Unit rationale, description and aim
In an increasingly interconnected world, global citizens require a capacity to apply critical thinking to global challenges and systems. Understanding of the increasing connectedness of people, processes, systems, and environments is essential for students to link their study and future profession with global systems and the social structures through which positive change can be achieved. This unit explores the changing social, environmental, economic, and political relationships and interrelationships throughout the world. Students engage with context driven knowledge, and then practise and demonstrate skills evaluating and interpreting trends, data and processes. Formal knowledge sources are integrated with students’ own life experiences, and classroom interactions, to humanise this enquiry into cultures and societies and develop a global perspective. The unit aims to equip students with the skills and knowledge to understand, analyse and respond to global challenges and opportunities. Open to all students but recommended for those entering humanities, law or business degrees, this unit will enable participants to understand, interpret and critically engage with a wide range of formal data and written texts, and then contextualise secondary research findings in terms of global challenges and issues.
Campus offering
No unit offerings are currently available for this unit.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 economic and political transformations in...
Learning Outcome 01
Reflect on the specific impacts of globalisation o...
Learning Outcome 02
Utilise data and a range of sources to measure soc...
Learning Outcome 03
Analyse and evaluate different academic perspectiv...
Learning Outcome 04
Content
Topics will include:
- Globalisation – investigating specific nation states and the varied experiences of global change
- Colonialism – context for historical drivers of change and challenges in international cooperation
- Theories of development – questioning why development is difficult to map and predict
- Unipolar vs multipolar – investigating the changing role of power in global systems
- The role of the state – understanding how states are essential but flawed institutions
- Good governance – an investigation into different ways of measuring success
- Neoliberalism – a look at the role of philosophy and ideology in shaping the world
- Fragile states – a data set and toolkit for use in the final report
- Academic skills:
- Format and style of academic reports and debates
- Locating relevant and appropriate source material
- Collecting, interpreting and using data
Assessment strategy and rationale
The assessment tasks will prepare students for the types of assessments encountered in undergraduate humanities and social science courses and build skills in critical thinking, data analysis and structured argument essential to providing global context for a broad range of undergraduate courses.
Students will begin the unit with a chart analysis in the first assessment to build confidence and skills in linking data to written arguments. This task will prepare students for the expectations in the second assessment where they will be required to use data to support their position on a topic/issue in a debate. For the final assessment, students will be required to produce an in-depth data driven report.
The assessment tasks are designed to build from set texts and resources as well as the students’ own knowledge, enabling them to practice and produce knowledge in class before moving to independently achieving the learning outcomes.
Overview of assessments
Assessment 1: Chart analysis Students will devel...
Assessment 1: Chart analysis
Students will develop a short chart analysis including selected images and information taken from provided datasets. The analysis should critically link the chosen data to global events and trends.
20%
Assessment 2: Debate Students will use data, pre...
Assessment 2: Debate
Students will use data, prepared notes and team cooperation to participate in a live class debate.
30%
Assessment 3: Report Students will select and an...
Assessment 3: Report
Students will select and answer a report topic on a global issue, with close attention to research, citation and source evaluation.
50%
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
This unit will focus on specific theories and contemporary issues in global studies and assist students to respond to these using local knowledge and contexts, and secondary commentary such as news media, existing data and academic sources. The weekly workshops provide teacher-guided case studies in which students analyse specific global issues and data sets, formulate responses, participate in discussion, and make an evidence supported conclusion on the set topic. Students will also be allocated tasks to locate and engage with secondary research and respond to content in live critical discussions.