units

APR6013

Faculty of Arts

18 September 2017 22 November 2024
Monash University

Postgraduate - Unit

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2014 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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0 points, SCA Band 2, 0.000 EFTSL

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LevelPostgraduate
FacultyFaculty of Arts
Organisational UnitSchool of Geography and Environmental Science
OfferedClayton Second semester 2014 (Day)
Coordinator(s)Associate Professor Haripriya Rangan

Synopsis

This Graduate Research Colloquium examines emerging debates and ongoing controversies in the fields of physical and human geography, environmental management, and sustainability science. Most of the controversies in these fields are interdisciplinary and require understanding of the different perspectives that fuel debates and competing views regarding problem solving, policy, and practice. Students will be introduced to cutting-edge research and critical insights into the process of problem formulation and state of the art in these fields.

Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the unit, students should be able to:

  1. Gain an overview of the major controversies and debates taking place in the fields of physical and human geography, environmental and sustainability sciences.
  2. Delineate the interdisciplinary terrain and differing perspectives that give rise to controversies in these fields.
  3. Develop a thorough grasp of the major debates within the sub-field of specialisation relevant to their research project.
  4. Critically assess and review the arguments presented in relation to the major controversy in their sub-field of specialisation.
  5. Develop advanced skills in critical analysis (reading and writing) of scientific literature, theoretical argumentation, conceptual and methodological thinking across disciplinary boundaries.

Assessment

Attendance and participation in the colloquium discussions: 20%
Seminar presentation and leading discussion: 20%
Summarising public media/blogs/reports on current controversies with a sub-field: 20%

Chief examiner(s)

Associate Professor Haripriya Rangan

Workload requirements

Nine hours private study and one 3-hour seminar per week

Prerequisites

Must be admitted to the Doctoral or Masters research program