Detailed assessment information and rubrics

Detailed information about each of the assessments, including rubrics and submission instructions will be available in the Assessment block in  iLearn. Please make sure you read the assessment information carefully, watch the Guide to Assessment video, and post a message in the relevant Assessment forum if you have any questions. 

Special Consideration

Requests for extensions should be submitted via a Special Consideration request, which is available in the http://ask.mq.edu.au portal. Your request should be submitted no later than five days after the due date and should be accompanied by appropriate documentation. Please see the Special Consideration policy in the list of policies at the end of this document for further details.

Read the policy closely as your request may be turned down if you have not followed procedure, or if you have not submitted a request in a timely manner.

Late 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 written reports and recordings only. Late submission of time sensitive tasks (such as tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, scheduled practical assessments/labs will be addressed by the unit convenor in a Special consideration application.

Academic Integrity

In Philosophy, academic honesty is taken very seriously, and a range of methods, including but not restricted to the use of Turnitin, are used to detect plagiarism. Misrepresenting someone else's work as your own may be grounds for referral to the Faculty Disciplinary Committee. If you have questions about how to properly cite work or how to credit sources, please ask the convenor for help and see also the  Academic Integrity Policy https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/academic-integrity

Note: All assignments in this unit are individual assignments. Collusion (unauthorised collaboration on individual assignments) is a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy. If in doubt, contact a member of teaching staff. 

A helpful resource if you would like to know more about referencing and avoiding plagiarism is  Macquarie's Academic Integrity Module, available here: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/skills-development. You will need to complete this Module before accessing the unit content, if you have not already done so. More information is available in iLearn. 

Academic Writing and Study Support

Macquarie University offers a number of services to help with academic writing, referencing and study skills. For details, see: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/skills/assignments

For information about policies related to Assessment, see Policies and Procedures section below.

 

 

 

Reflective writing tasks

Assessment Type ¹: Reflective Writing Indicative Time on Task ²: 15 hours Due: 11:55pm 10/09/2023 Weighting: 20%

On successful completion you will be able to:

• understand some of the major theories and current debates in contemporary political philosophy
• analyse arguments in the relevant literature
• evaluate relevant theories and arguments critically
• communicate clearly your own perspective on the views and arguments presented in the unit

 

Quizzes

Assessment Type ¹: Quiz/Test Indicative Time on Task ²: 15 hours Due: 11:55pm, Sunday (three quizzes in total, worth 5% each) Weighting: 15%

On successful completion you will be able to:

• understand some of the major theories and current debates in contemporary political philosophy

 

Philosophical essay

Assessment Type ¹: Essay Indicative Time on Task ²: 30 hours Due: 11:55pm, 5/11/2023 Weighting: 40%

On successful completion you will be able to:

• understand some of the major theories and current debates in contemporary political philosophy
• analyse arguments in the relevant literature
• evaluate relevant theories and arguments critically
• communicate clearly your own perspective on the views and arguments presented in the unit

 

Participation

Assessment Type ¹: Participatory task Indicative Time on Task ²: 15 hours Due: Ongoing Weighting: 25%

Participate in relevant online forum or in-class tutorial discussions and activities. Students are expected to be well-prepared and make a constructive contribution.

On successful completion you will be able to:

• understand some of the major theories and current debates in contemporary political philosophy
• analyse arguments in the relevant literature
• evaluate relevant theories and arguments critically
• communicate clearly your own perspective on the views and arguments presented in the unit

 

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

Required and recommended texts and/or materials

All weekly readings for the unit will be made available through the Leganto link in iLearn.

Lectures 

Lectures in this unit will be delivered in-person and will be made available online. You must attend these lectures before participating in the weekly tutorial.

Unit Webpages and E-Resources

Much of this unit (lectures, readings, assessment instructions etc.) is delivered online through iLearn (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 consult teaching staff for any further, more specific requirements. 

This course will focus on great texts in modern moral psychology with a focus on the Kohlberg vs Gilligan debate of the 1970s. Specifically, we will look at Carol Gilligan’s book In a Different Voice, which is a significant text for moral psychology, feminist theory, and ethics of care.

In addition to reading In a Different Voice, we will explore papers by Laurence Kohlberg, whose model of moral development was the inspiration and foil for Gilligan’s work. We will also read excerpts of texts

• By thinkers who inspired Kohlberg and Gilligan, including: Immanuel Kant and Virginia Wolf
• By thinkers inspired by Kohlberg and Gilligan, including: Virginia Held, Nel Noddings, Joan Tronto, Paul Formosa, Catriona Mackenzie, Stephanie Collins.

The course will provide an opportunity to reflect on:

• The origins of key ideas in contemporary moral psychology
• The origins of ethics of care, and how this has influenced current work in ethical theory
• The role of empirical research in philosophy
• The connections between psychology and philosophy
• How the status and position of people in oppressed groups influences the history of ideas (e.g. in a different voice is an example of what happens when a women has a space to work and an opportunity to lead a research project in a field dominated by men)