Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Unit Convenor
Kevin Carrico
Australian Hearing Hub, 2nd floor
Tutor
Kathleen Poling
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Credit points |
Credit points
3
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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
This unit is an introduction to contemporary China. The aim of this unit is to enable students to analyse critically and independently, domestic and international current events and core topics, including politics, the economy, international relations, the environment, ethnic relations, human rights, law and contemporary culture. Students develop an awareness of the variety of perspectives relating to contemporary China, and develop an ability to analyse the information in the context of Chinese history, politics and culture. This unit may be taken by all students with an interest in contemporary China. No background knowledge is required and all teaching and assessment is in English.
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Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
Indicative examples of assessment tasks will be available on iLearn.
All written assessment tasks will be required to be submitted only electronically via Turnitin.com, unless otherwise indicated. Written assignments not received in e-copy via Turnitin.com by the appropriate due date will NOT be marked.
If your performance has been affected as a result of serious unavoidable disruption or illness, you are advised to inform the unit convenor and tutor of the problem at the earliest possible opportunity. I cannot, however, casually approve any extensions or adjustments- I will tell you to file an application for Special Consideration via ask.mq.edu.au. See under Policies and Procedures for more information on the Special Consideration Policy.
If you believe that you qualify for special consideration, please contact the teaching staff as soon as possible and lodge the application.
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.
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
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Tutorial Participation | 15% | No | Cumulative |
Current events presentation | 15% | No | Throughout semester |
Online quizzes | 20% | No | Throughout session |
Mid-session test | 20% | No | Week 7, in lecture |
Final test | 30% | No | Week 13, in lecture |
Due: Cumulative
Weighting: 15%
This is not a simple attendance mark. Although attendance is mandatory and deductions for absences will count toward the final grade, no marks will not be awarded for attendance- one could attend every tutorial yet receive zero in tutorial participation due to lack of participation.
Tutorials are a critical part of your learning in this unit. Sitting in silence does not contribute, and does not earn credit. Weekly tutorial activities will be based on the week's set readings and questions, lecture materials, and current events presentations. Students are expected to actively participate in tutorial group discussions about contemporary China and current events.
Readings will either be from our main text, The China Reader, or will be posted on iLearn. All students will be expected to have read the readings, and considered the tutorial questions prior to attending tutorials, as well as having attended the lectures and reviewed the lecture materials. Tutorials are also the place to ask questions of any aspect of the lecture and tutorial materials or assessment tasks.
The tutor will look for evidence of student knowledge of set readings and lectures; analysis of those readings expressed in verbal form; ability and willingness to work with and respond to the views of the tutor and other students in verbal form. To do well in tutorial participation, you will not be expected to 'know everything', but you will be expected to show an informed opinion of the unit materials and be able to contribute and share constructively with the class.
Due: Throughout semester
Weighting: 15%
In this course, we will be discussing a variety of topics in the study of contemporary China. To encourage greater participation in and contributions to this process, each student in this course will be required to make one current events presentation, based upon a news article of the student’s choice.
The presentation will consist of a brief (3-5 minute) summary of the news article and its relevance to class discussions, followed by three discussion questions. I will soon hand out a grading rubric with specific guidelines, as well as a schedule.
This presentation will count for 20% of your grade. Take time to prepare for it.
Due: Throughout session
Weighting: 20%
There will be 4 online quizzes required throughout the course of the semester, consisting of 15-20 multiple choice questions each, which you will have twenty minutes to complete.
These quizzes will count for five points each, making up 20% of your final mark.
Due: Week 7, in lecture
Weighting: 20%
A test based on all materials covered in lectures and tutorials during the first half of the session.
Due: Week 13, in lecture
Weighting: 30%
A cumulative test based on all materials covered in lectures and tutorials. Although this test will prioritize the second half of the session, it will also cover important topics from throughout the session.
Online material can be accessed at: http://ilearn.mq.edu.au
iLearn is an important part of this unit. Lecture slides and recorded audio will be available for download on iLearn.
This unit will make use of iLearn for communications. iLearn also features a messaging system and discussion forum, which students are encouraged to use to circulate information and discussion.
Students should set the iLearn emails to be forwarded to their personal email account for convenience. It is the responsibility of students to be aware and up to date with unit news and announcements via iLearn.
Macquarie University subscribes to the Turnitin plagiarism detection system. All students will be required to submit all of their written work through this system. See Assessment Submission for details.
The library databases offer access to thousands of academic journal articles on all relevant subject areas.Make a point of searching these databases for scholarly articles for sources of information for assignments.The library enquiry desk is a good point of assistance in the use of these databases.You can also the ‘Ask a Librarian’ service by phone or live chat. http://www.mq.edu.au/on_campus/library/
Please direct any questions about passwords, access, and iLearnto the IT helpdesk: http://informatics.mq.edu.au/help/
Assessment Marking Rubrics
An Assessment Marking Rubric will be used for each assessment task (see Assessment Tasks in General). They can be downloaded from iLearn.
Online Unit
Login is via: https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/
Is my unit in iLearn?: http://help.ilearn.mq.edu.au/unitsonline/ to check when your online unit will become available.
Technology
Students are required to have regular access to a computer and the internet. Mobile devices alone are not sufficient.
For students attending classes on campus we strongly encourage that you bring along your own laptop computer, ready to work with activities in your online unit. The preferred operating system is Windows 10.
Students are required to access the online unit in iLearn by the end of Week 1 and follow any relevant instructions and links for downloads that may be required. If applicable, students are required to download the relevant language package prior to Week 2.
Please contact your course convenor before the end of Week 1 if you do not have a suitable laptop (or tablet) for in-class use.
Week | Topic | Reading |
Week 1 |
Introduction- viewing China from multiple angles |
The China Reader, "Viewing China's rise: alternative perspectives," pg. 1-4, 5-33 and Fenby, Chapter 1 |
Week 2 |
Politics |
The China Reader, "Politics," pg. 34-40, 40-50, 68-69 and Fenby, Chapter 2 |
Week 3 |
Economics |
The China Reader, "Economic Development," pg. 100-102, 102-117 and Fenby, Chapter 3 |
Week 4 |
Economic growth and political change |
The China Reader, "Communique on the Current State of the Ideological Sphere," 70-74, and "China's Security State," 335-336 and Excerpts from James Mann's The China Fantasy (ilearn) |
Week 5 |
No class |
Good Friday |
Week 6 |
The environment |
The China Reader, "China's Environmental Crisis, 144-147 and Fenby, Chapter 4 |
Week 7 | Midterm test | Midterm test (in lecture) |
Week 8 |
Media and Religion |
The China Reader, "Media and Culture," pg. 281-306 and James Leibold, "Blogging Alone: China, the Internet, and the Democratic Illusion" plus The China Reader, "The Upsurge of Religion in China," pg. 187-196 Sarah Cook, "The Battle for China's Spirit," Executive Summary and Ian Johnson, "Focusing on Religious Repression in China Misses the Bigger Picture |
Week 9 |
Ethnicity |
The China Reader, "Ethnic tensions," pg. 226- 232 and Barnett, Robert. “Political Self-Immolation in Tibet: Causes and Influences.” Revue d’Etudes Tibétaines 25 (December 2012): 41–64. |
Week 10 |
Hong Kong and Taiwan |
The China Reader, "Hong Kong and Taiwan," pg. 459-472 and Brian Fong, "One Country, Two Nationalisms: Center-Periphery Relations between Mainland China and Hong Kong, 1997-2016" |
Week 11 |
International relations and nationalism |
The China Reader, "Angry Youth," pg. 196-205, "Coping with a Conflicted China," pg. 357-367 and Kevin Carrico, "Seeing Sansha: The Political Aesthetics of a South China Sea Settlement" |
Week 12 |
Ways forward |
The China Reader, "China Faces the Future," 473- 497 and Fenby, Chapter 5 |
Week 13 | Final test | Final test (in lecture) |
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Undergraduate students seeking more policy resources can visit the Student Policy Gateway (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/student-policy-gateway). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.
If you would like to see all the policies relevant to Learning and Teaching visit Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central).
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/getting-started/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 have enquiring minds and a literate curiosity which will lead them to pursue knowledge for its own sake. They will continue to pursue learning in their careers and as they participate in the world. They will be capable of reflecting on their experiences and relationships with others and the environment, learning from them, and growing - personally, professionally and socially.
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:
We want to develop in our students the ability to communicate and convey their views in forms effective with different audiences. We want our graduates to take with them the capability to read, listen, question, gather and evaluate information resources in a variety of formats, assess, write clearly, speak effectively, and to use visual communication and communication technologies as appropriate.
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:
We want our graduates to be aware of and have respect for self and others; to be able to work with others as a leader and a team player; to have a sense of connectedness with others and country; and to have a sense of mutual obligation. Our graduates should be informed and active participants in moving society towards sustainability.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Important: This unit has a mid-session and a final test. These are the primary modes of assessment in this unit.
You are expected to present yourself for examination at the designated time and place: in lecture on Week 7 and Week 13.
All exams are closed book. Anyone found cheating will be asked to leave the exam and will receive an F.
The only exception to sitting an examination at the designated time is because of documented illness or unavoidable disruption. In these circumstances you may wish to consider applying for Special Consideration. Information about unavoidable disruption and the special consideration process is available under the Extension and Special Consideration section of this Unit Guide. Anyone who misses an exam and does not file an application for consideration of Disruption to Studies will receive a zero.
You are advised that it is Macquarie University policy not to set early examinations for individuals or groups of students. All students are expected to ensure that they are available until the end of the teaching semester, that is the final day of the official examination period.
Textbook: David Shambaugh (ed.) The China Reader, Sixth Edition: Rising Power. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016.
and
Jonathan Fenby, Will China Dominate the 21st Century?, 2nd edition. London: Polity, 2017.
Students will be expected to: