Unit rationale, description and aim

In this unit, students will explore key themes in western history and its historiography, including European interactions with other cultures and traditions, and scholarly debates concerning the concepts of the west and western civilisation. Against this historical backdrop, students will also engage with a range of thinkers whose work demonstrates the essential value of a liberal arts education within the western tradition. They will practise and reflect upon the skills of textual analysis and rational argumentation that operate within this tradition and come to appreciate how an education in the liberal arts fosters democratic citizenship, emphasises human dignity, and promotes the notion of the public good in challenging times.

The aim of this unit is to develop students' understanding of the history and historiography of western civilisation and of the liberal arts tradition, and to build students' skills in analysis, critical reading, and communication.

2026 10

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  • Term Mode
  • Semester 1Campus Attendance

Prerequisites

Nil

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 key themes, developments and debates in w...

Learning Outcome 01

Describe key themes, developments and debates in western history
Relevant Graduate Capabilities: GC1, GC3, GC4, GC6, GC7, GC8, GC9, GC11, GC12

Identify major contemporary theories of the libera...

Learning Outcome 02

Identify major contemporary theories of the liberal arts
Relevant Graduate Capabilities: GC1, GC3, GC4, GC7, GC8, GC9, GC11, GC12

Explain ideas and arguments clearly in written and...

Learning Outcome 03

Explain ideas and arguments clearly in written and/or oral form
Relevant Graduate Capabilities: GC1, GC3, GC4, GC7, GC8, GC9, GC10, GC11, GC12

Use and appropriately reference a variety of prima...

Learning Outcome 04

Use and appropriately reference a variety of primary and secondary sources to develop an evidence-based narrative or argument
Relevant Graduate Capabilities: GC1, GC3, GC4, GC7, GC8, GC9, GC10, GC11, GC12

Apply critical reading skills to the understanding...

Learning Outcome 05

Apply critical reading skills to the understanding of the history of the west and/or modern theories of the liberal arts
Relevant Graduate Capabilities: GC1, GC2, GC3, GC4, GC5, GC6, GC7, GC8, GC9, GC11, GC12

Content

Topics will include: 

  • An overview of the major currents and epochs of western history  
  • Key themes in western history and their relation to traditions in philosophy, art and literature in the creation of western identity  
  • Historical interactions between western and non-western cultures and traditions   
  • Major debates concerning the concept of the west and western civilisation 
  • Interpretations of the meaning and significance of liberal arts education 

Assessment strategy and rationale

A range of assessment methods is used to meet the unit learning outcomes and develop graduate attributes consistent with the University’s assessment requirements. The assessment tasks follow a progressive sequence, with the later assessment tasks given more weight than the earlier ones. Reading-related tasks assess students’ ability to identify and discuss ideas and content related to specific readings. They are designed to be diagnostic (since this is an introductory unit) and formative. The Research Task requires students to identify relevant and suitable intellectual resources in response to a set question, and to apply analytical and discussion skills developed in the first assessment to construct an evidence-based and historically informed argument or narrative. The Summative Task requires students to demonstrate knowledge of the unit as a whole, their ability to synthesise and apply that knowledge, and the acquisition of level-appropriate written communication and analysis skills. 

Overview of assessments

Assessment 1: Interactive oral with written outli...

Assessment 1: Interactive oral with written outline

This interactive oral with written outline gives students the opportunity to identify and explain key concepts, themes, and debates within the Western Intellectual tradition and communicate their findings in oral and written forms. 

Weighting

20%

Learning Outcomes LO1, LO2, LO4
Graduate Capabilities GC1, GC3, GC4, GC6, GC7, GC8, GC9, GC10, GC11, GC12

Assessment 2: Research Task This long essay allo...

Assessment 2: Research Task

This long essay allows students to demonstrate their ability to identify key resources related to a set topic and apply critical reading skills to construct an evidence-based and historically informed argument or narrative. 

Weighting

40%

Learning Outcomes LO1, LO3, LO4, LO5
Graduate Capabilities GC1, GC2, GC3, GC4, GC5, GC6, GC7, GC8, GC9, GC10, GC11, GC12

Assessment 3: Summative Task  This summativ...

Assessment 3: Summative Task 

This summative task enables students to demonstrate the skills, understanding, and knowledge they have acquired and/or developed over the course of the unit through short essay answers written under exam conditions. 

Weighting

40%

Learning Outcomes LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5
Graduate Capabilities GC1, GC2, GC3, GC4, GC5, GC6, GC7, GC8, GC9, GC10, GC11, GC12

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

Classes are run in an attendance mode for seminar groups of around ten students. Students are expected to have read the texts prior to attending class, and, on that basis, there will be a strong focus on shared analysis. These seminars will be taught using a broadly Socratic approach to thinking and discussion, by which close readings of the texts are examined through a guided process of question and response. In this way, high-level skills in textual analysis, conceptual evaluation, and clear verbal and written expression will be taught. To achieve a pass standard or higher in this unit, students are expected to engage in the full range of learning activities and assessments utilised in this unit. The learning and teaching, and assessment strategy includes a range of approaches to support your learning, such as reading, reflection, discussion, webinars, podcasts, video, etc. 

Representative texts and references

Representative texts and references

Bate, J. ed. (2011). The Public Value of the Humanities. London: Bloomsbury Academic. 

Daly, J. (2015). Historians Debate the Rise of the West. Abingdon: Routledge. 

Ferguson, N. (2012). Civilisation: The West and the Rest. New York: Penguin. 

Goody, J. (2007). The Theft of History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 

Gress, D. (2004). From Plato to Nato: The Idea of the West and its Opponents. New York: The Free Press. 

Hobson, J. M. (2004). The Eastern Origins of Western Civilisation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 

Malcolm, N. (2019). Useful Enemies: Islam and the Ottoman Empire in Western Political Thought, 1450–1750. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 

Nussbaum, M (1998). Cultivating Humanity: A Classical Defense of Reform in Liberal Education. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 

Said, E. (2003). Orientalism. New York: Penguin. 

Smith, H. (2013). The Value of the Humanities. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 

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