The
School of Humanities, Communications and Social Sciences is located on the
Gippsland campus, which is in the township of Churchill, about 140 kilometres
east of the Clayton campus. The school offers a range of undergraduate courses,
enabling students to choose a program which suits their specific interests,
needs and career goals. The academic programs offered range from the broad,
generalist Bachelor of Arts to the more specifically vocational programs such
as the Bachelor of Social Welfare and BA (Journalism).
The school also conducts an extensive distance education program via the Centre
for Learning and Teaching Support. The university's commitment to distance
education means that the same opportunities can be offered to students who
cannot attend on-campus lecture programs because of work or family commitments
or because of location. The aim of the distance education program is to provide
students with the necessary resources to complete a major part of their
coursework off-campus. This involves the provision of (a) course material
especially designed for independent study; (b) opportunities for effective
lecturer-student and student-student interaction; and (c) access to any
necessary facilities, eg library, computers, audiovisual material etc.
The School of Humanities, Communications and Social Sciences employs about 50
academic and general staff, and has an enrolment of about 1300 students.
Within the school are six sections: mass communications/writing, journalism,
history-politics, Indonesian, sociology and social research, and social
welfare. Each section has a head who is responsible for administrative and
academic issues relating to the one or more disciplines taught by section
staff.
In addition to the sections, the school has two centres: the Centre for
Gippsland Studies and the Centre for Australian Indigenous Studies. The Centre
for Gippsland Studies has a large archive of information on Gippsland,
maintained by the executive officer, which is accessible to anyone researching
issues related to Gippsland. The Centre for Australian Indigenous Studies,
serves to promote increased participation in tertiary education by members of
the Koorie community through its Diploma of Koorie Studies and also has
involvement in research in areas related to Koorie studies and the Koorie
community generally.
Graduates of the school will:
Graduates of the school will have:
Graduates of the school will:
Australian studies is an interdisciplinary minor available within the School of Humanities, Communications and Social Sciences. The minor includes subjects from a range of disciplines within the school, enabling students to develop a broad understanding of Australian cultures, lifestyles and societies.
This is a minor sequence of interdisciplinary subjects introducing students to community issues in postmodern contexts. These subjects aim to expose students to current debates about the meaning, nature and outlook of communities.
Scholarship
concerning gender as a social construct has become an established field of
study over the last 20 years. The analysis and critique of culturally shaped
attributes and behaviours have been successfully developed and expanded into
the humanities, communications and social sciences curriculum largely through
the work of feminist scholars, in courses developed from a woman-centred
perspective. The multidisciplinary major and a minor sequence in gender studies
evolves from this scholarship to offer a developing critique and understanding
of both masculinities and femininities. Drawing on feminist, malestream and
post-structuralist theorising of gender, the subjects offered investigate
gender relations as a collective social issue.
Particular attention will be paid to gender and power in social, historical,
political and representational frameworks as they are understood through
differences in class, ethnicity and sexual orientation.
Subjects
in history and politics are designed to build up, in a systematic way,
significant bodies of knowledge on the history and politics of Europe,
Australia, Asia and the major world powers. Students are provided with a
systematic development of learning skills -- including skills in reading,
information retrieval, oral and written communications, and methodological
approaches and research techniques.
The application of knowledge of political systems and structures is developed
in public and social policy studies for students in the Bachelor of Arts and in
other courses. The history-politics major provides a stimulating course which
will give students a high level of academic competence in the study of
continuity and change in human society and a deeper understanding of the nature
of the past and the modern world.
* COMPULSORY FOR MAJOR.
The
study of Indonesian is both the study of a culture through its language, and
the development of more generalist skills used in the acquisition of a new
language. The sequence aims at developing a tolerance for difference and an
interest in alternative ways of expressing the world while providing a language
framework from which students can communicate with the people of the world's
fourth-most-populous nation. From bargaining and negotiating appointments in
the early levels to producing a student magazine and radio program in the
specialist sequence, the emphasis is on practical language skills while
understanding that even the simplest of tasks can provide something which is
both culturally and linguistically challenging.
Students at all levels are encouraged to be involved with community activities
and events related to Indonesia and Southeast Asia. In doing so, students will
have the opportunity to integrate these experiences into assignments and
activities during their study. In-country study is also encouraged through
accredited courses at Indonesian universities, and this study is supported
through language and general study abroad scholarships.
There are two streams in Indonesian language: (a) beginners stream, for
those who have no previous knowledge of Indonesian; (b) post-VCE stream,
for those who have completed VCE Indonesian or equivalent.
* OFFERED BY DISTANCE EDUCATION.
The
journalism major will equip students with a range of journalism skills and
knowledge appropriate for flexible application in a variety of employment
settings.
The skills and knowledge developed are those required by journalists (or those
using journalism skills) for the future. Graduates will possess well-developed
literacy skills to work in a variety of media. They will be able to contribute
knowledgeably and in socially responsible and ethical ways to the particular
communities they find themselves in, drawing on an informed intercultural
awareness and an understanding of the professional and ethical codes and
responsibilities of journalism. Graduates will also be equipped to adapt
themselves to accommodate the rapid developments in mass communications
technologies and their social consequences.
* ON-CAMPUS SEQUENCE.
DISTANCE EDUCATION SEQUENCE.
Koorie studies offers a range of subjects that are designed to introduce students to the historical, social and political aspects of Koorie society. Koories studies will provide an understanding of the relationships between Indigenous Australians and the dominant society as well as developing students with a sound knowledge and sensitivity to work within Aboriginal communities.
Mass communications offers a range of subjects designed to equip students with specialised but flexible skills in describing and analysing the organisation, processes, diverse uses and effects of ´traditional' and ´new' mass communications technologies (print, electronic, film and digital) as these are integral components of modern societies. The emphasis is on how media are a part of the way the social relations between individuals and between groups are organised and pursued, rather than on media as picturing these relations and related issues. The major will provide an understanding of the practical operation of mass communication media as well as their social and cultural dimensions, considering the audiences, producers and policy-makers involved. Students will be equipped with skills in utilising language, and media delivery systems to communicate effectively.
A focus on mass communications in marketing can be chosen by taking complementary subjects from the Faculty of Business and Economics.
The
course is designed to provide academic and vocational education for students
wishing to become welfare workers. It will qualify and equip them for
employment in government and non-government welfare agencies and community
development organisations. It combines a sound intellectual and experiential
grounding in social welfare with practical experience of field situations.
Students in the Bachelor of Arts degrees may enrol in first-year subjects
GSC1306 (Understanding human behaviour) and GSC1307 (Human behaviour across the
lifespan).
Sociology
is the study of people and the relationships they enter into as members of
various social institutions. Sociologists study a range of social issues that
are important in contemporary Australian society. The sociology major offers
subjects which draw upon various areas of sociological endeavour.
In addition to standing as a major area of study in the Bachelor of Arts,
sociology is an important supporting discipline in other courses. Sociology
subjects form an integral part of the welfare and nursing courses and may be
taken as an appropriate component in the preparation of both primary and
secondary teachers in the School of Education. Sociology subjects may also be
taken by students enrolled in courses in the schools of Applied Science,
Business and Visual Arts.
The two introductory subjects in sociology (GSC1201 and GSC1202) are taken as a
first-level humanities and social science sequence.
Two
subjects are offered in social research -- one dealing with basic statistics
and computing for social sciences and the other with methods of social research
(GSC1601 and GSC1602).
The first introduces students to published data, eg the monthly unemployment
rate. The subject explores how the data is collected, the calculation of basic
statistics and what the formulae mean, and the use of computers to analyse real
data.
The second subject presents an overview of the methodologies available to
social researchers and calls on students to apply these techniques in a
selected project, working within a small team. The subject has proved of great
value when career moves are being planned, eg a new job or graduate study, as
the techniques learned cover many areas which appeal to supervisors, eg working
cooperatively in teams, verbal and written skills, computing, and the ability
to solve problems.
Students who intend to undertake studies in Psychology are advised to take
GSC1602 rather than GSC1601 as their research methods core subject, as GSC1601
and PSY2051 are a prohibited combination.
* COMPULSORY FOR MAJOR.
One
subject is currently offered in this area -- GSC1611 (Understanding university
learning). The subject offers an introduction to the scholarly techniques
required in humanities, communications and social sciences. It introduces
students to the skills, knowledge and qualities included in the school's
general objectives.
This subject may be undertaken in the following degrees: Bachelor of Arts,
Bachelor of Arts (Psychology and Humanities), Bachelor of Arts (Journalism),
Bachelor of Arts (Communication). It may also be undertaken in a number of
double-degree programs.
The writing major provides a sequence of subjects which will enable students to gain an understanding of a range of contemporary writing practices in the context of mass communications, cultural and media studies, materialist and feminist frameworks, and analyses of literary and other media forms. Students will become familiar with different kinds of contemporary writing, especially prose forms (eg prose fiction, feature articles, travel writing, autobiography, biography and the essay), and acquire detailed knowledge of a range of techniques associated with contemporary cultural production. At second level and, more fully, at third level, students will be able to reflect critically upon their own practices while developing and applying skills and techniques through individual and collaborative projects.
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