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Course profile

Australian Film and Television (MSTU2006)

Study period
Sem 2 2025
Location
St Lucia
Attendance mode
In Person

Course overview

Study period
Semester 2, 2025 (28/07/2025 - 22/11/2025)
Study level
Undergraduate
Location
St Lucia
Attendance mode
In Person
Units
2
Administrative campus
St Lucia
Coordinating unit
Communication & Arts School

Introduces students to Australian cinema from the 1900s to the present day.

This course examines the cinema and television of Australia, givingᅠstudents a multi-faceted understanding of a range of Australian screen stories, and how these two media have evolved in Australia as popular narrative artforms, cultural forces, and as part of a global entertainment industry. Through a program of screenings, historical and theoretical seminar discussions, critical readings, and workshop exercises we will examine some of the enduring patterns, motifs, genres, archetypes, and uses of Australian film and TV, including uses by Indigenous screen creatives. We situate Australian film and TV at the intersection of industry, policy, culture, aesthetics, technology, post-colonialism, and transnationalism. As well as presenting an overview of Australian Film and TV, the course will also developᅠyour analytical, digital and practical research skills with particular attention being paid to Trove and Australian Screen Online.ᅠᅠ

PRIZE: From S2, 2022, The Valerie Joy prize ($500) is awarded annually to the highest achieving student taking MSTU2006 as part of a Major in Film and Television Studies

Course requirements

Assumed background

It is recommended that students taking MSTU2006 have already completed MSTU1001 Introduction to Film and Television. MSTU2160 Film and TV History is recommended too, but not required. Students who have notᅠcompleted this prerequisite or an equivalent course that develops skills in film analysis are encouraged to read Film Art (most recent edition) by Bordwell and Thompson (the MSTU1001 textbook) in preparation for MSTU2006 Australian Film and Television.

Prerequisites

You'll need to complete the following courses before enrolling in this one:

4 units of BA courses

Recommended prerequisites

We recommend completing the following courses before enrolling in this one:

MSTU1001

Incompatible

You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:

CCST2310

Restrictions

Course offering may be cancelled unless a minimum of 20 students enrol.

Course contact

Course coordinator

Dr Lisa Bode

I am available to consult via zoom, email, or in person after class. Please email me to set up a meeting or with any queries about the course (but please read the course profile and look at Blackboard first as you may find the information you seek there!).

Course staff

Lecturer

Timetable

The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.

Additional timetable information

Whilst every effort is made to place students in their preferred activity, it is not always possible for a student to be enrolled in their tutorial of choice. If you require assistance, please ensure that you email timetabling.commarts@enquire.uq.edu.au from your UQ student email with: 

  • Your name 
  • Your student ID 
  • The course code 
  • A list of three tutorial preferences (in order of preference) 
  • Reason for the change – e.g. timetable clash, elite athlete status, SAP 

Teaching staff do not have access to change tutorials or help with timetables; all timetabling changes must be processed through the Timetabling Team. 

Aims and outcomes

  • To provide an overview and critical and theoretical understanding of how and why Australian film making changes over time in response to changingᅠ technological, policy, industrial, and cultural circumstance.
  • To situate Australian film and TV as part of the broader international flow of screen production and criticism—as a national cinema, a cinema and TV in English, a transnational cinema and television.
  • To develop student'sᅠpractical research skills in using digital archives and analysing primary historical sources .
  • To enable students to effectively navigateᅠand evaluateᅠthe wealth of filmmaking, television and criticism and review on the Australian screen.
  • To provide students with the critical, research and methodological confidence to pursue more advanced study in the field of film and television studies.
  • To provide students with a limited opportunity to undertake archival research in the Australian screen.

Learning outcomes

After successfully completing this course you should be able to:

LO1.

Recognise the contribution of key Australian screen works to national and international storytelling; contextualise these works within their original time and place; and evaluate them through different critical lenses

LO2.

Explain how Australian screen works have been shaped over time by intersections of local and international cultural movements, history, geography, economics, politics, industry, and technology

LO3.

Demonstrate an awareness of the longstanding and ongoing contributions of Indigenous and other Australians to screen storytelling, cultural policy, and criticism

LO4.

Have experience participating respectfully in weekly group discussions, and listening and responding to the perspectives, observations, and ideas of others.

LO5.

Apply skills in locating, contextualising, analysing, and evaluating primary sources, and have experience synthesising this analysis into clear, evidence-based written arguments.

LO6.

Apply skills in close viewing and listening to identify significant formal and stylistic elements in screen works, and experience describing these elements clearly to support arguments in written or video assignments.

Assessment

Assessment summary

Category Assessment task Weight Due date
Participation/ Student contribution Seminar participation/engagement
  • In-person
10% 1 mark x 10 weeks

Week 2 Mon - Week 12 Thu

Project, Reflection, Tutorial/ Problem Set Workshop in-class writing and exercises
  • Identity Verified
  • In-person
30% 10 weeks, 5 marks per week, best 6 workshop exercises count for the final mark

4/08/2025 - 23/10/2025

Paper/ Report/ Annotation, Project, Reflection Historical Film/TV Reception Case Study 30% 2000 words

5/09/2025 4:00 pm

Essay/ Critique, Reflection Comparative Analysis Essay OR Video Essay 30% 2000 words

24/10/2025 4:00 pm

Assessment details

Seminar participation/engagement

  • In-person
Mode
Oral, Written
Category
Participation/ Student contribution
Weight
10% 1 mark x 10 weeks
Due date

Week 2 Mon - Week 12 Thu

Learning outcomes
L01, L02, L03, L04, L06

Task description

Attend, participate, and engage in the weekly course seminars. Write your name on the seminar sign-in sheet so that your attendance is recorded, and, in response to seminar questions and prompts, raise your hand to speak into the microphone or write your responses to in-class questions into the Google Doc during class time. The google doc link will be made available shortly before class via blackboard and your student email. It will be closed 10 minutes after the class ends. From week 2, 1 mark is available for each seminar where your participation/engagement is recorded.

This assessment task is to be completed in-person. The use of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Translation (MT) tools will not be permitted. Any attempted use of AI or MT may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.


Submission guidelines

submit in seminar

Deferral or extension

You cannot defer or apply for an extension for this assessment.

Please note: this is a class assessment item and students are NOT able to apply for an extension via the Unitask portal. Please contact your tutor or course coordinator directly to see if alternative arrangements are available. 

Workshop in-class writing and exercises

  • Identity Verified
  • In-person
Mode
Written
Category
Project, Reflection, Tutorial/ Problem Set
Weight
30% 10 weeks, 5 marks per week, best 6 workshop exercises count for the final mark
Due date

4/08/2025 - 23/10/2025

Other conditions
Time limited, Longitudinal.

See the conditions definitions

Learning outcomes
L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06

Task description

30% in-class writing for workshops:

Each week in workshops (starting week 2) there will be a timed writing exercise that must be completed on the provided worksheet (you are responsible for bringing your own pen or pencil). Students are not permitted to access devices of any kind during the timed task, but may consult printed or handwritten notes. The exercises will be different each week. From weeks 2-6 the exercises will be concerned with developing the skills you will need to complete your historical film reception case study (30%). This gives you the option to complete part of the work for the film reception case study in your workshops and receive marks for that work and informal group feedback as you progress. The exercises from weeks 7-12 will be developing the skills for your final assignment due in week 12.

Feedback will be given informally. Tutors will collect the worksheets afterwards to record completion of the assessment task. Each will be marked out of 5. Your best 6 workshop exercises will count towards your final mark out of 30. To check this grade during the semester, please ask your tutor.

This assessment task is to be completed in-person. The use of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Translation (MT) tools will not be permitted. Any attempted use

of AI or MT may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.

Submission guidelines

submitted in workshops

Deferral or extension

You cannot defer or apply for an extension for this assessment.

Please note: this is a class assessment item and students are NOT able to apply for an extension via the Unitask portal. Please contact your tutor or course coordinator directly to see if alternative arrangements are available. 


Historical Film/TV Reception Case Study

Mode
Product/ Artefact/ Multimedia, Written
Category
Paper/ Report/ Annotation, Project, Reflection
Weight
30% 2000 words
Due date

5/09/2025 4:00 pm

Learning outcomes
L01, L02, L03, L05, L06

Task description

A list of films and TV programs relevant to the first half of the course will be provided on Blackboard. Choose ONE from the list and perform a historical reception study and reflection following the instructions provided. Note, as part of your submission you will need to provide screenshots and links to specific historical writing on your chosen film or TV show that you locate in Trove, Proquest Historical Newspapers, or Media History Lantern. The workshop exercises in weeks 2-6 will give you the opportunity to develop and practice or do some of the actual work for your historical reception case study. You will be allowed to include (and build upon) that in-class work in this assignment if you choose.

Please see Blackboard for detailed instructions.

This task has been designed to be challenging, authentic and complex. Whilst students may use AI and/or MT technologies, successful completion of assessment in this course will require students to critically engage in specific contexts and tasks for which artificial intelligence will provide only limited support and guidance.

A failure to reference generative AI or MT use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct. To pass this assessment, students will be required to demonstrate detailed comprehension of their written submission independent of AI and MT tools.

Submission guidelines

Submit via TurnItIn on Blackboard

TurnItIn Receipts: 

Assignments for this course will be submitted electronically via Blackboard and using TurnItIn. Before submitting any assignments for this course you must ensure you have completed UQ's compulsory online Academic Integrity Tutorial. 

When you successfully submit your assessment to TurnItIn you will see text confirming your submission is complete, before being redirected to your Assignment inbox. On this page you can: 

  • View the name of the submitted file 
  • View date and time of the upload 
  • Resubmit your paper (if necessary) 
  • Download your submitted paper 
  • Download digital receipt. 

If you cannot see your submission in your Assignment inbox you should regard your submission as unsuccessful. Students are responsible for retaining evidence of submission by the due date for all assessment items, in the required form (e.g. screenshot, email, photo, and an unaltered copy of submitted work). 

If the submission was not successful: 

  • Note the error message (preferably take a screenshot).  
  • Go to your assignment page and see if it is possible to submit again. 
  • If you cannot submit again email your course coordinator immediately with the assignment attached. 

Please visit this webpage for further advice on how to submit your TurnItIn assignment

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

Comparative Analysis Essay OR Video Essay

Mode
Product/ Artefact/ Multimedia, Written
Category
Essay/ Critique, Reflection
Weight
30% 2000 words
Due date

24/10/2025 4:00 pm

Learning outcomes
L01, L02, L03, L05, L06

Task description

This essay (or video essay with written introduction) allows you to demonstrate what you have learnt in the course, and how you have thought about it. It requires you to use two of the course's weekly topics as a starting point for further exploration. You may develop an essay that draws connections across topics from the first and second halves of the course, or two from just the second half. A good way to start is to use a key discussion point from one of the weekly seminars - find something that interested you and that sparks your curiosity in some way. Find another from another week. Try to bring the two together to design a question that can drive your essay. The question for your essay should be one that you could answer through a detailed comparative analysis of two films and/or TV examples - both of which are from the library course list -- and drawing on readings from the UQ Library course list.

Your research question (including the topic weeks it relates to), should be at the top of page 1 of your essay.

No other sources may be used for this essay without prior approval. Lisa will compile a list of further approved essay sources. Email l.bode@uq.edu to have further sources for your essay pre-approved and added to the list. Essays that reference works that are not in the UQ Library course list or the pre-approved further source list will lose marks.

The essay may be submitted in written form or as an 8-10 minute video essay with a 800-1000 word written introduction including references and a works cited list

referencing style for video essay should be Chicago in-text

For marking criteria and further information, please see Blackboard.


Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Translation (MT) are emerging tools that may support students in completing this assessment task. Students may appropriately use AI and/or MT in completing this assessment task. Students must clearly reference any use of AI or MT in each instance.

A failure to reference generative AI or MT use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.

Submission guidelines

Submit via TurnItIn on Blackboard. Video essay components should be submitted via the dedicated labelled link on Blackboard.

This assignment will be submitted electronically via Blackboard and using EchoVideo. Before submitting any assignments for this course, you must ensure you have completed UQ's compulsory online Academic Integrity Tutorial. 

Please visit this webpage for further advice on how to submit your EchoVideo

When you successfully submit your assessment to EchoVideo, you will see text confirming your submission is complete. You will also receive an email confirmation message. 

Students are responsible for retaining evidence of submission by the due date for all assessment items, in the required form (e.g. screenshot, email, photo, and an unaltered copy of submitted work). 

If the submission was not successful: 

  • Note the error message (preferably take a screenshot).  
  • Go to your assignment page and see if it is possible to submit again. 
  • If you cannot submit again email your course coordinator immediately with the assignment attached. 


TurnItIn Receipts: 

Assignments for this course will be submitted electronically via Blackboard and using TurnItIn. Before submitting any assignments for this course you must ensure you have completed UQ's compulsory online Academic Integrity Tutorial. 

When you successfully submit your assessment to TurnItIn you will see text confirming your submission is complete, before being redirected to your Assignment inbox. On this page you can: 

  • View the name of the submitted file 
  • View date and time of the upload 
  • Resubmit your paper (if necessary) 
  • Download your submitted paper 
  • Download digital receipt. 

If you cannot see your submission in your Assignment inbox you should regard your submission as unsuccessful. Students are responsible for retaining evidence of submission by the due date for all assessment items, in the required form (e.g. screenshot, email, photo, and an unaltered copy of submitted work). 

If the submission was not successful: 

  • Note the error message (preferably take a screenshot).  
  • Go to your assignment page and see if it is possible to submit again. 
  • If you cannot submit again email your course coordinator immediately with the assignment attached. 

Please visit this webpage for further advice on how to submit your TurnItIn assignment

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

please note that if this is your final semester that a lengthy extension may delay the release of your grade and impact your ability to graduate on time

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

Course grading

Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.

Grade Cut off Percent Description
1 (Low Fail) 0 - 24

Absence of evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes.

2 (Fail) 25 - 44

Minimal evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes.

3 (Marginal Fail) 45 - 49

Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes

4 (Pass) 50 - 64

Demonstrated evidence of functional achievement of course learning outcomes.

5 (Credit) 65 - 74

Demonstrated evidence of proficient achievement of course learning outcomes.

6 (Distinction) 75 - 84

Demonstrated evidence of advanced achievement of course learning outcomes.

7 (High Distinction) 85 - 100

Demonstrated evidence of exceptional achievement of course learning outcomes.

Additional course grading information

  • Where fractional marks occur in the calculation of the final grade, a mark of x.5% or greater will be rounded up to (x+1)%. A percentage mark of less than x.5% will be rounded down to x%. 
  • Where no assessable work is received, a Grade of X will apply.

Supplementary assessment

Supplementary assessment is available for this course.

Additional assessment information

  • Further information regarding the assessment, including marking criteria and/or marking rubrics are available in the ‘Assessment’ folder in Blackboard for this course. 
  • Marks Cannot Be Changed After Being Released: Marks are not open to negotiation with course staff. If you wish to discuss the feedback you have received, you should make an appointment to speak with the Course Coordinator. 
  • Assessment Re-mark: If you are considering an Assessment Re-mark, please follow the link to important information you should consider before submitting a request. 
  • Integrity Pledge: Assignments for this course will be submitted electronically via Blackboard and using Turnitin. Before submitting any assignments for this course, you must ensure you have completed UQ's compulsory online Academic Integrity Modules.ᅠIn uploading an assignment via Turnitin you are certifying that it is your original work, that it has not been copied in whole or part from another person or source except where this is properly acknowledged, and that it has not in whole or part been previously submitted for assessment in any other course at this or any other university. 
  • Withholding marks prior to finalisation of grades: Per UQ Assessment Procedures – Release of Assessment Item Marks and Grades: The final assessment item and the marks for the assessment item are to be released only after the final grade for the course has been released. 

Learning resources

You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.

Library resources

Find the required and recommended resources for this course on the UQ Library website.

Additional learning resources information

The Library has a number of Australian cinema titles in both its streaming services and as part of its video and DVD collection. You are encouraged to watch as many of these as you can.ᅠ

Learning activities

The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.

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Learning period Activity type Topic
Week 1

(28 Jul - 03 Aug)

Seminar

Week 1 Seminar: Situating Australian Film and TV

This first seminar gives an overview of the course the assessment and expectations for the semester, and we start to think about the different factors that have shaped and continue to shape Australian Film and TV in its different forms, such as language, population, economics, politics, location, post-colonialism, genre, critical frameworks. To prep for class, please go to Blackboard and access the required materials in the learning resources folder for Week 1.

Viewing: Chopper (Dominik, 2000)

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L06

Workshop

Week 1 Workshop: Finding historical film reception evidence

As the first major assignment is a historical film reception study, you will need to learn how to find historical reception evidence (such as reviews) in the online archives. This workshop helps you start. Before class, please check out the archive links in the Week 1 learning materials folder on Blackboard.

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06

Week 2

(04 Aug - 10 Aug)

Seminar

Week 2 Seminar: Australian Silent Cinema

In this week we consider the changing place of Australian story-telling amid the successive reinventions of the cinema over the silent period. As the institutional form of cinema changed so too did the kinds of production able to be undertaken. We consider Australian cinema's close relation with theatre and live performance and how the circumstances of exhibition and distribution of the silent film initially enabled but later diminished opportunities for Australian story-telling through film. To prep, please read/watch the required viewing/reading in the learning materials folder on Blackboard for this week.

Viewing: The Sentimental Bloke (Longford, 1919)

Seminar engagement/participation is marked this week. See Assessment to see how you may earn 1 mark per week by participating in seminar discussion or google doc.

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L06

Workshop

Week 2 Workshop: Silent Australian Cinema

This week we will search Trove for sources from the 1900s-1920s about Australian films and filmmaking. What kinds of reception, commentary and reporting about Australian films appear at this time in newspapers, magazines, and other sources?

We start the in-class writing exercises this week. each is marked out of 5. See the assessment section for more info.

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06

Week 3

(11 Aug - 17 Aug)

Seminar

Week 3 Seminar: The Sound Cinema before Television

Cinema reinvented itself with the coming of sound, but it also made feature film production much more expensive and difficult to film outdoors, leading Hollywood to turn to controlled studio filming for several decades. What impact did this have on Australian filmmaking? We look at how technology and film funding policies set in train a limited commercial cinema, and a 16mm non-commercial newsreel documentary filmmaking strand, which was highly regarded internationally. To prep, please read/watch the required viewing/reading in the learning materials folder on Blackboard for this week.

Viewing: Jedda (Chauvel, 1955) or The Back of Beyond (Heyer, 1954)

Seminar engagement/participation is marked this week. See Assessment to see how you may earn 1 mark per week by participating in seminar discussion or google doc.

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L06

Workshop

Week 3 Workshop:

Discussion of this week's topic and readings, analysis of clips. working on the next stage of the historical reception case study.

Working on the historical film/TV case study for the in-class writing exercise this week. Each is marked out of 5. See the assessment section for more info.

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06

Week 4

(18 Aug - 24 Aug)

Seminar

Week 4 Seminar: The emergence of TV in Australia

Why did Australia get TV so late (1956) compared to the US and the UK (1930s)? Why does Australia have a mix of commercial TV (9, 7, 10) and publicly funded TV (The ABC)? What kind of TV and TV careers has this mix made possible? We will discuss these questions and more. To prep, please read/watch the required viewing/reading in the learning materials folder on Blackboard for this week.

Seminar engagement/participation is marked from this week. See Assessment to see how you may earn 1 mark per week by participating in seminar discussion or google doc.

Viewing: assorted choices from 1970s Australian TV such as Count Down, Number 96, The Aunty Jack show.

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L06

Workshop

Week 4 Workshop: Looking at reviews and writing on 1960s and 1970s TV

We will be working with sources from the 1950s to the 1970s about television in Australia, discussing them, and thinking about how to use such sources in your essays. To prepare, find sources before class using the instructions in the Week 4 folder on Blackboard.

Working on the historical film/TV case study for the in-class writing exercise this week. Each is marked out of 5. See the assessment section for more info.

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06

Week 5

(25 Aug - 31 Aug)

Seminar

Week 5 Seminar: The Australian New Wave in the 1970s

We look this week at how the emergence of film societies and festivals in Australia in the 1950s, and the rise of television set in train calls for a revival of Australian cinema. Governments in the 1960s and 1970s heeded the call, setting up The Australian Film, Television, and Radio School, and significant funding mechanisms which fostered an explosion of Australian storytelling on the big screen. What kinds of films emerged and what kinds of films were discouraged? How were they received, valued and denigrated? What is the legacy of the Australian New Wave? To prep, please read/watch the required viewing/reading in the learning materials folder on Blackboard for this week.

Viewing: Picnic at Hanging Rock (Weir, 1975) or Wake in Fright (Kotcheff, 1971) or My Survival as an Aboriginal (Coffey, 1978).

Seminar engagement/participation is marked from this week. See Assessment to see how you may earn 1 mark per week by participating in seminar discussion or google doc.

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L06

Workshop

Week 5 Workshop: Looking at 1970s reviews of Australian films

This week we will be looking at reviews of Australian films from the 1970s in Australian newspapers and magazines, and learning to categorise and analyse them. Can we get a sense of what a "good Australian film" was considered to be in the 1970s? Find reviews before class using the instructions given in the Week 5 folder.

Working on the next stage of the historical reception case study for the in-class writing exercise this week. each is marked out of 5. See the assessment section for more info.

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06

Week 6

(01 Sep - 07 Sep)

Seminar

Week 6 Seminar: 1980s commercial film and TV in Australia

The 1980s was a massive boom for mainstream Australian film-making and big budgeted commercial TV mini-series. Why? We look at the international film market and national cultural policy, broadcasting, and exhibition circumstances that fostered this boom, and the kinds of mythic Australian storytelling that were popularised at this time. Watch Mad Max 2, but also the clips from miniseries in the Week 6 learning materials folder and do the readings. To prep, please read/watch the required viewing/reading in the learning materials folder on Blackboard for this week.

Seminar engagement/participation is marked this week. See Assessment to see how you may earn 1 mark per week by participating in seminar discussion or google doc.

Viewing: Mad Max 2 (Miller, 1981)

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L06

Workshop

Week 6 Workshop:

Discussion of this week's topic and readings, analysis of clips.

working on the final stage of the historical reception case study

in-class writing exercises this week. each is marked out of 5. See the assessment section for more info.

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06

Week 7

(08 Sep - 14 Sep)

Seminar

Week 7 Seminar: Multicultural and Cross-cultural encounters

The migrant figure and the cross-cultural encounter in Australian film and TV is not new. We see it some of the films of the New Wave, and in stage and TV comedy of the 1980s. The 1990s saw a particular rise of different kinds of cultural voices in screen story telling. We look at some reasons why and discuss such things as the role of SBS as a broadcaster, shifting cultural policies, diasporic cinema in film festivals, and waves of migration. To prep, please read/watch the required viewing/reading in the learning materials folder on Blackboard for this week.

Seminar engagement/participation is marked this week. See Assessment to see how you may earn 1 mark per week by participating in seminar discussion or google doc.

Watch: The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert (Elliott, 1994) or Floating Life (Law, 1996)

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L06

Workshop

Week 7 Workshop:

Discussion of this week's topic and readings, analysis of clips.

We start working on the final assignment for the in-class writing exercise this week. Each is marked out of 5. See the assessment section for more info.

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06

Week 8

(15 Sep - 21 Sep)

Seminar

Week 8 Seminar: Towards an Indigenous Screen

Indigenous Australians have been recorded and used in screen storytelling by filmmakers since the beginning of cinema in Australia, with sometimes devastating results. In this seminar we look at how protocols, and collaborative and self-representational practices have emerged, what they have looked like at different times, how they've been fostered institutionally, and their significance. Online viewing for this week (from learning materials folder) will be: Maya Newell's In My Blood It Runs is "an observational feature documentary following 10-yr-old Arrernte Aboriginal boy Dujuan as he grows up Alice Springs, Australia." (text from official website). To prep, please read/watch the required viewing/reading in the learning materials folder on Blackboard for this week.

Seminar engagement/participation is marked this week. See Assessment to see how you may earn 1 mark per week by participating in seminar discussion or google doc.

Viewing: In My Blood it Runs (Newell, 2019) or We are Still Here (Beck ColeDena Curtis, Tracey Rigney, Danielle MacLean, Tim Worrall, Renae Maihi, Miki Magasiva, Mario Gaoa, Richard Curtis, Chantelle Burgoyne, 2022)

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L06

Workshop

Week 8 Workshop:

Discussion of this week's topic and readings, analysis of clips.

In-class writing exercise this week. Each is marked out of 5. See the assessment section for more info.

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06

Week 9

(22 Sep - 28 Sep)

Seminar

Week 9 Seminar: Australia and 'Global Hollywood'

How did the Gold Coast of SE QLD become a location for international screen production? How do Australian screen personnel, Australian-based digital visual effects houses, and Australian filming locations serve international screen production? Which Australian actors get to play other nationalities, and which don't, and why? What impact has this international dimension to the Australian screen had on local screen stories and their aesthetics? We will be looking at these questions and more. To prep, please read/watch the required viewing/reading in the learning materials folder on Blackboard for this week.

Seminar engagement/participation is marked this week. See Assessment to see how you may earn 1 mark per week by participating in seminar discussion or google doc.

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L06

Workshop

Week 9 Workshop:

Discussion of this week's topic and readings, analysis of clips.

In-class writing exercise this week. Each is marked out of 5. See the assessment section for more info.

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06

Mid Sem break

(29 Sep - 05 Oct)

No student involvement (Breaks, information)

Mid-Semester Break

Week 10

(06 Oct - 12 Oct)

No student involvement (Breaks, information)

WEEK 10 Kings Birthday Public Holiday on Monday: NO seminar or workshop this week

Week 11

(13 Oct - 19 Oct)

Seminar

Week 11 Seminar: Australian genre cinema

This week we examine Australian contributions to particular transnational film genres in the 2000s with a focus on horror and thrillers, looking at how landscape, Indigenous issues, cross-cultural encounters, and the Australian gothic weave through. How do we explain the international popularity/resonance of such genres, and in what kinds of ways do 2010s and 2020s films differ from those of the Australian genre boom in the 1970s and 1980s? To prep, please read/watch the required viewing/reading in the learning materials folder on Blackboard for this week.

Seminar engagement/participation is marked this week. See Assessment to see how you may earn 1 mark per week by participating in seminar discussion or google doc.

Viewing: The Nightingale (Kent, 2018) and/or Talk to Me (Michael and Danny Philippou, 2022)

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L06

Workshop

Week 11 Workshop:

Discussion of this week's topic and readings, analysis of clips.

In-class writing exercise this week. Each is marked out of 5. See the assessment section for more info.

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06

Week 12

(20 Oct - 26 Oct)

Seminar

Week 12 Seminar: Australian digital streaming now

Final seminar. The emergence of online streaming services for film and television has disrupted the movie and TV industries. What is happening in the Australian context? What kind of futures are there for Australian produced content? To prep, please read/watch the required viewing/reading in the learning materials folder on Blackboard for this week.

Seminar engagement/participation is marked this week. See Assessment to see how you may earn 1 mark per week by participating in seminar discussion or google doc.

Viewing: Kath and Kim; and/or Heartbreak High (Netflix); and/or Deadloch (Amazon Prime)

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L06

Workshop

Week 12 Workshop:

Discussion of this week's topic and last minute help for assignments.

in-class writing exercise this week. Each is marked out of 5. See the assessment section for more info.

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06

Week 13

(27 Oct - 02 Nov)

No student involvement (Breaks, information)

WEEK 13: NO SEMINAR OR WORKSHOPS

Policies and procedures

University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:

Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.

Course guidelines

Communication Expectations  

While you are a student at UQ, all communication must be conducted according to the UQ Student Code of Conduct. The UQ Library has a helpful Communicate and collaborate online module.   

  • Email is the primary way for you to send messages to, and receive information from, the School and our staff.   
  • You must use your UQ email address (not a private address) to communicate with staff.    
  • You should add a clear subject line, including course code, and a 2-3 word statement.   
  • You can send email at any time, however, please do not expect responses outside normal working hours (Monday to Friday from ~8am to ~5pm).   
  • Emails that constitute bullying, harassment or discrimination against staff contravene the Student Code of Conduct. Emails like this will be reported to the University, and the matter will be pursued as misconduct.