspectives
LAWS6075 Legal Issues in Healthcare and Technology

Cultural Studies in Religion
... coming soon (check back or contact the postgraduate coursework convenor)