Communication and Culture COMM4Unit 4 Communication and Culture in Practice: Portfolio

Coursework Topics for Assessment June 2016

(Submission date to be confirmed)

Step by Step Coursework Guide

Choose a Topic Choose one of the six Themes Devise a Case Study Title that relates to issues within the chosen Theme Complete Case Study Devise a Creative Work Title that also relates to issues within the chosen Theme Complete Creative Work

OthernessWhat follows is the Unit 4 Topic Guide 'Otherness'. Included in the Topic Guide are:

an introduction to the Topic Themes suggested stimulus materials

Teachers and candidates may well feel at first that 'Otherness' is a particularly abstract, conceptual, even nebulous, Topic to engage with. In the body of work and investigation that Cultural Studies explores, it has become an increasingly significant concept to cultural critics due to the centrality of its place in our lives, albeit, largely by negation – the 'other' examines what 'is' by reference to what 'is not'.

The language of conflict, whether of war, class, gender or ethnicity, invariably uses a discourse in which 'they' are defined as other than 'us', which in turn defines 'us' by negation; in a world of binary constructs, 'we' are 'white' - they are 'black'; 'we' are rational' - 'they' are mystical; 'we' are civilised – 'they' are 'barbarian'; 'we' are right – 'they' are wrong, 'we' are 'hard-working' – 'they' are 'lazy'. And of course, 'we' are teachers' – 'they' are students'….

Othering is a term, advocated by Edward Said, which refers to the act of stressing the perceived weaknesses of outsiders as a way of reinforcing the alleged strength of those in positions of power. The possibilities of applying this idea to cultural imperialism are obvious.

The 'Other' is also an Object of Desire, whether materially (those Persian rugs!), or psychologically (that reserved, rather shy person that lies within us). The 'Other' is resonant in Fictions, and the 'Other' occupies Spaces and Places both close to us, as well as faraway…..

The range of Themes offered in this Topic reflects some of the debates suggested here, and candidates should be invited to engage in these arguments based on the myriad of Case Studies they potentially refer to.

Candidates are encouraged to examine and explore the cultural meanings, codes and conventions of 'Otherness'. Their place in the construction of subjectivities (identities) is a rich area for the exploration of cultural meanings in our everyday lives.

Candidates should focus on the cultural issues in the topic and may select and develop their own Titles through Case Studies.

Titles which include references to Key Concepts and /or theoretical approaches and/or Sites of Culture may prove more fruitful. A list of example titles is available on the AQA website.

Centres should seek guidance from their Coursework Adviser to clarify choices of title and Case Study.

Appended to this document is a list of suggested stimulus or starter materials which may help generate ideas apposite to the topic. The list is not intended to be definitive in any way.

Otherness

Theme 1

Who made who? Being defined by who or what we are NOT

Theme 2

"In space no-one can hear you scream" Of aliens and outsiders.

Theme 3

The race card: representations of the visible 'Other'

People are often veryconcerned or anxious to definethemselves by reference towhat they are NOT. Not female, not old, not foreign, not gay, etc.Sometimes these definitions by'difference' are overt, sometimes only implicit.Humans have successfullyestablished 'boundary markers'between themselves and otherhumans and betweenthemselves and other 'beings', including 'animals'. Ourlanguages are full of terms usedto make other humans appearto be less than human.

A recurrent motif or perspectivein all the arts is the Outsider.This figure offers a critique ofthe culture outside which theyfind themselves. You mightbase Case Studies onexamples from music, art, film, or literature of all kinds.

How are people depicted or referred to who come from orbelong to another culture?Questions of ethnicity andnationalism arise. EdwardSaid's examination of thepurposes and ways by whichthe 'west' defines the 'oriental'is at the heart of this theme. Is'multiculturalism' still a validterm to discuss the constructionof identity, especially when'Britishness' is a significantelement of public debate? Whatconstitutes the 'other'?

Theme 4

"Much have I travelled in the realms of gold". Exploring the exotic 'other'

Theme 5

Mix and match; exploring the cultural 'mix'

Theme 6

"I am the other": Fantasy, impersonation and identity

We admire, appreciate and achieve some excitement fromthings that we consume (food, clothes, music, etc.) fromoutside our culture'sboundaries. We also havefears and anxieties about thingsthat are 'different'. Here is anopportunity to explore how ourtastes, and values, are shapedand enhanced by ourencounters with the 'exotic'.

A productive force in contemporary culture is the way we cross boundaries in culturalproducts and practices. Everywhere the influence of cultural integration is evident.From fashion to food to football, there are many arenas in which to discuss cultural fusion.

Writing of his identity as a poet, the French writer ArthurRimbaud suggested "I amanother". What about thefantasy personae that circulateour ideal selves, or emergewhen we are invited to beanother (think fancy dress)?The alter ego and the 'double'are familiar themes in life andliterature; extensions of thisidea in notions of the multiple,or plural, or secret self may be afruitful area to explore in CaseStudies.

Otherness - Possible stimulus material

The following list of texts can be used as stimulus materials and/or as reference material. It is not to be read as exhaustive in any sense. Teachers will inevitably assemble their own resource and reference ideas. They are likely to be shared via online channels as well.

This is clearly not a definitive list of resources for the topic. It is a series of suggestions which teachers and candidates may find helpful in generating ideas about the topic. Extracts from the materials will probably be more useful in classroom use. Teachers are very welcome to submit their own choices of resources through their coursework adviser.

Non-fiction

The Spectacle of the 'Other': Stuart Hall in 'Representation: Cultural representations and signifying practices (Ed. Stuart Hall)

Other in Wikipedia

Newspaper articles

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/oct/26/what-it-means-human-review?INTCMP=SRCHJohn Gray review of 'What It Means to Be Human' by Joanna Bourke

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/apr/18/cruelty-kathleen-taylor-bookreview? INTCMP=SRCH

Steven Rose review of ‘Cruelty’: Human Evil and the Human Brain' by Kathleen Taylor

Film

Bladerunner; (either director's cut or the theatrical release version) Ridley Scott (1982)

East Is East; Damien O'Donnell (1999)

ET; Spielberg (1982)

Avatar; James Cameron (2008)

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest; Milos Forman (1975)

Crash; Paul Haggis (2004)

Music

Us and Them; Pink Floyd (Dark Side of the Moon) 1973

Lola; The Kinks (1970)

Fiction

The Picture of Dorian Grey: Oscar Wilde

Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde; R.L.Stevenson

Heart of Darkness or Lord Jim; Joseph Conrad

The case study is a piece of academic writing in which all sources should be clearly acknowledged. These sources should be identified in a list of references.

The SongWhat follows is the Unit 4 Topic guide 'The Song'. Included in the Topic Guide are:

an introduction to the topic Themes suggested stimulus materials will follow later

The ubiquity of music in everyday life is self-evident, as is its popularity and significance in our culture, and in all cultures.

The importance of songs on our individual identity is clear and well-rehearsed in the media; less attention is paid to our cultural identity, our subjectivity, where in the past the song has been the medium through which we have learned our history and a strong sense of a communal identity.

There is also some demand for an evaluative critique of the role of the media with regard to 'the song' as a commercial commodity, which many critics have seen as antithetical to our personal ownership of the song. Downloading, it can be argued, has returned the song to a former if different kind of pre-eminence following a period when, if a recent BBC4 documentary is to be believed, 'the album ruled the world'.

The Themes that accompany this Topic reflect a number of central cultural concerns which candidates are invited to explore rigorously, focusing on one or two detailed Case Studies which allow them the opportunity to discuss in detail and depth some of the central issues.

The primary concern should be, as ever, on the cultural significances and meanings that can be generated from the Theme. Candidates are encouraged to examine and explore the cultural meanings, codes and conventions of 'The Song'.

Candidates should focus on the cultural issues in the topic and may select and develop their own Titles through Case Studies.

Titles which include references to Key Concepts and/or theoretical approaches and/or Sites of Culture may prove more fruitful. A list of example titles is available on the AQA website.

Centres should seek guidance from their Coursework Adviser to clarify choices of angle and Case Study.

A new set of suggested stimulus or starter materials which may help generate ideas apposite to the topic will be posted here at a later date.

The Song

Theme 1

The Song As Text: anexploration of a single songreferring to its cultural,historical, musical and personalsignificance

Theme 2

Redemption Songs: song aspublic statement of commitment

Theme 3

Sold Out: the co-option,incorporation or manipulation ofsongs for advertising, marketingor propaganda

Here is an opportunity to pursuea song, or contrasting songs, insome detail and depth exploringthe kinds of meaningsgenerated by lyric and musicalproduction. The idea ofchanging context is importantas to production and receptionof the song, as are ideas ofintertextuality, borrowing, mashing, homage, samplingand other modes ofdevelopment or transgression.

The protest song. How effectiveare songs in defying orchallenging dominant ideology?How do songs unite groups, at, say, national level throughanthems, or at group levels, through terrace chanting, popular choirs, or pub or festivalsing-alongs? How do we usemusic as a kind of ritual?

Here one might search for someinteresting examples of howpopular (or classical) songshave been embedded intocommercial practices likeadvertisements, after theirsuccess as songs in a culturalor sub-cultural context? Howare brands and productsreinforced by their assimilationof songs?

Theme 4

The singer not the song: theact of performance and thecultural construction of thesinger

Theme 5

This is my song: everyday lifeand song. The integration ofsongs into daily routines andrituals

Theme 6

Wondrous stories: songs asstories and stories as songs.The role of song in film,musical, storytelling

This theme focuses on theactual performance of a song, or songs, in a wide arc ofpotential contexts. The voice isused as a means of projectingor investing meaning in a songwhere the slightest variation cansignify enormously. This themeexplores the link betweenwords, music and delivery. Italso lends itself to comparingand contrasting differentversions of the same song.

This theme enables candidatesto examine the way songs areintegrated into daily routinesand rituals, often through radioprogrammes, but also throughsocial networking. It is also aspace where the relationshipbetween song and identity orsubjectivity can be reflectedupon; the way songs can speakfor us, articulating thoughts andfeelings, with a wide range ofcritically evaluative problemsarising. How do audiencesbecome involved in song (competitions, karaoke) andhow do we express thepleasure of the song?

How do images and songsintegrate? And how are songsemployed to tell the stories ofpeople, of communities, of thegenre itself (the ballad, theBlues)? There is also roomhere to examine the ways thatmusical forms from thetraditional to the avant-gardeconstruct narratives of pleasureand pain, of incident andaccident, and a wealth of othersentiments.

A new set of suggested stimulus or starter materials, which may help generate ideas apposite to the topic, will be

published by AQA at a later date.

But, to start you off…

Non-fiction

Understanding Popular Music Culture; Roy Shuker

Popular Music and Society; Brian Longhurst

Gender in the music industry: rock, discourse and girl power; Marion Leonard

Newspaper articles

http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/mar/20/youth-subcultures-where-have-they-gone by Alexis Petridis

http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2012/may/09/sexuality-gender-blurred-rock-roll by Charlotte Richardson Andrews

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/mar/31/music-orelsan-rap-misogyny by Deborah Finding

Film

The boat that rocked

Almost Famous

High Fidelity

24hr Party People

Music

The Fear by Lily Allen

Music by Madonna

Fiction

High Fidelity; Nick Hornby

The Commitments; Roddy Doyle

Pop Tart; Julianne Kaye & Kira Coplin

The case study is a piece of academic writing in which all sources should be clearly acknowledged. These sources should be identified in a list of references.

WatchingWhat follows is the Unit 4 Topic guide 'Watching'. Included in the Topic Guide are:

an introduction to the topic Themes suggested stimulus materials will follow later

Arguably, we take for granted the amount of time we spend 'watching', particularly screens, and at the same time we are increasingly made aware of how much we are being watched, by governments, corporations, and security monitors of one sort or another.

This duality of 'watching' perhaps lies at the heart of the identity debate as to whether we are active 'subjects of' (agents of our own responses, thoughts and behaviours), or 'subject to' the powers who oversee, for good or ill, our daily lives. Issues of self-presentation, arising out of the advent and entrenchment of technology in our lives, depend heavily on visuality, the sense of sight which is, of course, an innate ability, and yet one that is culturally constructed so that we see how we are constructed to see.

The Themes that accompany this Topic reflect a number of central cultural concerns which candidates are invited to explore rigorously, focusing on one or two detailed Case Studies which allow them the opportunity to discuss in detail and depth some of the key issues. The primary concern should be, as ever, on the cultural significances and meanings that can be generated from the Theme.

Candidates are encouraged to examine and explore the cultural meanings, codes and conventions of 'Watching’. Candidates should focus on the cultural issues in the topic and may select and develop their own Titles through Case Studies. Titles which include references to Key Concepts and /or theoretical approaches and/or Sites of Culture may prove more fruitful. A list of example titles is available on the AQA website.

Centres should seek guidance from their Coursework Adviser to clarify choices of angle and Case Study. A new set of suggested stimulus or starter materials which may help generate ideas apposite to the topic will be posted here at a later date.

Watching

Theme 1

Visibility

this is the age of the camera, the screen and, above all, the image

Theme 2

Surveillance

The surveillance camera is afamiliar and ubiquitous featureof modern life; is it also ametaphor for contemporaryculture?

Theme 3

Pleasures of The Look

The satisfactions derived from spectatorship in film, art, fiction and sport. Aesthetic responses to the visual

This theme deals with the ideathat the spectacle and the spectacular have come to dominate contemporary culture. The idea is also expressed by'Always On' media: moving images are such a constant feature of our lives that they fundamentally influence our behaviour, our values and our interpretations of reality. Some theorists have argued that the dominance of writing (logo-centric culture) is now in decline. Others suggest that we prefer watching to doing; that the primacy of the visual has changed us from participants to (mere) spectators.

There are many linked issueswhich could be explored here.Firstly, there are theimplications of state andcorporate surveillance (ethical, moral, practical); secondly, theuse of CCTV and user-generatedmaterial to fuelentertainment in reality TVshows or YouTube; thirdly, stalking via video camera. Issurveillance by video alegitimate means of controllingworkers or shoppers orstudents? What does it mean tobe watched? Have we allbecome habitual watchers?

Some critics have seen 'thegaze' in terms of voyeurism, power and subordination. Othertheorists have tried tounderstand the deeply-rootedand meaningful pleasures ofvisual culture. This theme is anopportunity to explore therelationship between cultureand beauty (or ugliness) andthe ways in which cultureinfluences our perception. It isalso a place to investigate therole of design and appearancein our objects of desire.

Theme 4

Making Images/Image MakingPhotography, videography andpersonal identity

Theme 5

'All Watched Over …'The watchman or sentinel inpopular culture

Theme 6

Watching at the EdgeThe apparently insignificantvisual elements of everyday life

This theme deals with the manyways in which image-making isincorporated into our daily livesand our cultural practices. Whatis involved in the construction ofthese images and theirlabelling, manipulation, collection and distribution? Therole of social networking sites ishighly relevant here but so, too, are the ways in which we relateto personal technology and theprojection of our identity. How, why and where do we (and didwe) 'take pics'? How do we usethem to control relationshipsand interpret our experiences?

Many fictions deal with thosewho 'watch out' on our behalf,'watch over' us or act as oureyes and ears. Superheroes (e.g. Batman or Judge Dredd) are invested with the moralauthority to watch, guard and dobattle on behalf of a 'protected'populace. So, too, are assortedspies (e.g. James Bond), watchful scientists andobservers. There work is oftendone while we sleep. What isthe ideological role of thesesentinels?

This theme invites you to retrainyour own visual perceptionin order to promote theinsignificant and the ignoredfrom the background to theforeground. Some features ofour visual experience are sofamiliar that they becomealmost invisible; the marginaliaof everyday life. Case Studiesof these apparently insignificantvisual footnotes to our lives canreveal the 'extraordinary in theordinary'.

Watching

A new set of suggested stimulus or starter materials, which may help generate ideas apposite to the topic, will be

published by AQA at a later date.

But, to start you off…

Non-fiction

Privacy and surveillance; Lisa Firth

Privacy in the UK; Cara Acred

The Cuckoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage; Cliff Stoll

Fiction

1984; George Orwell

The Da Vinci Code; Dan Brown

Newspaper articles

How supermarkets get your data - and what they do with it – Donna Ferguson, The Guardian, 8 June 2013

Exposed: Voyeurism, Surveillance and the Camera- Sean O’Hagan, The Guardian, 16 May 2010

Film/TV

Big Brother; Bazal for Channel 4

TOWIE; Lime Pictures for ITV

The Truman Show; Paramount Pictures

V for Vendetta; Warner Bros.

The case study is a piece of academic writing in which all sources should be clearly acknowledged. These sources should be identified in a list of references.

The Past

In the last decade history has become once again, in all its forms, a staple of mass media entertainment (and

edutainment) and yet there is a widely held opinion that our young people in particular are lacking a sense of

historical context. The aim of 'The Past' as a topic is to exploit the interest and challenge the assumption.

The importance of understandings of 'The Past', including what it is, on our cultural identity as individuals and

as a broader society is clear and well-rehearsed. As George Santayana famously suggested, "Those who cannot

remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

There is plenty of scope here for examinations of histories: personal and national, cultural and political.

Consider the various ways in which these are served up to us in a variety of contexts: at the dinner table, from

the pulpit, through electronic devices and in the very streets we live and die in. From heritage and heroes to

myths and calamities, it's all here - so many reports, so many questions.

The themes that accompany this topic reflect a number of central cultural concerns which candidates are

invited to explore rigorously, focusing on one or two detailed Case Studies which allow them the opportunity

to discuss in detail and depth some of the central issues.

The primary concern should be, as ever, on the cultural significances and meanings that can be generated from

the theme.

Candidates are encouraged to examine and explore the cultural meanings, codes and conventions of 'The

Past'.

Candidates should focus on the cultural issues in the topic and may select and develop their own titles through

case studies.

Titles which include references to Key Concepts and/or theoretical approaches and/or Sites of Culture may

prove more fruitful. A list of example titles is available on the AQA website.

Centres should seek guidance from their Coursework Adviser to clarify choices of angle and Case Study.

The Past

Theme 1

The Imagined Past:

An exploration of how the past is represented in a variety of 'fictions'.

Theme 2

The Heritage Industry:

a theme park past.

Theme 3

The Great Tradition:

the co-option, incorporation or

manipulation of historical material

as part of Britishness.

Here is an opportunity to pursue the topic across a range of fictional narratives and contexts. These range from historical fiction to graphic novels, from film and TV to songs and computer games.

How do we 'visit' the past? What

narratives of the past are told

through museums, heritage sites

and artefacts? How do such

places position us as spectators

and participants? The

'commodification' of the past.

Here one might explore interesting

examples of how British values

find expression through historical

events, buildings and personalities

as well as considering how such

things have contributed to the

'myth' of Britishness.

Theme 4

The Subject of History:

the practice of History teaching and learning in schools and elsewhere

Theme 5

Remembering Things Past:

exploring the past in everyday life through memory and ideas about identity

Theme 6

Significant Anniversaries:

what does 'who we remember' as a culture say about what we value

This theme enables candidates to address not only the History curriculum but also documentaries and other factual history media texts that influence our understanding of the past.

This theme enables candidates to examine the ways in which personal experiences of the past are 'processed' and 'documented'. How does memory inform identity in families and communities?

Who and what do we 'commemorate' and why? Who is present and who is absent from the collective memory? What and who should be remembered?

The Past: possible stimulus material

A new set of suggested stimulus or starter materials, which may help generate ideas apposite to the topic, will be

published by AQA at a later date.

But, to start you off…

Non-fiction

Andrew Marr's The making of Modern Britain; Chris Granlund

A history of Modern Britain; Andrew Marr

Modern British History since 1900; Jeremy Black

Museums & galleries of London; Abigail Willis

Fiction

Brighton Rock; GrahamGreene

White Teeth; Zadie Smith

Billy Liar; Keith Waterhouse

Newspaper articles

What should our museums look like in 2020? The Guardian, 16 March 2015

History has never been so unpopular. The Guardian, 29 March 2011

Film/TV

Made in Dagenham; BBC Films, 2010

Pride; BBC Films, 2014

Northern Soul; Stubborn Heart Films, 2014

A History of Now – Story of the Noughties; BBC Three

Horrible Histories; Lion Television for BBC

Peaky Blinders; Tiger Aspect Productions for BBC

The case study is a piece of academic writing in which all sources should be clearly acknowledged. These sources should be identified in a list of references.