Overview

This unit explores the rapidly evolving contexts and processes of digital cultural production   and consumption. Drawing on a grounded knowledge of social media, digital infl uencers and platform cultures, students will critically evaluate issues relating to diversity, inclusion and    social harms in contemporary social media ecologies. Students will analyse the technical, social and economic structures shaping digital cultural production and evaluate their own agency and opportunities for change-making. They will apply their skills in social media practice and demonstrate their emerging expertise in the field of digital cultures to produce social media artefacts and campaigns.

Details

Enrolment rules

Teaching staff and contact details

Visit the Current students website [https:/www.syd ney.e du.au/st udents/home.htm l] for information on simple extensions.

Assessment

Assessment 1:                                                                                   For this assignment,

you will choose a social media post, event, incident, trend or campaign from one of

your own social media feeds that connects to at least one of the topics from Weeks 1 - 5 (platformisation, gender, race, disability and activism). You will conduct a case study  analysis of the chosen social media phenomenon, considering issues of diversity,

inclusion and harm.

Assessment 2:                                                                                   For this assignment, you

will work in groups of 4 to produce a digital artefact that critiques social media and

platform culture through a "corrective" or "nudging" approach. You will apply your skills in social media practice to create your digital artefact and demonstrate your emerging   expertise in the field of digital cultures.

Assessment 3:                                                                             Reflecting on the materials

you encountered and created in the unit this semester, critically assess your own

creativity and agency in social media cultures. Include two strategies for using social

media purposefully and for positive change. Identify strategies for using social media    purposefully and for positive change. Analyse the role of creativity and agency in social media cultures.

All three assessments are hurdle tasks in the unit, students must meet the required standard in an assessment to pass the unit.

Additional Note: Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas

Assessment criteria

Result Mark Description

Name Range

Student demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of the social media incident, event, trend or campaign, as well as the issues of  diversity, inclusion, and harms that it involves. The analysis is

High

Distinction

Distinction

Credit

Pass

Fail

85 or

above

75 - 84

65 - 74

55 - 64

Below

55

supported by a wide range of relevant and high-quality sources,  including original empirical evidence. The student offers new and valuable insights into the phenomenon and its connection to the course topics.

Student demonstrates a good understanding of the social media incident, event, trend or campaign, as well as the issues of diversity, inclusion, and harms that it involves. The analysis is supported by a   good range of relevant and high-quality sources, including some original empirical evidence. The student offers some new insights into the phenomenon and its connection to the course topics.

Student demonstrates a satisfactory understanding of the social   media incident, event, trend or campaign, as well as the issues of diversity, inclusion, and harms that it involves. The analysis is

supported by a limited range of relevant and high-quality sources, and/or the original empirical evidence is not very informative. The student offers some insights into the phenomenon and its connection to the course topics, but they are not very innovative or significant.

Student demonstrates a weak understanding of the social media

incident, event, trend or campaign, and/or the issues of diversity,

inclusion, and harms that it involves. The analysis is not very well

supported by relevant and high-quality sources, and/or the original   empirical evidence is not very relevant or reliable. The student offers few or no new insights into the phenomenon and its connection to    the course topics.

Student demonstrates a poor understanding of the social media

incident, event, trend or campaign, and/or the issues of diversity,

inclusion, and harms that it involves. The analysis is not supported by relevant and high-quality sources, and/or the original empirical

evidence is not informative or relevant. The student offers no new insights into the phenomenon and its connection to the course

topics.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date. After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

Late penalties apply.

Special consideration

If you experience short-term circumstances beyond your control, such as illness, injury or misadventure or if you have essential commitments which impact your preparation or

performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and

honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other

forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for

further investigation.

You may only use artificia l intelligence and writing assistance tools in assessment tasks if you

are permitted to by your unit coordinator, and if you do use them, you must also

acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section.

Studiosity is permitted for postgraduate units unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission.

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance: According to Faculty Board Resolutions, students in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences are expected to attend 90% of their classes. If you attend less than

50% of classes, regardless of the reasons, you may be referred to the Examiner's    Board. The Examiner's Board will decide whether you should pass of fail the unit of study if your attendance falls below this threshold.

Lecture recording: This unit will provide Zoom recordings after each live session, on a weekly basis.

Preparation: Students should commit to spend approximately three hours' preparation time (reading, studying, homework, group work, etc.) for every hour of scheduled

instruction.

· For more information on attendance, see

https:/sydney.edu.au/handbooks/arts/rules/faculty_resolutions_arts.shtml.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to   roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

Week 1

Duffy, Poell, T., & Nie borg, D. B. (2019). Platform Practices in the Cultural Industries: Creativity, Labor, and Citizenship. Social Media + Society, 5(4).

https:/doi.org/10.1177/2056305119879672

Kim, & Yu, J. (2019). Platformizing Webtoons: The Impact on Creative and Digital Labor in South Korea. Social Media + Society, 5(4). https:/doi.org/10.1177/2056305119880174

Lin, & de Kloet, J. (2019). Platformization of the Unlikely Creative Class: Kuais hou and Chinese Digital Cultural Production. Social Media + Society, 5(4).

https:/doi.org/10.1177/2056305119883430

Week 2

Duffy, & Pruch niewska, U. (2017). Gender and self-enterprise in the social media age: a digital double bind. Information, Communication & Society, 20(6), 843– 859.

https:/doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2017.1291703