Unit rationale, description and aim
This unit, which is timetabled from time to time, provides the School of Philosophy with the flexibility to offer students a unique learning experience in an area not covered elsewhere in their course. It is offered either on the basis of a directed study for a particular student/s, or for a specific cohort of students.
Overall, this unit enables students to extend their studies in Philosophy, and further develop their skills in philosophical thinking and the development of arguments.
Campus offering
No unit offerings are currently available for this unitLearning 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.
Demonstrate understanding of major philosophical i...
Learning Outcome 01
Engage in critical analysis of ideas and debates i...
Learning Outcome 02
Demonstrate skills in philosophical research and c...
Learning Outcome 03
Content
Topic(s) will be chosen from a particular area of expertise of the member of staff or visiting lecturer, in consultation with the Head of School.
Assessment strategy and rationale
The assessment strategy for this unit has been designed to examine students’ understanding of the philosophical issues and theories under consideration, as well as their ability to critically analyse those issues and theories. It does so through three graduated assessment tasks. The first two tasks prepare students for the third and principal task of writing an extended research essay. The two written analysis tasks examine students’ understanding of key concepts and theories, and their capacity to engage critically with some key texts in the field. The research essay requires students to research an area of the unit in further detail, and it examines their ability to develop and defend a coherent position of their own in a formally structured argumentative essay.
Overview of assessments
First written analysis task
First written analysis task
20%
Second written analysis task
Second written analysis task
30%
Research Essay
Research Essay
50%
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
This unit involves 150 hours of focused learning, or the equivalent of 10 hours per week for 15 weeks. The total includes formally structured learning activities such as lectures, tutorials, online learning, videoconferencing, or supervision. The remaining hours typically involve reading, research, and the preparation of tasks for assessment.
The unit has been designed as a blend of a blend of collaborative learning and project-based learning approaches, combined with direct instruction to introduce and draw out new and unfamiliar concepts and theories. The collaborative context of the unit is focused especially on the small group discussion of the weekly readings. The project-based aspect relates to the research project on which students work throughout the second half of the unit, culminating in their research essay.