Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Unit Convenor
Jennifer Duke-Yonge
By arrangement
Tutor
Tracy Llanera
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
Religion has been an important feature of human life throughout history and it continues to shape human affairs across the planet today. All religions posit the existence of some divine force, and the major monotheistic religions - Judaism, Christianity and Islam - take this divinity to be a single all-powerful God. But what kind of justification can be given for belief in the existence of God, so conceived? Does science support or undermine belief in God? Or have science and religion got nothing to do with each other? Can religious belief be justified on practical grounds? Might religion provide a basis for morality and spiritual fulfilment that secular or non-religious people lack? Or are there secular sources of meaning available in the modern world that could make religion redundant? Is there a link between religion and violence? Should religion be viewed as an antidote to violent conflict or a cause of it? What place should there be for religion in the political sphere? The unit does not presuppose any religious commitment or particular religious perspective, just a willingness to explore these questions, and others like them, in an open-minded and rigorous way.
All enrolment queries should be directed to Open Universities Australia (OUA): see www.open.edu.au
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Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.open.edu.au/student-admin-and-support/key-dates/
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
Assessments are to be submitted through Turnitin, and will be marked and returned via Grademark. For information about these tools, see:
http://www.mq.edu.au/iLearn/student_info/assignments.htm
For information about extensions, late penalties and special consideration, see Policies and Procedures section below.
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
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On-line Quizzes | 25% | No | Weekly |
Major Essay | 40% | No | 11.59pm, Sunday of Week 13 |
Participation | 20% | No | Weekly |
Project management | 15% | No | Weekly; +Wk 10, 13 |
Due: Weekly
Weighting: 25%
Multiple choice questions to test knowledge of material covered in the unit each week.
The criterion for assessment is understanding of the week's material, as demonstrated by the correct selection of answers in a multiple choice quiz.
Due: 11.59pm, Sunday of Week 13
Weighting: 40%
1 x 2000 word essay with bibliography on a specified topic
The task must be submitted through Turnitin.
This task will be assessed by the following criteria: Content; Structure; Argument; Expression; Spelling, punctuation and grammar. A detailed rubric for this task will be supplied in through Turnitin.
Late submissions will result in a loss of Project Management marks.
No assignments are accepted more than three weeks after the due date. Resubmission not permitted.
Work submitted in a previous version of the unit may not be resubmitted. If you have done the unit before, you will need to choose a different question.
Due: Weekly
Weighting: 20%
Contribution to class discussion based on appropriate preparation. Criteria for this task: Engagement in online community; content of posts; regularity of engagement. Detailed information about participation requirements will be given in the forum in week 1.
Due: Weekly; +Wk 10, 13
Weighting: 15%
Responsibility taken for unit assignments; familiarity with course requirements as set out in unit guide and ilearn site; on-time completion of quizzes; on-time submission of essay plan by 11.59pm on Sunday of Week 10 and essay by 11.59pm on Sunday of week 13.
Project management will be assessed by the following criteria: Timeliness of submission of all work, adequacy of essay plan. A rubric will be provided in the Assessments and Guides section of iLearn.
The essay plan must be submitted through Turnitin.
No assignments are accepted more than three weeks after the due date. Resubmission not permitted.
Online units can be accessed at: http://ilearn.mq.edu.au/
PC and Internet access are required. Basic computer skills (e.g., internet browsing) and skills in word processing are also a requirement.
Please contact teaching staff for any further, more specific requirements. Consult the OUA website for more detailed information on technology requirements:
http://www.open.edu.au/public/future-students/getting-started/computer-requirements
All essential readings will be available electronically through the Maquarie University website, with links from iLearn.
Important schedule information: Please note that OUA units offered by Macquarie University now follow Macquarie Sessions rather than OUA Study Periods. This will include a mid-session break of two weeks. You will find the Session dates here:
https://www.open.edu.au/student-admin-and-support/key-dates-2017/
WEEKLY LECTURE SCHEDULE
Week 1
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Introduction; What is religion? Philosophy of Religion and Philosophical Theology |
Part 1: Classical Problems in Philosophy of Religion | |
Week 2
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The idea of the perfect being: Descartes. |
Week 3
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Providence and the problem of evil: Leibniz |
Week 4
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Religion within the limits of reason: Kant |
Week 5
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Faith and subjectivity: Kierkegaard |
Week 6
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Part 2: Understanding and Explaining a secular world Understanding secularism – Nietzsche and his heirs |
Week 7 | Secularism, religion and morality - Richard Rorty’s pragmatism |
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Mid-semester break |
Week 8
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The significance of religious pluralism – Charles Taylor |
Week 9
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Part 3: Contemporary Social Issues of Religion Science and religion
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Week 10 |
Religious toleration and its limits (Essay plan due) |
Week 11 |
Religion and violence
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Week 12 |
Review, essay writing
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Week 13
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Review, essay writing (Essay due) |
Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, (a) a penalty for lateness will apply – two (2) marks out of 100 will be deducted per day for assignments submitted after the due date – and (b) no assignment will be accepted more than seven (7) days (incl. weekends) after the original submission deadline. No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments – e.g. quizzes, online tests.
The University recognises that students may experience events or conditions that adversely affect their academic performance. If you experience serious and unavoidable difficulties at exam time or when assessment tasks are due, you can consider applying for Special Consideration.
You need to show that the circumstances:
If you feel that your studies have been impacted submit an application as follows:
Outcome
Once your submission is assessed, an appropriate outcome will be organised.
You can withdraw from your subjects prior to the census date (last day to withdraw). If you successfully withdraw before the census date, you won’t need to apply for Special Circumstances. If you find yourself unable to withdraw from your subjects before the census date - you might be able to apply for Special Circumstances. If you’re eligible, we can refund your fees and overturn your fail grade.
If you’re studying Single Subjects using FEE-HELP or paying up front, you can apply online.
If you’re studying a degree using HECS-HELP, you’ll need to apply directly to Macquarie University.
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html
Assessment Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy_2016.html
Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html
Complaint Management Procedure for Students and Members of the Public http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/complaint_management/procedure.html
Disruption to Studies Policy (in effect until Dec 4th, 2017): http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html
Special Consideration Policy (in effect from Dec 4th, 2017): https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/special-consideration
In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/
Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.
Our graduates will also be capable of creative thinking and of creating knowledge. They will be imaginative and open to experience and capable of innovation at work and in the community. We want them to be engaged in applying their critical, creative thinking.
This graduate capability is supported by:
We want our graduates to have emotional intelligence and sound interpersonal skills and to demonstrate discernment and common sense in their professional and personal judgement. They will exercise initiative as needed. They will be capable of risk assessment, and be able to handle ambiguity and complexity, enabling them to be adaptable in diverse and changing environments.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our graduates will take with them the intellectual development, depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content in their chosen fields to make them competent and confident in their subject or profession. They will be able to demonstrate, where relevant, professional technical competence and meet professional standards. They will be able to articulate the structure of knowledge of their discipline, be able to adapt discipline-specific knowledge to novel situations, and be able to contribute from their discipline to inter-disciplinary solutions to problems.
This graduate capability is supported by:
We want our graduates to be capable of reasoning, questioning and analysing, and to integrate and synthesise learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments; to be able to critique constraints, assumptions and limitations; to be able to think independently and systemically in relation to scholarly activity, in the workplace, and in the world. We want them to have a level of scientific and information technology literacy.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our graduates should be capable of researching; of analysing, and interpreting and assessing data and information in various forms; of drawing connections across fields of knowledge; and they should be able to relate their knowledge to complex situations at work or in the world, in order to diagnose and solve problems. We want them to have the confidence to take the initiative in doing so, within an awareness of their own limitations.
This graduate capability is supported by:
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This graduate capability is supported by:
As local citizens our graduates will be aware of indigenous perspectives and of the nation's historical context. They will be engaged with the challenges of contemporary society and with knowledge and ideas. We want our graduates to have respect for diversity, to be open-minded, sensitive to others and inclusive, and to be open to other cultures and perspectives: they should have a level of cultural literacy. Our graduates should be aware of disadvantage and social justice, and be willing to participate to help create a wiser and better society.
This graduate capability is supported by: