Unit rationale, description and aim
Social historians are keenly interested in ways to study the past 'from below': that is, from the perspectives of the criminalised or marginalised, and from other people whose voices are difficult to find in the historical record. The unit offers students the opportunity to explore Australia's past 'from below' through a focus on criminal cases, controversies and characters between the early colonial period and the late twentieth century. Students will engage closely with a range of primary sources relating to these cases or individuals, acquiring hands-on experience of the practice of social history in the process. Students will also gain insights into ideas and process relating to the history of crime and punishment in Australia's past.
The aim of this unit is to provide students with a sound appreciation of issues relating to crime and marginalised people in Australia's past, and with a wide range of methods and sources used by 'historians from below'.
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.
Discuss theoretical and factual knowledge relating...
Learning Outcome 01
Communicate clearly in written and/or oral form, i...
Learning Outcome 02
Locate, use and appropriately reference a variety ...
Learning Outcome 03
Apply critical reading skills to your understandin...
Learning Outcome 04
Interpret and reflect on key ethical and historica...
Learning Outcome 05
Content
This unit uses a selection of Australian criminal cases, controversies and marginalised characters in order to explore ‘history from below’ and crime and punishment in Australia’s past. The topics considered in relation to these characters may include:
- events in the convict transportation and gold rush eras
- issues related to the death penalty
- frontier violence
- the treatment of young people
- policing
- the rise of organised crime, and perceived rises in crime
- crimes related to sex and sexuality
- gun ownership
- the relationship between crime and all or some of the following: gender, the media, race, ethnicity and class.
Assessment strategy and rationale
A range of assessment procedures will be used to meet the unit learning outcomes and develop graduate attributes consistent with University assessment requirements. In the history discipline, second year units are designed to include a selection of the following assessment tasks:
- Active research tasks that require students to find and use primary and secondary sources
- Digital search techniques for online archives and/or digital newspaper databases
- “Hands on" Historical methods such as oral history or using material objects/archaeological evidence
- Research Essay/Challenge
- In-class debates or team challenges
- Forums/Blogs/online discussion
- Short answer responses
- Short quizzes/In-class tests
- Tutorial assignments/presentations
Assessment in this unit has been designed to assist students to develop and demonstrate:
- theoretical and factual knowledge about crime and marginalised people in Australian history, and critical readings skills when engaging with literature / films and documentaries / podcasts on this topic
- skills in designing and executing a primary source-driven research project that explores Australian history ‘from below’.
The assessments have been developed sequentially to this end. The first two assessments take the form of knowledge and skills development tasks. The last assessment is a research project that draws on insights and techniques acquired during the previous tasks.
Overview of assessments
Assessment Task 1: Knowledge Development Task T...
Assessment Task 1: Knowledge Development Task
The purpose of this task is for students to develop critical reading and listening comprehension skills, and to apply knowledge from readings and lectures.
25%
Assessment Task 2: Historical Skills Development ...
Assessment Task 2: Historical Skills Development Task
The purpose of this task is for students to build up skills working with primary and secondary sources to produce an evidence-based historical argument or narrative.
30%
Assessment Task 3: Research Task The key purpo...
Assessment Task 3: Research Task
The key purpose of this assignment is for students to produce an evidence-driven written, digital, material or oral argument (as directed by the lecturer) relating to Australian ‘history from below’, in the process demonstrating critical reading skills, an awareness of relevant historical debates and of the methods used by social historians.
The final part of this task will be to answer questions posed by the marker about the topic in a supervised setting.
45%
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
This unit fosters active learning through face-to-face activities that support students in developing a deep understanding of the unit’s content and building core skills essential to the discipline of history.
Active-learning techniques in this unit include reading, writing, discussion, and debate, alongside advanced methods for identifying and interpreting primary and secondary sources. Students will also engage with analytical approaches used by social historians and develop an independent research project. To support this process, the unit incorporates case studies—specifically criminal cases or controversies from Australian history—enabling students to apply their learning to real-world contexts and deepen their understanding of historical inquiry.
To achieve a passing grade, students are encouraged to actively participate in all learning activities and assessments outlined in the unit’s learning and teaching strategy. These strategies incorporate a variety of approaches to support student learning, including lectures, tutorials, readings, reflections, discussions, film screenings, skills workshops, and assignments.