Students
SOCI3050 – Activism and Social Change
2024 – Session 1, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde
General Information
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| Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Unit Convenor, Lecturer, Tutor and Online Tutor
Justine Lloyd
Lecturer
Amanda Wise
|
|---|---|
| Credit points |
Credit points
10
|
| Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
130cp at 1000 level or above
|
| Corequisites |
Corequisites
|
| Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
|
| Unit description |
Unit description
Social movements are an important presence in contemporary societies. How are they organised? Why do they emerge? What shapes their development? This unit provides a framework for answering these questions. It focuses on both the history of social activism, including campaigns like the suffragettes and civil rights movement through to the Arab Spring and climate campaigning; as well as prominent theories and concepts for understanding the rise and success of social movements. As part of the assessment students will examine a contemporary campaign, looking first-hand at how movements organise and evaluating their success. This unit also allows students to progress to a PACE unit where they have the opportunity to work in a placement with a social change organisation. |
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: identify the major theories developed to explain social movements
- ULO2: evaluate strengths and weaknesses of dominant theories
- ULO3: apply social movement theory to contemporary Australian and international movements
- ULO4: analyse strategic and ethical problems that arise in the quest for political change
- ULO5: reflect on practical realities of social movements through analysis of activities of social movements and social movement organisations
- ULO6: design and execute primary research on a particular social movement campaign
General Assessment Information
Information about Late Penalties applied in FoA units
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 non-timed written assessments (incl essays, reports, posters, portfolios, journals, recordings etc) is set at 11.55pm.
A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical issue. Late submission of time sensitive tasks (such as tests/exams/quizzes, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading Reflection | 20% | Yes | Week 4: Due 17/3 11:55pm |
| Campaign Analysis Outline | 20% | No | Week 8: due 14/4 11:55pm |
| Campaign Analysis | 40% | No | Week 13: due 2/6 11:55pm |
| Workshop/online discussion participation | 20% | No | Ongoing |
Reading Reflection
Assessment Type 1: Summary
Indicative Time on Task 2: 12 hours
Due: Week 4: Due 17/3 11:55pm
Weighting: 20%
This is a hurdle assessment task (see assessment policy for more information on hurdle assessment tasks)
This task requires students to answer a question in relation to their weekly responses to readings from the first part of the unit. See Ilearn for more information.
On successful completion you will be able to:
- identify the major theories developed to explain social movements
- evaluate strengths and weaknesses of dominant theories
Campaign Analysis Outline
Assessment Type 1: Plan
Indicative Time on Task 2: 16 hours
Due: Week 8: due 14/4 11:55pm
Weighting: 20%
Campaign Analysis Outline: Short plan (750 words) plus reference list for campaign analysis
On successful completion you will be able to:
- apply social movement theory to contemporary Australian and international movements
- analyse strategic and ethical problems that arise in the quest for political change
- reflect on practical realities of social movements through analysis of activities of social movements and social movement organisations
- design and execute primary research on a particular social movement campaign
Campaign Analysis
Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 40 hours
Due: Week 13: due 2/6 11:55pm
Weighting: 40%
Campaign Analysis: Written Report (2000wds) OR Conference Presentation (8-10mins) plus abstract (250-500wds)
On successful completion you will be able to:
- evaluate strengths and weaknesses of dominant theories
- apply social movement theory to contemporary Australian and international movements
- analyse strategic and ethical problems that arise in the quest for political change
- reflect on practical realities of social movements through analysis of activities of social movements and social movement organisations
- design and execute primary research on a particular social movement campaign
Workshop/online discussion participation
Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 12 hours
Due: Ongoing
Weighting: 20%
Students will participate in a range of preparatory and/or in-class learning activities throughout the session, including taking notes on weekly readings to prepare for tutorials and/or posting in response to discussion questions online. Students are required to actively discuss their responses to these required readings in class or online and within on-campus sessions. Refer to iLearn for further information
On successful completion you will be able to:
- identify the major theories developed to explain social movements
- evaluate strengths and weaknesses of dominant theories
- apply social movement theory to contemporary Australian and international movements
- analyse strategic and ethical problems that arise in the quest for political change
- reflect on practical realities of social movements through analysis of activities of social movements and social movement organisations
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
Faculty of Arts: Late Assessment Submission Penalty Policy
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. Outcomes of Special Consideration requests may include students being set a new question or topic.
Unit Schedule
| Semester week | Week starting | Topics |
| 1 | Monday, 19 February 2024 | Course introduction and overview |
| 2 | Monday, 26 February 2024 | A brief history of social action in Australia |
| 3 | Monday, 4 March 2024 | Social Movement Theories |
| 4 | Monday, 11 March 2024 | Mass politics, mass organising |
| 5 | Monday, 18 March 2024 | Participatory research (i.e. methods for the final assignment) |
| 6 | Monday, 25 March 2024 | New' Social Movements |
| 7 | Monday, 1 April 2024 | Direct Action and Non-violence |
| 8 | Monday, 8 April 2024 | Global Justice |
| Mid semester break | ||
| Mid semester break | ||
| 9 | Monday, 29 April 2024 | Thinktanks, Corporations and Social Movements |
| 10 | Monday, 6 May 2024 | New Media, New Strategies |
| 11 | Monday, 13 May 2024 | drop-in clinic (consultations on final assignments) |
| 12 | Monday, 20 May 2024 | Student Conference |
| 13 | Monday, 27 May 2024 | Student Conference |
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:
- Academic Appeals Policy
- Academic Integrity Policy
- Academic Progression Policy
- Assessment Policy
- Fitness to Practice Procedure
- Assessment Procedure
- Complaints Resolution Procedure for Students and Members of the Public
- Special Consideration Policy
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
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IT Help
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Unit information based on version 2024.01 of the Handbook