HPL2501 - Australian History

Leader: David Schmitt

Offered

Gippsland First semester 2007 (Day)
Gippsland First semester 2007 (Off-campus)

Synopsis

This unit provides a general introduction to the history of Australia from the arrival of the Aboriginal people to the post World War II period. The unit seeks to provide an overview of the development of Australian society; the nature and development of the Australian character, the utilisation of land and resources; the involvement in and impact of war; the emergence of a mixed economy and the development and maturation of the political system. The themes are explored through a comparative study of the 'traditional' and more recent 'revisionist' accounts of Australian history.

Objectives

This unit is designed to provide students with a knowledge of Australian history and the development of historical skills.

Students will be encouraged to develop a knowledge of:

1. Specific facts, events personalities and time periods;
2. Terminology, conventions, trends and theories;
3. Classifications, structures and causal factors;
4. Criteria and principles by which opinions, conduct, facts, theories and laws are tested and evaluated;
5. Methods of inquiry, research, data collection and historical writing.

Students will be encouraged to develop skills in:

1. Comprehension of historical problems in terms of their complexity and the interaction of various factors and factors;
2. The application of theories, procedures and methods;
3. Analysis of elements, relationships, explicit and implicit structures;
4. Synthesis of elements, ideas, theory, evidence and generalisations to provide a piece of written history;
5. Evaluation of quantitative and qualitative judgements about the extent to which material, methods and conclusions

satisfy historical criteria. Evaluation will normally involve the use of tests of internal and external criteria.

Assessment

Research essay (2500 words): 60%
Examination (2 hours): 40%

Contact hours

2 hours per week (1-hour lecture, 1-hour tutorial)

Prerequisites

HPL1503 and HPL1504 or equivalents

Prohibitions

GSC2501