The Arts
Field of study …
The Arts
(Communication Arts, Social Science
and the Humanities)
(Image sourced from: http://internetmarketingtipsandtricks.ning.com/photo
/photo/listForContributor?screenName=AprilSims Accessed 22/10/08)
The Arts
Critical Practice – perspectives from students
and lecturers in the field of Arts
Introduction
T
he College of Arts covers a wide range of disciplines, from
Communication, Social Sciences, Humanities and Languages to
Psychology and Education. Due to limited space, this chapter will
provide sample assignments with critical thinking in Communication
Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities. Education is covered in another
section of this book (p. xx – xxx). One common theme in all the subjects
represented here in the field of Arts is the importance of critical analysis
in student writing, for students to be prepared to question what they read
and hear, to develop their own perspective/point of view on a given topic
and to express this in their writing.
Given the vast range of topics which are explored in the school of
Communication Arts, it’s not surprising that there seems to be less of a
focus on content knowledge than on developing an innovative and critical
way of thinking. The subjects explored in Communication Arts in this
book were Introduction to Journalism and Political Public Relations. In
the assignment from journalism the student attributed his critical thinking
to “finding information, [different] perspectives…pulling them apart and
thinking about why they are the case instead of accepting one opinion”.
The lecturer who marked the assignment emphasised the need to ask
questions – so that you are “constantly learning.” The public relations
student described critical thinking as “challenging or agreeing” with
information you read and “putting your own opinion [forth] based on this
research.” The lecturer emphasised that students need to be aware of the
many different perspectives about a topic.
The School of Social Sciences includes a diverse range of degrees;
however this chapter will deal with the Tourism and Heritage studies area
only, where the ability to engage with and contribute to contemporary
industry debates is valued. Both of the assignments are from the subject
Sustainable Tourism in Context. The lecturer explained what was
expected regarding critical thinking in that subject and why these two
assignments were considered to be good examples demonstrating critical
thinking. The emphasis was on analysing issues and coming to
conclusions and she explained how both students expressed this in
different ways.
The Arts
Student from the School of Humanities and Languages will find
themselves participating in a global community where contradictory and
conflicting perspectives are the norm. The Humanities assignments are
from Asian Studies, Media Studies, Text and Writing and Art History.
Students who were interviewed identified some of the difficulties new
students may have in studying the Humanities. For example, one student
said that for new students: “there can be problems comprehending
assignment questions – this can be threatening.” One of the lecturers
considered that “the habit of regurgitating textbooks is often a problem
with first year students” and another echoed this by saying that “lack of
awareness of expectations [at university] can lead to …doing the least
amount of work.” This is not an effective approach to successful study
and researching information, and makes it difficult to develop your
critical thinking, as it is necessary to read a number of authors. One tip
for expressing critical thinking in assignments recommended by a media
student was to:



“Make a claim
Give evidence for the claim
Prove why you make this claim and why the evidence you have
used is significant. … Give opposing views and say ‘why’.”
Broadly speaking the field of Arts consists of many subjects and topics
which are open to debate and differing interpretations. As students, you
are expected to read and re-read information until you understand it, and
to question it, not assume that it is the “correct” answer. You are
expected to read authors with different points of view, explore the
debates on a topic and come to a conclusion yourself. This requires you
to set aside time to read, think, analyse and evaluate what you are
reading. A good way to develop your own point of view, once you have
read a number of authors on the topic, is to discuss and debate with other
students and staff, in class and out of class. Forming study groups can be
helpful for this.
The following sample assignments and comments from students and
lecturers should help you to better understand what is expected in
university assignments in Arts, especially in relation to critical analysis.
The Arts
Communication Arts
Introduction to Journalism (1st year subject)
The lecturer commented that critical thinking is a key concept in
Journalism. In fact the course takes a “critical, intellectual and analytical
approach to the practice of journalism” (UWS Handbook, 2008). The
lecturer believes the starting point to develop these skills is “good
academic research” which can be used to apply to the question. The
student commented that the essay question involved “a lot of analysis”
to understand the complexity of the topic (why some humanitarian crises
don’t make the front pages of newspapers). He was aware of the
lecturer’s expectations to do “a lot of research on the topic so that we
could back up what we had to say”. He also acknowledged the
importance of using research to “supplement” his own ideas. He reported
that in tutorials students were encouraged to “bounce each perspective or
opinion off each other, balancing the argument instead of taking one side
over the other”. It seems that the student then was able to confidently
argue differing perspectives in his essay because he had gained the
confidence to do so in his tutorials. Many successful students report that
a part of their success is their ability to integrate the critical skills learned
in one part of their course to other tasks. Critical thinking is often the
result of hard work or as the student says “dedicating as much time as
possible to the assessments and looking at all the available information”.
The first sentences of the Introduction to Journalism essay state:
“When perusing the daily newspapers, people seldom realise that the
news and information presented to them is not an accurate cross-section
of events happening across the globe. Rather, the news is chosen
according to a set of criteria that qualifies whether a story is worthy of
reaching the audience …” This demonstrates that the student has come to
a conclusion himself and is going to use the essay to explain why he has
come to this conclusion. In coming to your own conclusions about a
topic, after reading a number of different authors, you are in a position to
write your own point of view with evidence from references to support it.
Your point of view should be clear in both the Introduction and
Conclusion of your essay, and your evidence should be presented in the
Body of the essay.
The Arts
Critical Thinking – Communication Arts – Annotated Assignments
Introduction to Journalism (1st Year) – Academic Research Essay
Why do some humanitarian crises make the front page while
others wait in vain for their turn in the spotlight?

STUDENT
I did a lot of analysis in
terms of the topic and
finding out why some
crises don’t make the
front pages from the
perspective of both
newspapers and aid
organisations. This
was of great interest to
me.
When perusing the daily newspapers, people seldom
realise that the news and information presented to them is
not an accurate cross-section of events happening across
the globe. Rather, the news is chosen according to a set of
criteria that qualifies whether a story is worthy of
reaching the audience of the newspaper. The newspaper
firm, like any business aiming to generate a profit, will
provide its readers with a product that ensures the
circulation of their daily paper. As such, news items
concerning the gross suffering of humankind are often
sacrificed for stories which are much more trivial, simply
because the latter sells more papers. Whilst humanitarian
crises should be of the highest prevalence to society,
unless they have some linkage with the audience of a
newspaper, they will not garner enough interest from the
bulk of readers.
Humanitarian crises are events that severely compromise
the welfare, safety and wellbeing of a widespread portion
of the community. Reuters, an organisation that supplies
financial market data and services newspapers and
broadcasters, established the website AlertNet in order to
draw more attention from the wider public towards the
world’s countless humanitarian crises. Reuters noticed
reports during the Rwanda crisis of 1994, suggesting
inefficient work between relief charities on the ground.
After questioning these relief bodies on what was required
to improve this, they concluded that a service was needed
which would provide operation-specific information,
encourage the exchange of information between charities,
and increase public awareness of humanitarian
emergencies.
In 2005, AlertNet (2007) conducted a poll of over 100
humanitarian specialists, academics, activists and
members of the media, asking them to highlight the
humanitarian crises they believed were deserving of more
media attention. The top ten crises underscored by the
respondents included: the mass killings in Congo by
rebels; the abduction of 30,000 children in Uganda by the
Lord’s Resistance Army for use as sex slaves and
soldiers; the civil war in Sudan; the AIDS epidemic in

LECTURER
In this essay the
student has broken
down the question into
key components and
analysed the question
well.
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Africa; the 400,000 Liberian refugees yet to return home
two years after the war; the massive number of displaced
Columbians; the 20 per cent of Chechen refugees yet to
return home; the extreme levels of poverty,
malnourishment and AIDS in Haiti; the 40 per cent of
Nepalese living in poverty, as well as half of the children
aged under five being underweight; and the dangerous
spread of infectious diseases such as Malaria and Dengue.
All ten of these crises pose grave
dangers to humanity, yet none have
been successful in attracting the
sustained attention of major Western
newspapers. According to Marks
(2004), the high frequency of
humanitarian crises occurring across
the globe makes it difficult for aid
agencies to raise public awareness in
order to encourage donations and
support. She cites Polly Markandya, of
Advocates say many Sudanese refugees have spent years in
Medecins Sans Frontieres, who offers
refugee camps. Image sourced from:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/10/03/2050091.htm
an example of her own difficulty in
Accessed 16/10/08
engaging enough interest from the
Western media towards the horrific limb mutilations by
rebel fighters on the people of Sierra Leone. Markandya
says the British media dismissed the possibility of any
coverage, claiming it was “too horrible, too far away,
[and] too expensive” (p.648). She also reveals that, as it
currently stands, media outlets find it difficult to
accommodate a sufficient number of foreign stories to
gain the public interest that aid workers require. She says
“we've a feeling that you can have a maximum of two
foreign stories at any one time. There just isn't room for a
third" (p.648).
One reason for such a broad scope of humanitarian crises
consistently being overlooked in the process of
determining the coverage of news, relates to the news
values that must be satisfied in order to publish each
story. As Johnson-Cartee (2005) explains, all newspaper
firms have a set of news values that they use to measure
each story against, determining whether or not the item is
appropriate for publication. For a story to be covered, it
needs to meet all or most of the following conditions:
frequency; threshold; absolute intensity; unambiguity;
meaningfulness; cultural proximity; relevance;
consonance; unexpectedness; continuity; composition;
reference to elite nations; reference to elite people;
reference to persons; and reference to something negative.
Generally, however, all firms operate according to a broad
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
set of major news values, including conflict, consequence,
prominence, timeliness, proximity and human interest.

STUDENT
Johnson-Cartee quotes Graber (1989) when pointing out
that negativity or “natural or man-made violence, disaster,
or scandal” (p.126) is one of the more prevalent values in
determining newsworthiness. She also mentions that
journalists are acutely aware that the old adage “if it
bleeds, it leads” (p.126) is still followed in most
journalistic circles. Bearing this in mind, all humanitarian
crises should automatically qualify for a prominent
segment of the newspaper, as all crises are inherently
negative and disastrous. The main obstacle for crises
trying to reach the front page, however, is the news value
of proximity, which Alysen, Sedorkin, Oakham and
Patching (2003) define as something that “has happened
or is happening within the audience’s sphere of
proximity” (p.38). According to Conley (2006),
interpretations of proximity vary depending on the ethnic
or cultural bias of the media and the audience overall. He
cites Professor Susan Moeller when saying that
“sometimes millions die but in a news sense they are the
wrong people dying in the wrong places for the wrong
reasons” (p.91-92).
LECTURER
This is one example of
critical analysis since I
used examples of texts
to show those crises
that did not make it to
the front pages and
then I applied theories
about what did and did
not make it because of
audience appeal.
The student knows the
media and then relies
on academic research
as well as the strength
of the main text and
applies that to the
question.
Another factor that hinders the chances for certain
humanitarian crises making the front page is what
Schudson (2003) describes as “a system once governed by
professionalism and conscientious news values [that] is
being corrupted by an entertainment complex” (p.91). He
claims that “reporting styles around the world have grown
more informal, more intimate, more critical, and more
cynically detached or distanced over the past two
generations” (p.99). He says ‘soft news’ has risen
from 35 percent of all stories in 1980 to 50 per
cent by 1998, however states that there has also
been an “increase in sensationalism, humaninterest reporting, and crime and disaster news”
(p.99). Given the argument for proximity put
forward by Conley, such ‘disaster news’ would
involve stories that have a linkage with the ethnic
or cultural make-up of the newspaper’s audience.
For example, Australian newspapers provided
comprehensive coverage of Hurricane Katrina’s
devastation of New Orleans, as Australia has a
A child from Bajaur eats scraps of rice next to an
strong link to the United States, whereas the
empty bowl.
http://www.alertnet.org/db/blogs/54127/2008/09/1widespread poverty and suffering felt by Haitians
155515-1.htm
has received almost no coverage in Australia at
Accessed 16/10/08
all.
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
STUDENT
The difference between the two aforementioned crises is
that the former is more ‘marketable’ to the intended
Western audience than the latter. Underwood (1993)
believes newspapers are striving to achieve the marketing
gloss that is so readily available through the broadcast
medium, and as such warns that this approach ultimately
disadvantages the audience. He says “if marketing and
pleasing the public become the primary reason for their
existence, newspapers risk the loss of their identity and
the abandonment of any claim to the public conscience”
(p.180). Furthermore, as newspapers become increasingly
selective with the crises they choose to provide prominent
coverage for, humanitarian groups have been forced to
‘market’ their own crises in competition with other aid
groups.
Clifford (2006) explores this, questioning “why do a few
issues electrify the press and galvanise nongovernmental
organizations (NGO), while most others fail to elicit
international concern?” He says that while international
press attention and NGO activism does not guarantee the
provision of peace or justice, it has the power to alter the
nature of certain crises. He claims that aid organisations
vary in their capacity to deploy effective marketing
strategies, meaning groups from high profile nations, with
superior resources at hand and pre-existing international
contacts, possess an advantage over groups that are set
back “through historical or geographical accident.” This
disparity results in some aid groups generating a greater
amount of media interest than others.
The lecturer
encouraged us to do a
lot research of the
topic so that we could
back up what we had to
say. We used academic
journals and
theoretical pieces and
didn’t restrict
ourselves to one
perspective but instead
studied at least three or
four in order to
establish our own
opinion.
David Rieff is a journalist and author who witnessed the
response of nonprofit organisations to the war in Bosnia
and other crises around the world. He says that pressures
from government agencies and the news media have been
distracting humanitarian groups from their primary goal
of serving the marginalised and, as such, is placing
humanitarianism in danger of disappearing altogether. He
believes that for aid groups to attract the donations and
media attention they require, many have become
increasingly “business oriented,” favouring a “human
rights approach” whereby the organisation decides on
which people and which causes are most ‘worthy’ of
assistance (Kronstadt, 2002). He also claims that groups
often put forward a distorted description of a situation
when corresponding with journalists, so as to exaggerate
its severity and increase the amount of attention and
assistance towards their issue.
The Arts
An argument put forward by some scholars is that
humanitarian relief groups need to improve their
interactive skills with the media in order to gain the news
coverage they require. Greene (2004) says that very few
aid groups provide training in media relations to the
people who work on the ground in certain crises, making
it difficult for journalists to develop an effective story on
the issue. He states that the fierce competition among aid
groups seeking media attention for their respective causes,
often results in journalists receiving a distorted view on
such relief operations. He also cites “the high cost of
covering emergencies in remote areas overseas [as being]
perhaps the biggest obstacle to such efforts” and notes the
“imperatives of the news cycle” as proving a major
discouraging factor for journalists covering chronic crises.
The nexus of the issue is that, with such a broad scope of
humanitarian crises occurring across the globe
simultaneously, aid organisations have to fight to push
their cause onto the front page of the dailies. Newspapers
are formed according to a strict set of criteria, shaped by
the cultural and ethnic composition of their geographic
location and direct audience. Fink (1996) points out that
newspapers “should be entertaining and colourful, should
be aesthetically pleasing, but must be newsy and
informative” (p.187). Taking all of these factors into
account, the task of selecting crises that are worthy of
maximum exposure, suitable for the intended audience
and ultimately conducive to making a profit, becomes
extremely convoluted. Whilst some humanitarian crises
fall perfectly into the framework set by a newspaper,
others are destined to continue unbeknownst to all except
those who frequent the AlertNet site, or who actively
work towards eradicating the ever-present threats to
humanity.
(Written by Adam Miletic)
The marker wrote: Excellent work Adam – well
researched and succinctly presented. You have presented
this essay with excellent research and great examples.

LECTURER
This essay has
demonstrated critical
thinking – the ability to
ask questions and not
accept things on face
value and the desire to
go beyond what is
presented and knowing
that once you have
found the answers you
can still keep revisiting
and engaging with the
topic or issue. You are
constantly learning.
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Political Public Relations (3rd year subject)
The lecturer emphasised that “critical thinking is awareness that there
are many perspectives on one subject”. In the subject/unit outline (2008)
it is stated that: “there are no lectures in this unit. It consists of two-hour
face-to-face seminars each week…[which] are designed for experiential
learning, where students work in small groups and are engaged in
debates, quizzes, role plays, constructing scenarios and discussing case
studies”. This approach to learning encourages critical thinking and
debate about issues in the course, such as ethics in public relations. An
objective of the subject is assessing “the professional norms and
standards of the political consultant – whose increasing power is at odds
with their public invisibility”.
The student’s assignment commences with a strong statement that the
student has obviously thought about and concluded from her research.
She writes that “I believe the anti-privatisation campaign [of the Snowy
Hydro] is an important campaign to analyse…The success of this
campaign, once it gained media attention, was based on two things: the
spontaneous formation of an informal coalition, and a very well crafted
message strategy”. She suggests that she developed her critical thinking
skills by reading widely within the subject and attending the free
programs and workshops offered by the Student Learning Unit. In the
essay the student has used headings, which emphasise the structure of her
ideas and argument. You need to ask your marker whether this is
acceptable, as generally essays do not use headings which are more
common in reports. Also, find out whether you can write in the first
person (“I”) in your essays, as this may vary from marker to marker. You
will also notice that the student uses Wikipedia several times as a
reference. You need to check with your lecturer or marker whether this is
acceptable in assignments.
Image sourced from:
http://www.environment.gov.au/settlements/challenge/members/
snowyhydro.html Accessed 21/10/08
snowyhydro.html
Accessed: 21/10/08
The Arts
Political Public Relations (3rd Year) – Major Research Essay
Detailed Analysis of the Snowy Hydro Anti-privatisation Campaign

STUDENT
This was a new
campaign and I had to
research many
newspaper articles,
chat forums, etc. that
discussed the campaign
so that I could work
out what strategies and
tactics people were
picking up on.
1. Introduction
The following essay looks at the anti-privatisation
campaign that spontaneously rose up in May, 2006 in
opposition to the New South Wales, Victorian and
Federal governments’ plan to privatize the Snowy Hydro
(The Wall Street Journal Asia, 2006).
I believe the anti-privatisation campaign is an important
campaign to analyse because it reached its objectives in a
relatively short period of time. As this essay will show,
the success of this campaign, once it gained media
attention, was based on two things: the spontaneous
formation of an informal coalition, and a very well crafted
message strategy.
2. Research
a.) Background and Context
I did a lot of research
at first, then consulted
PR books and used the
theories found to
analyse. I then had to
make a judgment as to
what was being used,
as there were limited
pieces written on the
analysis of this
campaign.
In December 2005, New South Wales Premier Morris
Iemma announced plans to sell his state government’s 58
per cent majority stake in the Snowy Hydro Electricity
Scheme (The Wall Street Journal Asia, 2006). In addition
to this announcement, Mr. Iemma also proposed that the
Snowy Hydro should become completely privatized.
After some thought, the other government stakeholders
followed suit – with the Victorian government
announcing that it would sell its 29 per cent stake, and the
federal government announcing its intention to sell its 13
per cent stake in the Snowy Hydro (Head, 2006).
For five months, the above mentioned governments made
arrangements to sell their stakes in the Snowy Hydro,
placing investment bankers Goldman Sachs, JB Were,
Macquarie Bank and UBS in charge of managing the sale
(Head, 2006). These investment bankers launched a
multi-million dollar advertising campaign, and because of
this campaign more than 200,000 investors pre-registered
for the float prospectus (Head, 2006). This was a
testament to the fact that there was a great deal of interest
from individuals and corporations seeking to own a stake
in the Snowy Hydro.
However, in May 2006 the federal government
encountered opposition to its sale from a number of anti-

LECTURER
This essay is both
logical and analytical.
Cassie has the ability
to write, which means
to think. I feel that both
thinking and writing
are interrelated.
The Arts
privatisation pressure groups concerned that the sale was
not in the interest of the Australian public and
communities near the Snowy Hydro. They believed it
would instead benefit, and give a great deal of control
over to, private corporations who may restrict the flow of
water into the Murray-Murrumbidgee River basin (The
Wall Street Journal Asia, 2006).
Over the next month, these anti-privatisation pressure
groups received a great deal of media coverage and were
able to publicly voice their concerns through the mass
media.
Campaigners against the privatization of the Snowy
Hydro included the nation’s chief rural lobby group – the
National Farmers’ Federation (ABC, 2006). The National
Farmers’ Federation is the national body who represents
farmers and the agriculture industry across Australia
(National Farmers’ Federation, 2007). Since the
Federation began in 1979, it has become a leader in
identifying, developing and achieving policy outcomes
(National Farmers’ Federation, 2007). The Federation is
therefore seen as one of Australia’s most respected
lobbying and advocacy organizations (National Farmers’
Federation, 2007).
Another key lobby group who also voiced their concern
as part of the anti-privatisation campaign was the
Ricegrowers’ Association of Australia. The Association
was formed in the face of adversity in 1930, and today
represents 1700 voluntary members on issues that affect
the viability of their business to local, state and federal
governments (Ricegrowers’ Association of Australia,
2007). Together with the National Farmer’s Federation,
the Association wanted to make the Australian public
aware of the adverse affects the Snowy Hydro would have
on businesses that rely on water from the rivers in that
region.
There were yet other emergent players who hopped on the
anti-privatisation bandwagon, adding their voices to the
debate being played out in the media. One of these
emergent players was Liberal Senator Bill Heffernan. Mr.
Heffernan has been a liberal party member of the Senate
and represented the state of New South Wales since 1996
(Wikipedia, 2007). Mr. Heffernan is also a long-time
friend and supporter of Prime Minister John Howard
(Wikipedia, 2007). However, on the issue of the
government’s plans to privatize the Snowy Hydro, Mr.
Heffernan publicly criticized the government, voicing his

LECTURER
When I first read an
essay I look for
analytical content
which can be found in
the body of the essay. I
also check the
reference list for
evidence of critical
analysis of
recommended
readings. Critical
analysis starts with
comparison – a person
sees more than one
point of view and
maybe even a third and
these are probably
equal. Analysis starts
with demonstrating a
perspective on the
issue. There is a
relationship between
the person and the
subject –
intersubjectivity. When
the student sees that,
the thing she writes
about is not just about
the topic but how
others see it.
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
opposition to the sale in radio interviews and on television
news (ABC Radio, 2006).
STUDENT
Other members of parliament also joined Mr. Heffernan
in voicing their opposition to the sale, including Liberal
parliament secretary Gary Nairn and National Party MP
Kay Hull who in addition to
criticizing the privatization
demanded foreign ownership
restrictions (Head, 2006). In the
final days of the campaign,
Queensland Nationals Senator,
Barnaby Joyce also threatened to
block the sale in the Senate (Head,
2006).
The Greens too added their voice to
Image sourced from:
the campaign, in the form of MP
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/04/23/1904552.htm
Sylvia Hale (Kennedy, 2006),
Accessed 21/10/08
Victorian Greens candidate Greg
Barber, and NSW Greens MLC Ian Cohen (Australian
Greens Victoria, 2006).
Finally, opinion leader and radio shock jock Alan Jones
also added his voice to the opposition of the sale (Head,
2006), and on June 2, 2006 with opinion polls showing
the majority of the Australian public was against the
privatization of the Snowy Hydro (Ramsey, 2006), Mr.
Howard pulled out of the sale, causing the New South
Wales and Victorian governments to follow suit.
Critical analysis can
be found here.
b) Structure and Environment
I believe the greatest strength of the Snowy Hydro antiprivatisation campaign was its structure. Instead of just
one campaigning body advocating their position against
the government’s privatization plan, there was a coalition
of organizations each campaigning toward the same goal
and maintaining the same consistent messages throughout
the campaign. Des Wilson (1993) in her book
Campaigning: The A-Z of Public Advocacy, says that
given the strength of opposition a single pressure group
may encounter during a campaign, it makes sense to
accumulate as much support as you can from other
organizations. Wilson (1993) also states that this coalition
approach in no way undermines either the separate
identities or the work of individual pressure groups. But it
does help to get pressure groups working together and
creates a situation where each pressure group helps and
strengthens others (Wilson, 1993).
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In a newspaper article titled Anti-sale voice getting
louder, we see this working together and strengthening
approach in action. In the article, four different pressure
groups speak out against the government’s announcement
of a 35 per cent cap on foreign ownership (Sellars, 2006).
Throughout the article, the four pressure groups state and
reinforce each other’s consistent message that the foreign
ownership cap is not adequate because it only lasts four
years – after this time it opens the door for a majority
stakeholder (Sellars, 2006). This reinforces Wilson’s
statement that “strength comes in numbers…. [and] every
organisation you can involve gives your campaign
credibility, greater influence and greater resources” (1993,
p. 31).
An interesting observation is that the coalitions involved
in the anti-privatisation campaign were relatively
decentralized, and there were informal links between
them. This could be seen as either a strength or a
weakness. In weakness terms, being geographically
dispersed meant these groups could not meet face-to-face
and discuss their plans and evolving strategy throughout
the campaign. However, Kent (2000) in her book The Joy
of Lobbying: Campaigning to Influence Government
Decisions and Public Attitudes says it may not be
necessary to form a formal coalition unless a campaign is
going to be hard and long. Seeing as this campaign was
relatively short, and there were many communication
technologies at the disposal of these pressure groups, this
did not seem to affect the campaign.
The major features of the campaign environment are also
worth discussing here. In regard to the political
environment, Australian federal governments’ in recent
times have been very much in favour of privatization and
have been slowly selling off their stakes in national
companies. It was during the 1980’s and 1990’s that the
Federal Labor government under the leadership of Hawke
and Keating launched the privatization onslaught, starting
with the Commonwealth Bank and QANTAS (Head,
2006). According to an article by Rohan Pitchford and
Stephen King in the Australian Economic Review,
revenues from privatizations have exceeded 61 billion
dollars since the 1989-1990 financial year period (Green
Left Weekly, 2006).
The current Federal Liberal government has continued the
tradition and, during the time of the Snowy Hydro
campaign, there were two other major privatization plans
in the pipeline – that of Telstra and Medibank Private

LECTURER
Experiential learning
leads to critical
analysis. In my subject
we do not have
lectures, only two
hours of tutorials in
small groups made up
of groups. One group
of students facilitates
while the other reports.
Facilitation is an
easygoing, laidback
way to discuss
everyday experiences.
We also have quizzes
and role playing which
help students to
discover their position.
This makes them aware
that they already have
the knowledge – they
just need to rearrange
it or re-systemize it to
establish links between
theory and practice.
Critical thinking gives
students the ability to
see both sides of the
story and make their
own informed
decisions. Learning is
questioning and requestioning –
deconstructing what
you know. Categories
only rearrange
experiential learning
within a safer
environment. In this
way, students learn the
science of rearranging
what they already
know.
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
STUDENT
(Head, 2006). During this time, pressure groups
campaigning against the privatization of the Snowy
Hydro met intense opposition from the government who
wanted to go ahead with the sales. The anti-privatisation
groups therefore had to contend with the government’s
highly pro-business agenda (Head, 2006).
In tutorials, groups
were encouraged to
find and discuss
examples of different
aspects of political
Public Relations, but I
guess the research
skills we developed in
these facilitation
groups helped us to be
able to apply skills to
our final assignment.
The technological environment is also of interest. The
Snowy Hydro anti-privatisation campaign is an excellent
example of how technology has changed the way
participatory democracy (Stockwell, 2005) is played out
in the public sphere. In this campaign, deliberation started
and was mostly sustained, in the media. It was through
television news broadcasts and online newspaper
discussion forums such as the Sydney Morning Herald’s
Your Say that people were given the opportunity to
participate – a new type of e-participation (Hibberd,
2003). As DeLuca and Peeples (2002) state, we observe
in the anti-privatisation campaign a shift from public
sphere to public screen. This is not to say that traditional
face-to-face deliberation did not happen – it did, one
example being a forum debate between farmers and John
Della Bosca in Deniliquin (Trembath, 2006). It merely
shows a shift in focus now that we live in an increasingly
technologically-dependant society.
Critical analysis can
be found here.
c) Objectives, Strategies and Tactics
From the research I have conducted, I believe the
following were objectives of the Snowy Hydro antiprivatisation campaign:

To gain extensive national and regional media
coverage of the anti-privatisation campaign.

To raise awareness of the reasons why the Snowy
Hydro should not be sold.

To get members of the Australian public discussing
the issue, and for the Australian public to put pressure on
the federal government to abort the sale of the Snowy
Hydro.
Very interesting, and what I believe made this campaign
so successful, was the message strategy employed. The
message strategy used Aristole’s three categories of
rhetorical proof – emotion, reason, and character
(Stockwell, 2005).
In regard to emotion, the anti-privatisation campaign
communicated very effectively that the Snowy Hydro is
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an Australian icon (Quiggin, 2006). Taking people back
in time, the campaigners reminded the Australian public
that during the Snowy Hydro’s construction between
1949 and 1979, more than 100,000 workers, mostly
immigrants from at least 30 different countries, worked
tirelessly on the project, and 120 lost their lives whilst
working on it (Head, 2006). This was seen to be a very
powerful message that indeed resonated with the
audience. In a post that appeared on the Sydney Morning
Herald’s Your Say discussion thread on June 2, 2006,
‘Greg H’ shows that the message was effective:
“It is a shame that the NSW LABOR govt is selling the
snowy. The snowy is a national ICON and it should never
ever have even been contemplated being sold. Do
Australians have no sense of Australia?”
In addition to emotion, reason was also used because
reason is the central and conclusive form of rhetorical
proof (Stockwell, 2005). Reason was found in the logical
argument that a private majority stakeholder may restrict
water flow to the area’s river systems (Quiggin, 2006). I
see this too as a scare tactic which would have made
communities in the area concerned and driven to act.
Finally, character too is an important part of rhetoric
(Stockwell, 2005), so only high profile, credible
spokespeople and organizations were used in the media
coverage generated by the campaign (who were discussed
earlier in ‘Background and Context’).
There were many tactics used to convey the strategic
messages of the anti-privatisation campaign. Here I will
describe only a few.
The National Farmers’ Federation and its state
counterpart the Victorian Farmers’ Federation were very
keen on issuing press releases and building their media
capital (Stockwell, 2005). In one particular press release
issued by the Victorian Farmers’ Federation, the President
Simon Ramsey is the one and only spokesperson
referenced (Meek, 2006) and this I believe was a strategic
move to gain media exposure. By the ‘top guy’ firmly
stating his position and being referenced as the media
contact, it shows how important the issue is to the
organisation and makes the statement more credible and
more likely to be picked up by the media. And the media
did pick up these press releases and consulted presidents
of the various Farmers’ Associations. On the ABC News
on May 30, 2006, an entire segment was set aside for the
National Farmers’ Federation to state their opposition to
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the government’s plan to privatize (ABC, 2006). In this
news story, the spokesperson is President Peter Cornish
who is given the opportunity to comment on the matter.
Therefore, these press releases and media contacts were a
successful tactic used to gain media coverage.
An interesting tactic used to gain media exposure
was a public letter of petition written and
organized by Doug Nicholas. In the preface to the
petition signatures, there is a very strategically
worded appeal to the government that stresses the
iconic nature of the Snowy Hydro. This entire
written appeal was published in the Sydney
Morning Herald (AAP, 2006). To further ensure
this tactic was considered newsworthy (Sheridan
Burns, 2002) the signatories were strategically
chosen for their celebrity or public figure status –
such as actress Cate Blanchett, former Prime
Minister Malcolm Fraser, and Justice Marcus
Einfield, QC (AAP, 2006). They too were given
Image sourced from:
the opportunity to comment in the media. For
http://peakenergy.blogspot.com/2006_06_01_archi
ve.html Accessed: 21/10/08
example, on ABC Latelinesnowyhydro.html
on June 1, 2006,
Malcolm Fraser states “It’s
[the Snowy
Accessed:
21/10/08 Hydro] a
great Australian icon and I think it represents privatization
gone mad” (ABC, 2006a). Again, this gave opportunity
for the emotional message to be conveyed to the wider
Australian public.
Another tactic used to achieve the message strategy was
getting members of parliament publicly opposing the
government’s privatization plan. Senator Bill Heffernan
was the most prominent political face of the antiprivatisation campaign and gained a great deal of media
exposure because of newsworthiness – he was a liberal,
and supposed friend of the Prime Minister (Wikipedia,
2007), openly criticizing the federal government. In
addition to criticizing the government, Mr. Heffernan also
took every opportunity to rationally and emotionally
explain the issue to the wider Australian public. In an
interview on ABC Radio’s The National Interest segment,
Mr. Heffernan calmly explained the issue but also played
on people’s fear to get them debating and pressuring the
government. He says:
“If it is inevitable that they don’t change their minds [the
government] the next thing you’ve got to do is make sure
we protect Snowy Hydro from foreign ownership. And I
tell you and your listeners, that there are already
expressions of interest from several multinationals to take
the lot…” (ABC Radio, 2006).
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Therefore, moving parliament members to debate in the
media, was a very effective tactic.
d) Media Output and Public Opinion Indicators
There were a great deal of newspaper articles and
television news items dedicated to the anti-privatisation
campaign (see Appendix). Because of the media
coverage, the Australian public became aware of the
argument against privatization of the Snowy Hydro, and
over the few weeks that the campaign was prominent in
the media, the majority of public opinion came to align
with the anti-privatisation campaigners (Sydney Morning
Herald, 2006). For example in the Sydney Morning
Herald, an online poll was commissioned asking: “Snowy
Hydro sale: For or Against?” Of the thousands of people
who voted, only 15 per cent were for the sale, and 85 per
cent were opposed (Sydney Morning Herald, 2006).
Public opinion against the privatization of the Snowy
Hydro was also outlined on Alan Jones’ breakfast radio
show. On June 1, 2006, Mr. Jones stated that his radio
station received 29,000 calls in a phone poll they were
conducting, and only 208 of these calls were in favour of
the sale – the rest were opposed (2GB, 2006).
In the article Media Participation, Bucy and Gregson
(2001) state that talk radio programs deliberately attempt
to mobilize the public into participation. From reading
radio scripts of Alan Jones’ breakfast show (included in
the Appendix), I believe this is exactly what he was trying
to do – and it did work. As an opinion leader
(Klingemann & Rommele, 2002) I believe Alan Jones
also would have influenced a lot of people’s opinion, and
I believe having him speak out in opposition to
privatization was also a tactic.
In the end, public opinion was the stated reason for the
federal government’s decision to pull out of the sale
(Ramsey, 2006). As Stockwell (2005) points out, Mr.
Howard is very attuned to public opinion and keeps up-todate with the latest opinion polls. If Mr. Howard did not
pull out of the sale and bow to public opinion, his stance
on the issue had the potential to de-rail his government at
the next election, as he probably would lose key National
seats needed for him to win (Ramsey, 2006).

LECTURER
I avoid the deductive
way of learning – we
start with the everyday
and look for solutions
then use theory to
better understand what
is happening.
Sometimes we look at
crises but at other
times celebrations
make us stop and think.
This leads back to
experiential learning.
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
STUDENT
There is a broad
framework because the
subject was an
introduction to
Political Public
Relations. Each week
there was a different
topic e.g. Political
Marketing, Persuasion,
Public Image and
Message Strategies.
For the assignment we
had to pick one or two
areas and analyse them
in the context of the
chosen campaign.
3. Evaluation and Conclusion
Once in the media, I believe the success of this antiprivatisation campaign was based on two things: the
spontaneous formation of an informal coalition, and a
very well crafted message strategy.
Firstly, I think the formation of an informal coalition gave
the campaign more influence because the public saw
many separate individuals and organizations campaigning
and thought that if so many credible bodies were
opposing the Snowy Hydro sale, there must be good
reason for it. Therefore, the public sat up and took notice.
Then when the public had taken notice, I believe it was
the message strategy that enabled the campaign’s ultimate
objective to be achieved – to get members of the
Australian public discussing the issue and for the
Australian public to put pressure on the federal
government to abort the sale of the Snowy Hydro.
By using emotion in the message, I believe this helped the
public remember the message and the essence of the
argument. By using reason, it gave the public a logical
rationale to oppose the sale. People saw that there were
good, solid reasons for fighting for the Snowy Hydro;
therefore they were willing to debate and take action.
Also, the credibility of individuals and organizations
presented in the media would have further reinforced
people’s stance against the sale and given them added
drive to voice their opinion.
Therefore, I believe it is for these reasons the antiprivatisation campaign was so short and ultimately
successful.
(Written by Cassandra Lawton)
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Themes and issues raised by student and lecturers in the
field of Communication Arts
Students
Lecturers
Definitions of Critical Thinking
Definitions of Critical Thinking
“Finding information, perspectives or opinion
– analysing them, pulling them apart and
thinking about why they are the case instead
of accepting one opinion. Basically, I think to
think critically about a subject you have to
find more than one perspective on it.
(Introduction to Journalism)
“Critical thinking is awareness that there are
many perspectives on one subject.” (Political
Public Relations)
“Once you have researched something and
have a firm grasp of the subject, taking what
you have learned and critiquing and
challenging or agreeing, but pretty much
putting your own opinion [forth] based on this
research”. (Political Public Relations)
It’s the ability to ask questions and not accept
things on face value and the desire to go
beyond what is presented and knowing that
once you have found the answers you can still
keep revisiting and engaging with the topic or
issue. You are constantly learning.
(Introduction to Journalism)
Expectations of Critical Thinking Skills
Developing Critical Thinking Skills
We are encouraged to bounce each
perspective or opinion off each other,
balancing the argument instead of taking one
side over the other. (Introduction to
Journalism)
[I built my own critical thinking skills] by
dedicating as much time as possible to the
assessments and looking at all the available
information. (Introduction to Journalism)
[I developed critical thinking skills myself] by
reading widely within the subject, using
Student Support Services. I attended
workshops like Unistep and Acprep when I
first started University and I also attended
workshops held on Orientation Day - these
gave me an idea of what was expected.
(Political Public Relations)
Critical thinking is the key word in
Journalism. If students can’t think on their
feet no one will do it for them. This essay
shows how students are expected to think
critically. (Introduction to Journalism)
I look at whether the student is thinking
outside the box. The student must search for
answers and the essay must be a cut above the
rest. Journalism is about the uniqueness of
the story. In a way we help students to
develop their own unique abilities.
(Introduction to Journalism)
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Different Expectations from 1st to 3rd year
Different Expectations from 1st to 3rd year
The things covered in 1st Year are not
revisited. Students go through a process. In 1st
“More is expected of you as you progress
Year they learn the basics, eg. News values. In
because you have learned so much more.
2nd Year they write their own stories and by
st
Expectations of 1 year students are still high, 3rd Year it is possible for them to become
but by 3rd year you are expected to have
published so that by the end of their degree
improved your critical thinking by looking
they have a published portfolio. Even some
deeper into the theories and questioning them. 2nd Year students are working in the industry
(Political Public Relations)
now because they have learned to develop
stories. (Introduction to Journalism)
nd
I am in 2 year now and so far the
expectations from our lecturers and tutors are
the same. The expectations are pretty high.
Plagiarism and Critical Thinking
You have to learn from your mistakes.
(Introduction to Journalism)
I tell students that plagiarism is NOT
accepted. I have had students who try to
hand in work already published in the media.
I tell them it is not accepted and that in most
cases the story has to be an original idea and
they have to pitch it to a class of 25 people.
We suggest what angle and let the student
pick their own subject.
Plagiarism is a huge problem especially in
citing sources because students don’t know
what analysis is and copy and paste from
Internet sites because they are anxious to
show the academic quality of their work.
Some international students may plagiarize in
order to cover up the fact that their English
skills are poor. (Political Public Relations)
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Social Sciences
Sustainable Tourism in Context (1st year subject)
This core unit for tourism students considers the ways various
environments are affected by human activity and examines the
relationships between tourism and the environment. The assignment was
to choose an aspect of sustainable tourism (eg. Natural heritage, cultural
heritage) and “critically analyse how the topic can contribute to a better
understanding and practice of sustainable tourism” (Unit/Subject Outline,
2008). Students were given the choice of writing in essay format or
report format, and headings and subheadings were acceptable in the essay
format.
When interviewed, the first student who wrote about public
education/awareness was unsure why her essay/report was successful.
However, the student was successful because she had explored some of
the main features of her chosen topic and had related these features to the
practice of sustainable tourism. She had followed the guidelines of her
Unit Outline which had listed three important critical thinking
approaches the lecturer wanted the students to develop during the
semester:



“Examine the linkage between tourism and various aspects of the
environment for sustainable development
Develop various techniques in problem solving and critical
thinking and
Understand the relationships between tourism and the broad
concept of sustainable development”
The student had also incorporated and critically analysed the fundamental
principles of sustainable development. These principles (biodiversity,
intra and inter generational equity and the precautionary principle) were
some of the major principles listed in her unit outline. In the report the
student had discussed these principles and then explored the significance
of each principle. As readers we see this progression in the stages of her
writing by her use of phrases such as “In light of this…”; “Therefore…”
and “These initiatives would help visitors to…” Another reason the
student was able to submit a successful report was that she read “a range
of different opinions on the topic” and then decided “which argument
was more relevant to [her]”.
The second student essay examined the conflict between sustainability
and cultural heritage. In some tourist locations there are examples of
cultural heritage, such as historic buildings or indigenous sites/rock
drawings, which are harmed by tourist visitations. In such situations it is
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necessary for the tourist activity to solve the problem of damage to the
cultural heritage for it to remain viable. In other situations it is through
tourism that a heritage icon is recognised and respected. Sustainable
tourism and preservation of heritage need to complement each other. This
student concluded this for himself, after reading widely and considering
different points of view.
This student was a mature age student who felt that life experiences had
helped him to better develop his critical thinking and understanding of
the industry and its complexities. He appreciated that critical thinking is a
part of lifelong learning. When he wrote in the abstract of his report that
“...the tourist industry is operating for economic gain, whilst the heritage
industry is endeavouring to conserve the heritage of a particular
attraction…” this student had clearly come to his own conclusions. He
takes this further by saying “it is important that both parties understand
the implications of poor management and work together to ensure that the
attraction is sustainable”.
The lecturer used a variety of ways to encourage critical thinking in her
unit. She specifically mentioned critical thinking in lectures and in the
directions for each assignment as well as developing tasks which require
a critical response. For example, students were asked to analyse visual
information in cartoons and news clippings. They were also given an
article to read and then were asked to develop mind maps incorporating
the main ideas in the article. Another activity the lecturer used to develop
critical thinking was to ask students to assess a past student’s report using
the marking criteria developed for their report. In addition to activities
such as these, it is important for you to integrate the content from all
lectures including guest lectures, tutorial activities and field trips into
your preparation of an assignment.
The first student’s success is partly dependent on being able to
understand and implement the lecturer’s expectations of critical thinking.
The lecturer suggested that a good critical thinker should be capable of




“Understanding what the issue is
Analysing it
Seeing how different issues relate to each other and
Coming to some conclusions from their own reading and
analysis.”
The student’s definition of critical thinking demonstrates that she has
been able to put into practice her lecturer’s expectations. She defined
critical thinking as “formulating my own ideas after analyzing what
others have said and then coming to my own conclusions based on the
facts I have read”. The second student’s definition of critical thinking is
that “it means not being a puppet …questioning everything…and
forming your own opinion”. He has demonstrated that he is doing this
and responding to the lecturer’s expectations about critical thinking in his
report. This is particularly noticeable when he identifies what is missing
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from the cultural heritage of Sydney’s “Rocks” area – acknowledgment
of the Chinese and aboriginal people who lived there. His conclusion is
also well written, showing his critical thinking about the topic.
Critical Thinking – Social Science – Annotated Assignments
Sustainable Tourism in Context (1st Year) – Report
Sustainable Tourism

STUDENT
I looked at a number of
different authors and
their perspectives. I
also looked at both
sides and made my own
judgment. With
previous assignments I
was a bit of a puppet
but now I question
what I am reading.
Abstract
The relationship between cultural heritage and tourism is
conflicting. Both parties have different priorities; the
tourist industry is operating for economic gain, whilst the
heritage industry is endeavouring to conserve the heritage
of a particular attraction. There are several issues facing
the heritage and tourism relationship. This includes
comodification, ‘fake’ authenticity, under-use and overuse. These have had negative impacts on the cultural
heritage of attractions. However, tourism has also great
economic gain for the local communities and even the
heritage advocates and conservationists as tourists open
their pockets to visit culturally significant attractions.
Whilst tourism is the consumer of the product, and
heritage is responsible for maintaining and conserving the
product, it is important that both parties understand the
implications of poor management and work together to
ensure that the attraction is sustainable.
Introduction
The study of cultural heritage has created a better
understanding of sustainable tourism, and the effects of
tourism on cultural heritage can be used as a case in the
practice of the effects of tourism. The sustainability of
culture and heritage is a contentious issue in the
relationship between those involved with heritage and the
tourism industry. Both, in some way, depend on the other
with cultural heritage being the resource or the product,
and tourism being the economic activity which consumes
the product. Whilst both the tourism and heritage
industries have a broad scope, the relationship between
the two is the main focus of this paper.
Cultural Heritage and Tourism
Cultural heritage involves the protection of the qualities
and attributes of a place, as well as the physical structure
of a place that demonstrates an aesthetic, historic,

LECTURER
This assignment was a
good example of
critical thinking. The
assignment is about
writing a report on
Sustainable Tourism
that allows use of the
library. The topics
aren’t taught
specifically in class but
the students must do
research on recent
discourse. The Unit is
based on critical
analysis by
encouraging students
to search for
information from
academic books and
analyse them critically
using the reference
lists given. For this
assessment we require
APA in-text referencing
and a reference list.
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
STUDENT
I am studying for a
degree in Tourism and
one of my other
lecturers says that
Tourism ignores
heritage management,
but if you look at
documents set up by
the United Nations they
actually recognize
Heritage managers so
they aren’t actually
being ignored, but they
aren’t doing as they
should so there is a
kind of compromise.
Most Tourism
textbooks talk about
the benefits while
Heritage texts talk
about the problems.
We are given a reading
list but we are
encouraged to read
further. The lecturer
might put a picture up
during the lecture that
isn’t in the text and this
creates an interest to
follow it up. In this
assignment we could
choose the topic we
wanted rather than
have one specific topic;
therefore we were able
to follow our own
interests.
scientific or social significance to the past, present or
future generations. Cultural heritage also includes
intangible qualities like people’s association with, or
feelings for a place (NSW Department of Primary
Industries, 2006). A cultural tourist is an individual who
travels to a particular region or visits an attraction for the
aesthetic, historic, scientific or social value of that region
or attraction (Trotter, 2001).

LECTURER
Cultural heritage encompasses numerous stakeholders
including the tourism industry, local communities,
heritage managers and government and non-government
organisations. Each stakeholder has an important role to
play in the cultural heritage framework. It is apparent,
however, that the stakeholders involved have different
motivations and ideals on how cultural heritage should be
managed and utilized (Australian Heritage Commission,
2008). Staiff (2003) suggests that tourism often ignores
heritage managers; this is because their priorities differ
from each other. Tourism is driven mainly by private
enterprises that seek to profit from the heritage site, whilst
heritage managers wish to protect and conserve the
heritage site (du Cros, 2001).
Importance of Cultural Heritage
Cultural heritage is important as it ensures that future
generations will have access to knowledge and be able to
enjoy the culture/s of the current and past generations.
Cultural heritage is significantly important to local
communities in the host community, region and country.
For example, someone living in Sydney will feel a sense
of ownership and attachment to the Harbour Bridge and
the Sydney Opera House as these are both important
symbols of the city and Australia. Staiff (2000)
acknowledges that someone living in Campbelltown will
still feel some sort of attachment and belonging to the
Harbour Bridge, but may not feel the same to the suburb
of Campsie. This is because the Harbour Bridge and the
Opera House are important cultural heritage icons in
Australia, whereas Campsie is not.
What are the issues?
There are several positive and negative effects of cultural
heritage tourism. Cultural heritage sites are naturally
tourist attractions that draw visitors in. This has economic
benefits for the businesses that are involved in the service
of the particular visitor, the local community and the
region’s economy. However the cultural heritage sector
In the assignment
critical analysis is
found in the body of the
essay/report.
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argues that its values are compromised by tourism, for
commercial gain (McKercher, Ho & du Cros, 2005).

STUDENT
The lecturer always
encourages us to think
about both sides and
read outside the given
list.
Conflict is seemingly more likely to occur when the
power balance between both stakeholders shifts. This
empowers one, and disempowers the other. Attractions
drive tourism (McKercher et al, 2006), this means that
tourism, in most cases, is the new stakeholder in the
equation and due to its economic strength can gain the
balance of power quite effectively. Tourism then
competes with the other stakeholders for access and use
of the cultural resource (McKercher, Ho & du Cros,
2005).
Under-use and over-use are also threats to the
sustainability of cultural tourism products. Over-use can
degrade the physical fabric of the place, damage values
and lead to a poorer experience from the visitor
(McKercher & Ho, 2006). Under-use leads to a lack of
revenue, which can be used for conservation and
protection of the asset. Under-use will also create public
dissatisfaction within the host community as many
cultural attractions are tax-payer funded through various
governments.
Conserving the Past: Processes of Conservation
There are several techniques that are used throughout the
world at numerous heritage sites, both natural and
cultural. It is important that these programs and
conservation techniques are in place to preserve and
sustain the attraction for the future.
These techniques include (Aplin, 2002):




Maintenance: protecting the fabric regularly
Preservation: maintain the fabric in its existing
form and stemming deterioration
Restoration: returning the existing form back to
earlier known form without introducing new
materials
Adaption and compatible uses: modify the place to
suit compatible uses (use which doesn’t change the
fabric; therefore changes are sustainable and
reversible)
Government policy and legislation is also changing to
ensure that heritage sites are conserved for future
generations. Agreements and charters, like the Burra
Charter in Australia (Trotter, 2001), endeavour to

LECTURER
In the first workshop
held, to encourage
development of their
critical thinking skills,
I show the students a
cartoon and ask them
to analyse the visual
information. In the
second workshop I use
news clips about
current issues in
tourism in Australia
and overseas (this is
group work). The
group reads the article
and develops a mind
map then discusses
this.
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
maintain a sustainable attraction. Having a site heritage
listed is also another successful way to ensure that the
sites are conserved and protected under government and
non government policies and legislation. There are
currently 360 cultural and 100 natural sites World
Heritage Listed (Drost, 1996).
STUDENT
Tourism, can create stress on the attraction itself, as
mentioned previously, over use can have a detrimental
effect to the attraction. It is important for heritage
managers, as well as tourism operators to understand and
be aware of the carrying capacity of the attraction.
Successful heritage managers will prevent any harm
being done to the cultural attraction, rather than react to
something that has happened (Drost, 1996).
The effect of tourism
The lecturer
encourages reading –
actually a lot of
lecturers in this
University and in
Social Sciences
encourage you to read
and respect your own
opinion, as long as you
can back it up by
readings and also by
looking at two different
perspectives. The
lecturer doesn’t let her
own opinions get in the
way of letting you form
your own ideas.
The demand for culture within the destination from
tourism has had some significant effects on the
authenticity of certain cultural practices. This has created
great debate on what is real or authentic and what is
staged or manipulated to meet tourism demands. In some
tourist destinations, the attraction has been manipulated,
or activities within the attraction have been manipulated
to appeal to the tourist’s way of seeing (Teo & Yeoh,
1997). In Australia, the Burra Charter prevents changes to
heritage sites unless it is to preserve the security of the
site (Trotter, 2001).
The Rocks, in Sydney is a perfect example of a heritage
site that has lost part of its authenticity and become
commodified due to the demand from tourism (Waite,
2000). The Rocks is an area that has heritage conservation
methods in place to preserve its cultural significance but
has also accepted the demand from tourism and has
numerous tourist infrastructure in place to meet these
demands (Karskens, 1999). However, there are some gaps
in the retelling of the past at
The Rocks. During the 1850’s,
many Chinese migrated to
Australia and a large number of
these, after the gold rush, lived
in the Rocks. There is nothing
in The Rocks precinct that
suggests that Chinese migrants
may have once lived here, or
that it was at one stage
Sydney’s Chinatown. The
same can be said for the
Image sourced from: http://australianheritagedancers.org.au/photos.html
Accessed 22/10/08
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cultural heritage of the Eora people, who were the
aboriginal tribe that occupied the land where The Rocks
now stands (Staiff, 2000; Karskens, 1999; Kelly, 1997).
In the developing world tourism is seen as an economic
activity which can boost the local economy. However a
lot of the time businesses from the developed world are
investing their money into tourism in the developing
world. This creates resentment from the local
communities as the host is not receiving direct economic
benefit, the profits made from the utilization of the
heritage attraction are being directed back in to the
developed countries. The developing world, generally has
a bad environment, poor economy, is constantly changing
and has little preservation of culture. As a result there is
not much heritage in these regions (Robinson & Picard,
2006).

LECTURER
Recommendations
In order for the tourism industry and the heritage
managers of the sites in which it intends to consume to
work harmoniously together there needs to be some sort
of balance agreed upon. Finding the balance between
conservation and economic value will lead to a better
working relationship between the two stakeholders. In
saying that, the tourism industry needs to understand the
importance of conservation and the work carried out by
the heritage managers and the professionals in the
heritage field. The attraction is what creates tourism, and
without that attraction, tourism in the particular place will
diminish. Cultural heritage preservation and conservation
is not solely about giving access to tourists, it is also a
historically significant tangible or non-tangible asset to
the community.
With this in mind, it can be said that heritage managers
and conservationists also need to understand that the
tourism industry allows for financial security to undertake
methods and strategies to sustain the site (like the
conservation processes mentioned previously). The
income generated from tourists at the attractions can lead
to a more secure and sustainable future for the cultural
heritage attraction. By formulating a model to determine
the carrying capacity of the particular attraction, the
heritage managers will be able to control the impact of
tourists on the destination. The fragility of the particular
attraction in question will determine the extent of the
carrying capacity. Once this capacity has been set, all
stake holders in the equation should be given strict
I invite a staff member
from the Student
Learning Unit to
discuss critical
analysis as well as
referencing techniques
so that the students are
well equipped to write
this essay. As an
exercise during the
tutorial I have them
read a macro report
and they have to
critique it. It is
somebody else’s report
and students have to
assess it using the same
critique as I use to
mark their own essay.
This way they can see
the other’s mistakes
and know what I am
looking for in a
report/essay.
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
STUDENT
I think it [critical
thinking] means not
being a puppet and
forming your own
thoughts on any subject
and questioning
everything eg. what
people say. It also
involves reading
widely, looking into the
subject and forming
your own opinion.
Knowledge is power.
guidelines that must be followed when consuming the
product. This will ensure that the cultural heritage site
will be sustainable for future generations.
Conclusion
Cultural heritage and the studies into the heritage and
tourism mix have lead to a greater understanding of the
need for sustainable tourism. Whilst tourism serves as a
great economic activity to the local community and its
economy, it also acts as a major threat to the sustainability
and conservation of many heritage sites. The demand on
cultural activities and sites from the tourism industry has
created authenticity problems, as in many cases supply
cannot meet demand. The tourism industry continues to
apply pressure to heritage managers, and with both parties
having different priorities the relationship between the
two is conflicting. Finding the balance between the two
stakeholders will ensure that cultural heritage is sustainable as well as economically beneficial.
(Written by Brad Kennedy)
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Sustainable Tourism in Context (1st Year) – Essay
Public Education/Awareness and Sustainable Tourism

STUDENT
Introduction
Sustainable tourism is tourism which meets the needs of
the present generation of tourists and host regions without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs (Agenda 21, 1992). Public education/
awareness plays a major role in the long term plan of
sustainable tourism, as it encourages individuals and
communities to maintain the environment and heritage
that is available to them, by giving them the means to
appreciate what they have. Ecotourism is a prime example
of how public education can contribute to a better
understanding and practice of sustainable tourism, by
embracing the following fundamental principles of
sustainable development: biodiversity conservation, intragenerational equity, inter-generational equity and
precautionary principle. According to Agenda 21 (1992) it
is not only the responsibility of governments, business
and industry, but also the public at large to ensure the
future of the planet, therefore public awareness is an
essential part of sustainable development and tourism
alike.

LECTURER
Good introduction.
Ecotourism
This paragraph
provides the theory
which is related to the
practical example in
the next paragraph.
According to Hall and Testoni (2004) ecotourism is
ecologically sustainable tourism that encourages
environmental and cultural understanding, appreciation
and conservation. It differs from other forms of tourism,
for example nature based or adventure tourism, because it
involves ecological and social responsibility and an
educational element. Educating people about changing
their ways regarding conservation and the environment
and people actually changing their behaviour as a result
are two very different things. According to Orams (1995)
educational programs should aim to challenge a person’s
understanding in order to create interest. Increasing a
person’s knowledge does not necessarily mean they will
change their behavior, they need to be presented with
experiences encompassing the new knowledge they have
gained, so that they have practical experience on which to
base their future experiences.
Therefore ecotourism contributes greatly to the public’s
understanding and practice of sustainable tourism through
This essay
demonstrates critical
thinking. Since the
topic is not taught in
class, students must
search for recent
literature from the
library and then
analyse the information
critically.
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
STUDENT
The final sentence in
this paragraph is an
example of critical
thinking.
the practical implementation of ecological and social
responsibility. Landscope Expeditions, for example, is a
community supported research program in Western
Australia which provides unique travel experiences
involving the preservation of endangered wildlife and
their habitats, and hands-on research (Department of
Environment and Conservation, 2008). While exploring
remote and unforgettable areas, the people involved in
these expeditions may be on holiday, but they are helping
the community through the research and conservation
they are involved in, fulfilling their social responsibility.
After an ecotouristic experience such as the Landscope
Expedition, participants would be educated enough to
implement precautionary principle on a small scale, for
example being able to ensure that a proposed activity
would not result in significant harm (Nevill, 2004).
As demonstrated, ecotourism focuses on biodiversity
conservation and precautionary principle which are
fundamental components of sustainable tourism. This in
turn promotes the meeting of needs and wants of the
present generation of tourists (intra-generational equity)
and future generations (inter-generational equity), by
helping to maintain the environment (Hunter, 1997). In
light of this, the public should be informed and made
aware of ecotourism experiences, for example through
television and other media outlets to give them the
opportunity to contribute to and be involved in
sustainable tourism.

LECTURER
Many students from
high school are used to
depending on online
resources. First year
students are expected
to use journals and
books. They are
expected to use at least
one article from the
journals from the
References and
Additional Readings
list in the Unit Outline.
Initiatives
This paragraph and the
following one
demonstrate wide
reading.
In the United States, the state of Florida has
developed a ‘Green Lodging’ environmental
quality program, which acknowledges hotels
and motels that meet numerous standards for
environmental awareness practices.
According to Jackovics (2008) the various
practices range from communicating
environmental goals to staff and guests
through to water conservation with the use of
water saver shower heads and toilets. This
Image sourced from:
program demonstrates cooperation and
http://www.caribpro.com/Caribbean_Property_Magazin
e/index.php?pageid=218
coordination between the state government
Accessed: 21/10/08
and local tourism businesses, which
according to Berry and Ladkin (1997) is of prime
importance when implementing sustainable tourism
practices. These hotels aim to attract ecotourists as well as
inform other guests and the public about sustainability. To
attract tourists and make them aware of the hotels
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
STUDENT
committed to sustainability; participating hotels receive
palm tree logos (Jackovics, 2008). Educating people
about this practice would encourage people to stay in
these particular hotels, which in turn may encourage other
hotels to commit to the program, therefore reducing
negative environmental impacts.

LECTURER
According to Berry and Ladkin (1997) in East Sussex, in
the United Kingdom, a consensus was reached that both
tourists and locals alike would be educated about the
importance of sustainability. The objective was to
encourage pride in the environment by educating people,
especially children, to respect it. As a result, shop owners
were encouraged to stock local produce to minimise the
effluent and pollution associated with the transportation
of goods, as well as contribute to the sense of local
identity, which attracted tourists (Berry & Ladkin, 1997).
Furthermore, Drost (1996, p.482) argues that “educating
and raising people’s awareness of the physical and
sociocultural environment are fundamental to achieving
sustainable development. Ultimately, people must act
responsibly and regulate their own behavior to bring
about lasting change.” Therefore, local educational
campaigns have the ability to raise the profile of
sustainable tourism, and encourage people to participate
locally (Berry & Ladkin, 1997).
After I have referenced
someone, I have used
examples to back up
what I said.
According to Drost (1996) in order to develop sustainable
tourism there are two approaches: education and
regulation, both of which are necessary and
complimentary. In order to effectively instil sustainable
behaviour through education, it must be tied with
regulations. Furthermore, with the imposition of
regulations should come education, so that people
understand and accept the rules and restrictions being
imposed (Drost, 1996). For example, one way of raising
public awareness to the problems associated with
insensitive tourism is “through the distribution of codes
of ‘tourist ethics’ which are targeted directly at tourists at
the point of departure or arrival” (Drost, 1996, p.482).
These initiatives would help visitors enhance their
touristic experience, and therefore encourage the visitor to
come back again, while also avoiding anything that may
interfere with the sustainability of the particular
destination.
I ask students not to be
scared to give their own
opinion, but they must
be able to support it.
Making mistakes is part
of the learning process.
There is no single right
answer.
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
STUDENT
Once again, I have
used an example to
support my argument.
Agenda 21 for the Travel and Tourism Industry
“Agenda 21 is a comprehensive programme of action
adopted by 182 governments at the United Nations
Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED),
the Earth Summit, on 14 June 1992” (Agenda 21, 1992).
The aim of the agenda is to secure a sustainable future for
the planet, by encouraging international cooperation and
awareness within all sectors of society and government. It
argues that long term inaction could result in
environmental and economic disaster. In Agenda 21 for
the travel and Tourism Industry (1992), the involvement
and education of the general public in relation to
sustainable tourism plays an important role.
According to the agenda (1992) concerned citizens should
be able to participate in tourism development issues, so
that planning decisions can be adopted at a local level.
This allows the local people to have their say in what is
needed and wanted in the local community in order to
attract tourists, without impacting too heavily on their
lives. It is also believed that it is the role of Government
departments, National Tourism Authorities (NTAs) and
trade organisations to raise public awareness of
environmental issues. For example, organisations should
work with the education department to ensure that
environmental and sustainable development issues are
addressed in school courses and higher education courses
in tourism (Agenda 21, 1992). Educating the public at a
young age means that the principles of sustainable
development and tourism will be part of their lives
forever, therefore increasing the likelihood of future
sustainability and preservation.
Conclusion
This conclusion is an
example of critical
thinking. I came to my
own conclusions based
on the facts I had read.
Public awareness/education plays a key role in sustainable
tourism as it determines how a tourist or host community
behaves and treats the environment. After an ecotourism
experience, one would see the world from a completely
different view. Ecotourism leaves the visitor exposed and
completely aware of the environment in its entirety.
Advertising ecotourism as a possible alternative to the
average holiday would encourage more people to become
involved in the pursuit for sustainability. The hotels and
motels in Florida are not only saving money due to their
‘greener’ image, they are also setting an example for
households all over the world, by demonstrating that
energy saving light globes and water saving shower heads
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do not compromise efficiency, but instead reduce energy
and water bills, and therefore their impact on the
environment. The public are not able to contribute or do
their part to preserve the environment or heritage sites if
they do not know how to, therefore the teaching of
sustainable tourism and development in schools may
encourage younger generations to protect and maintain
the environment in which they grew up. To help enforce
this, all school children should be able to have an ecotourism experience.

LECTURER
A very good paper,
well-thought out and
referenced.
Students must
demonstrate that they
can relate the topic and
sustainable tourism.
This carries the highest
mark. Also, referencing
is important so that
critical thinking is
supported.
(Written by Jessica Amrein)
Image sourced from: http://www.wcs-congo.org/02consstrategies/02 ecotourism/index.html
Accessed 22/10/08
sno
wyhydro.html
Acc
essed: 21/10/08
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Themes and issues raised by student and lecturers in the
field of Social Sciences
Students
Lecturers
Definitions of critical thinking
Definitions of critical thinking
I think it means not being a puppet and
forming your own thoughts on any subject
and questioning everything eg. what people
say. It also involves reading widely, looking
into the subject and forming your own
opinion. Knowledge is power. (Brad –
Sustainable Tourism in Context)
It is not taking things verbatim. A good
critical thinker should be able to:
1. understand what the issue is;
2. analyse it;
3. see how different issues relate to each
other, and
4. make some conclusions from their own
reading and analysis.
(Sustainable Tourism in Context)
I think it is formulating your own ideas after
analysing what others have said and then
coming to my own conclusions based on the
facts of what I have read. (Jessica –
Sustainable Tourism in Context)
Developing Critical Thinking Skills
Expectations of Critical Thinking Skills
Take an interest in whatever you are doing.
Personally, if there is an article in the
newspaper on Tourism, I will read it. Also I
like to look at any websites or current affairs
programs that deal with environmental
tourism and when I go on holidays I look at
the history of the place and take an interest in
it. I take photos and talk to local people, for
example I might ask about local buses and
timetables etc. (Brad – Sustainable Tourism in
Context)
[My expectation of critical thinking skills] is
very explicitly mentioned in lectures and also
in the assessment itself. (Sustainable Tourism
in Context)
[I develop my critical thinking skills myself]
by reading a range of different opinions on
the topic and then deciding which argument is
more relevant to my thesis.(Jessica –
Sustainable Tourism in Context)
We had a library lecture and one of the
librarians went through all the technical
terms of critical thinking. We also had
someone from the Student Learning Unit
come and give a lecture on referencing and
I assess them based on whether they have
answered the question. I have a specific
marking system. Students must demonstrate
that they can relate the topic and sustainable
tourism. This carries the highest mark and
also referencing is important so that the
critical thinking is supported. This carries a
similar mark. So students must show that
they understand the relationship between the
two subjects and also that they can support
what they are saying with correct references.
(Sustainable Tourism in Context)
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critical thinking. (Jessica – Sustainable
Tourism in Context)
Different Expectations from 1st to 3rd year
I had done eighteen months in a business
course and then had a year off. Now I am
doing Environmental Tourism so I guess I
could be classed as a 2nd Year student. In
business we were spoon fed information and
expected to spit the same information back
and the Business people look at it as an
economic subject – to make money, where
Social Sciences look at the benefits AND
problems. (Brad – Sustainable Tourism in
Context)
Different Expectations from 1st to 3rd year
I expect less from 1st year students but as they
move forward I have higher expectations.
That is why activities in 1st year are a good
grounding in 1st semester. (Sustainable
Tourism in Context)
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Humanities
Asian Studies (1st year)
The lecturer emphasised that students should cover the literature on the
chosen topic and analyse the material. In this area is also important to
appreciate alternative societal systems and that there are different ways of
looking at the world. This student did well because he took the initiative
and did a case study which he then related to the readings.
The student spent a lot of time “balancing arguments – it’s easy to find a
couple of major points but that won’t sustain over 3,000 words. You need
to break down ideas into priorities and think of how you are going to
form the transition from one paragraph to the next”. He did a lot of drafts
and “spent a lot of time being self-critical – looking for holes in his
argument”. He also felt that resources were “hard to come by” though
technology is changing that. Most importantly, this student was
concerned that “so much information available is from a western
perspective. The main problem is getting adequate resources to give a
complete picture”.
It is important to read a number of authors on a topic and, as is directed
by the student, technology is making this easier. However, it is also
important to be critical in your approach to information on the internet.
You need to evaluate your readings in terms of who wrote them (expert
or a primary school pupil?), how much evidence is provided and how
credible the evidence is. The best sources of readings on the internet are
journal articles, conference papers and government documents. If you
decide to use these types of texts, then you may add vitality to your
assignment: you will be providing more recent and original material and
you will be demonstrating that you are engaging with the current debates.
Ask for help from a librarian as to how to find these.
You also need to acknowledge other points of view that you may come
across in your reading, even if you don’t agree them. Your argument may
have the most supporting evidence, but you should not pretend that it is
the only point of view.
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Critical Thinking – Humanities – Annotated Assignments
Source of Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicolekiss/926716030/
Accessed: 29/10/08
Asian Studies (1st Year) – Essay
Culture and Communication in Asia

STUDENT
In this essay we were
expected to apply
knowledge from the
course to something we
were interested in. I
wanted to do
something a bit
different to show I was
interested and to apply
what we had been
taught (theory) to what
we’d been analysing.
This essay was easy to
do because the ideas of
Benedict’s classic book
fitted with the interview
very well.
Japan today is a rapidly changing society and it is the
youth, particularly in the major urban cities, which are
facing the future with different attitudes, influences and
expectations to their forebears. The structure of Japanese
society, based on a foundation of hierarchy and respect
for traditions is now undergoing major upheaval as
Western values and priorities, especially those propagated
by American media, are flooding in to question the old
system of order. By opening the door to Western ways of
thought, Japanese youth has the task of choosing between
a new course of language, responsibility, work practices,
marriage and role in the international community or
sticking to tradition which may be in conflict with them.
For all young Japanese this task is undertaken with the
knowledge that no matter which path is chosen they will
always carry an outlook on life, descended from an
isolated country, steeped in beauty and mystery and built
up to be a world superpower by hard work and careful
selection of outside influences, that is unique.
This essay centres on an interview conducted with
Hiroshi; a 25 year old who has lived and worked in
Australia for three years as a hairdresser and now as a
chef in a Japanese restaurant. Hiroshi grew up in a rural
district of Kyushu in a tight-knit family, where the only
exposure to Westerners was American movies and the
occasional tourists, who were greeted by the local
children eager to touch and laugh at the big-nosed
‘gaijin’. Because Hiroshi has an older brother there was
less expectation on him to carry the responsibility of the
family business and lineage, and he never had to endure
the ‘examination hell’ that many of his peers faced. He
believed that because he was quiet and reserved in school
and felt uncomfortable participating in the class
discussions that required the agreement of all students on
various issues, he was considered a day-dreamer. A love
of music on the radio led him to encounter punk and newwave music emanating from England and Australia. This
was to trigger to break out of the bonds that held many of
his class-mates in Kyushu, and aroused a passion to move
snowyhydro.html
Accessed: 21/10/08

LECTURER
It was expected that
students would
research an area of
Japanese culture and
apply the objectives of
the course to it.
This essay met the
course objectives.
Comparison of
literature on the
chosen area would
have been adequate –
however this student
had the initiative to go
out and interview a
Japanese person.
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
STUDENT
The interview took a lot
of working through to
capture in a couple of
sentences or a couple
of words the essential
points made by
Hiroshi.
away and participate in a less regimented society.
Although not typical of most youth in Japan, Hiroshi’s
experience is being replicated by more and more
teenagers today that have increasing access to the images
of Western counter-cultures that question established
customs. A drop in Japan’s economic performance and
less certainty in job security has increased
disenchantment amongst a large number of young
people, and moving overseas is now considered a viable
option.
Before arriving in Australia, Hiroshi lived and worked in
Tokyo, a city he felt would expose him more to
international flavours and allow a greater chance to break
the constraints that an upbringing in a rural community
imposed. Working as an apprentice hairdresser, he, like
many young people the world over, was at the bottom of a
hierarchy and had to adhere to strict discipline. The
particular Japanese approach, however, of making
apprentices stand at attention at all times with arms folded
in front, differed markedly from the more relaxed
approach found in Australia. This adherence to obedience
was reflected in the language used, and it is this formal
language, both body and spoken, that Hiroshi feels is the
biggest difference between Japanese culture to overseas.
In his highly personalised account of modern Japan, “The
Outnation’, Jonathan Rauch, an American journalist,
states that, “Japanese is layered with levels of politeness,
so finely graded, and so finely interwoven with the
grammar and the society, that few non-native speakers
ever fully master the art of speaking in just the right way
to every person. Nowadays the hierarchic distinctions,
though fossilised in the language, are less important than
they used to be. But one does need to know what is
appropriate” (Rauch, 1992, p.40). It appears that young
Japanese are showing some resistance to following
Japanese language conventions the more they see other
countries use less rigid language while maintaining
respect.
For Hiroshi ‘respect language’ makes expressing
individual opinions difficult, especially when they
conflict with an older person. He feels that this has
fostered an atmosphere in which Japanese youth seem
immature in comparison to their Western age-group.
Independent thinking is suppressed as it does not adhere
to the Japanese reliance on ‘conflict-avoidance’. Rauch
(1992, p.50) states that, “One of the big surprises that
Japan held for me was that I could not bring myself to feel
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
that the conflict-avoidance regime was sinister, although I
tried. Partly this is because the self-coercive aspect is
coupled with a high degree of personal sensitivity and
responsibility”. In Hiroshi’s mind this does not apply
when a younger person argues with somebody older, who
can rely on the simple defensive line, ‘Who do you think
you are?’ inferring that sensitivity is a one-way street.
STUDENT
I think it is a good idea
to take classic ideas
and freshen them up
with the latest ideas.
This essay is not
critical of Ruth
Benedict’s work, but is
an example of critical
practice in that her
ideas are applied to
today’s world.
Here I was able to
draw my interview and
references together.

LECTURER
A major reason behind Hiroshi leaving Japan was he felt,
as do an increasing number of young Japanese, that once
you embarked on the customary path to adulthood, you
can be trapped in life and work that result in boredom. If
he stayed in Japan with a job and house everything would
be too easy, and in his words, “I want more”. In Ruth
Benedicts’ classic study, ‘The Chrysanthemum and the
Sword’, she states that, “The Japanese, more than any
other sovereign nation, have been conditioned to a world
where the smallest details of conduct are mapped and
status is assigned. During two centuries when law and
order were maintained in such a world with an iron hand,
the Japanese learned to identify this meticulously plotted
hierarchy with safety and security”(1946, p.70). For many
young Japanese this security is now redundant and they
feel that only by breaking out of the cycle of work, house
and marriage that their dreams can be realised. This was
confirmed by Hiroshi when he returned to his home town
recently to discover old friends who were content with a
job and marriage, and uninterested in his overseas stories.
However, he noted an increasing desire amongst younger
people to move away and see more of the world.
The changing sphere of family responsibility is vividly
portrayed in Hiroshi’s decision to move overseas. His
elder brother, who lives and works in Tokyo, feels that
Hiroshi is neglecting his filial obligations, but this is in
contrast to Ruth Benedict’s post-war image of the role of
sons. “The eldest son shares to a high degree in the
prerogatives of the father. In the old days his younger
brother would have been inevitably dependant upon him
in time; nowadays, especially in towns and villages, it is
he who would stay at home in the old rut while his
younger brother will perhaps press forward and get more
education and a better income (Benedict, 1946, p.52). In
many parts of rural Japan it is now expected
that to get a better income the eldest brother
has to move to a city. Hiroshi’s brother’s main
concern is that the longer he lives overseas, the
harder it will be for him to assume his
obligations on returning. He finds it difficult to
appreciate that Hiroshi is working in Australia,
and thinks that Hiroshi is holidaying. He feels
This comparison of the
available literature
with the case study was
a successful technique.
The student
acknowledges
conflicting views – the
experts opinion
(Benedict) with the
interviewee’s view
(which is a highly
personalised view).
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that Hiroshi might forget the responsibilities that being
Japanese implies, and like many young people, Hiroshi is
caught between doing what is best for himself and serving
the family.

STUDENT
This conclusion took
several hours to think
about. I left the essay
and thought about how
to sum it up and how to
tie things together. As
well I wanted to make
it personal.
After getting an
overview of Ruth
Benedict’s book, I
thought through the
issues, because I was
asking the interviewee
to criticise his culture
and that is a sensitive
issue. After the
interview I went back
to the library to get
fresh views. This stage
was easier to do
because I had a
foundation from the
interview and had
identified the areas the
essay was going to
touch on.
On returning to Japan Hiroshi encountered a predicament
common to many young people that have spent time
overseas. His friends, as stated earlier, were not interested
in hearing about his experience, and Hiroshi felt that there
was a certain amount of jealousy mixed in with a feeling
that he had betrayed Japan by living in Australia. In his
words he believed he could no longer “touch them”,
meaning that they excluded him from conversation. He
was under the misapprehension that in today’s Japan,
people would be used to returnees, and that he would
resume friendships where he left off. It seems as though a
society that can embrace outside influences takes a
different view of their countrymen that have reached the
code of ‘uchi/soto’. One possible reason for this reaction
is put forward in ‘The Japanese Overseas’, which
conducted case-studies on this phenomenon. “He is
functionally isolated by his international speciality,
branded as potentially disruptive or aberrant, and, most
important, he has been absent from the group. That very
absence – from daily, face-to-face interaction – seems to
present the greatest obstacle to a returnee’s acceptance
and integration” (White, 1988, p.26). To Hiroshi, this
supplied ample evidence as to why he left Japan in the
first place.
To an outsider, the ease that youth in Japan seem to
possess with technology belies the fact that it is still a
society that is steeped in tradition. Many Japanese people
of an older generation still regard the outside world as an
American movie, and therefore rampant with guns, drugs
and Aids. It is up to young individuals in Japan to choose
which customs and lifestyles to perpetuate, or to flood
Japan with outside influences. Hiroshi likened his
breaking out of the closed confines of Japanese society to
pressing a button on a wall.
He didn’t know whether the button would give him an
electric shock or open the wall. Fortunately, the wall
opened and revealed Australia. I could only rely on “Open
Sashimi.”
(Written by Stuart Robertson)

LECTURER
This comparison of the
life story of the
Japanese youth and the
literature on the status
of changing attitudes of
contemporary
Japanese youth makes
this a good assignment.
An excellent paper,
very interesting
reading. This essay has
coherence. He shaped
the question to the
project. He has
identified the main
features that the
literature shows have
changed in Japanese
youth attitudes: e.g.
hierarchical social
structure, work, the
conflict of modernity
and tradition etc.
The Arts
Media Studies
The lecturer and students agreed that for them there are three steps in
the process of developing critical thinking:



understanding the text: What is this about? What does it mean?
making links or connections between theory and data (film etc),
across subjects and to the world “outside”
situating yourself in the debates (ie. form your own position)
They also agreed that forming a position or argument can be done by:




not accepting information at face value (ie. ask how? and why?)
develop your arguments logically
go beyond the data and generalise
pull ideas apart and reconstruct them in your own way, critically
The students stressed that an effective critical assignment needs:




a good introduction
a skeleton of ideas
each argument to be explained logically
for the whole assignment to be tied together
Source of image: http://www.hastac.org/node/248 Accessed: 22/10/08
The Arts
Media Studies – Essay
Current Events
Question: USA 1989; writer producer, director: Ralph Arlyck;
Distributor: Upstate Films, Rheinbeck NY: length; 55 minutes

STUDENT
I really liked my
introduction. Using
Peter Greenaway
really helped to “pull
the essay together”.
Using this quote came
to me as I was writing:
the perfect way to start.
Peter Greenaway noted in a recent seminar at the Museum
of Contemporary Art that the ‘happy ending’ is
Hollywood’s version of capitalism’s ideal of the tidy
conciliation of conflicting elements.
Current Events, like the world of the late twentieth
century that it looks at, does not offer a neat solution.
Ralph Arlyck’s film is a personal examination of the role
of the individual in trying to address the inequities and
injustices of the world. How possible is it to be a decent
person connected to the world, when we are constantly
overwhelmed with information? he asks his audience.
To address this question, Arlyck takes his audience on an
introspective sojourn through his conscience, a journey
that provides the narrative structure of the film. “What is
expected of us?” he asks as he shows us the scores of
letters he receives daily from humanitarian and welfare
organizations asking for donations.

LECTURER
This student has linked
theory to the data
(video). Also he has
made connections
between topic and
other contexts – Peter
Greenaway. The
student linked this
topic to the wider
debate.
He has an
understanding of the
video.
In the past, Arlyck reflects, protesting over important
social and political issues seemed to have more meaning.
The sixties saw the Vietnam War defeated by mass
protest; the entire era was pervaded by an awareness of
the individual’s power. Today, however, the meaning and
quite often the motivation behind such acts of social
protest seem lost to us. Why is this? Little has changed in
the world, the world is still plagued by war, famine and
injustices, and we have seen a disturbing resurgence in the
very values the hippies were protesting against –
imperialism, conservatism, ecological destruction.
We are still confronted by horrors such as famine in
Africa, human rights abuse all over the globe and neofascism in Europe, but the images that come to us via the
television screen leave no impression on us. Violence,
death and suffering have become meaningless to us
because, in Guy Debord’s terms, we have been subjugated
by the ‘spectacle’ – the “affirmation of appearance and of
Comprehension of the
theory used to analyse
data.
The Arts

STUDENT
I threw in as many
things as I thought
appropriate.
all human life, namely social life, as mere appearance”1 In
Debord’s schema, “lived reality is materially invaded by
the contemplation of the spectacle”. What the attitude of
the ‘society of the spectacle’ “demands in principle is
passive acceptance” of the world. The mass media, which
Debord describes as the “most glaring manifestation” of
the ‘spectacle’, “produces all the details of [the] world
with ever increasing power”, and thus the individual is
“ever more separated” from the world.
Arlyck’s film closely echoes Debord; protests, even in the
sixties, were street-theatre, spectacles in which both sides
were “role-playing” for the camera. In television news,
the value of a story is seen in terms of its visual impact, as
opposed to the significance of the story’s content. Arlyck
remarks that while filming confrontations between police
and anti-war protesters in the sixties, he was always keen
to get “good footage” of the conflict between opposing
forces. Paradoxically, it was TV footage of the war in
Vietnam and the anti-war protests that activated the wider
population’s opposition to that war. Today, the sheer
volume of news and the pace at which it is delivered
means that we all “live suspended ... from the world of
information and news”, as Arlyck, says, rendered
incapable of responding. One of Arlyck’s subjects Scott
Harrison, who co-ordinates Amnesty international’s
Urgent Action network from his home in Colorado,
comments on the effect of television news. “I’m totally
moved, but it doesn’t stay with me”. We may
momentarily sympathize, but that is the extent of our
concern. We are no longer connected to the world, Arlyck
says. We are isolated from the world because we have
isolated social responsibility from our daily lives. The
dichotomisation of personal concerns (‘daily life’) and
global concerns (‘the world’) has meant that attitudes of
apathy and indifference are prevailing. Under such a
climate, hypocrisy is allowed to thrive – Arlyck offers us
the example of the World Vision sponsorship telethons, in
which affluent Americans congratulate themselves on
spending $20 per month on a child in the ‘third-world’, a
modern-day version of ‘the white man’s burden’,
masquerading behind the thin facade of “Christian
commitment”.
Indifference, according to the Australian philosopher Val
Plumwood, is the greatest moral crime. Arlyck’s film
affirms Plumwood’s comment, against the ambiguous
moral and ethical background of fragmentary news
footage, sponsorship telethons and the cynicism of his
1
Guy Bebord (1977) Society of Spectacle. Detroit: Black and Red

LECTURER
Here the student links
data with theory.
The Arts

STUDENT
I explained why
various writers’ ideas
were relevant to the
ideology of the video.
I was analytical and
got to the core of what
the video was really
about.
teenage sons. Arlyck contrasts examples of people who
have refused to separate their working lives from their
political and social concerns, and are acting positively to
change the world. These are people like Scott and Helen
Harrison, Sister Gianna, an Italian nurse in Senegal, and
Peter and Owen who run a YMCA swimming course for
mentally retarded adults. These people are active in a
caring way for the reason that, in Peter’s words, “it gives
one an understanding of what is important in the world”
an understanding he also notes one is not likely to get
from watching the nightly news. Arlyck reiterates this
point when he talks to Maria, a Nicaraguan woman who
he interviews eight days after the death of her third son.
She speaks movingly of her sons, and then, as though
nothing has happened, introduces Arlyck to her fellow
villagers. Arlyck plays this footage in the order in which
it was shot, and cogently comments that on network news,
the sequence would have been reversed. Even in a war
zone, says Arlyck, “you rarely get a sense of what war
means ... the suffering, death, pain, and destruction” the
sense that people’s daily lives are being devastated, yet
somehow life goes on. What is real, and what is not? On
the same point, Sister Gianna in Senegal observes that
television polarises reality, it gives the false impression
that Africa is all “either Club Med or Ethiopian famine –
we never get to see what lies in between the two
extremes, like Senegal”.
The disjointed cinematic style of Current Events
emphasizes Arlyck’s world-weary narrative. Arlyck is a
voyeur, reflecting on his own life and the lives of his
family and friends to comment candidly on the
inadequacy of our responsiveness to the social problems
afflicting the world. Ralph Arlyck doesn’t answer the
question he asks in the beginning of the film, nor should
we expect him to, as Caryn James does in her review in
The New York Times, in which she writes that the film is
“not being cogent enough to deal with the huge subject
(it) tackles”. There is no comprehensive answer to the
question of personal responsibility, the extent of ones
personal response depends on the individual. The
abundance of information that modern communication
technologies bring daily (and hourly and by-the-minute)
into our homes provides an all-too-easy excuse for lack of
action. Instead of letting ourselves be cloistered by
technology, perhaps we should follow the example of
people such as Helen and Scott Harrison, who use
information technologies such as computers, taxes and
modems to make a difference to the world by acting
against political imprisonments and executions. Without

LECTURER
Once again
linking/integrating
theory to data.
Comprehension is the
beginning point of
critical evaluation.
The Arts
proposing any specific strategy, the point Arlyck makes
with Current Events is that instead of letting ourselves be
immobilised by over exposure to information, each of us
must do our damnedest to make a difference to the world.

STUDENT
I go through one
argument at a time and
then tie the lot
together.
I’ve structured this
essay so that it covers
everything that needed
to be covered. In the
process of writing this
essay, I developed my
ideas about the
viewpoints raised in
the video.
Perhaps what we should aim to be, in the words of
Bertrand Russell, are people whose lives are fruitful to
themselves, to their friends, and to the world, and are
inspired by hope and sustained by people who see in
imagination the things that might be and the way in which
they are brought into existence...people who aim at
making the world as a whole happier, less cruel, less full
of conflict between rival greeds, and more full of human
beings whose growth has not been dwarfed and stunted by
oppression.2
(Written by Nick Howlett)

LECTURER
Here the writer
demonstrates where he
fits into the discourse.
As well, he takes an
ethical position;
sometimes this is as
necessary as taking an
intellectual position.
The student showed
evidence of situating
himself in the debate.
He demonstrated a
good understanding of
the data.
2
Bertrand Russell (1919) Proposed Roads to Freedom – Anarchy
Socialism and Syndicalism, pp. 186 – 187. New York: Henry Holt.
The Arts
Text and Writing (1st year)
The lecturer emphasised reading a variety of books and articles to
develop critical thinking – resulting in the “Uh-huh!” experience. It was
also important for students to carefully research concepts/themes and
theories and to connect arguments from different authors. Students need
to think in new, or other, terms and to think about the role of language.
The student said that after she completed an assignment she looked for
“holes” in it, where she needs to think about and explain ideas more. She
stated that she goes further than examining the “good” and “bad” of any
position. Her tips for other students included:




using an open writing pad on one side of the text with references
of the theories/support/evidence on the other so one can check the
logical development of the arguments
doing a draft of the assignment – leaving it for a while
coming back and doing a major edit
doing a summary of it to find holes in the argument
Source of image: http://www.coloraddict.com/images/bookknowledge.jpg Accessed: 23/10/08
The Arts
Text and Writing (1st Year) – Seminar Paper
No Sugar by Jack Davis

STUDENT
This paper explores
post colonial theory in
relation to the text No
Sugar. I took a narrow
focus in order to
examine the issue.
In my introduction I
was able to point out
strong contradictions
between black and
white Australia. The
background reading I
did helped me do this.
Contradictions and binary oppositions are established
early with No Sugar by Jack Davis. While the play deals
explicitly with the history of Aboriginal people at a
particular time (1929-1933) and in a particular
community (Northam and Moore River, Western
Australia), a focus upon politics and the treatment of
Aboriginal people throughout Australia is the overall
framework. These issues are too broad for this textual
analysis however. The emphasis of this analysis will be
upon a particular scene within the play and how this scene
is a cross section of the contradictions and oppositions the
play reflects.
Not only has Davis managed to illustrate the
contradictions of Aboriginal life in the opening scene, he
has also highlighted the limitations of Aboriginal life
under white Australian policies. To accept that Aborigines
were not regarded as citizens nor worthy of basic human
rights is difficult but essential to understand the context of
the play. Davis successfully provides the reader with
insight and knowledge of Aboriginal lifestyles that allows
the reader to question the rationale of intervention and
assimilation. To begin with Davis employs strategies such
as dialect being used in spite of a non-Aboriginal
speaking audience. This exclusion forces the audience to
use body language and other gestures to follow the play
when Nyoongah dialect is used.
Act One, Scene One of No Sugar opens with the
Millimurra family on the reserve early morning. The stage
directions present each character as active. The main
contradiction operating is the youngest children who are
playing cricket. While this is an imported British game,
they are playing with a ‘home-made bat
and ball’ and not a standard factory made
set. Jimmy may have made this equipment
for the children, as it is noted that he is
sharpening an axe ‘bush fashion.’ Even
though the children are playing, they play
with their own version of the equipment
Image sourced from: http://www.kemarrearts.com.au/ITAG.htm
Accessed: 23/10/08
snowyhydro.html
Accessed: 21/10/08

LECTURER
As a seminar paper,
this student has
successfully
incorporated the ideas
of the group into her
paper.
She situated the
general debate first
and then focussed on
the text. This gave the
paper a logical
structure.
She has an awareness
of stage images and the
role they play as
cultural forms.
The Arts

STUDENT
required. When the game continues, David hits the ball
out of sight of the stage. His comment to this is ‘Woolah!
Don Bradman.’ Not only do the children play the
imported game but also regard a white cricketer as their
hero.
Joe’s reading of the Western Mail newspaper provides the
beginning of the oppositions that Davis explores
throughout the play. According to Turcotte (1994), the
reading of the paper ‘represents the voice of the white
society - the voice of power... (page 11). It does represent
‘official’ white history of European settlement in
Australia. It is a white celebration of values that are
meaningless and insulting to Aborigines. The reading of
the story from the paper is handled by the family with
contempt. Turcotte also argues that the hesitant reading of
the story by Joe ‘reinforces how alien the message and the
white language are’ (page 12). While in agreement that
the language is alien and that this reinforces the power of
the white language as opposed to Aboriginal language, it
is evident that the message is understood by the
Millimurras. Both Jimmy and Sam interrupt the reading at
two points to make their own comment about the ‘truth’
in the story. Sam announces it to be ‘bullshit’ and Jimmy
is generally disgusted by it. By the continued
interruptions, the family is editing and interpreting the
story, presenting the other side, the ‘unofficial story’, as
Turcotte says (page 12).

LECTURER
While Joe is reading the paper, the family continue on
with their own concerns, Davis establishes that their
domestic situation is important and meaningful. Milly is
attempting to get her children ready for school and
gathering clothes for washing. The youngest son, David
enters a dialogue regarding buying lunch at school,
complaining that the money is sufficient for an apple but
not a pie. This domesticity contrasts with the supposed
‘uncivilised’ lifestyle the Western Australian government
of the day believed Aborigines to lead.
I keep coming back to
the contradictions
between black and
white Australia.
The washing of the clothes and the cleanliness of the
school age children is established as a concern for Milly.
She must send the children to school clean or they will
not be allowed to attend. This contradiction is apparent
later when soap is cut from the rations. Milly is concerned
about her children and exclaims:
Milly: But why? What am I gonna wash with?
How can I keep my kids clean and sen ‘em to
(Act One Scene Two page 22).
school?
Sensitive to the cultural
issues of the text.
The Arts

STUDENT
There is no solution to the paradox that is presented by
the cutting of soap from the rations except utilising
Gran’s bush style methods.
Within the Western Mail story itself there are many
oppositions detailed. The ‘dangers faced by the pioneers’
are represented by ‘three lorries carrying Aborigines’.
This is a white version of the history of settlement. The
Aborigines are also dancing to a brass band. This
highlights rejection of Aboriginal tradition of music and
culture. It shows intervention against culture and nature.
That the Aborigines are dancing to a brass band in a city
opposes traditional methods of clap-sticks, didgeridoo and
voices as shown in the corroboree scene in Act Two
Scene Six (page 65). The corroboree takes place in
the pine plantation, with the above mentioned tools.
The men in the corroboree are decorated traditionally
with wilgi. They begin and conclude their dance in
their own time and capabilities. Clearly, the physical
location within the Western Mail story contrasts with
the tradition of land based Aborigines.
Image sourced from: http://www.douglasshire-historical-society.org/port_douglas.htm
Accessed 231/10/08
I used a wide range of
background research; I
realised the importance
of historical research
into the time of the
novel and as part of
this, I investigated
relevant government
documents. I argued
different theories
“against each other”
and then came up with
a conclusion. I found
problems with some of
the theories (post
colonial and theories
of aboriginality) and
included these in my
account. I examined
the theories as well as
applying them. I think
that I followed issues
very logically, always
seeking factual or
theoretical support.
The concluding line of the story is ‘...and gave some
idea of what men mean when they talk about the soul
of the nation’ (page 17). There are many exclusions
within this. It does not include Aborigines nor does it
include women. The ‘soul of the nation’ is apparently
snowyhydro.html
white and male. This incorporates
the idea of the
Accessed: 21/10/08
‘official’ history which is white, European and male.
By setting up these oppositions and contradictions within
the opening scene of No Sugar, Jack Davis provides a
framework for the action of the play to develop within.
Establishing so many conflicting views, Davis engages
the reader to understand the paradox of Aborigines living
under white standards while attempting to maintain their
own traditions and sense of belonging. Davis successfully
manipulates the language to establish the contradictions.
Providing an insight into Aboriginal life under white
policies allows Davis to explore different issues regarding
the dominance of white history. Davis effectively creates
the uncomfortable blending of two extremely different
lifestyles.
(Written by Alison McClelland)

LECTURER
She had done a lot of
reading so is able to
provide a historical
context with text
analysis.
This is a good essay.
There is enough
“meat” – intellectual
substance, appropriate
broadly based
theoretical texts have
been used to inform
discussion. This essay
represents a successful
expression of what the
course was about, and
was marked
accordingly. The
lecturer commented
that the student’s
“weak” expression in
parts meant that a HD
could not be awarded.
The Arts
Art History (3rd year subject)
The student made some suggestions to help develop students’ critical
thinking, for example “It’s okay to not totally understand things in first
year”. She advises first and second year students not to be afraid of being
critical because they need to start questioning. She says that it is easy to
ask “Well, who am I to be critical?” but then goes on to add “don’t worry
about that – be confident in what you understand and start taking risks –
ask questions like: this philosopher said X however what would happen if
they had said Y?”. She also explained that it helps to have an
understanding of concepts such as psychoanalysis, vision, visuality,
modernism and postmodernism and the debates around them. You need
to be able to “read pictures” and “have an idea of debates about
originality”.
The lecturer explained that Art History as a discipline is quite different
today from 20 years ago when there was much more emphasis on
analysis of art works, such as colours, textures etc. Today there is more
emphasis on the historical background and politics of the time, as well as
philosophical approaches to art. This lecturer believes that there should
be a “good amount” of visual analysis but that information about “the
visual” needs to be presented in “written form”. Students use critical
analysis when they look closely at images, form an informed opinion and
“consolidate their argument”. Students develop this ability by reading
and through being shown slides in class. “In providing an analysis of a
written text or visual image, the student should refer to current debates,
reading widely, and then focusing their own opinion or analysis from
those readings”. So students need to read the theoretical, historical and
philosophical backgrounds and debates in relation to the art works or
artists they are critiquing.
The Arts
Image History
sourced from: http://www.the-bac.edu/x2021.xml
Art
(3rd Year) – Essay
Accessed: 23/10/08
Cyclorama: The Female Body and/as
Architectural Space
snowyhydro.html
Accessed: 21/10/08
NB: This essay has not been reproduced in its entirety due to limited space.
Where sections of the essay have been omitted, this is indicated by: …

STUDENT
The example I used
was a gem.
Advertising is great for
digging into the
language – all the
suggestions are in
advertisement.
Surround yourself in a studio that knows no boundaries.
Cyclorama will ensconce you in an infinite womb of
whiter-than-white space... in fact, it’s totally self
contained to drive-in, walk-in, or fall-in. (Cyclorama and
male Decent Exposure advertisement, Commercial
Photography in Australia, April 1993, p.15 – see figure 1)
‘Cyclorama’, a photographic studio owned by Decent
Exposure, advertises a very particular spatial experience
to whoever may enter and utilise it. The space offered to
“ensconce” – to cover, envelope and secure – its
inhabitants in a kind of ‘return to the womb’ journey. The
space is an “infinite womb”, in which the search for the
perfect shot is perfectly facilitated. This womb is not
fleshy and red (it is not an ‘indecent exposure’ of female
matter). It is, rather ... of ‘whiter-than-white’; a sanitised
womb, thus conducive of the demands of commercial
photography. This whiter-than-white womb is not a whole
woman – it is a bit of a woman, a synechdote. The womb
is detached from the rest of the woman (where might the
discards be?), playing (and being) centre stage, having
been identified as a site with the ability to “ensconce”; but
with a difference. A lung, for instance, would not entice

LECTURER
I though the essay was
good because it was
well structured. The
student chose a
manageable example to
build her essay around.
The analysis of the
example was detailed
and interesting.
The student does a
detailed reading of the
advertisement. In
particular she is
looking at gender or
sex references within
the ad. She looks at
these references and
then asks what is being
implied by that? She
focuses on the word
‘womb’ and asks what
are you actually saying
when you say a space
is like a womb?
The Arts
customers with that same sense of nurturing security as
does a womb. It could offer to ensconce, but minus that
certain “feminine” resonance comprising Cyclorama’s
promoted appeal. The rest of the woman – the whole
woman - is not necessary to convey this appeal. The
womb bit appears to have said it all, to have effectively
masqueraded as the ‘essential feminine’, so a womb it is.
And this womb is indeed doubly displaced from the
female body, or whole woman. For the studio is not really
a (whole) woman, and not really a womb. It is a
photographic studio; a specific space within a building
within a city (a specific organ-space within a body-space
within a city-space). It is a quasi-womb; it has a ‘wombeffect’; it is merely represented as a womb in the
advertisement, pregnant with the possibility of
photographic reproduction. What then is the relationship
between this room and a woman’s womb? What is the
effect on either party when they are joined, at least
metaphorically, in representation; or physically, to form
this space? ...

STUDENT
I had to dig the
metaphor (womb) out
and align it with a
whole lot of debates
which are going on in
art circles as well. You
have to be aware of
current debates but not
totally influenced by
them … I was drawing
on current debates in
the Johnstone quote.
My argument is that
when you talk about a
photographic studio
being a womb, what
are you saying about
space and the material
and the immaterial –
this is a current debate.
....Current discourse on sexuality and space is forcing
architecture ‘out of the closet’, proclaiming its carefully
disguised sexualities, revealing the erotic nexus of
architectural formation. But to what extent do theories of
‘sexuality and space’ remain “on the very grounds they
aim to contest” (3)? To what extent does the ‘real’
feminine body remain closeted, marginalised by the
discourse and, in effect, effaced from this discourse?
Maxine Sheets Johnstone says that the body “...cannot be
“discoursed” out of existence”. But I believe that this is
precisely the intention of many of those concerned with
‘sexuality and space’...
...There are two ways in which the relationship between
bodies (or subjects and spectators, for it is by no means
clear that the body is addressed at all) and spaces are
currently approached, and, of course, within these two
approaches differently nuanced versions are produced.
But I will characterise them generally here. The first
approach utilises the notions of ‘gender’ and ‘metaphor’
and, in effect, excludes the ‘physical’ body from a
discussion of metaphor-ically gendered space. In this
process, the piece of architectural space in question
provides the focal point of the study, and feminine
attributes are brought on site from ‘the feminine’ to ‘the
building’.

LECTURER
The student introduces
a number of more
general texts about
issues of the body in
relation to space. She
refers to authors such
as Grosz, Maxine
Sheets Johnstone etc.
From these texts she
then makes her own
statements about the
relationship between
bodies and space …
here she sets up the
larger framework,
again she analyses the
way in which space
and bodies are written
about… metaphorically
constructed.
The ‘metaphor’ of ‘woman as space’, through which
space is conceptualised by means of the passive, inert and
You have to point to
She analyses Roberts’
The Arts
“impressionable” matter of the female body, is doubly
productive...
...Theorists employing this approach are talking not of
‘real matter’ but of social matter – femininity is socially
produced, and ‘given’ matter acts as a receptacle to
socially produced ideas and mappings. A good example
of this can be found in the introduction to Maria Roberts’
book…‘real bodies’ are thus omitted, for Roberts at least,
from discourses about architectural space... Gender roles
that are culturally produced have ‘real effects’ (they shape
housing design), but their source is the never region of
ideality (these designs in turn do not produce bodies, but
house roles to be played out by bodies)...

STUDENT
The more reading you
do, the more you can
think in those concepts.
I used to keep words I
didn’t understand in a
special note book and
put meanings and
usage down. So I’d use
those words in my
writing to develop an
idea.
You build your
knowledge slowly –
you’ll never know
everything, but you’ve
got to know what you
know well. It’s about
making an earnest
attempt.
In this context, Cyclorama is merely a misogynist
metaphor. The term ‘womb’ has been borrowed from the
female anatomy, which precedes Cyclorama, and
metaphorically applied to Cyclorama, Cyclorama
valorises and anthropomorphises a bit of the female body,
but the body (Whose body? Which body?) itself is left in
its “natural state, untouched and uncut. The relationship
ends here. There is no such thing as a disembodied womb,
and just because a room is round doesn’t mean that it
should signify ‘womb’. We should search for equivalents.
... Why not a testicle?
...It seems that no one really wants to touch the body.
Disembodiment is far more appealing. But when we
characterise a space as ‘female’, we are talking about both
the space of the female body and the female body of
space “the spatialisation of the women and the
feminisation of space” (Best, 1992, p.6). To separate them
and revolve discussion around only one space is to
privilege one over the other. To talk about ‘gender’ is to
exclude the ‘real’ female body (and indeed the ‘real’
building); to talk about ‘sexuality’ can also make this
exclusion, no matter how preventable it may seem and
especially when s/he who is speaking constantly switches
between sex and gender.
...Similarly, in terms of visuality, in public space for
example, the position of ‘object’ tends to apply to women,
who are spatially arranged in coordination of this role.
Thus ‘real bodies’ – wives, mothers, women in public
space or ‘on screen’ – become the produced subject, or
rather object, of an ‘idea’ about women and space …
...The building’s sexualised nature, or its gender bias, is
discussed. It is produced as a sexed or gendered body,

LECTURER
In her own words she
states what we do when
we characterise the
space as female.
The student talks about
visuality or the way
space is constructed
visually or articulated
visually.
This was where I had
problems – the student
talks about buildings
instead of space … you
really need an example
… there’s almost a
slippage where she sets
up all the arguments on
space and introduces
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borrowing from and comprised of historically specific
female bodies. But this process is not applied in turn to
the ‘real’ female body. Whilst architectural space can be
read as body, the body is not in turn read as architectural
space. Therefore the body is more ‘given’ than
‘produced’, more ‘sexualising’ than ‘sexed’. This is
seemingly symptomatic of both approaches. Can we
afford to proceed with this lack of attention to the body in
this age of plastic surgery and telepresence, when
technologies and architectures are so obviously engaged
in the active production of bodies? Clearly, the search for
the ‘real’, ‘natural’ female (or male) body is useless. The
production of bodies by buildings and buildings by bodies
is not only far more interesting, but more revealing in
terms of what can be said to constitute the ‘human’ body
in the late twentieth century.
...My next example is from the recently published volume
Sexuality and Space. Mark Wigley...says… “The question
of sexuality must be as much about space of the discourse
as with what can be said within that space. In these terms,
my concern here is to trace some of the relationships
between the role of gender in the discourse of space and
the role of space in the discourse of gender (1992,
p.329)”. In this sense, the feminine position is precisely
not a position. The woman is not so much confined within
the space as fetishistically flattened into its surfaces. She
is the space rather than is in the space (Wigley, 1992,
p.395). ...What, then, are the alternatives? How and why
should theorists of architectural space face the body and
indeed admit that they have bodies? For writing is an
especially disembodied practise – the familiar Cartesian
split of mind from body structures the process of writing.
Perhaps we can trace here a reason for Wigley’s
mysterious hold on ‘gender’. He is a man, and perhaps his
comprehension of ‘woman as space’ is not as acute as that
of a woman. He is once removed from the concept – it
does not touch him, he has space. The production of
‘objective’ viewpoints, as is customary in the masculinist
practise of intellectual production, necessitates
‘liberation’ from the shackles of the specific, spatially
limited, singular frontier of the body. The “biological”
body houses the “cultural” mind. So what does it mean to
insert ‘subjectivity’ and/or the body into this process?
Should the speaking position include the body? How can
such an inclusion be made, or is it already made by the
ability to locate, for example, the sex of the author by
their name? How, in short, can the body be spoken of?
How can it be given a place in discourse (especially
discourse about architecture where female bodies are
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necessarily relevant) given that it cannot simply be
“discoursed” out of existence”? ...
I actually find writing
very difficult,
challenging, using
words you never
thought you would use
and understand. I
guess if you make an
earnest attempt to
engage with these
things – that’s why I
got a good mark. It
doesn’t have to be
perfect.
... The rest of the body is discarded, along with other
alternative configurations of the female body. The female
body produced by this advertisement, or space, becomes,
in turn, an active agent in the reproduction of female
bodies. This is why it is crucial for feminists to ‘reclaim’
the body to tackle its (her) theoretical terrain and cease to
ignore it as a gender-laden given. This proposal is not
simply a matter of replacing biological determinism with
architectural or spatial determinism. It is, rather a new and
necessary way of seeing the process by which the
category ‘Woman” is produced. To place this proposal
precisely within the discourse of architectural space, I will
quote from Elizabeth Grosz, who has a clear vision of
how the body may cease to be subordinated by the
architecture of the self (the mind), of writing and of the
built environment, by shifting the question from the
product of architects to the products of architectures:
The question is not simply how to distinguish
conducive from unconducive environments,
but to examine how different cities, different
sociocultural environments actively produce the
bodies of their inhabitants as particular and
distinctive types of bodies, as bodies with
particular physiologies, affective lives, and
concrete behaviours (Grosz, 1992, p.250).
Space arguments and
the Mark Wigley
critique.
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A piece of cyclorama art in San Francisco
Source of Image: http://marcobrambilla.com/cyclorama.html Accessed 23/10/08
Themes and issues raised by student and lecturers in the
field of Humanities
Students
Lecturers
Definitions of Critical Thinking
Definitions of Critical Thinking
A critical perspective is the result of hard
work and extensive researching to expose
yourself to a range of ideas. It is also the
ability to look at a theory and to see problems
with it and to process it in such a way that it
relates back to key concepts (of the question).
Be critical, that is, identify a weakness in an
argument and expose it. This is just one skill
in a range of skills required. (Asian Studies)
Critical analysis is the ability to explore other
texts and incorporate the student’s own
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(Text and Writing)
You see through things. I realise a specifically
situated human being has produced this text
and to do that they have borrowed ideas and
blended them into the text. No one is right
always, so look to see what they forgot. I’m
looking for what they haven’t considered,
because they are not god. It’s not about
putting people down but more like saying:
“Oh I think this person is good but if they had
been situated closer to where I am perhaps
they would have considered X. What happens
when I put our ideas together? Can you put
them together?” (Art History)
viewpoint to reach some sort of conclusion
about whatever is being analysed. It’s the
ability to provide an informed opinion. (Art
History)
Critical analysis is looking at all the steps in
any argument and asking are they are logical
and coherently presented, or are there
problems with them? What do those problems
revolve around? It’s getting back to close
reading in many ways and asking: are the
terms that are employed actually consistent?
(Art History)
Developing Critical Thinking Skills
Developing Critical Thinking Skills
Be open to your own self reflection by
considering every aspect of issue or argument.
Look at as many implications as possible.
Bring theories to bear. (Media Studies)
Steps to Critical Thinking
The most important skill is to be aware of
where Western writers are coming from when
writing about Asia. Also it is important to be
aware that the views expressed in books,
articles etc. may not be representative of the
majority of people from the culture being
written about. To overcome this problem I
often use Journals and Conference
Proceedings as resources because these
sources usually have conflicting viewpoints
represented. (Asian Studies)
Critical practice has become an easy way to
denounce things – that’s a problem in
universities. If you want to be critical, you
don’t not read something because it might
offend you. You cease to be critical when you
denounce something for being racist, sexist –
you have to say how it is racist, etc. To do that
you have to read thoroughly to see what the
author is saying. (Art History)
You have to be able to place texts, the writer’s
ideological perspective: Is this person a
Marxist? A feminist? Also a writer’s
cultural/geographical perspective can impact
-
develop textual analysis skills so that a
wide range of discourses can be
analysed;
-
apply theory beyond the immediate
topic/text;
-
appreciate that different cultures use
language in different ways and for
different purposes. (Text and Writing)
It’s good to be brave. Put your own stamp on
how a theory relates to the data, e.g. use an
example which seems to challenge an accepted
position. (Text and Writing)
Be aware of conflicting models/theories and at
least acknowledge these differences. Develop
skills of discrimination in order to comment
on texts, the author’s authority and intention
of writing. This will give students the ability
to position texts. (Asian Studies)
Steps to develop critical evaluation:
-
integrate theory and data;
-
pull apart assumptions: read between
the lines/images. (Media Studies)
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on how they write. (Art History)
Expectations of Critical Thinking Skills
I argue ideas “against each other”, i.e. I find
problems with ideas. (Text and Writing)
What I emphasise is that the student’s opinion
must be informed. In providing an analysis of
a written text or visual image, the student
should refer to current debates, reading
widely, and then focus their own opinion or
analysis from those readings. (Art History)
I am analytical: I look to see how ideas can be
linked or broken into parts. There is also a
need to be aware of different theories; of what
media is and does. (Media Studies)
I expected two things – one, the student would
realise there were a number of debates … and
they would choose one of those and read a
number of specific themes critically or do a
close reading of the texts as well as do a
critical analysis of the overall essay. (Art
History)