Classes:

• Students will attend one tutorial (time allotted one hour) each week (starting in Week 2). Most lectures are NOT held in-person. Aside from Week 8 and Week 12, lectures have been pre-recorded on video and are available on iLearn. There are two lectures which you must attend in-person: Week 8 when you have your in-class test and Week 12 which will include a discussion of techniques to improve your performance on your Essay).
• A library tutorial will be conducted by library staff in week four – details will be provided in week 2.
• The sequencing of the lecture program and unit content will allow you to develop your understanding of the law as the unit progresses. Note that together with the designated practice / tutorial questions, the tutorials may cover other issues relevant to the unit.
• The timetable for classes can be found on the university website at: http://www.timetables.mq.edu.au
• Students must remain in their allocated tutorials.
• Attendance at all tutorials is compulsory. Required reading for each week’s lecture and tutorial is clearly set out in the Lecture and Tutorial Schedules on iLearn, and students are expected to be fully prepared in advance. Attendance at the library tutorial is also compulsory. 
• For the timetabling of this unit, see: http://timetables.mq.edu.au

Expectations and Workload

Prizes:

There is a prize for the most successful student in this unit. See: http://www.businessandeconomics.mq.edu.au/undergraduate_degrees/prizes_scholarships

Required and Recommended Texts and/or Materials

• Connecting  with  Law  (3rd   Edition):  Michelle Sanson and Thalia Anthony (2015) ISBN:9780195525052 - available from the Co-Op Bookshop and also available to be borrowed from the Macquarie University library. This is a substantially different book to the 2nd edition (several hundred pages longer).
• Additional readings will be uploaded to iLearn.

Useful websites:

• AustLII: http://www.austlii.edu.au
• Australian Parliament House: http://www.aph.gov.au

Technology Used and Required:

• Students must be familiar with the learning management system ilearn.

• Students need to have knowledge about accessing electronic research databases from the Macquarie University Library's website, textbooks, newspapers and the Internet. Students are required to attend a library training tutorial during the semester.

• Students are required to conduct their own research.

• Pre-recorded lectures and tutorials may make use of Powerpoint, videos and visualisers.

Unit Web Page:

• Unit material is available on the learning management system (iLearn)
• There is a web page for this unit.

Learning and Teaching Activities:

• This unit is taught by way of (mostly) pre-recorded lectures and tutorials. Practice questions are discussed to enable application of content.

What is expected of students: Criteria for Success

• Students should take responsibility for their own learning and this will incorporate reading as required, attendance at assessments and tutorials, developing effective study strategies, reflection on their abilities, and a task-oriented approach to assessment. That is, do not think solely about gathering information, think also about: what will be required; what makes for successful performance in quizzes and assignments; how you will use the law that you have studied. As this unit is both an introduction to legal content and a skills-based unit, you should undertake additional practice of applying the skills that you learn (such as interpreting legislation, reading case decisions, etc) outside of scheduled class time.

No changes from previous offering of this unit.

The jurisprudence lecture of this unit includes discussion of legal theories applied in research undertaken and published by the unit convenor.

The final assessment task in this unit will require you to analyse a cutting-edge legal decision about which few, if any, legal scholars will have written at the time.

Interested students can pursue further research (not a compulsory requirement of this unit) into any of the areas of this unit via the various scholarly journals available in print and (particularly) electronic formats through the Macquarie University Library.

This unit addresses global and sustainability issues as direct areas of study and as necessary implications arising from the materials, assessments and academic discussion and debate in classes / seminars. In particular, this unit situates the development of the Australian legal system within its global context and the role of indigenous communities in promoting sustainable practices. We aim to provide students with an opportunity to obtain skills which will benefit them throughout their careers.

Source materials cited in the textbook are referenced in the footnotes. Additional references will be made available on iLearn. These provide some guidance to references that could be used to research particular issues. Students are expected to research well beyond the prescribed textbooks and readings when writing their Essay.