Recommended Study Sequence

This unit introduces students to Australia’s history, its political structures and processes and its relationship to the world. It offers an understanding of Australia as part of a worldwide process of European colonisation, and the struggles of space and land involved in this process. The unit offers an introduction to the Westminster system and also explores Australia’s historical and contemporary relations with Japan, China, Indonesia, the United States and Great Britain.

Contemporary Society introduces students to central issues in social analysis and a range of perspectives that have been used to understand the social world. It provides them with a theoretical grounding in the central concepts and methods of social theory through an encounter with problems raised when social theory directly engages with practical problems such as racism, environmentalism, inequality etc.

Students will be introduced to one or more literary traditions in relation to their cultural and linguistic contexts, for example: The Western literary tradition from ancient Greek epic and drama to twentieth-century English literature,diasporic literary traditions surveying writings about America, Europe, the Middle East or Indian subcontinent, or colonial and postcolonial world literatures, including Australia; or the literatures of the Spanish or Arabic-speaking worlds.

This unit aims to develop and refine students' skills in analytical writing, critical reasoning and the analysis of argument. It aims to develop students' understanding of how arguments are made, along with their ability to analyse and evaluate arguments, while at the same time helping them develop the capacity to make sophisticated arguments in essay form. Sample topics from which students can choose include: advanced database use, Endnote, techniques of analysis, punctuation, grammar, and advanced Internet use.

The focus is on understanding the role of the physical environment in human behaviour and experience. It will provide students with an appreciation of the social and physical context of human behaviour through examination of the interaction between people and their natural and built environments. Topics covered will include environmental perception and cognition; environmental stressors; the role of the natural environment; person-environment fit in the design of buildings, public spaces, artefacts, and machines; electronic and technological environments; future challenges; and individual and cultural differences in interactions with the physical environment.

This unit is designed to raise students’ awareness of what language is and how it works, by giving them a basic understanding and appreciation of general linguistics. It provides students with conceptual tools to be able to do basic analysis of language at the levels of phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics. It also makes students familiar with concepts and terms that occur in other language and linguistics-related disciplines (e.g. Sociolinguistics, Psycholinguistics, Developmental Linguistics, Bilingualism, and other applied linguistics areas).

This unit is a core unit in the BA Languages Key Program. It is part of the linguistics major and sub-major and can also be taken as an elective. Bilingualism and biculturalism are an important aspect of life in Australia: many Australian residents are, were, or could be, bilingual and/or bicultural. This unit aims to give students an understanding and appreciation of the most important facets and manifestations of bilingualism and biculturalism, in the linguistic, cognitive, personal, societal and educational spheres, particularly with regard to the Australian context. It also aims to show students how this unit fits in with other language and linguistics-related disciplines, e.g. Sociolinguistics, Second Language Acquisition, etc.

In contemporary society, knowledge is increasingly produced and communicated through visual media. How individuals and organisations use visual images and media to represent themselves requires interpretation. Issues to be studied include will address key competencies required of individuals in their professional and personal lives, such as: How does one interpret the flow of images presented in daily life in media, including newspapers, books, the web, television and film? What is the relation of images in fine art (painting, drawing and sculpture) to new media? Students will learn methodologies to answer these questions with critical insight and informed judgement.