Students

SOCI2070 – Living Diversity: Understanding Racism & Co-existence today

2023 – Session 2, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

Download as PDF
Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Amanda Wise
amanda.wise@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
40cp at 1000 level
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

We live in an age of super-diversity. How do we build a thriving multicultural nation where people from diverse racial, cultural and religious backgrounds are able to co-exist peacefully in a just society free from racism and discrimination? The first part of this unit explores current debates on superdiversity, urban multicultures, and new patterns of global migration. We consider the challenges of migrant and refugee settlement, barriers to social mobility and patterns of inequality among racial and ethnic minorities. We will compare different models of multiculturalism and integration before shifting attention to everyday multiculturalism and the daily lived experience of religious and cultural difference. The second part of the unit examines the sociology of race, discrimination and racism – from the structural to the everyday. Students will be introduced to concepts such as intersectionality and post-colonial sociology and we will investigate issues facing Aboriginal people in Australia today. We explore what sociology has to say about the surge in national populisms and the rise of the far right and why it is that race, immigration, and religion so commonly animate such movements. We also consider the role of social media in this resurgence. Finally, the unit explores anti-racism and the tools available to challenge discrimination and seek racial justice.

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: Be familiar with sociological concepts of race, ethnicity, racism, multiculturalism, nationalism, populism.
  • ULO2: Demonstrate knowledge of scholarly and public debates concerning the sociology of nation, ethnicity, multiculturalism, race and racism and migrant settlement.
  • ULO3: Be able to engage in the nuances of these debates as demonstrated in classroom discussion and assignments.
  • ULO4: Be able to source and engage with and critically assess news coverage and opinion pieces on these topics.
  • ULO5: Be able to critically reflect on social media 'storms' around the topics of religion, race, Islam, racism, populism, nationalism, migration.

General Assessment Information

Late 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
Participation 30% No Weekly
Multimedia group task 30% No Allocated
Research project 40% No Sunday 5th November

Participation

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Weekly
Weighting: 30%

 

Students must actively participate in weekly classes. Participation includes completing the weekly readings and engaging with the lecture and tutorial activities. Some weeks will have a set participation task to complete during the class.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Be familiar with sociological concepts of race, ethnicity, racism, multiculturalism, nationalism, populism.
  • Demonstrate knowledge of scholarly and public debates concerning the sociology of nation, ethnicity, multiculturalism, race and racism and migrant settlement.
  • Be able to engage in the nuances of these debates as demonstrated in classroom discussion and assignments.

Multimedia group task

Assessment Type 1: Media presentation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Allocated
Weighting: 30%

 

Students are allocated to small groups to collaborate on a short multi-media digital storytelling task on an assigned topic. The presentation will be published online and may involve photographs, short video and infographics.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Be familiar with sociological concepts of race, ethnicity, racism, multiculturalism, nationalism, populism.
  • Demonstrate knowledge of scholarly and public debates concerning the sociology of nation, ethnicity, multiculturalism, race and racism and migrant settlement.
  • Be able to engage in the nuances of these debates as demonstrated in classroom discussion and assignments.
  • Be able to source and engage with and critically assess news coverage and opinion pieces on these topics.
  • Be able to critically reflect on social media 'storms' around the topics of religion, race, Islam, racism, populism, nationalism, migration.

Research project

Assessment Type 1: Project
Indicative Time on Task 2: 40 hours
Due: Sunday 5th November
Weighting: 40%

 

Students undertake research on a topic in the unit and present findings in a report or multimedia presentation.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Be familiar with sociological concepts of race, ethnicity, racism, multiculturalism, nationalism, populism.
  • Demonstrate knowledge of scholarly and public debates concerning the sociology of nation, ethnicity, multiculturalism, race and racism and migrant settlement.
  • Be able to engage in the nuances of these debates as demonstrated in classroom discussion and assignments.
  • Be able to source and engage with and critically assess news coverage and opinion pieces on these topics.
  • Be able to critically reflect on social media 'storms' around the topics of religion, race, Islam, racism, populism, nationalism, migration.

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

Seminars:

  • In person scheduled weekday:   3 hour on campus seminar.
  • Online scheduled:  Students must attend the seminar via Zoom at the scheduled time of Fridays 1pm-4pm.   

Lectures: Any formal lectures will be live streamed and recorded in Echo.

Readings:  Leganto

Extra resources:   via iLearn page - these include documentaries, reports, media items, video clips

Unit Schedule

To be updated 18 July 2023

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.

Changes from Previous Offering

Change to assessment structure

Replace or refine a number of weekly topics

Unit information based on version 2023.06 of the Handbook