6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL
Undergraduate - Unit
Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.
Faculty
Organisational Unit
Chief examiner(s)
Associate Professor Seamus O'Hanlon
Coordinator(s)
Associate Professor Seamus O'Hanlon
Unit guides
Prohibitions
Synopsis
This unit takes an interdisciplinary approach to introducing students to a selection of the most pressing issues facing the contemporary world. It is divided into three main sections: economics; politics; society. Topics include, for example, global finance, post-Cold War conflict, environmental change, and migration.
Outcomes
- This unit cultivates responsible and effective global citizens by educating students about the development and current state of the most pressing social, economic and political questions facing the world today.
- Students will cultivate cross-cultural competence through the study and analysis of problems in a comparative and transnational framework.
- Students' ethical values will be deepened through the study of a range of social justice issues concerning poverty and gender.
- Critical thinking and communication skills will be honed through readings and discussion centered around controversial contemporary debates.
- Research and writing skills transferable to a range of challenges will be developed through required assignments.
Assessment
Within semester assessment: 70% + Exam: 30%
Workload requirements
Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. A unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.
See also Unit timetable information