Course Title: Speculative Futures

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Speculative Futures

Credit Points: 12.00

Terms

Course Code

Campus

Career

School

Learning Mode

Teaching Period(s)

COMM2874

City Campus

Undergraduate

345H Media and Communication

Face-to-Face

Sem 2 2022,
Sem 2 2023

Course Coordinator: Associate Professor Catherine Strong

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 3236

Course Coordinator Email: catherine.strong@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: Building 9, Level 4

Course Coordinator Availability: Contact Course Coordinator via email


Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

None


Course Description

In this course you will examine the relationship between popular culture and understandings of the future. Popular culture offers us a huge variety of ways to imagine what the course of history will be, from bleak dystopian visions of humanity on the brink of extinction through to triumphant narratives where scarcity and suffering are all but gone. You will explore how thinking about the future through a popular culture lens enables new ways to understand and take action in the present. 


Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

Program Learning Outcomes 

In this course you will develop the following program learning outcome: 

  • Identify, evaluate and critically analyse cultural, historical and theoretical practices which contextualise your professional practice and further study. 


Course Learning Outcomes 

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to: 

  1. Describe how different theories conceptualise the future 
  2. Analyse various modes of depicting or discussing the future across different media and platforms 
  3. Critically discuss how ideas about the future can be applied to present-day issues 
  4. Investigate and develop academic arguments around the concept of the future




Overview of Learning Activities

You will be actively engaged in a range of learning activities such as lectures, tutorials, seminars, project work, class discussion, individual and group activities. Delivery may be face to face, online or a blend of both.


Overview of Learning Resources

RMIT will provide you with resources and tools for learning in this course through our online systems. 

A list of recommended learning resources will be provided by your lecturer, including books, journal articles and web resources. You will also be expected to seek further resources relevant to the focus of your own learning. 

There are also services available to support your learning through the University Library. The Library provides guides on academic referencing and subject specialist help as well as a range of study support services https://www.rmit.edu.au/library/study/referencing

For further information, please visit the Library page on the RMIT University website and the myRMIT student portal. 


Overview of Assessment

You will be assessed on how well you meet the course’s learning outcomes and on your development against the program learning outcomes. Assessments will involve a mixture of academic and non-academic work across various forms/platforms, sometimes individual, and sometimes in groups.

Assessment Tasks

AT1 – Analytic Deep Dive (Individual) 30%: CLO1, 2, 3

AT2 – Future visioning (group) 30%: CLO1, CLO2, CLO3, CLO4 

AT3 – Investigation Presentation (Individual) 40%: CLO1, CLO2, CLO3, CLO4 

Feedback will be given on all assessment tasks. 

If you have a long term medical condition and/or disability it may be possible to negotiate to vary aspects of the learning or assessment methods. You can contact the program coordinator or Equitable Learning Services if you would like to find out more. 

Your course assessment conforms to RMIT assessment principles, regulations, policies, procedures and instructions.