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HMT1000 A History of Ideas

Semester 2, 2020 On-campus Springfield
Short Description: A History of Ideas
Units : 1
Faculty or Section : Faculty of Business, Education, Law and Arts
School or Department : School of Humanities & Communication
Student contribution band : Band 1
ASCED code : 090399 - Studies in Human Society n.e.c
Grading basis : Graded

Staffing

Examiner:

Other requisites

Students will require access to e-mail and have internet access to UConnect for this course.

Rationale

Societies are shaped by ideas and events. It is important for students across a wide range of study areas, including in STEM fields, to develop knowledge of the main movements of ideas in order to examine how these have impacted both global and Australian society in every area of life: in domestic, industrial, commercial, and community settings. This course provides students with an essential background of such knowledge and aims to enable students to contextualise their specialised areas of study within broader philosophical and socio-historical frameworks. As a core course in the Bachelor of Arts, it provides a foundation for further study in the humanities and social sciences, and a point of connection and common knowledge for students in other, diverse areas of study.

Synopsis

Students in this course examine some of the most significant currents of ideas that have shaped contemporary global society. Specifically, they examine the evolution of political thought, social and cultural categories, and the philosophical and artistic movements that continue to shape Western society. Each week, students are introduced to a broad theme or concept, then chart its history over time, identifying key academic theories pertinent to it. They then apply this knowledge to various disciplinary contexts in order to articulate different perspectives in and solutions to complex problems.

Objectives

On completion of this course students should be able to:

  1. apply knowledge of philosophical, social and historical concepts to an area of study;
  2. identify some of the major schools of thought, key ideas and most important thinkers in both current and historical contexts;
  3. analyse the relationship between schools of thought and their social and historical contexts;
  4. develop and articulate an informed personal position on important philosophical and social issues;
  5. provide solutions to problems by applying skills in scholarly research, written communication, and responsiveness to feedback to help develop academic expertise.

Topics

Description Weighting(%)
1. Ideas and ideologies 10.00
2. Philosophical concepts 20.00
3. Academic theories 20.00
4. Cultural movements 20.00
5. Historical knowledge 20.00
6. Critical skills in humanities and academia 10.00

Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed

ALL textbooks and materials available to be purchased can be sourced from (unless otherwise stated). (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/textbooks/?year=2020&sem=02&subject1=HMT1000)

Please for alternative purchase options from USQ Bookshop. (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/info/contact/)

All material for this course is available online via ¾«¶«´«Ã½app Desk and it is the student's responsibility to access these materials each week.

Reference materials

Reference materials are materials that, if accessed by students, may improve their knowledge and understanding of the material in the course and enrich their learning experience.
Berlin, I 2013, The proper study of mankind, 2nd edn, Vintage Classic.
Law, S 2013, The great philosophers: the lives and ideas of history's greatest thinkers, Quercus.
Watson, P 2005, Ideas: a history of thought and invention, from fire to Freud, Harper Perennial, New York.

Student workload expectations

Activity Hours
Directed ¾«¶«´«Ã½app 39.00
Private ¾«¶«´«Ã½app 126.00

Assessment details

Description Marks out of Wtg (%) Due Date Notes
RESEARCH ESSAY 100 40 21 Sep 2020
MOODLE LESSONS 100 10 19 Oct 2020 (see note 1)
REFLECTIVE BLOGS 100 30 25 Oct 2020 (see note 2)
PARTICIPATION 100 10 26 Oct 2020 (see note 3)
REVISED RESEARCH ESSAY 100 10 26 Oct 2020

Notes
  1. Moodle Lessons are administered weekly via ¾«¶«´«Ã½appDesk. They involve content delivery and quizzes on that material. Lesson marks will be finalised and collated after the date indicated above. Please refer to ¾«¶«´«Ã½appDesk for the schedule of deadlines.
  2. Six blog entries Reading quizzes will be submitted throughout the semester on a fortnightly basis commencing in Week 3. Please refer to ¾«¶«´«Ã½appDesk for the schedule of fortnightly deadlines.
  3. Participation is assessed via regular attendance of and participation in online or on-campus workshop activities. Desk. Reflective Blog entries do not count toward participation. Participation marks will be finalised and collated after the date indicated above. Please refer to ¾«¶«´«Ã½appDesk for the schedule of weekly deadlines.

Important assessment information

  1. Attendance requirements:
    Students must attend and complete the requirements of the Workplace Health and Safety training program for this course where required.

    External and Online:
    There are no attendance requirements for this course. However, it is the students’ responsibility to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration.

    On-campus
    It is the students’ responsibility to attend and participate appropriately in all activities (such as lectures, tutorials, laboratories and practical work) scheduled for them, and to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration.

  2. Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
    To satisfactorily complete an individual assessment item a student must achieve at least 50% of the marks.

  3. Penalties for late submission of required work:
    Students should refer to the Assessment Procedure (point 4.2.4)

  4. Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
    To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must achieve at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course.

  5. Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
    The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the aggregate of the weighted marks obtained for each of the summative assessment items in the course.

  6. Examination information:
    There is no examination for this course.

  7. Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
    There is no examination in this course, there will be no deferred or supplementary examinations.

  8. ¾«¶«´«Ã½app Student Policies:
    Students should read the USQ policies: Definitions, Assessment and Student Academic Misconduct to avoid actions which might contravene ¾«¶«´«Ã½app policies and practices. These policies can be found at .

Other requirements

  1. Students can expect that questions in assessment items in this course may draw upon knowledge and skills that they can reasonably be expected to have acquired before enrolling in the course. This includes knowledge contained in pre-requisite courses and appropriate communication, information literacy, analytical, critical thinking, problem solving or numeracy skills. Students who do not possess such knowledge and skills should not expect to achieve the same grades as those students who do possess them.

Date printed 6 November 2020