Students

POIR2580 – Political Violence

2022 – Session 2, Online-flexible

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Marty Kear
marty.kear@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
40cp at 1000 level or above OR (10cp in POL or POIR or POIX units)
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

Humans are creatures that i) engage in politics; and ii) have a history of violence through all ages and across all cultures. This unit explores intersections of these two expressions of human behaviour: politics and violence. It incorporates theoretical and philosophical perspectives and empirical analyses, including on war, terrorism, authoritarianism and totalitarianism, genocide and ethnic cleansing, insurgencies and revolutions, assassinations, death squads, protest, and humanitarian intervention.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: acquire knowledge and understanding about varieties of political violence, includingrelevant concepts, actors, theoretical perspectives, processes and contexts
  • ULO2: develop abilities to conduct independent research and deploy appropriate sources in ascholarly way
  • ULO3: understand the importance of organisation and time management of workloads, andstudent responsiblities in this area
  • ULO4: build capacity to apply critical evaluation and debating skills, and enhance presentationin written and verbal forms
  • ULO5: develop a more intensive knowledge of particular sub-themes, which could be expandedon in later postgraduate study

General Assessment Information

Submission of Assessments

1.  All essays and take-home exams must be submitted using the "Turnitin Assignments" facility on the POIR2580 iLearn website.  This facility includes software that scans the uploaded assessments for plagiarism.  Follow the instructions on the screen carefully.  Your assessment should be uploaded before the due time on the due date.  In all cases you should keep a copy of your assessment.

2. All assessments submitted via Turnitin will be returned via the same facility on iLearn.  When the marks are released, you will need to go back into the Assignment submission box, and open your uploaded assessment.  When you click on the "GradeMark" button, you will be able to see the mark and the comments.  There will be no comments for the exam responses. 

3. The submission of written work for the Tutorial Presentations will be addressed by the Unit Convener.  

 

Late Assessment Submission Penalty  

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a mark of ‘0’ (zero) will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical issue. This late penalty will apply to non-timed sensitive assessment (incl essays, reports, posters, portfolios, journals, recordings etc). Late submission of time sensitive tasks (such as tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, scheduled practical assessments/labs etc) will only be addressed by the unit convenor in a Special consideration application. Special Consideration outcome may result in a new question or topic.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
tutorial on-campus or online participation 10% No Weekly
tutorial presentation (in class or online) 20% No Weekly
Research Essay 35% No 9 September 2022 by 11.55pm
Take home exam 35% No 9am 4 November 2022 - 9am 6 November 2022

tutorial on-campus or online participation

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Weekly
Weighting: 10%

 

contribution to weekly tutorials (for internal students = 10%)

online participation (for external students = 10%)

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • acquire knowledge and understanding about varieties of political violence, includingrelevant concepts, actors, theoretical perspectives, processes and contexts
  • develop abilities to conduct independent research and deploy appropriate sources in ascholarly way
  • understand the importance of organisation and time management of workloads, andstudent responsiblities in this area
  • build capacity to apply critical evaluation and debating skills, and enhance presentationin written and verbal forms

tutorial presentation (in class or online)

Assessment Type 1: Presentation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: Weekly
Weighting: 20%

 

tutorial presentation (in class or online)

in-class presentations (for internal students = 20%) - students to send these to the tutor if the University cancels in-class presentations, the presentation materials (slides, accompanying text, etc) are to be sent to the tutor

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • acquire knowledge and understanding about varieties of political violence, includingrelevant concepts, actors, theoretical perspectives, processes and contexts
  • develop abilities to conduct independent research and deploy appropriate sources in ascholarly way
  • understand the importance of organisation and time management of workloads, andstudent responsiblities in this area
  • build capacity to apply critical evaluation and debating skills, and enhance presentationin written and verbal forms
  • develop a more intensive knowledge of particular sub-themes, which could be expandedon in later postgraduate study

Research Essay

Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: 9 September 2022 by 11.55pm
Weighting: 35%

 

Research Essay

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • acquire knowledge and understanding about varieties of political violence, includingrelevant concepts, actors, theoretical perspectives, processes and contexts
  • develop abilities to conduct independent research and deploy appropriate sources in ascholarly way
  • understand the importance of organisation and time management of workloads, andstudent responsiblities in this area
  • build capacity to apply critical evaluation and debating skills, and enhance presentationin written and verbal forms
  • develop a more intensive knowledge of particular sub-themes, which could be expandedon in later postgraduate study

Take home exam

Assessment Type 1: Examination
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: 9am 4 November 2022 - 9am 6 November 2022
Weighting: 35%

 

Take home exam covering key concepts and topics.

 

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • acquire knowledge and understanding about varieties of political violence, includingrelevant concepts, actors, theoretical perspectives, processes and contexts
  • understand the importance of organisation and time management of workloads, andstudent responsiblities in this area
  • build capacity to apply critical evaluation and debating skills, and enhance presentationin written and verbal forms

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Teaching:

1 x 2hr lecture 1pm - 3pm, T4 Theatre, 14 Sir Christopher Ondaatje Avenue.

Lecture slides and audio can be accessed on Echo via the POIR2580 iLearn site.

Discussion Board:

Each Monday at 9am from Wk 2 (1 August, 2022) - Wk 13 ( 31 October, 2022) questions will be posted on the discussion board.  Each student is expected to address to question(s) in no less than 100 words.  Each Week's Discussion Board will close at 9am the following week and no further submissions will be accepted.   

The guidelines for how to communicate using online communication tools are called Netiquette (or internet etiquette). Please refer to the complete Netiquette guidelines.

An online discussion, like a face-to-face discussion, is a personal exchange of information. This means you can either respond immediately to discussion points or take some time to respond more carefully. Ideas and impressions are written rather than spoken, so you don't have the advantage of body language to help you interpret meaning. It is therefore, important to:

  • be polite and avoid bad language
  • acknowledge people's contributions
  • respect other people's point of view
  • be non-judgemental and supportive
  • be aware of cultural differences
  • be careful with humour and sarcasm.

https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/tools-and-resources/ilearn/ilearn-quick-guides-for-students/online-study-tips2

Readings:

Various Journal articles and book chapters will be set as readings for each tutorial.  These will be listed on the POIR2580 iLearn website and available via Leganto.

Unit Schedule

1. Introduction

2. Varieties of Political Violence

3. War - Part I

4. War - Part II

5. Authoritarianism

6. Totalitarianism

7. Insurgencies

8. State-based Violence

9. Religion and Violence

10. Terrorism - Part I

11. Terrorism - Part II

12. Women and Political Violence

13. Genocide and the Responsibility to Protect

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

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

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via AskMQ, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

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.

Unit information based on version 2022.04 of the Handbook