Undergraduate Courses
  • Students are to follow the requirements of the Handbook for the year they commenced the course.

    However, the subject links below do not contain the subject information for the current year. You can view current subject information through the new Course Handbook.

Bachelor of Arts

Overview

The Bachelor of Arts (BA702, BB702, BE702, SH702 or MV702), is one of the more open degrees offered by the University of Wollongong. Rather than relying on a prescribed program of study, it offers students a range of choices. The degree offers two majors in the disciplinary areas familiar from study at school, English Literatures and History. Other disciplinary areas offered that might not be as familiar include Sociology and the interdisciplinary areas of Indigenous Studies and Community, Culture and Environment. The study of a discipline gives students a developing set of skills while they acquire a set of conceptual frameworks and a body of knowledge interpreted using those frameworks. For example, within the study of 'history', students learn how to research and write history, as well as how to read what historians have thought about the past.

Interdisciplinary areas are built around either a place or a theme (for example Indigenous Studies or Community, Culture and Environment). These majors reach across disciplines to illustrate different ways an issue can be explored. Interdisciplinary majors ask the students to step outside the comfort zone offered by disciplinary majors and offer challenging alternatives to traditional areas of study.(Bega, Batemans Bay, Shoalhaven & Southern Highlands).

Course Structure

To qualify for award of the degree of Bachelor of Arts course code (BA702, BB702, BE702, SH702 or MV702) a student must complete a total of at least 144 credit points as outlined in the table below.

Students must complete:
At least one major offered within the BA (outlined below) - 52-54 credit points
Second major, and/or a minor and/or elective subjects offered LHA or other faculties up to a cumulative total of at least 144 credit points - 84-86 credit points
Total - 144 credit points
Note: Of the 144 credit points student must complete:
At least 24 credit points of subjects at 300 level within the major, of which students must obtain a minimum pass mark
Not more than 60 credit points in 100-level subjects

Subject Delivery

Subjects are taught using different methods of delivery. For some subjects, lectures are edustreamed which means students can download the lectures. In other lectures, video conferencing is used where the lecturer talks to students in real time. Other subjects rely on online delivery which includes posting the lectures on the subject's website. In virtually all subjects, there are tutorials run on your campus.

Majors

The BA (BA702, BB702, BE702, SH702 or MV702) offers five majors: Community, Culture and Environment, English Literatures, History, Indigenous Studies, Sociology. The majors aim to offer a comprehensive exposure to each discipline area but subjects offered under the BA (BA702, BB702, BE702, SH702 or MV702) will vary from those available at the Wollongong Campus.
The subjects listed under each major and at each level will rotate on a yearly basis, ensuring that students will always have a selection of options that will count towards their majors.

Most majors offered in the Bachelor of Arts (BA702, BB702, BE702, SH702 or MV702) require either 52 or 54 credit points. English Literatures and History majors are quite open in their requirements, allowing students to navigate their way through the program by meeting credit point requirements at each level. Others have core subject requirements to complete the major (for example Sociology and Indigenous Studies). All majors require at least a pass in 24 credit points (or three subjects) at 300 level from the subjects offered for the major. The requirements for each major are set out later in this Handbook.

Students enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts (BA702, BB702, BE702, SH702 or MV702) within the Faculty must take one of these majors:

Please refer to the South Coast Highlands Handbook for a listing of subjects required to complete the above majors.

Minors

Minor studies are also available to students for course code BB702, BE702, SH702 or MV702. They consist of a minimum of 28 credit points of which no more than 12 credit points are at 100 level. Students may not cross count subjects from a nominated minor into any other minor or major. Minors do not appear on the testamur but do appear on the transcript (i.e. the academic record).

Students enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts (BA702, BB702, BE702, SH702 or MV702) may choose from the following minors:

Please refer to the South Coast Highlands Handbook for a listing of subjects required to complete the above minors.

Internship and International Subjects

The Faculty internship program provides students with an opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills acquired in their degree in a workplace setting. The internship subject ARTS301 is offered to all Arts students providing they meet the pre-requisites. Please note ARTS301 is currently under review and may undergo some changes.

One of the Faculty's aims is to encourage students to study in an overseas university. Students can study abroad for a full session taking three to four subjects, or can study abroad for a shorter period of time by taking a study tour. The Faculty's study tour subjects currently focus on War History and incorporate visits to Gallipoli and the Western Front. Both subjects are listed below:

Subject Code subject Name Credit Points Session(s)
HIST265 Gallipoli Study Tour 8 Winter
HIST270 Western Front Study Tour 8 Not offered in 2015

Honours

Honours is a fourth year of study that students can undertake provided they meet the requirements set out in the honours entry for this handbook. More details on honours can be found in the BA (BA702, BB702, BE702, SH702 or MV702) handbook. See separate entry for the Bachelor of Arts (Honours).

Community, Culture and Environment

The theme of this major reflects its name, Community, Culture and Environment. Subjects offered by Sociology inform the theme of community, those offered by English, History and Cultural Studies inform the cultural theme and those offered by Earth Sciences and Science and Technology Studies inform the environmental theme. However, many of the subjects offered will often combine two of the themes listed in the degree, especially the Indigenous Studies subjects.

Learning Outcomes:

On successful completion of this course students will be able to:

  1. Develop knowledge of how the concept of identity is understood in a range of disciplines
  2. Critically evaluate a range of theories relevant to the study of Community, Culture and the Environment
  3. Demonstrate understanding of how an interdisciplinary approach is able to enhance knowledge of and research into Community, Culture and the Environment

This major requires a minimum of 54 credit points. Students must complete a core subject, 24 credit points at 200 level and 24 credit points at 300 level from the schedule of subjects offered for the major listed in the table below.

Subject Code subject Name Credit Points Session(s)
Core
Choose ONE subject from the following:
AUST101 Australian Studies: Cultures and Identities 6 Autumn
AUST102 Locating Australia 6 Not offered in 2015
Plus TWO subjects from the following:
INDS203 Critical Themes in Indigenous Studies 8 Autumn
Not offered Bega 2015
HIST256 The World After 1945 8 Autumn
SOC 203 Introduction to Social Theory 8 Autumn
Plus ONE elective at 200-level
Plus TWO subjects from the following:
INDS300 Indigenous Peoples and Decolonisation: Global Perspectives 8 Spring
HIST350 Debates in Australian Cultural History 8 Autumn
SOC 302 Power, Resistance and Society 8 Spring
Plus ONE elective at 300-level
Electives
ENGL229 The Romantics 8 Autumn
ENGL259 An Introduction to Canadian Literature 8 Spring
ENGL338 The Modernists 8 Autumn
ENGL268 Dreams and Visions in Literature and Film 8 Autumn
HIST203 Australians and the Great War 8 Autumn
HIST239 Water in Australia: An Environmental History 8 Spring
HIST265 Gallipoli Study Tour 8 Winter
HIST270 Western Front Study Tour 8 Not offered in 2015
INDS201 Redefining Eden: Indigenous Peoples and the Environment 8 Autumn
SOC 206 Youth Cultures 8 Not offered in 2015
SOC 231 Social Research Methods 8 Spring
SOC 244 Punishment: Purpose, Practice, Policy 8 Spring
SOC 250 Everyday Interaction 8 Not offered in 2015
STS 218 Environment in Crisis 8 Spring
ARTS301 Arts Internship 8 Not offered in 2015
ENGL337 Sex, Power, and Chivalry - Medieval to Modern Literature 8 Not offered in 2015
ENGL269 The African Diaspora 8 Autumn
ENGL377 Social Justice and Children's Literature 8 Spring
HIST322 Twentieth Century Dictatorships 8 Spring
HIST355 Making History 8 Spring
SOC 302 Power, Resistance and Society 8 Spring
SOC 325 Social Research and Social Policy 8 Autumn
SOC 326 Globalisation and Social Transformation 8 Not offered in 2015
SOC 345 Scenes, Subcultures and Neo-tribes 8 Not offered in 2015
SOC 350 Men and Masculinities 8 Not offered in 2015
SOC 355 Cultures in Dispossession 8 Autumn
Not offered Bateman's Bay 2015
STS 300 The Environmental Context: Imagining a Zero Carbon Future 8 Not offered in 2015

A minor in Community, Culture and Environment will consist of at least 28 credit points from the subjects in the major and must include either AUST101 or AUST102 . Not more than two subjects may be taken at 100-level. Students may not cross-count any subjects from the minor in any other minor or major study.  

English Literatures

The English Literatures major introduces students to a broad range of literary texts - novels, poetry, essays, drama, short stories, film, life-writing, diaries and letters - drawn from medieval to contemporary popular culture. Students read literatures written or performed in English from Australia, Africa, the Caribbean, Canada, the U.S. and the UK. They are encouraged to explore the aesthetic, formal, and ideological dimensions of literature. The English major enhances reading, writing and speaking skills, enabling students to analyse what they read, and articulate their response to reading with critical acumen and cultural sensitivity.

Within the major, students can study broadly across genres and literary periods, or they can follow streams of subjects in areas including Australian literature, Canadian/New Zealand literatures, gender in literature and literature by historical periods. English may be combined with any other approved Arts major.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of the English Literatures major students will be able to:

  1. Have knowledge of distinct varieties of literary texts in their contexts from a range of periods and places
  2. Have knowledge of changing theories, methods and concepts in literary studies
  3. Read, understand and interpret complex literary texts
  4. Locate, assess and use appropriate critical resources

A major study in English Literatures is made up of at least 54 credit points: 6 at 100-level, 24 at 200-level, and 24 at 300-level from the schedule of subjects offered for the major listed in the table below. Of the 54 credit points, at least 46 credit points will be in subjects having the prefix 'ENGL'.

Subject Code subject Name Credit Points Session(s)
Choose ONE subject from the following:
ENGL120 An Introduction to Literature and Film 6 Autumn
ENGL131 Film and Fiction 6 Spring
Plus THREE subjects from the following:
ENGL229 The Romantics 8 Autumn
ENGL259 An Introduction to Canadian Literature 8 Spring
ENGL267 US Literature 8 Not offered in 2015
ENGL268 Dreams and Visions in Literature and Film 8 Autumn
ENGL269 The African Diaspora 8 Autumn
ENGL280 Popular Literature: Writing for Children & Young Adults 8 Not offered in 2015
Plus THREE subjects from the following:
ENGL312 Shakespeare & Early Modern Drama 8 Spring
ENGL337 Sex, Power and Chivalry - Medieval to Modern Literature 8 Not offered in 2015
ENGL338 The Modernists 8 Autumn
ENGL377 Social Justice and Children's Literature 8 Spring

A minor in English Literatures will consist of at least 28 credit points of subjects with the prefix 'ENGL' from the schedule of subjects listed in the table above. Not more than two subjects may be taken at 100-level. Students may not cross-count any subjects from the minor in any other minor or major study.

History

History aims to understand and interpret the past. It is the subject that brings the past into the present. History is a dynamic discipline, since each generation returns to the past with different questions, based on their own experiences and concerns. Historical analysis brings together both facts and moral judgements to analyse the background to contemporary conditions. Perhaps more importantly, History can also help us to imagine the kinds of futures we want to live.

Career Opportunities

History graduates follow many employment paths. They work in Federal and State government departments, in private enterprise, as researchers, in the media, in travel, marketing and tourism, as teachers at primary and secondary schools, institutes of technology and universities, as well as finance and service industries. The History course builds a solid foundation for future study through developing the students' capacity to inquire, analyse and communicate information, ideas, and concepts. This is extremely helpful to the graduate in terms of taking postgraduate courses.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this major students will be able to:

  1. Evaluate historical processes using examples from a variety of periods and places;
  2. Appraise present-day global affairs from an historical perspective;
  3. Utilise different types of evidence to demonstrate an understanding of historical change;
  4. Critically review how Historians produce different interpretations of the past.

The History major consists of 52 credit points, made up of core subjects and electives. The major must consist of 24 credit points at 300-level. Students taking a major in History can count up to 16 credit points from the subjects listed in the Politics major at Wollongong; as well as INDS150 and INDS203 with the permission of the Head of Students at Wollongong.

Subject Code subject Name Credit Points Session(s)
Core
HIST111 The Modern World 6 Spring
HIST256 The World After 1945 8 Autumn
HIST355 Making History 8 Spring
Electives
Plus FOUR subjects* from the following: (*this must include 16 credit points at 300-level)
AUST101 Australian Studies: Cultures and Identities 6 Autumn
AUST102 Locating Australia 6 Not offered in 2015
ERLS160 Power, Work and People 6 Not offered in 2015
INDS150 Introduction to Indigenous Australia 6 Autumn
HIST203 Australians and the Great War 8 Autumn
HIST239 Water in Australia: An Environmental History 8 Not offered in 2015
HIST265 Gallipoli Study Tour 8 Winter
HIST270 Western Front Study Tour 8 Not offered in 2015
HIST291 Film and History 8 Spring
HIST322 Twentieth Century Dictatorships 8 Spring
HIST350 Debates in Australian Cultural History 8 Autumn

A minor in History will consist of at least 28 credit points in subjects from the schedule of the History major (see above). Students may not take more than two subjects at 100-level and may not cross-count any subjects from the minor in any other minor or major study.

Note: Students enrolled in a double major may only cross-count one subject.

Indigenous Studies

Indigenous Studies is an interdisciplinary major which links together INDS subjects and a number of subjects offered by the Faculties of Law, Humanities and the Arts and Social Sciences, to provide Indigenous and non-Indigenous students with a coherent program in the study of Indigenous Australia.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of the Indigenous Studies major students will be able to:

  1. Identify how Indigenous studies has developed as a discipline and how it relates to other areas of study
  2. Evaluate the ideologies and paradigms that continue to shape both popular and scholarly understandings of indigenous peoples
  3. Analyse, both critically and reflectively, Indigenous peoples’ understandings of themselves and the world
  4. Evaluate the major social and political influences that have underpinned the history of colonisation and resistance

A major in Indigenous Studies requires the completion of a minimum of 52 credit points, consisting of at least 12 credit points at 100 Level, 16 credit points at 200 Level and 24 credit points at 300 Level. The major consists of four core and other elective subjects offered by the Indigenous Studies Unit together with a choice of subjects offered by other participating Faculties. Students are advised to consult with the Indigenous Studies Unit about available subjects prior to enrolment.  

Subject Code subject Name Credit Points Session(s)
Core
Choose ONE subject from the following:
INDS150 Introduction to Indigenous Australia 6 Autumn
INDS130 Indigenous Knowledge in Global Contexts 6 Not offered in 2015
Plus:
INDS203 Critical Themes in Indigenous Studies 8 Autumn
Not offered Bega 2015
INDS300 Indigenous Peoples and Decolonisation: Global Perspectives 8 Spring
INDS360 Indigenous Research Methodologies 8 Autumn
Electives
AUST102 Locating Australia 6 Not offered in 2015
GEOG122 Human Geography II: Living in a Material World 6 Spring
PHIL151 Argument, Evidence and Knowledge 6 Not offered in 2015
SOC 104 Investigating Society 6 Spring
HIST239 Water in Australia: An Environmental History 8 Not offered in 2015
INDS201 Redefining Eden: Indigenous Peoples and the Environment 8 Autumn
INDS202 Indigenous Self-Representation in Contemporary Texts 8 Spring
SOC 231 Social Research Methods 8 Spring
INDS301 Indigenous Youth and Cultural Production 8 Not offered in 2015
HIST350 Debates in Australian Cultural History 8 Autumn

A minor in Indigenous Studies will consist of the three core subjects and one other subject from the subjects prescribed for the major (see Study Program below).

Students may not cross-count any subjects from the minor in any other minor or major study. Non-core subjects can be taken from the electives listed below. A typical program of study might be INDS150 + EESC104 at 100 level, INDS203 + INDS201 at 200 level, and INDS300 and INDS360 at 300 level and one from INDS301 and HIST350.

Subject Code subject Name Credit Points Session(s)
Core
Choose ONE subject from the following:
INDS150 Introduction to Indigenous Australia 6 Autumn
INDS130 Indigenous Knowledge in Global Contexts 6 Not offered in 2015
Plus the following TWO subjects:
INDS203 Critical Themes in Indigenous Studies 8 Autumn
Not offered Bega 2015
INDS300 Indigenous Peoples and Decolonisation: Global Perspectives 8 Spring
Plus ONE other subject from the list of subjects in the major.

Sociology

Sociology is the study of social life, cultural and social change, and the social causes and consequences of human behaviour. By acquiring sociological skills students develop the ability to analyse a wide variety of social processes, institutions, causes of social change and the structures of groups and societies.

Specific areas of study include social policy; social theory and methodologies; gender, sexuality and the body; class; crime and punishment; race and ethnicity; family, welfare and education reform; everyday interaction; social movements; social change in Asia; media and entertainment; and youth and popular culture.

In a rapidly changing world, sociology provides distinctive methodologies and perspectives that offer solutions to complex problems arising from social inequality, globalisation, criminal justice and racism. Sociology is an exciting discipline with expanding opportunities for a wide range of career paths.

Learning Outcomes

A student completing the Sociology major will be able to:

  1. Critically review how Sociology has developed as a discipline and how it relates to other areas of study
  2. Design and report independent sociological research projects, using qualitative and quantitative research methods
  3. Create coherent analytical narratives which exercise critical thinking and judgement on key contemporary sociological theories and consider a range of alternative viewpoints.

A major in Sociology consists of a minimum of 54 credit points including core and elective subjects. The major must include at least 24 credit points at 200-level including SOC203 and SOC231 and at least 24 credit points at 300-level in Sociology subjects including SOC302 from the schedule of subjects offered for the major listed in the table below.

Subject Code subject Name Credit Points Session(s)
Core
Choose ONE subject from the following:
SOC 103 Introduction to Sociology 6 Autumn
SOC 104 Investigating Society 6 Spring
Plus:
SOC 203 Introduction to Social Theory 8 Autumn
SOC 231 Social Research Methods 8 Spring
SOC 302 Power, Resistance and Society 8 Not offered in 2015
Electives
Plus ONE subject from the following:
SOC 206 Youth Cultures 8 Not offered in 2015
SOC 244 Punishment: Purpose, Practice, Policy 8 Not offered in 2015
SOC 250 Everyday Interaction 8 Not offered in 2015
Plus TWO subjects from the following:
SOC 325 Social Research and Social Policy 8 Autumn
SOC 326 Globalisation and Social Transformation 8 Not offered in 2015
SOC 345 Scenes, Subcultures and Neo-tribes 8 Not offered in 2015
SOC 350 Men and Masculinities 8 Not offered in 2015
SOC 355 Cultures in Dispossession 8 Autumn
Not offered Bateman's Bay 2015

A minor in Sociology will consist of at least 28 credit points from the schedule of the major. It will include SOC103 or SOC104, as well as SOC203 and SOC231. It must not include more than two subjects at 100-level. Subjects in the minor may not be cross-counted with any other minor or major study.

Subject Code subject Name Credit Points Session(s)
Core
Choose ONE subjects from the following:
SOC 103 Introduction to Sociology 6 Autumn
SOC 104 Investigating Society 6 Spring
Plus:
SOC 203 Introduction to Social Theory 8 Autumn
SOC 231 Social Research Methods 8 Spring
Electives
SOC 206 Youth Cultures 8 Not offered in 2015
SOC 244 Punishment: Purpose, Practice, Policy 8 Not offered in 2015
SOC 250 Everyday Interaction 8 Not offered in 2015
SOC 302 Power, Resistance and Society 8 Spring
SOC 325 Social Research and Social Policy 8 Autumn
SOC 326 Globalisation and Social Transformation 8 Not offered in 2015
SOC 345 Scenes, Subcultures and Neo-tribes 8 Not offered in 2015
SOC 350 Men and Masculinities 8 Not offered in 2015
SOC 355 Cultures in Dispossession 8 Autumn
Not offered Bateman's Bay 2015

Minor Study in Environmental Studies*

*Only available as part of the Bachelor of Arts (Bega, Batemans Bay, Southern Highlands and Shoalhaven).

On completing this minor, students will have a recognised minor specialisation on one of the three themes offered in the degree, the environmental theme. They will be able to place the current environmental debate within an intellectual and social context.

Subject Code subject Name Credit Points Session(s)
Students must complete 28 credit points from the following:
GEOG122 Human Geography II: Living in a Material World 6 Spring
GEOG226 Society and Change in Rural and Regional Australia 8 Spring
HIST239 Water in Australia: An Environmental History 8 Not offered in 2015
STS 218 Environment in Crisis 8 Not offered in 2015
STS 300 The Environmental Context: Imagining a Zero Carbon Future 8 Not offered in 2015

Credit Arrangements

Credit and articulation arrangements are available from the Course Finder. Refer to UOW's credit arrangements for information on how to apply for credit.

Other Information

Further information is available at:
UOW Course Finder
Email: lha-enquiries@uow.edu.au

Last reviewed: 24 February, 2015