Unit rationale, description and aim
Professional outcomes in government, policy development and advocacy require a workforce knowledgeable about contemporary global political developments with the capacity to evaluate policies pertaining to issues of social justice.
This unit explores the changing nature of international relations with respect to the issues of security, terrorism and human rights. Reviewing various conceptualizations of security, terrorism and foundational elements of human rights, this unit introduces students to the ramifications of security measures for human rights. Security concerns and measures differ between autocracies, mature democracies and countries in different stages of democratic reform. In this unit, student will use analytical tools to scrutinise controversial correlations between security and human rights in varying contexts, both at the national and international levels. Furthermore, by covering the engagement of the different actors, e.g., the UN, national states and non-state actors, and their partnerships and/or discords, the students will become familiar with the roles of different parties in protecting or violating human rights.
The aim of this unit is to identify the proposed contradictions between security and human rights and to investigate the appropriate mechanisms and strategies to address these contradictions.
Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
Describe the various conceptualisations of the not...
Learning Outcome 01
Critically examine the prioritisation of national ...
Learning Outcome 02
Apply the concepts, theories and methods used in s...
Learning Outcome 03
Demonstrate the capacity to gather, analyse and ad...
Learning Outcome 04
Content
Topics will include:
- Main themes and concepts of political violence, security, and human rights
- Security and the state: historical relationship between violence and state making
- State violence: torture, slavery, ethnic cleansing, and prisons
- Terrorism: evolution, history, and ethics of terrorism
- Human rights: foundations, developments, and perspectives
- R2P: changing norms and empirical results of intervention
Assessment strategy and rationale
The assessment tasks for this unit are specifically designed to enable students to demonstrate their clear understanding of the complexities of correlations between security, terrorism and human rights in varying contexts. Students are required to provide a coherent, substantiated, structured and persuasive answer to the specific question asked in each assignment. Written assignments should demonstrate the capacity to integrate conceptual and theoretical knowledge with an understanding of evidentiary standards. Good argument must be supported by good evidence. This unit is assessed based on two written tasks that develop skills in reading, critical analysis and clear written communication. The first is in the form of an issue response and the second in the form of an overview essay. The third assessment is based in seminars and tutorials where students are required to prepare an oral presentation that will trigger further discussion and debate by fellow students and participate in the debate following other students’ presentations.
Overview of assessments
Assessment Task 1: Opinion Editorial Requires st...
Assessment Task 1: Opinion Editorial
Requires students to write an 800-word opinion editorial to develop a position on an ongoing issue related to terrorism, security and human rights.
30%
Assessment Task 2: Final Essay Requires students ...
Assessment Task 2: Final Essay
Requires students to demonstrate a thorough understanding of the subject matter, critical analysis of the relevant literature, and incorporate and synthesise relevant conceptual/theoretical ideas.
50%
Assessment Task 3: Tutorial Presentation Tutorial...
Assessment Task 3: Tutorial Presentation
Tutorial presentation and participation in the debate following another presentation activity.
20%
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
This unit offers two formal ways of learning and teaching. Lectures will provide overviews of conceptual and theoretical material, while students’ reading will focus on contemporary and historical case-based learning. Students explore real world challenges and problems, a process that requires them to demonstrate their investigative, problem-solving and decision-making skills. Case-based learning requires learning specific theories and concepts that will complement the conceptual tools and theoretical knowledge critical to analysing divergent approaches to religion-politics relationships.
Tutorials for this unit provide opportunities for active learning. Students will engage in activities including reading, writing, interrogating ideas, exploring case studies and making presentations. These activities, as well as promoting analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of lecture content, are designed to build skills appropriate to second year study in Politics and International Relations. Furthermore, readings will deepen students’ knowledge of various cases and well as the relevant scholarly research. .
This is a 10-credit point unit and has been designed to ensure that the time needed to complete the required volume of learning to the requisite standard is approximately 150 hours in total across the semester. To achieve a passing standard in this unit, students will find it helpful to engage in the full range of learning activities and assessments utilised in this unit, as described in the learning and teaching strategy and the assessment strategy. The learning and teaching and assessment strategies include a range of approaches to support your learning such as reading, reflection, discussion, webinars, podcasts, video etc.