Unit rationale, description and aim
Geography is the study of the world around us; the places, environments, peoples and cultures that make up our planet, and the inequalities, connections and tensions within and between them.
This unit introduces students to human geography as a way of seeing, knowing and thinking about the world, asking questions about who belongs where, who benefits and who is left behind, and how the places we live in shape and are shaped by the people, environments, economies and politics that surround them.
The aim of this unit is to introduce key subject areas and concepts in human geography that will enable students to think geographically. This will be done through teaching the four core concepts of space, place, landscape and scale, and applying these across a range of subject areas including cultural geographies, Indigenous geographies, urban geographies, environmental geographies, economic geographies, food geographies, and development and political geographies. Drawing on local, national and global case studies, the unit examines the social, cultural, economic and environmental processes that connect and divide us. Students will also develop key transferable skills including research skills, landscape reading, and critical engagement with academic sources and policy.
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 field of human geography and its key ...
Learning Outcome 01
Apply core geographical concepts, such as space, p...
Learning Outcome 02
Examine how geographical knowledge informs social ...
Learning Outcome 03
Evaluate a range of academic and contemporary sour...
Learning Outcome 04
Communicate geographical knowledge effectively thr...
Learning Outcome 05
Content
Topics will include:
- Key concepts in human geography
- Fieldwork in Geography
- Cultural geographies and representation
- Indigenous geographies and place-based ways of knowing
- Urban geographies
- Environmental geographies and justice
- Economic geographies
- Geographies of consumption
- Food geographies
- Political geography and borders
- Mobilities, migration and development
Assessment strategy and rationale
The assessment tasks for this unit have been designed to contribute to high quality student learning by both helping students learn and by assessing evidence of their learning. Assessments have been developed to support students to meet the unit learning outcomes at a level suitable for first year study in geography, using a variety of tasks to measure different learning outcomes.
The assessment tasks are sequenced to build progressively on students' developing geographical knowledge and research skills. Early assessment tasks support students in developing foundational geographical skills and concepts across a range of formats. The mid-semester task requires students to introduce and apply geographical concepts to an independently researched case study, developing their capacity to communicate geographical knowledge to an audience. The research essay forms the centrepiece of the unit, requiring students to apply geographical concepts and frameworks to an independently researched topic or case study, developing sustained evidence-based analysis and advanced information literacy.
To pass this unit students must demonstrate achievement of every unit learning outcome and obtain a minimum mark of 50% in graded units.
Overview of assessments
Assessment Task 1: Skills Portfolio Students wil...
Assessment Task 1: Skills Portfolio
Students will complete a series of in-class tasks that develop and demonstrate foundational geographical skills and concepts.
20%
Assessment Task 2: Case Study Oral Presentation ...
Assessment Task 2: Case Study Oral Presentation
Students will apply, examine and communicate their geographical thinking on an independently researched case study to an audience, drawing on key concepts and frameworks from the unit.
35%
Assessment Task 3: Research Essay Students will ...
Assessment Task 3: Research Essay
Students will develop a sustained, evidence-based piece of independent geographical research, applying geographical concepts and frameworks to an independently researched topic or case study.
45%
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
This unit adopts active learning approaches, with online-live lectures and either in-person or online-live tutorials as its primary mode of engagement. Lectures introduce key concepts, theoretical frameworks and contemporary case studies, while tutorials are designed as collaborative, discussion-based spaces where students apply, debate and interrogate ideas encountered in lectures and set readings.
This sequencing reflects the unit's commitment to active learning. Students are supported to develop their geographical thinking progressively across the semester, moving from foundational concepts and skills through to independent research and critical analysis. Teaching and learning activities are intentionally sequenced and scaffolded to support students from diverse backgrounds to progressively build confidence, knowledge and academic capability.
In this unit, students are guided to use Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools ethically and responsibly to support learning and assessment activities.