Overview
This unit provides you with an understanding of Australian society in an increasingly diverse and globalising world and how it has developed over time. It will examine how Australian history has helped to define Australian national identities. You will explore issues of power and social change and consider a range of social issues using sociological concepts. This will give you an understanding of the politico economic distribution of resources that shape social inequalities around culture, ethnicity, "race", gender and sexuality. You will develop an understanding of Australian Indigenous issues, processes of settlement and colonisation and multiculturalism and the implications of the globalisation of society. In this way the unit will be the basis for a professional career in human service and other workplaces.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
There are no requisites for this unit.
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 1 - 2022
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback – Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from Unit evaluation
The textbook was complex and difficult to understand.
Alternative first year textbooks and CQU library eBook options will be explored as a possible replacement.
Feedback from Unit evaluation & email
Check and fix broken links and communicate when extra resources provided on Moodle.
Extra effort will be directed to ensuring all functional links to resources & timely delivery.
Feedback from Unit evaluation
More time is needed per question for the timed online multiple choice quiz and too many concepts tested.
Additional time will be provided to students due to their lack of familiarity with online quiz assessments. More practice quizzes will be provided to increase the learning of concepts and deeper understanding in preparation for the assessment quiz.
Feedback from Unit evaluation
Some topics were difficult to grasp such as globalisation and identities (gender and sexuality)
Resources for learning about these topics will be incorporated into their respective weeks by encouraging the use of the sociological perspective and examining examples (newspaper, social media, film) of social reality. Tutorials and Moodle material will be structured to allow students to practice their skills and to scaffold their learning.
- Understand contemporary Australian society in a global context
- Identify the relevance of sociological concepts in everyday life
- Outline the role of cultural diversity in Australian history and identity
- Examine the role of colonialism and resistance in the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People - both past and present.
Nil
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
1 - Online Quiz(zes) - 20% | ||||
2 - Written Assessment - 40% | ||||
3 - Portfolio - 40% |
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
1 - Communication | ||||
2 - Problem Solving | ||||
3 - Critical Thinking | ||||
4 - Information Literacy | ||||
5 - Team Work | ||||
6 - Information Technology Competence | ||||
7 - Cross Cultural Competence | ||||
8 - Ethical practice | ||||
9 - Social Innovation | ||||
10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures |
Textbooks
Sociology
Edition: 7th edn (2021)
Authors: van Krieken, R, Habibis, D, Smith, P, Maton, K, Martin, G, Churchill, B, West, B & Hansen, E
Pearson Australia
Melbourne Melbourne , Vic , Australia
ISBN: 9781488624605
Binding: Paperback
Additional Textbook Information
Pearson Australia offers an eBook for $65. Please visit the publisher's website for information.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: American Psychological Association 7th Edition (APA 7th edition)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
s.rockloff@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Sociology, the sociological imagination and our social selves
Chapter
* Check the e-Reading list on the Moodle site for further required readings.
Textbook: van Krieken et al. (2021) Ch. 1
Lerner(1997) Rethinking the paradigm: race and class (CRO)
Willis (2011) The sociological imagination (CRO)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Complete ichange module
Module/Topic
Sociological investigations
Chapter
Textbook: van Krieken et al. (2021) Ch. 16
Events and Submissions/Topic
Complete Practice Quiz
Module/Topic
Social (individual) selves & sociological theories
Chapter
Textbook: van Krieken et al. (2021) Ch. 4 & 17
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Globalisation of society
Chapter
Textbook: van Krieken et al. (2021) Ch.2
Political Compass Quiz (URL)
Birch (2017) What exactly is neoliberalism (URL)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Class and inequality in Australian society
Chapter
Textbook: van Krieken et al. (2021) Ch.9
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Identities - Indigenous, national, ethnic and racial
Chapter
Textbook: van Krieken et al. (2021) Ch. 10
Marshall (2016) Sociological Theory & Levels of Analysis (YouTube 30 mins)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Identities - Gender and sexuality
Chapter
Textbook: van Krieken et al. (2021) Ch.11
LGBTCenter NYC KG (2009) Transgender basics - Gender Identity Project ( YouTube 19 mins)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Textbook: van Krieken et al. (2021) Ch.5
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Health and inequalities
Chapter
Textbook: van Krieken et al. (2021) Ch.12
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Power and the state
Chapter
Textbook: van Krieken et al. (2021) Ch
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Crime and deviance in Australian society
Chapter
Textbook: van Krieken et al. (2021) Ch.15
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Intersectionality
Chapter
Bob Jensen White Supremacy, Patriarchy and Capitalism (podcast)
Carastathis (2014) The concept of intersectionality in Feminist Theory (eReading List)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Online Quiz(zes)
This timed online multiple-choice quiz is set to test your understanding of fundamental concepts, methods, theoretical perspectives, and facts covered by the textbook, recommended readings and lectures covered in weeks 1 to 4 of the term.
Instructions
There will a total of 40 multiple choice questions, and you must answer the questions in 45 minutes. Each correct answer is worth half a mark.
The quiz will be available for two days on the Moodle site. The quiz will become available on Thursday, 31 March (week 4) at 8 am (AEST). The quiz will close at 11 pm (AEST) on Friday, 1 April (week 4).
This is a timed online quiz that must be completed before the due time and date.
There will be only one correct or best answer to each question, and you need to select the option corresponding to this answer. There are four answer options. There are no penalties for incorrect answers. While you will be able to refer to the textbook or other resources while you are taking the quiz, you cannot afford to do this for every question because of the time limit. You need to have a good understanding of the unit content before taking the quiz. Each student will receive a customised quiz, chosen at random from the test bank, so that collusion will not be possible.
If you have an Accessibility Plan that requires adjustment to your assessment, please contact me at the start of term.
Here is an example of a quiz question -
Q. Which theorist developed ‘power elite’ theory?
a. Robert Merton
b. Emile Durkheim
c. Erving Goffman
d. C. Wright Mills *
The correct answer is (d) C. Wright Mills—this is the one you need to select.
Some practice quizzes will be made available for you to familiarise yourself with the format, content type and process.
Please follow the steps below to complete your assessment task:
The quiz will be delivered through the ‘Assessment’ section of the Moodle site and will only become visible and available at 8 am (AEST) on Thursday, 31 March 2022.
You will need to have access to a stable Internet connection to complete the quiz. It is your responsibility to be available to sit the quiz before the due date and time (11 pm (AEST) on Friday, 1 April 2022).
Before you take the quiz, make sure that you are ready (i.e., a proper revision has been done) and choose a time and computer/place with minimum distraction to sit for the quiz (i.e., do not have external disturbances from people, pets, etc).
Be conscious of the time limit while taking the quiz—make sure you have a clock in front of you and note down your starting time. Do not wait until the last minute to complete the quiz as it will time out once the time limit is reached (i.e., at 11 pm the quiz will close regardless of your start time. To have the full-time allocation you need to start the quiz no later than 10.15 pm on Friday, 1 April 2022.
The presentation of questions is one page at a time with 5 questions per page. You must complete each page before you go on to the next one. Attempts to backtrack to previous pages are not allowed.
If you experience a problem with your quiz or the Moodle site while completing the quiz, please contact the CQU Technology and Services Assistance Centre (TASAC) during their opening hours of 7.30 am – 6 pm on ph. 1300 666 620. It is recommended that you complete the quiz during office hours.
Your quiz score will be provided the next working day (Monday, 4 April 2022) after the quiz has closed.
Please contact the Unit Coordinator immediately if you are unable to complete the quiz. Please take a photograph of your computer screen if you encounter an error or computer issue as evidence and to assist TaSAC to fix any problems.
Requirements
You need a computer with a stable internet connection and 45 minutes of uninterrupted time.
Resources
You can use unit provided materials and other credible sources during the quiz.
We recommend that you prepare before the quiz day and take the practice quizzes.
Submission
Submit your completed quiz when you answer the 40 questions or the 45 minute time allowance lapses. The quiz will be set to submit your quiz at the end of the 45 minutes.
1
Week 4 Friday (1 Apr 2022) 11:00 pm AEST
Week 5 Monday (4 Apr 2022)
The quiz questions are randomly drawn from a test bank of multiple choice questions. Your answer will be assessed against the correct answer in the test bank.
- Identify the relevance of sociological concepts in everyday life
2 Written Assessment
We live in a globalised changing world and our Australian society has diverse views on social class, gender, sexuality, and ethnicity. As individuals we live with multiple identities related to our gender, ethnicity, socio-economic status, and sexual orientation. By reflecting on our own multiple identities, we gain a better understanding of how we see our self, others, and our Australian society.
This assessment task requires you to demonstrate your understanding of the historical, social, and cultural factors influencing your life as the first step in gaining self-awareness and of the clients you will engage with in your professional capacity and the varied factors in their background
The aim of this assessment is for you to demonstrate your understanding of the sociological imagination by applying it to your own biography. You will reflect on your own life using the sociological imagination template using critical reflection. This reflection is not meant to be a personal account but rather, you are demonstrating what you have grasped about sociology as a ‘way of seeing’ using the sociological imagination.
Use the assigned weekly readings and lectures to help complete this task, along with material from the university library and databases.
Instructions
Within this assignment, you will be required to do the following:
1. COVER PAGE- include your name, student number, course code and assessment details and word count (mandatory)
2. INTRODUCTION (150 words)
Briefly explain 1) what will be covered in assignment in the sequence it will presented, 2) describe the sociological imagination template and 3) explain why it is relevant for your professional practice.
3. DISCUSSION (900 words)
This section covers three parts of the sociological imagination template, and the discussion needs to be supported by readings, examples, and evidence of originality.
History: What broader historical patterns have impacted on the history of your family? Consider any historical events that have had major impact on the Australian society in which you live? (200 words)
Structure: In what ways have class, ethnicity and gender impacted on your life? How would your life have been different if you had a different social class, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation? (Select two social identities to discuss) (350 words)
Culture: What cultural norms have been instrumental in your life choices? (200 words)
REMEMBER: This is not an exercise in writing your personal history - but about seeing your personal history in a social context. Reflect on your own family background, culture and social values and recognise the factors influencing your identity and life (e.g., education, religion, cultural practices)
4. CONCLUSION (150 words)
Make some final comments to bring the discussion to a close and consider the following questions by reflecting on the process of using the sociological imagination.
Critique: What have you learned about looking at your life history in this way? What most surprised you?
Total word count is 1200 words.
5. REFERENCES
Literature and references
In this assessment use a minimum of 5 contemporary references (<10 years) to support your discussion. The set textbook (van Krieken et al. 2021) is one suitable reference. You may also use seminal scholarly literature where relevant. Suitable references include peer-reviewed journal articles as well as textbooks and credible websites. When sourcing information, consider the 5 elements of a quality reference: currency, authority, relevance, objectivity, and coverage. Grey literature sourced from the internet must be from reputable websites such as from government, university, or peak national bodies.
Requirements
Use a conventional and legible size 12 font, such as Times New Roman or Arial, with 1.5 line spacing and 2.54cm page margins (standard pre-set margin in Microsoft Word).
Include page numbers on each page in a header.
Write in the third-person perspective.
Use formal academic language.
Use the seventh edition American Psychological Association (APA) referencing style. The CQUniversity Academic Learning Centre has an online APA Referencing Style Guide.
The word count is considered from the first word of the introduction to the last word of the conclusion. The word count excludes the reference list but includes in-text references and direct quotations. No abstract or appendices are required for this assignment.
Resources
You can use unit provided materials, the set textbook, and other credible sources (e.g., journal articles, books, grey literature) to reference your argument. The quality and credibility of your sources are important.
We recommend that you access your discipline specific library guide: the Social Work and Community Services Guide.
We recommend you use EndNote to manage your citations and reference list. More information on how to use EndNote is available at the CQUniversity Library website.
For information on academic communication please go to the Academic Learning Centre Moodle site. The Academic Communication section has many helpful resources including information for students with English as a second language.
Submit a draft before the due date to review your Turnitin Similarity Score before making a final submission. Instructions are available here.
Week 7 Friday (29 Apr 2022) 11:00 pm AEST
Week 10 Monday (16 May 2022)
The marking matrix contains the assessment criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment. You need to refer to the matrix rubric when preparing your assessment. You must refer to the matrix rubric when preparing your assessment and prior to submission of your assignment to check you have met the assessment requirements.
Re-attempt
In this unit, you may be offered to re-attempt a failed assessment task to demonstrate your achievement of one or more of the unit’s learning outcomes. A re-attempt will only be considered if you have demonstrated a reasonable attempt to complete every part of the assessment task.
If the Unit Coordinator allows you to re-attempt an assessment task, you must resubmit your revised work within seven (7) consecutive days of being notified about the re-attempt opportunity. A re-attempted assessment will receive a mark no greater than the minimum pass mark allowable for the original assessment task.
- Understand contemporary Australian society in a global context
- Identify the relevance of sociological concepts in everyday life
3 Portfolio
This assessment aims to have you reflect on the unit materials and to show your sociological understanding by selecting and answering four portfolio questions. In your answers, you need to demonstrate an understanding of the key issues and social divisions from a sociological perspective and using sociological concepts. The portfolio questions listed are focused on understanding why Australian society has vulnerable and disadvantaged peoples, communities, cultural groups whose livelihoods are impacted by power, oppression, and exploitation from local and global forces.
Instructions
You are required to submit a portfolio containing four 300-word answers. Each question will be marked out of 20%, with 15% for referencing and 5% for writing quality overall to reach a total of 100%. Please see the Assessment 3 marking rubric.
Select four of the numbered activities/questions below and provide an answer to each.
1. Watch the YouTube video by van Krieken - Explaining Structural Change in Family Life https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzKr26kiVg4&list=RDLVQzKr26kiVg4&start_radio=1&rv=QzKr26kiVg4&t=0. In the video the statement “The nature of the family … is unavoidably incompatible with the nature of modern society …” (Kinsley Davis) is presented. Discuss this statement in relation to the drivers of macro-scale social change (e.g., capitalism, globalisation) that have occurred over time in Australian society.
2. Watch the YouTube video – The Australian Identity Debate – A Different Lens https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZpJQCKaQ5w Discuss how cultural diversity challenges Australian national identity?
3. Identify a social issue impacting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people such as higher unemployment rates, forced removal and assimilation, homelessness, suicide, poverty, family violence, etc. Think about how one of these social issues looks to you from an exclusively Western colonialism frame and then explain how it might look different from an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspective.
4. Read the newspaper article ‘From cracks to COVID chasm’ by Fitzsimmons (2022) available in the eReading list on the Moodle site. Explain what is meant by the statement that health is social.
5. From a sociological perspective explain the various kinds of inequality experienced by intersectionality in Australian society. Focus on two or more ascribed social categories (e.g., gender, ethnicity, race, sexuality) in your response (such as Aboriginal women). (Read the newspaper article ‘‘Woke’ Australian businesses must act now to combat racial discrimination faced by working women’ by Kasat (2021) available in the eReading list on the Moodle site).
6. What are the effects of globalisation today on social inequality in Australian society? In your answer consider those who are ‘socially excluded’.
Please do not use dot points or numbered lists in your answer. You are encouraged to discuss your ideas and resources with the unit coordinator and others in the Assessment Discussion Forum.
A brief, concisely written answer to the question is more effective than a long, winded general comment. Where appropriate, you should refer to the literature to support your discussion and provide an in-text citation for any sources that you use. If you do use a direct quote, it should only be included if you then comment on what the author has said. If you use a direct quote as part of your discussion it must be indicated as such, and you will need to provide full reference details in APA referencing style.
Please follow the steps below to complete your assessment task:
Read the relevant textbook chapters and view the weekly topic resources on the Moodle site and in the e-Reading list.
Familiarise yourself with the key concepts, perspectives and the sociological imagination covered in the unit.
Search the CQU library and databases for useful references for each of the chosen questions and undertake further reading.
Draft an outline for each of the four answers before writing your response. Use examples to illustrate your applied understanding.
Provide intext citations to support your discussion and add a single reference list at the end of your portfolio.
Literature and references
In this assessment use a minimum of 5 contemporary references (<10 years) to support your discussion. The set textbook (van Krieken et al. 2021) is one suitable reference. You may also use seminal scholarly literature where relevant. Suitable references include peer-reviewed journal articles as well as textbooks and credible websites. When sourcing information, consider the 5 elements of a quality reference: currency, authority, relevance, objectivity, and coverage. Grey literature sourced from the internet must be from reputable websites such as from government, university, or peak national bodies.
Requirements
Use a conventional and legible size 12 font, such as Times New Roman or Arial, with 1.5 line spacing and 2.54cm page margins (standard pre-set margin in Microsoft Word).
Include page numbers on each page in a header.
Write in the third-person perspective.
Use formal academic language.
Use the seventh edition American Psychological Association (APA) referencing style. The CQUniversity Academic Learning Centre has an online APA Referencing Style Guide.
The word count is considered from the first word of the introduction to the last word of the conclusion. The word count excludes the reference list but includes in-text references and direct quotations. No abstract or appendices are required for this assignment.
Resources
You can use unit provided materials, the set textbook, and other credible sources (e.g., journal articles, books, grey literature) to reference your argument. The quality and credibility of your sources are important.
We recommend that you access your discipline specific library guide: the Social Work and Community Services Guide.
We recommend you use EndNote to manage your citations and reference list. More information on how to use EndNote is available at the CQUniversity Library website.
For information on academic communication please go to the Academic Learning Centre Moodle site. The Academic Communication section has many helpful resources including information for students with English as a second language.
Submit a draft before the due date to review your Turnitin Similarity Score before making a final submission. Instructions are available here.
Week 12 Friday (3 June 2022) 11:00 pm AEST
22/06/2022
The marking matrix contains the assessment criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment. You need to refer to the matrix rubric when preparing your assessment. You must refer to the matrix rubric when preparing your assessment and prior to submission of your assignment to check you have met the assessment requirements.
- Understand contemporary Australian society in a global context
- Identify the relevance of sociological concepts in everyday life
- Outline the role of cultural diversity in Australian history and identity
- Examine the role of colonialism and resistance in the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People - both past and present.
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
