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Unit Summary
Unit type
UG Coursework Unit
Credit points
12
AQF level
Level of learning
Introductory
Former School/College
Unit aim
Introduces students to Australian culture and society. Key ideas and aspects of the Australian experience are studied through Australian cultural studies, Indigenous studies, literature, media, history, sociology, political science, visual arts, music and environmental studies. Particular attention is paid to the significance of identity, place and culture in Australia and to the nature of historical and contemporary Australian social values.
Unit content
Topic 1: Introduction: What do we mean by 'Australia'?
Topic 2: Framing Australian identity
Topic 3: Landscape and belonging
Topic 4: Australia local: Belonging in the Rainbow Region
Topic 5: Saying 'sorry' and beyond
Topic 6: Imagining democracy: A fair go?
Topic 7: Performing Australia: Australian humour
Topic 8: Gendering Australia
Topic 9: From White Australia to multiculturalism
Topic 10: Multiculturalism: Unity and diversity
Topic 11: Popular culture: Sport
Topic 12: Australia in a global context
Learning outcomes
Unit Learning Outcomes express learning achievement in terms of what a student should know, understand and be able to do on completion of a unit. These outcomes are aligned with the graduate attributes. The unit learning outcomes and graduate attributes are also the basis of evaluating prior learning.
| On completion of this unit, students should be able to: | GA1 | GA2 | GA3 | GA4 | GA5 | GA6 | GA7 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | identify and describe the key issues and debates in contemporary Australia | |||||||
| 2 | analyse key issues in Australian society in terms of the themes of identity and belonging | |||||||
| 3 | analyse the nature of cultural diversity in the Australian context | |||||||
| 4 | apply a critical approach to questions of Australian culture and society | |||||||
| 5 | reflect critically on their own experience of cultural engagement | |||||||
On completion of this unit, students should be able to:
-
identify and describe the key issues and debates in contemporary Australia
- GA4:
- GA7:
-
analyse key issues in Australian society in terms of the themes of identity and belonging
- GA4:
- GA7:
-
analyse the nature of cultural diversity in the Australian context
- GA7:
-
apply a critical approach to questions of Australian culture and society
- GA1:
- GA7:
-
reflect critically on their own experience of cultural engagement
- GA1:
- GA7:
Prescribed texts
- This is a comprehensive text that covers the course material and much more. Published in 2006, the text covers contemporary issues as well as historical contexts. You will be relying on material from this text throughout the study period: Carter, D, 2006, Dispossession, Dreams and Diversity: Issues in Australian Studies, Pearson Education, NSW, Australia.