120691 PS Proseminar Cultural and Media Studies (2026S)

Assessment will be based on active participation (this includes small tasks relating to academic writing and research methodology, e.g. providing a short bibliography, searching & downloading an article via u:access, etc.),
1. Participation and Attendance (10%):
a. Active engagement in assigned readings, class discussions and group activities.
b. Regular attendance is mandatory.
2. Reflections (20%):
a. Writing at minimum 5 session reflections in the Moodle forum and 3 responses to others (each ca. 150-200 words).
b. Reflections should demonstrate critical thinking as well as a personal engagement with the material.
3. Proseminar paper proposal and annotated bibliography of 6-8 sources (700 words excl. bibliography, 20%)
4. Proseminar paper (3500 words): 50%

Overall Score: 100%

As per the departmental guidelines, this class places heavy emphasis on honing critical AI literacy, meaning developing the skills needed to critically assess and evaluate the merits and demerits of LLM-generated content, as well as understanding the ethical pitfalls of generative AI usage. Thus, the use of AI to *entirely* replace your research and/or writing process is strictly forbidden!
One of the goals of this class is to build and improve your academic writing skills in a sustainable way that will allow you to write comfortably in an academic register for years to come. You would be doing both yourself a disservice, by robbing yourself of the arduous process of learning to write, and me, by making me read and grade a machine’s predictive text.
If AI tools are used inappropriately in individual tasks, papers, and theses, the procedure for “non-assessment due to use of unauthorised aids” will apply!

Students with disabilities or mental health issues may be granted special conditions, such as alternative examination methods. For further information, please consult http://barrierefrei.univie.ac.at