Course Title: Exegesis and Project (B)

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Exegesis and Project (B)

Credit Points: 24


Course Code

Campus

Career

School

Learning Mode

Teaching Period(s)

COMM2340

City Campus

Postgraduate

345H Media and Communication

Face-to-Face

Sem 1 2006

Course Coordinator: Dr Tony Paice

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 9838

Course Coordinator Email:tony.paice@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: building 9, level 3, room 43

Course Coordinator Availability: Monday to Friday


Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

The aim of this program is to encourage students with a range of existing skills within one or more of the discipline areas to expand their skills through an analytic examination of some of the key areas of theory in each specific discipline; at the same time expanding their knowledge and interaction in the other related disciplines. To aid them achieve this they will be required to complete the core courses offered in Semester 1, which will lay the foundations of a wider understanding of the media world; Reflective Practice; Creative Practice; Research Strategies and Transient Spaces. It is expected that students will then apply such analysis and criticism, narrative theory, paradigm thinking and the various post modern schools of thinking such as critical theory, and phenomenology to their project and exegesis


Course Description

The Project is the summation of the two previous semesters; skills learnt, work attitudes developed and a demonstration of the engagement of the student during the previous two semesters. The project is an artefact in that it is a tangible outcome that is both achievable and the result of a long-term negotiation with relevant teaching staff. At this stage of the Masters program experimentation and investigation of ideas will have reached a conclusion. A student will agree to an achievable project.

The Exegesis is a theoretical component of the program where the exhibition, thesis or project is placed within a critical and scholastic framework.
The aim to the Exegesis is to give the student an intellectual framework to discuss their creative work within larger, creative world views.


Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

A student will agree to an achievable project and at this stage only minor alterations to the nature of the project will be possible. The process of development, experimentation and the pursuit of alternatives will have been completed in semester two.
Another aim of the Exegesis is to act as synthesis and critical summation of the creative processes learnt from the past two semesters where reflective and practical processes have cut across different disciplines and forms of media. The Exegesis is the site where students have the opportunity to give rise to original ideas generated from their studies within the Master of Creative Media and place it in a context which directly compliments the research project.

At the successful completion of this project students should be able to:
• Create a sustained piece of creative work in their appropriate discipline which is of a masters by coursework standard.

• Demonstrate an ability to work to strict deadlines.

This will consist of regular discussions with their supervisor and with other Masters students in which the nature of the works will be analysed critically in order to draw recognisable scholarly conclusions from the semester’s work. Students will also be encouraged to share their scholarship with members of the student cohort studying in other streams of the program.



On successful completion of this exegesis participants should be able to:

· Develop a sense of confidence in writing larger critical pieces which directly pertains to a body of work.
· Create a common dialogue between students from different backgrounds and disciplines to describe and inculcate a deep understanding of each others craft.
· Understand the important of writing critical texts to a deadline.
· Publish their Exegesis, where applicable, in a scholarly journal.
· Consider a commitment to further study (PhD or Professional Doctorate).
· Encourage, where possible a sense of collegiality between the disciplines and emphasise collaboration where projects overlap.
· Understand that an Exegesis is a scholarly and critical document with academic status.



Overview of Learning Activities

This course will be taught in the specific discipline areas, with cross-disciplinary collaboration where appropriate and will reflect the individual practice of these disciplines.

All projects will be implicitly studio based. Although studio based practice is a term in constant redefinition, both in theoretical and practical terms, a stable leading edge environment will be provided that can give the student a sense of continuity, surety and a calm creative space.

There will be regular discussions with the supervisor and with other Masters students in which the nature of the works will be analysed critically in order to draw recognisable scholarly conclusions from the semester’s work. Students will also be encouraged to share their scholarship with members of the student cohort studying in other streams of the program.
Overview of Learning Resources


Overview of Learning Resources

Full lists of texts relevant to each discipline will be provided by the discipline supervisor to the student for both the project and the exegesis.

For information on how to research students will have completed the course Research Strategies in a prior semester but can consult the following web site for further assistance in the research process:
http://www.edu.au/browsw;ID=qnwp2aolgydfz

For guidance on presentation of work in a suitable academic style consult:
http://www.edu.au/browse;ID=rwjnkcmfoeez

Any specific resources required for a particular discipline e.g. full camera kits and editing facilities for the film and television production discipline or relevant software application and computer access for the multimedia discipline will be provided by the program and students will book these resources accordingly.


Overview of Assessment

Project
Assessment may comprise a photographic exhibition of no less than 15 photographs, a scripted video of about 20 to 30 minutes, a multimedia exhibition, a creative narrative of not less than 6,000 words (Screenwriting or Creative Writing) or a combination of each or all of these.

Exegesis
Students will write a minimum 6000 word to a maximum 8000 word academic paper which will be a critical examination of their research project from the discipline they are studying. The paper should be of a publishable and scholarly standard.

Assessment for part A of exegesis and project will comprise of a detailed report that includes a timeline for completion of both the project and the exegesis as well as a review of the work on these two elements completed to date. It is expected that the project will be at about the halfway stage and this material will be reviewed by the supervisor/examiner to determine if, according to the original brief highlighting content of the project, this has been achieved. The same approach will be applied to the exegesis, where an initial synopsis will describe the planned content.

At this initial stage of project and exegesis work a pass mark will be applied if the work is at the appropriate academic calibre and the final overall grade will be applied at completion of stage B.

Course Grades available at completion of stage B of the project and the exegesis.

High Distinction HD 80-100
Distinction DI 70-79
Credit CR 60-69
Pass PA 50-59
Fail NN.