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Overview

Course Prescription

Follows transformations in Latin American visual cultures and culture industries since the 1930s, from the liberal to the neoliberal era. Throughout this history, who controls visual media production and how does this control relate to democracy? Have recent alliances between Indigenous groups and social movements to introduce new Media Laws successfully widened participation and challenged corporate media ownership?

Course Overview

This course focuses on the interaction and pre-eminence that various sectors of Latin American visual media production and culture industries have established from the 1930s to the present: state sponsored and independent media, politically committed social arts; social movements and their alternative media/visual outlets; corporate media; Indigenous media; and new social/citizens’ driven media.

The objective is to trace the role they have fulfilled in their respective social and historical periods as they relate to the nation-state and the corporate/private sector. We will also trace the important transformations these media and their industries have experienced from the liberal and neo-colonial era of the early 1900s, the Responsible State initiated in the late 1930s, committed to supporting culture industries as part of a national-popular decolonization project, through the authoritarian and neoliberal eras, characterised by the repressive and neoliberal state and privatised corporate media. In the neoliberal era, information and media representation are managed, controlled and highly concentrated in the hands of few owners. In the twenty-first century, private media have become a clear target of popular movements which continue to find ways of representing themselves through a variety of visual media.

Thus, the last part of the course will include movements engaged with social media and study the ways they are influencing new forms of “reporting”, from advocacy to citizens’ journalism. Alliances across these groups in recent years have led to the establishment of New Media Laws, which face new challenges. The focus throughout the course is on who controls visual media production, how information circulates and who has the right to representation, in order to determine what impact state and private media controls have on citizenship and democracy.

Workload Expectations

This course is a standard 15 point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in.

Course Prerequisites, Corequisites and Restrictions

Restriction

Additional Advice on Prerequisites

Prerequisite: 45 points at Stage II in BA courses or approval of Programme Coordinator

Locations and Semesters Offered

LocationSemester
City

Teaching and Learning

Campus Experience or Online

The course employs a hybrid modality: the first half of the semester (classes 1-6) will be delivered online, and the second half (classes 7-12) will be delivered on campus Mondays 4-6 pm.

All timetabled lectures will be recorded and available via Canvas. The course includes an on-line tutorial stream running during the first half of the semester. On campus tutorials: week 1,7,8,9,10,11,12 and Online tutorials weeks 2,3,4,5,6

Attendance is required at all scheduled tutorials (online and on campus sessions), to receive credit for some components of the course. 

The activities for the course are scheduled as a standard weekly timetable ( See Modules in CANVAS).

Attendance and Participation

Lectures:

Please make a genuine attempt to attend all scheduled classes, whether by watching recordings or attending in person. Compulsory tutorials, which include participatory evaluations, are where the content of these lectures will be discussed. It is crucial to keep up with the material.

Tutorials:

Attendance at all tutorials (online or on-campus) is compulsory to qualify for "Active Participation Discussions". 

Active Participation (20% of Course Grade)

Active participation accounts for 20% of your final course grade. To achieve this, you must attend all tutorials (online and on-campus) and contribute to debates, questions, and comments during these sessions.

During tutorials, you'll be asked to answer prompted questions available on CANVAS ( Assignments) under "Active Participation Discussions". This activity will be graded and contributes to your 20% participation mark. For on-campus tutorials, you'll need to bring your portable device and be logged in to CANVAS during the session to complete this activity. There will be 8 "Active participation" entries.

Absence and Exemptions

Should you be unwell or anticipate an absence from more than one tutorial session due to personal circumstances, please provide a medical certificate or other valid documentation to justify your non-attendance. Rescheduling of your 'Active Participation in Discussion' component or your test submission will only be permitted upon presentation of appropriate justification

Teaching and Learning Methods

Teaching Sessions Overview

 Each week includes a 2-hour lecture and one 1-hour tutorials.

Lectures

Weeks 1-6: Lectures will be pre-recorded and available on Panopto ( CANVAS) 3 days before your tutorial. The first recording will be available from July 18, 2025. 

Weeks 7-12: Lectures will be delivered Mondays 4 to 6 pm on campus. 

Tutorials

Week 1: This tutorial will be held on campus.

Weeks 2-6: Tutorials will be held via Zoom:

Participation is mandatory: please keep your camera on and actively engage. The coordinator will record these online tutorials for attendance and participation evaluation. You'll find the Zoom session links posted weekly in the Announcements section on Canvas.

Weeks 7-12: Tutorials will return to campus.

Learning Activities. A typical week's workload includes:

Reading and Tasks:

Approximately 3-4 hours dedicated to reading course materials and completing assigned tasks such as viewing recommended audiovisual resources. This material has to be studied and consulted BEFORE tutorial hours. This will ensure you succeed in the 8 Tutorial Discussion Commentairies ( 2.5% each) and the 4 Tutorial Tests ( 10% each) .

 Readings signed with * are additional articles for 310 (Two articles per week)

Self-Directed Time:

The remaining 3-4 hours should be used for self-directed research and working on assignments. Assignment guidelines will be available at scheduled times (see Assignement). 

Learning Resources

Taught courses use a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas to provide students with learning materials including reading lists and lecture recordings (where available). Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

Copyright

The content and delivery of content in this course are protected by copyright. Material belonging to others may have been used in this course and copied by and solely for the educational purposes of the University under license.


You may copy the course content for the purposes of private study or research, but you may not upload onto any third-party site, make a further copy or sell, alter or further reproduce or distribute any part of the course content to another person.

Learning Continuity

In the event of an unexpected disruption, we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and course assessment continues to meet the principles of the University’s assessment policy. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator/director, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the university website for information about how to proceed.

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed for potential plagiarism or other forms of academic misconduct, using computerised detection mechanisms.

Similarly, research students must meet the University’s expectations of good research practice. This requires:

  • Honesty - in all aspects of research work
  • Accountability - in the conduct of research
  • Professional courtesy and fairness – in working with others
  • Good stewardship – on behalf of others
  • Transparency – of research process and presentation of results
  • Clarity - communication to be understandable, explainable and accessible

For more information on the University’s expectations of academic integrity, please see the Academic Conduct section of the University policy hub.

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about taught courses is made available to enrolled students in Canvas.

Students may be asked to submit assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. In exceptional circumstances changes to elements of this course may be necessary at short notice. Students enrolled in this course will be informed of any such changes and the reasons for them, as soon as possible, through Canvas.


Assessment and Learning Outcomes

Course Learning Outcomes

CLO #OutcomeProgramme Capability Link
1
2

Assessments

Assessment TypeAssessment PercentageAssessment Classification

Assessment to CLO Mapping

Assessment Type12

Student Feedback, Support and Charter

Student Feedback

Feedback on taught courses is gathered from students at the end of each semester through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions. Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students. In addition, class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

Additional Information on Student Feedback

There will be two SSCC meetings with Class representatives: 19th August , 2pm via Zoom and 30th September 2pm via Zoom

Class representatives

Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.

Tuākana

Tuākana is a multi-faceted programme for Māori and Pacific students providing topic specific tutorials, one-on-one sessions, test and exam preparation and more. Explore your options at Tuakana Learning Communities.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website.

Wellbeing

We all go through tough times during the semester, or see our friends struggling. There is lots of help out there - please see the Support Services page for information on support services in the University and the wider community.

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed work is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due. If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page. This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter.

Student Academic Complaints and Disputes

Students with concerns about teaching including how a course is delivered, the resources provided, or supervision arrangements, have the right to express their concerns and seek resolution. The university encourages informal resolution where possible, as this is quicker and less stressful. For information on the informal and formal complaints processes, please refer to the Student Academic Complaints Statute in the Student Policies and Guidelines section of the Policy Hub.