Assessment One: Bibliographic Exercise
Word count: 500 words Due: 4pm, Friday August 28 Percentage: 15%. This first piece of
assessment is designed to familiarise you with some of the basic requirements in
producing written work in Arts subjects.
The task
Select ONE of the essay topics from assessment 2 that interests you and produce an
annotated bibliography of four sources for this topic. (NB: You might like to use this
task as research toward your essay for Assessment 2; although you may write on a
different identity category for the essay if you so wish.)
The annotated bibliography should use MLA style and be broken up into two sections:
1. A title and brief description of the case/object of study you have selected
(approximately 100 words)
2. Bibliographical details (i.e. author, title and publication details) and descriptions
(i.e. annotations) of 4 items (approximately 400 words in total). The items selected
must include at least one of each of the following:
a. A peer-reviewed academic article (what is this? More information here:
<http://www.library.unimelb.edu.au/services/help_yourself/online_tuto
rials>)
b. A book or book-chapter.
Note; it is ok to utilise one reading from the subject reader. It’s not recommended to
use more than one. See grading criterion i) below.
Learning Outcomes and Grading Criteria
Your annotated Bibliography will be assessed on the basis of how well it demonstrates
your achievement of the following learning outcomes:
i) identifying, sourcing (through the library and relevant databases) and using
academically valid and reliable sources;
ii) identifying and summarising a writer’s key arguments;
iii) and acknowledging or citing these sources correctly.
These are useful skills which are essential when conducting research and engaging in
academic writing.
Useful information for Assessment 1
A bibliography is an alphabetical list of resources (usually found at the end of a
published piece of academic work). Each entry includes information on the author,
title, publisher, year and place of publication, and relevant pages.
An annotated bibliography also contains concise descriptions of each resource,
usually of about 100 words. Your description should focus on the following aspects of
your chosen resource (text):
• content, aims and core argument
• special features: e.g. scope, perspective
• usefulness for your purposes
• reliability and limitations
Refer to General MLA style notes on the library website:
http://www.lib.unimelb.edu.au/recite/citations/MLA/generalNotes.html
Note: if you are unable to find how to cite something on the library website, try OWL
at Purdue next: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
Further information and suggestions
Do not select the first few articles that a preliminary search throws up. Begin with a
broader search and then focus it down to the articles you think most important.
Whether your evaluation of the writing is positive, negative or neutral, remember to
support your claims with examples, however brief.
It is important that your annotations are given in your own words. Plagiarism is an
extremely serious offence at the University of Melbourne, and the penalties are
severe. If you have not already done so, it is strongly recommended that you
familiarise yourself with the material to be found at this link –
https://academichonesty.unimelb.edu.au/ – before proceeding with this assignment.
Submission Details
Assignment submission is done electronically by uploading your finished work to
“Assessment Submission (Turnitin)” via your LMS. No hard copy is required. For further
instructions see the Turnitin tab on the LMS.
Sample Annotated Bibliography
Below is an example of an annotated bibliography. This is the kind of annotated
bibliography one might produce for an essay on the proposed essay questions –
assessment 2. It’s up to you: it would be possible to build a bibliography in relation to
realism, modernism or postmodernism; gender, race or ideology; or how they
intersect in another representational context (such as a specific event or newsworthy
debate, for example) in respect to one of the essay tasks. Indeed, you might find it
more enjoyable to research something that interests you in this way.
Bottom line: You should focus on finding useful resources in respect to the essay
question you have chosen in relation to Assessment task 1.
Assessment 1
Name:
Tutor and tutorial time:
The social construction of race in Clint
Eastwood’s Gran Torino
Eastwood’s film, Gran Torino (2008), has him in the lead role as Walt
Kowalski—a racist old man whose neighbourhood demographic is lately
Asian, African and Hispanic Americans. As a cultural product, Gran Torino
offers scope for a study of the social construction of race. Race is a category
with a long history. Thus individuals have access to heavily reinforced
attitudes and beliefs about race. However, an analysis of how race is
represented in this film will show that race is largely the product of a range of
attitudes reactively formed in response to circumstances and events rather
than specific attributes of the racialised group or person. [107 words]
Barrera, Ashley M. “Movie Reviews.” Journal of Feminist Family
Therapy 23.2 (2011): 146-60. Print.
The rhetoric of this film “courageously” tackling its subject matter indicates the
reviewer’s favourable response to Gran Torino from the outset (146). The
journal is rather specialised and it becomes clear that Barerra’s perspective is
limited in this respect. Barrera makes frequent unsupported statements about
social issues (particularly relating to race and ethnic communities) as well as
errors in recounting the film’s storyline, indicating that this reviewer is not
expert in scholarly writing and critical thinking. Conclusion: potentially useful in
highlighting how assumptions about race proliferate unsupported and in
response to works like Gran Torino, thus sustaining and reinforcing
representations of race like those given in this film. [108 words (not
including citation)]
Bond, Cynthia. “Laws of Race/Laws of Representation: The
Construction of Race and Law in Contemporary American Film.” Texas
Review of Entertainment & Sports Law 11.2 (2010): 219-66. Print.
Bond argues that race is a social construction and that visual media like film
participate in the construction of racial categories. Film, for example,
naturalises these categories and often reinforces normative constructions of
race whilst at the same time contributing to the social construction of the
categories it deploys. Bond points out that implicated in every film is the
constructed identity of its audience–usually ‘white’–and that the recognised
values of this audience ultimately determine how its racial categories are
depicted. Although this article does not address the film Gran Torino
specifically, it would support a critique of this film’s representations of race
and its target audience. [108 words (not including citation)]
Denzin, Norman K. Reading Race: Hollywood and the Cinema of Racial
Violence. London; Thousand Oaks; New Delhi: Sage Publications, 2002.
Print.
Denzin’s book explores the construction of racial violence in Hollywood films.
Minority groups are depicted in violent contexts, framing them as a menacing
epidemic—one that threatens the stability of (‘white’) society. Denzin argues
that a “politics of cultural difference” has (paradoxically) enabled the
manipulation of racial and cultural categories in ways that blur the differences
between these groups and more readily positions them collectively as the
“dark-skinned other” (5). The paradox is that, while seemingly constructing a
homogenous other, films such as Gran Torino problematically represent
gradations of racialised catagories of class that in turn reifies racist ideologies
in the pitting of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ dark-skinned others against one another.
This, plus the gendering of group violence, essentialises racial and gender
differences within an assimilationist discourse. [117 words (not including
citation]
Roberts, Rex. “Gran Torino.” Film Journal International 112.1 (2009): 38-
39. Print.
Roberts asks, “are you racist if you offend with equal opportunity?” (39). He
emphasises the goodness of Gran Torino’s main character, the “unapologetic
bigot, Walt” (39). Walt’s racism is thus downplayed on the basis that he is just
as nasty to his own children and grandchildren as he is to the racialised
others “who pollute his block” (39). By framing the possibility that misanthropy
dilutes racism, Roberts demonstrates faulty reasoning. Eastwood’s reputation
is clearly an important factor in Roberts’ response to this film, indicating how
racial categories are sometimes supported by emotional reactions to the
ideological implications of neo-liberalism like an actor’s status. [106 words
(not including citation)]
Total word count: 546 (not including citations)

Assessment One: Bibliographic Exercise
Word count: 500 words Due: 4pm, Friday August 28 Percentage: 15%. This first piece of
assessment is designed to familiarise you with some of the basic requirements in
producing written work in Arts subjects.
The task
Select ONE of the essay topics from assessment 2 that interests you and produce an
annotated bibliography of four sources for this topic. (NB: You might like to use this
task as research toward your essay for Assessment 2; although you may write on a
different identity category for the essay if you so wish.)
The annotated bibliography should use MLA style and be broken up into two sections:
1. A title and brief description of the case/object of study you have selected
(approximately 100 words)
2. Bibliographical details (i.e. author, title and publication details) and descriptions
(i.e. annotations) of 4 items (approximately 400 words in total). The items selected
must include at least one of each of the following:
a. A peer-reviewed academic article (what is this? More information here:
<http://www.library.unimelb.edu.au/services/help_yourself/online_tuto
rials>)
b. A book or book-chapter.
Note; it is ok to utilise one reading from the subject reader. It’s not recommended to
use more than one. See grading criterion i) below.
Learning Outcomes and Grading Criteria
Your annotated Bibliography will be assessed on the basis of how well it demonstrates
your achievement of the following learning outcomes:
i) identifying, sourcing (through the library and relevant databases) and using
academically valid and reliable sources;
ii) identifying and summarising a writer’s key arguments;
iii) and acknowledging or citing these sources correctly.
These are useful skills which are essential when conducting research and engaging in
academic writing.
Useful information for Assessment 1
A bibliography is an alphabetical list of resources (usually found at the end of a
published piece of academic work). Each entry includes information on the author,
title, publisher, year and place of publication, and relevant pages.
An annotated bibliography also contains concise descriptions of each resource,
usually of about 100 words. Your description should focus on the following aspects of
your chosen resource (text):
• content, aims and core argument
• special features: e.g. scope, perspective
• usefulness for your purposes
• reliability and limitations
Refer to General MLA style notes on the library website:
http://www.lib.unimelb.edu.au/recite/citations/MLA/generalNotes.html
Note: if you are unable to find how to cite something on the library website, try OWL
at Purdue next: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
Further information and suggestions
Do not select the first few articles that a preliminary search throws up. Begin with a
broader search and then focus it down to the articles you think most important.
Whether your evaluation of the writing is positive, negative or neutral, remember to
support your claims with examples, however brief.
It is important that your annotations are given in your own words. Plagiarism is an
extremely serious offence at the University of Melbourne, and the penalties are
severe. If you have not already done so, it is strongly recommended that you
familiarise yourself with the material to be found at this link –
https://academichonesty.unimelb.edu.au/ – before proceeding with this assignment.
Submission Details
Assignment submission is done electronically by uploading your finished work to
“Assessment Submission (Turnitin)” via your LMS. No hard copy is required. For further
instructions see the Turnitin tab on the LMS.
Sample Annotated Bibliography
Below is an example of an annotated bibliography. This is the kind of annotated
bibliography one might produce for an essay on the proposed essay questions –
assessment 2. It’s up to you: it would be possible to build a bibliography in relation to
realism, modernism or postmodernism; gender, race or ideology; or how they
intersect in another representational context (such as a specific event or newsworthy
debate, for example) in respect to one of the essay tasks. Indeed, you might find it
more enjoyable to research something that interests you in this way.
Bottom line: You should focus on finding useful resources in respect to the essay
question you have chosen in relation to Assessment task 1.
Assessment 1
Name:
Tutor and tutorial time:
The social construction of race in Clint
Eastwood’s Gran Torino
Eastwood’s film, Gran Torino (2008), has him in the lead role as Walt
Kowalski—a racist old man whose neighbourhood demographic is lately
Asian, African and Hispanic Americans. As a cultural product, Gran Torino
offers scope for a study of the social construction of race. Race is a category
with a long history. Thus individuals have access to heavily reinforced
attitudes and beliefs about race. However, an analysis of how race is
represented in this film will show that race is largely the product of a range of
attitudes reactively formed in response to circumstances and events rather
than specific attributes of the racialised group or person. [107 words]
Barrera, Ashley M. “Movie Reviews.” Journal of Feminist Family
Therapy 23.2 (2011): 146-60. Print.
The rhetoric of this film “courageously” tackling its subject matter indicates the
reviewer’s favourable response to Gran Torino from the outset (146). The
journal is rather specialised and it becomes clear that Barerra’s perspective is
limited in this respect. Barrera makes frequent unsupported statements about
social issues (particularly relating to race and ethnic communities) as well as
errors in recounting the film’s storyline, indicating that this reviewer is not
expert in scholarly writing and critical thinking. Conclusion: potentially useful in
highlighting how assumptions about race proliferate unsupported and in
response to works like Gran Torino, thus sustaining and reinforcing
representations of race like those given in this film. [108 words (not
including citation)]
Bond, Cynthia. “Laws of Race/Laws of Representation: The
Construction of Race and Law in Contemporary American Film.” Texas
Review of Entertainment & Sports Law 11.2 (2010): 219-66. Print.
Bond argues that race is a social construction and that visual media like film
participate in the construction of racial categories. Film, for example,
naturalises these categories and often reinforces normative constructions of
race whilst at the same time contributing to the social construction of the
categories it deploys. Bond points out that implicated in every film is the
constructed identity of its audience–usually ‘white’–and that the recognised
values of this audience ultimately determine how its racial categories are
depicted. Although this article does not address the film Gran Torino
specifically, it would support a critique of this film’s representations of race
and its target audience. [108 words (not including citation)]
Denzin, Norman K. Reading Race: Hollywood and the Cinema of Racial
Violence. London; Thousand Oaks; New Delhi: Sage Publications, 2002.
Print.
Denzin’s book explores the construction of racial violence in Hollywood films.
Minority groups are depicted in violent contexts, framing them as a menacing
epidemic—one that threatens the stability of (‘white’) society. Denzin argues
that a “politics of cultural difference” has (paradoxically) enabled the
manipulation of racial and cultural categories in ways that blur the differences
between these groups and more readily positions them collectively as the
“dark-skinned other” (5). The paradox is that, while seemingly constructing a
homogenous other, films such as Gran Torino problematically represent
gradations of racialised catagories of class that in turn reifies racist ideologies
in the pitting of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ dark-skinned others against one another.
This, plus the gendering of group violence, essentialises racial and gender
differences within an assimilationist discourse. [117 words (not including
citation]
Roberts, Rex. “Gran Torino.” Film Journal International 112.1 (2009): 38-
39. Print.
Roberts asks, “are you racist if you offend with equal opportunity?” (39). He
emphasises the goodness of Gran Torino’s main character, the “unapologetic
bigot, Walt” (39). Walt’s racism is thus downplayed on the basis that he is just
as nasty to his own children and grandchildren as he is to the racialised
others “who pollute his block” (39). By framing the possibility that misanthropy
dilutes racism, Roberts demonstrates faulty reasoning. Eastwood’s reputation
is clearly an important factor in Roberts’ response to this film, indicating how
racial categories are sometimes supported by emotional reactions to the
ideological implications of neo-liberalism like an actor’s status. [106 words
(not including citation)]
Total word count: 546 (not including citations)

Assessment One: Bibliographic Exercise
Word count: 500 words Due: 4pm, Friday August 28 Percentage: 15%. This first piece of
assessment is designed to familiarise you with some of the basic requirements in
producing written work in Arts subjects.
The task
Select ONE of the essay topics from assessment 2 that interests you and produce an
annotated bibliography of four sources for this topic. (NB: You might like to use this
task as research toward your essay for Assessment 2; although you may write on a
different identity category for the essay if you so wish.)
The annotated bibliography should use MLA style and be broken up into two sections:
1. A title and brief description of the case/object of study you have selected
(approximately 100 words)
2. Bibliographical details (i.e. author, title and publication details) and descriptions
(i.e. annotations) of 4 items (approximately 400 words in total). The items selected
must include at least one of each of the following:
a. A peer-reviewed academic article (what is this? More information here:
<http://www.library.unimelb.edu.au/services/help_yourself/online_tuto
rials>)
b. A book or book-chapter.
Note; it is ok to utilise one reading from the subject reader. It’s not recommended to
use more than one. See grading criterion i) below.
Learning Outcomes and Grading Criteria
Your annotated Bibliography will be assessed on the basis of how well it demonstrates
your achievement of the following learning outcomes:
i) identifying, sourcing (through the library and relevant databases) and using
academically valid and reliable sources;
ii) identifying and summarising a writer’s key arguments;
iii) and acknowledging or citing these sources correctly.
These are useful skills which are essential when conducting research and engaging in
academic writing.
Useful information for Assessment 1
A bibliography is an alphabetical list of resources (usually found at the end of a
published piece of academic work). Each entry includes information on the author,
title, publisher, year and place of publication, and relevant pages.
An annotated bibliography also contains concise descriptions of each resource,
usually of about 100 words. Your description should focus on the following aspects of
your chosen resource (text):
• content, aims and core argument
• special features: e.g. scope, perspective
• usefulness for your purposes
• reliability and limitations
Refer to General MLA style notes on the library website:
http://www.lib.unimelb.edu.au/recite/citations/MLA/generalNotes.html
Note: if you are unable to find how to cite something on the library website, try OWL
at Purdue next: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
Further information and suggestions
Do not select the first few articles that a preliminary search throws up. Begin with a
broader search and then focus it down to the articles you think most important.
Whether your evaluation of the writing is positive, negative or neutral, remember to
support your claims with examples, however brief.
It is important that your annotations are given in your own words. Plagiarism is an
extremely serious offence at the University of Melbourne, and the penalties are
severe. If you have not already done so, it is strongly recommended that you
familiarise yourself with the material to be found at this link –
https://academichonesty.unimelb.edu.au/ – before proceeding with this assignment.
Submission Details
Assignment submission is done electronically by uploading your finished work to
“Assessment Submission (Turnitin)” via your LMS. No hard copy is required. For further
instructions see the Turnitin tab on the LMS.
Sample Annotated Bibliography
Below is an example of an annotated bibliography. This is the kind of annotated
bibliography one might produce for an essay on the proposed essay questions –
assessment 2. It’s up to you: it would be possible to build a bibliography in relation to
realism, modernism or postmodernism; gender, race or ideology; or how they
intersect in another representational context (such as a specific event or newsworthy
debate, for example) in respect to one of the essay tasks. Indeed, you might find it
more enjoyable to research something that interests you in this way.
Bottom line: You should focus on finding useful resources in respect to the essay
question you have chosen in relation to Assessment task 1.
Assessment 1
Name:
Tutor and tutorial time:
The social construction of race in Clint
Eastwood’s Gran Torino
Eastwood’s film, Gran Torino (2008), has him in the lead role as Walt
Kowalski—a racist old man whose neighbourhood demographic is lately
Asian, African and Hispanic Americans. As a cultural product, Gran Torino
offers scope for a study of the social construction of race. Race is a category
with a long history. Thus individuals have access to heavily reinforced
attitudes and beliefs about race. However, an analysis of how race is
represented in this film will show that race is largely the product of a range of
attitudes reactively formed in response to circumstances and events rather
than specific attributes of the racialised group or person. [107 words]
Barrera, Ashley M. “Movie Reviews.” Journal of Feminist Family
Therapy 23.2 (2011): 146-60. Print.
The rhetoric of this film “courageously” tackling its subject matter indicates the
reviewer’s favourable response to Gran Torino from the outset (146). The
journal is rather specialised and it becomes clear that Barerra’s perspective is
limited in this respect. Barrera makes frequent unsupported statements about
social issues (particularly relating to race and ethnic communities) as well as
errors in recounting the film’s storyline, indicating that this reviewer is not
expert in scholarly writing and critical thinking. Conclusion: potentially useful in
highlighting how assumptions about race proliferate unsupported and in
response to works like Gran Torino, thus sustaining and reinforcing
representations of race like those given in this film. [108 words (not
including citation)]
Bond, Cynthia. “Laws of Race/Laws of Representation: The
Construction of Race and Law in Contemporary American Film.” Texas
Review of Entertainment & Sports Law 11.2 (2010): 219-66. Print.
Bond argues that race is a social construction and that visual media like film
participate in the construction of racial categories. Film, for example,
naturalises these categories and often reinforces normative constructions of
race whilst at the same time contributing to the social construction of the
categories it deploys. Bond points out that implicated in every film is the
constructed identity of its audience–usually ‘white’–and that the recognised
values of this audience ultimately determine how its racial categories are
depicted. Although this article does not address the film Gran Torino
specifically, it would support a critique of this film’s representations of race
and its target audience. [108 words (not including citation)]
Denzin, Norman K. Reading Race: Hollywood and the Cinema of Racial
Violence. London; Thousand Oaks; New Delhi: Sage Publications, 2002.
Print.
Denzin’s book explores the construction of racial violence in Hollywood films.
Minority groups are depicted in violent contexts, framing them as a menacing
epidemic—one that threatens the stability of (‘white’) society. Denzin argues
that a “politics of cultural difference” has (paradoxically) enabled the
manipulation of racial and cultural categories in ways that blur the differences
between these groups and more readily positions them collectively as the
“dark-skinned other” (5). The paradox is that, while seemingly constructing a
homogenous other, films such as Gran Torino problematically represent
gradations of racialised catagories of class that in turn reifies racist ideologies
in the pitting of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ dark-skinned others against one another.
This, plus the gendering of group violence, essentialises racial and gender
differences within an assimilationist discourse. [117 words (not including
citation]
Roberts, Rex. “Gran Torino.” Film Journal International 112.1 (2009): 38-
39. Print.
Roberts asks, “are you racist if you offend with equal opportunity?” (39). He
emphasises the goodness of Gran Torino’s main character, the “unapologetic
bigot, Walt” (39). Walt’s racism is thus downplayed on the basis that he is just
as nasty to his own children and grandchildren as he is to the racialised
others “who pollute his block” (39). By framing the possibility that misanthropy
dilutes racism, Roberts demonstrates faulty reasoning. Eastwood’s reputation
is clearly an important factor in Roberts’ response to this film, indicating how
racial categories are sometimes supported by emotional reactions to the
ideological implications of neo-liberalism like an actor’s status. [106 words
(not including citation)]
Total word count: 546 (not including citations)