Overview
This supervised practicum places students in a community, cultural, nonprofit, heritage, arts, media, or public-facing organization to apply cultural studies methods to a defined project. Students work through reciprocal partnership, situated knowledge, ethical practice, and accountable collaboration rather than treating communities as objects of study.
Students negotiate project goals and deliverables with a site supervisor and may undertake oral history, exhibition or event support, cultural programming, archival work, audience research, communications, interpretation, digital storytelling, arts facilitation, community mapping, or evaluation. Seminar and practicum activities address partnership development, role clarity, consent, confidentiality, safeguarding, accessibility, anti-oppressive practice, cultural protocols, intellectual and cultural property, data stewardship, risk management, project planning, professional conduct, and conflict resolution.
Students maintain a reflective field journal and connect practical decisions to theories of culture, participation, representation, and power. The course culminates in a portfolio or report that documents project processes, credits collaborators, evaluates impact, identifies limitations, and recommends sustainable next steps.
Learning Outcomes
- Evaluate partnership contexts, community protocols, and organizational needs to establish ethical and feasible practicum goals.
- Apply cultural studies theories of participation, representation, power, and situated knowledge to professional and community-based practice.
- Develop and implement a negotiated project plan that incorporates consent, accessibility, safeguarding, cultural and intellectual property, and data stewardship requirements.
- Communicate effectively with community partners, site supervisors, and professional audiences across diverse cultural and organizational contexts.
- Document, analyse, and evaluate project processes, outcomes, partner feedback, and unforeseen constraints using appropriate qualitative and reflective methods.
- Recognize and respond to ethical dilemmas, conflicts, role boundaries, and risks arising in community-facing cultural practice.
- Synthesize field experience and theoretical analysis in a professional portfolio or report that credits collaborators, identifies limitations, and recommends sustainable next steps.
Timetable
| Type | Length | Frequency | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seminar | 2 hours | Weekly | First term |
| Workshop | 2 hours | Fortnightly | First term |
| Practicum | 6 hours | Weekly | All semester |
| Tutorial | 1 hour | Fortnightly | Second term |
| Seminar | 2 hours | Weekly | Second term |
Assessment Schedule
| Type | Description | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| Deliverable | Practicum proposal and partnership agreement | 15.00% |
| Attendance | Preparation, participation, and professional conduct | 15.00% |
| Deliverable | Partner feedback and negotiated project outcomes | 20.00% |
| Assignment | Reflective field journal and critical analysis | 20.00% |
| Capstone | Final portfolio or report with evaluation and recommendations | 30.00% |
Prerequisites
Teaching Staff & Programs
This course is delivered jointly by faculty from the participating programs listed below. In line with the Douchewater Way, the University of Sexology tailors core instruction directly to each cohort's specific discipline — adapting curriculum to program needs rather than forcing students into a one-size-fits-all model. Learn more about our approach at The Douchewater Way.
