CCST2220: Cultural Studies Theory
Research Assignment

The objective of this assignment is to allow students to demonstrate their understanding of the concepts used in cultural studies by applying them to the analysis of a particular cultural, product, practice, text or space which they have chosen themselves.

The approaches examined in the lectures and readings in weeks 8 through to 13 demonstrate what kinds of questions can be asked, and what kind of research can be performed, in order to develop a full cultural study of a product, practice, text or space taking into account issues such as representation, identity, production, consumption, regulation and sovereignty.

The development and planning of this assignment is ultimately the student's own responsibility but the tutorials in weeks 10-13 will be devoted to discussing and developing the task. In previous years, students have found this was extremely helpful, as well as being one of the most enjoyable sections of the course. For the process to be most beneficial, students should select their topic as early as possible and commence thinking about how they will go about completing the task.

In order to assist in this process, what follows is a step-by-step plan that you can follow as you develop your project. It is imperative that students follow the structure outlined below in the form of their final submission.

The structure of the research assignment

Part 1: Select an product, practice, space or text as your topic. Examples of topics used in the past include the Barbie Doll, Nintendo 64, roller blading, dance clubs, Calvin Klein fashion, Chupa Chups, cinema multiplexes, and Coca Cola. Possible topics, and your eventual choice, will be discussed in class before the series of tutorials on the research assignment.

The more specific and focused your topic, the easier the research project will be to plan and carry out.

Part 2: Drawing on your study of cultural studies approaches throughout the semester, develop a plan which explains what kinds of research are required (and why) to provide a cultural study of your chosen topic. You may find that you can't deal with all of representation, identity, production and consumption, and regulation in the time available and so some choice will be required. If you select dance clubs, for instance, you may find you wish to concentrate on representation, identity, consumption and regulation, for instance. 

The research plan should be written as a mini-essay and should be no longer than 1000 words.

Part 3: Perform a search in the library for information on your topic. You must make sure you think of the different kinds of information your various approaches will provide. So, for representation, you might be looking for examples of how the product is pictured in advertising or in stories in the press, but for production you may need to know something about the company that produces it. In some cases, there will be very little information available and you will have to use non-academic sources (eg newspaper stories on dance clubs would be found through using APAIS) fan sites on the web etc.. In other cases, there will be an enormous amount of material and you will have to select which ones are likely to have the orientation you need in order to cut down your reading. The tutorial discussions will help a great deal in this part of the process--both in giving you leads for sources of information, and helping you decide how to be selective.

As a product of this search you must compile an annotated bibliography of the material you have found most useful. This will involve a list of no less than a dozen items, each with a short paragraph describing how they have helped with your project.

Part 4: The final section of the assignment is an essay of between 1500-2000 words which outlines your preliminary findings on your topic. It is suggested that you organise your essay by explicitly addressing these four questions (ie using them as section headings):

• How is your product/text/practice/space represented?
• What social identities are associated with it?
• How is it produced and consumed?
• What mechanisms regulate its distribution and use?

The total length of the assignment will be 2500-3000 words + the annotated bibliography.

• Read the criteria sheet very carefully, and make sure you know just what you will be marked for.
• Re-read the Assessment page of this course guide, and the guidelines on the Presentation and submission of assignments on the School website. 
• Make sure you are familiar with the School Style Guide, which is available from the School office, on level 4 of the Michie Building.  It outlines the basic features of MLA style, which you are expected to use in all courses other than Linguistics in this School.

• Make sure you have used MLA style, and provided a list of all Works Consulted, including the full details of any texts you might be analysing. 
• Attach a completed copy of the School Cover Sheet to the front of your assignment.  You can pick up a copy of it from the School office, or you can download a copy of it here, in MS Word or RTF format, to cut and paste into and then print off with your assignment.

Assessment must be handed in on or before the due date, unless you have previously been given an extension by your tutor.  Assessment which is handed in after the due date and has not already been given an extension will be penalised.