Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Convenor, tutor
Kelly Hamilton
Contact via Email
By appointment
Tutor
Darlene Demandante
|
---|---|
Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
|
Corequisites |
Corequisites
|
Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
|
Unit description |
Unit description
This unit provides an introduction to major topics in ethics, moral theory and contemporary political philosophy. The first section focuses on the nature of happiness. Is pleasure essential to happiness? Or does the pursuit of pleasure harm our chances of lasting fulfilment? Must we be virtuous in order to be happy? What is the relationship between happiness and duty? The second section explores the nature of moral goodness. Is morality based ultimately in self-interest? What is the relationship between morality and religion? Are there moral principles that everyone is bound by reason to recognise? Or is the validity of moral standards relative to specific societies and cultures? In the third section we turn to questions of applied political philosophy, focusing on questions such as: What principles should govern the distribution of economic and social resources within a society? What are the obligations of wealthy nations to those less fortunate, including immigrants and refugees? And what issues of justice are raised by climate change?
All enrolment queries should be directed to Open Universities Australia (OUA): see www.open.edu.au
|
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:
Results
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.
Submission of Assessments
All written assessments are to be submitted via the unit's iLearn site. There is no need for a coversheet, and we request that you omit your name from the document. A link to the Turnitin submission page will be provided on iLearn in the Assessments tab. Written assessments will be run through the Turnitin software which detects unoriginal work.
The online quizzes will be available on iLearn. Each quiz can only be undertaken once and has a time limit.
Assessing Active Participation
Active participation is assessed by a student's engagement in activities such as: contributions to online discussion forums facilitated by the tutor, or general questions asked in the forums and involvement in set activities. Participation is expected to be well considered and relevant to the unit of study.
Extensions and Penalties
All work must be submitted on time unless an extension has been granted. Requests for extensions must be made in writing BEFORE the due date and will only be considered on serious grounds. Applications must be made within 5 days of illness/misadventure. Extensions will not be given unless good reasons and appropriate evidence (e.g., medical certificates, counsellor's letters) are presented at the earliest opportunity. Please note that work due concurrently in other subjects is NOT an exceptional circumstance and does not constitute a legitimate reason for an extension.
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.
To obtain an extension, you must submit a Special Consideration application. See below for details on how to do that.
Special Consideration Policy
The University classifies a disruption as serious and unavoidable if it:
could not have reasonably been anticipated, avoided or guarded against by the student; and
was beyond the student's control; and
caused substantial disruption to the student's capacity for effective study and/or completion of required work; and
occurred during an event critical study period and was at least three (3) consecutive days duration, and / or
prevented completion of a final examination.
Students with a pre-existing disability/health condition or prolonged adverse circumstances may be eligible for ongoing assistance and support. Such support is governed by other policies and may be sought and coordinated through Campus Wellbeing and Support Services.
How to submit a Special Consideration application?
Withdrawal from a unit after the census date
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.
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
---|---|---|---|
Online Participation | 20% | No | Ongoing |
Online quizzes | 20% | No | Ongoing |
Reflection about Happiness | 20% | No | 15/12/2019 |
Critical Essay | 40% | No | 21/01/2020 |
Due: Ongoing
Weighting: 20%
Participation and engagement on iLearn discussion boards (for online students). Please see iLearn for the discussion schedule.
Weighting: 20%
An important part of philosophy is engaging in active dialogue with others. This mark is allocated based on your contribution to forum discussions throughout the session. A detailed rubric will be provided on iLearn.
Participation will be assessed by the following criteria: quality of your posts in discussion forums and their timeliness (each topic will have deadlines). Quality is not just measured by the philosophical content of your posts, but by your willingness to engage in discussion with your peers. Much of what you learn in philosophy you will learn by involving yourself in discussion and argument. So while we would like to see some well thought out responses to the topics for each week and to the questions posed, we would also really encourage you to respond to the messages of other students, ask questions, post your thoughts and engage fully in the philosophical community.
Criteria: An excellent contributor has contributions that reflect extensive preparation; ideas offered are usually substantive; provide major insights and direction for forum discussion; challenges are substantiated and persuasive; makes an important contribution to discussion; always engages constructively and respectfully with the views of others, even where there is disagreement.
Due: Ongoing
Weighting: 20%
Ten online quizzes for ten (of 12) topics. Each quiz is open for own week. Please see iLearn for the quiz schedule.
Weighting: 20%
Note: Each individual quiz is only available for one week, from the date of the relevant lecture. For example, if the lecture is on Wednesday, the quiz will open on the Wednesday and close on the following Tuesday at 11:59pm.
Online quizzes test comprehension and understanding of the required readings. These quizzes involve true/false or multiple choice options. The quizzes cannot be accessed after they have closed. You can also only complete the quiz once.
Criteria: an accurate understanding of the issues and texts.
Due: 15/12/2019
Weighting: 20%
Due: Sunday 15 December, 11:59pm (end of week 2)
Weighting: 20%
Length: 700 words
This is a reflective exercise about what you have learned from part one of the unit.
Criteria: An excellent written reflection will demonstrate a high degree of engagement with the issue; show a high degree of critical self-reflection; show a very good understanding of the relevant philosophical text; give an accurate interpretation of the relevant text; contain evidence of creativity; and have writing that is consistently good and without grammatical errors.
The reflection will have three sections: 1) your view on happiness; 2) a description of a relevant theory of happiness; 3) a reflection on the impact of the theory on your own view.
A detailed rubric and a sample reflective exercise will be provided in iLearn during the session.
Due: 21/01/2020
Weighting: 40%
Due: Tuesday 21 January, 11:59pm (mid week 6)
Weighting: 40%
Length: 1500 words
A critical discussion of a set question from parts 2 or 3 of the unit. Here you show us the critical questioning and philosophical knowledge that you have learned over the unit.
Criteria: An excellent essay will demonstrate knowledge of the relevant content; a clear structure and argument; creativity; proper expression, spelling, punctuation, and grammar; an easy to read presentation; proper integration and referencing of research and other sources.
A detailed rubric and sample essay will be provided in iLearn during the session.
All required readings and most supplementary readings are available from the library via Leganto, which should be accessed via the link on iLearn. You are responsible for gaining access to the readings. A schedule of the required readings is provided on iLearn.
This unit has an online presence in iLearn where activities are set and subject materials distributed. Students will require access to reliable broadband and a computer. Some assessments are conducted through this site, and written tasks will be submitted using Turnitin, a plagiarism scanning program.
The first point of contact is the tutor. Please see iLearn for email details. Should the tutor be unable to assist, the tutor will forward the inquiry to the convenor, Kelly Hamilton.
The unit will introduce philosophy under three big ideas:
There are 12 lectures in total, over 5 weeks. Each lecture will have an accompanying forum discussion.
Unit Schedule:
Week 1:
Part 1: Happiness
Week 2:
Week 3:
Part 2: Goodness
Recess between 23 December and 3 January.
Week 4:
Part 3: Justice
Week 5:
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 (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 published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) 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 or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@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.
All students are expected to participate in tutorial discussions. If the student is likely to experience difficulties in this, s/he is requested to liaise with the tutor to determine the best way to accommodate the student.
As a commitment to students who may be carers and as a commitment to diversity, the teaching staff for this unit will allow the following: • All exclusively breastfed babies are welcome in class as often as is necessary. • For older children, in the case of unforeseen disruptions to childcare arrangements, the child is welcome to attend the class with the parent. This is not intended as a long-term arrangement but as a solution to possible problems that may prevent the parent from attending class. • In all cases, we request that the parent and child sit near the door so that they can easily step outside should the child need some attention that may disrupt the other students. Breastfeeding is not considered a disruption.
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
If you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@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:
This unit is now being run entirely online.