Students

PHIL2056 – Knowledge, Language and Power

2025 – Session 2, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

Download as PDF
Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor; Lecturer (Wks 1-4)
Jennifer Duke-Yonge
jennifer.duke-yonge@mq.edu.au
By arrangement
Lecturer (Wks 5-8)
Mark Alfano
mark.alfano@mq.edu.au
By arrangement
Lecturer (Wks 9-12)
Adam Hochman
adam.hochman@mq.edu.au
By arrangement
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
40cp at 1000 level or above
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

What is knowledge? Why is it valuable? And to what extent is our knowledge of the world affected by social position, power and language?  In this unit, we will explore traditional and contemporary approaches to epistemological questions about what we can know, what we should believe, and whom and what we should trust. Can we trust our individual senses or reflection to provide knowledge of the world, or is knowledge inherently social? When our own intuitions clash with what others say, should we trust ourselves or our community? When should we trust and defer to experts, and how can we tell who's really an expert to begin with? We will consider philosophical and practical questions about what it is to be a good or bad epistemic agent, focusing on concepts of epistemic (ir)responsibility and epistemic virtues and vices. We will also examine society-level phenomena that may undermine some people's ability to engage fully as epistemic agents, including systemic material, social, and political patterns that can manifest as epistemic injustice.  Through an examination of issues including political language, propaganda and conspiracy theories, we will consider how our epistemic practices and institutions can lead to injustice or corruption, and what we can do about it. 

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: apply understanding developed through course material and readings to explain key theoretical and applied problems in Epistemology and responses to them.
  • ULO2: apply skills in critical analysis and reflection to respond to the problems and theories introduced in the unit.
  • ULO3: clearly communicate your own perspective on the views and arguments presented in the unit.
  • ULO4: contribute to the learning of the group by engaging constructively in philosophical discussion and activities.

General Assessment Information

Detailed assessment information and rubrics

Detailed information about each of the assessments, including rubrics, will be available in iLearn. Please make sure you read the assessment information carefully, and contact the convenor if you have any questions.

Submission and return of assessments

The essay will be submitted via the 'Turnitin' link in iLearn. It will be marked through 'Grademark', which will allow you to access your marked assignments directly through the website. For information about Turnitin and Grademark, see:

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

The Viva Voce will be conducted on zoom, and will require the submission of a cover page via Turnitin. It will involve a ten minute conversation with a member of teaching staff, about unit topics and activities. Detailed information will be available in iLearn. 

The Portfolio blog will be constructed in the Blog tool in iLearn. Posts should be made regularly throughout semester, with your best eight blog posts submitted via Turnitin for grading in week 12. Further instruction will be available in iLearn. 

Special Consideration

Requests for extensions should be submitted via a Special Consideration request, which is available in the https://connect.mq.edu.au/s/  portal. Your request should be submitted no later than five days after the due date and should be accompanied by appropriate documentation. Please see here: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/assessment-exams/special-consideration

Read this information carefully, 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 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. 

 

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

Please note that the policy also prohibits resubmitting work you have already submitted in another unit. This counts as self-plagiarism. 

Note: All written assignments in this unit are individual assignments. Collusion (unauthorised collaboration on individual assignments) is a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy. This includes sharing or making use of shared assignments, in person or online. 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. 

 

GenAI/ChatGPT

In this Unit, and unless notified otherwise in writing by the Unit Convenor, substantive assessment content that has been generated by AI may be regarded as not the student’s own work. This applies to all assessments, including online forums. In submitting assessments in this unit, all students will be required to confirm their agreement with the following:

  • In submitting this assessment, I certify that this submission is my own work and demonstrates my own understanding, analysis, research, reflection, critical thinking, and writing. I am not submitting anything that I cannot myself fully explain and defend, if called upon to do so. I understand that if my teachers have concerns about whether this submission is my own work, I may be required to attend an interview with the Unit Convenor/Integrity Officer/academic staff to verify my research methods, my understanding of the content, and my close familiarity with all sources I have cited. If I am found to have submitted work that is not my own, my work may be further investigated, and I may be found to be in breach of the MQ Academic Integrity Policy.

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.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Portfolio blog 30% No Weekly via Blog; Turnitin submission by 2/11/25
Essay 40% No 12/10/2025
Viva Voce 30% No Weeks 12 and 13, by arrangement

Portfolio blog

Assessment Type 1: Portfolio
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Weekly via Blog; Turnitin submission by 2/11/25
Weighting: 30%

 

Weekly iLearn blog posts demonstrating reflections on learning activities and progress towards the essay

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • apply understanding developed through course material and readings to explain key theoretical and applied problems in Epistemology and responses to them.
  • apply skills in critical analysis and reflection to respond to the problems and theories introduced in the unit.
  • clearly communicate your own perspective on the views and arguments presented in the unit.
  • contribute to the learning of the group by engaging constructively in philosophical discussion and activities.

Essay

Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 35 hours
Due: 12/10/2025
Weighting: 40%

 

An argumentative Essay about themes from the unit.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • apply understanding developed through course material and readings to explain key theoretical and applied problems in Epistemology and responses to them.
  • apply skills in critical analysis and reflection to respond to the problems and theories introduced in the unit.
  • clearly communicate your own perspective on the views and arguments presented in the unit.

Viva Voce

Assessment Type 1: Viva/oral examination
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Weeks 12 and 13, by arrangement
Weighting: 30%

 

Each student will participate in a discussion with a member of teaching staff, for around 10 minutes. The viva will include a discussion of unit topics and the other assessments. 

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • apply understanding developed through course material and readings to explain key theoretical and applied problems in Epistemology and responses to them.
  • apply skills in critical analysis and reflection to respond to the problems and theories introduced in the unit.
  • clearly communicate your own perspective on the views and arguments presented in the unit.
  • contribute to the learning of the group by engaging constructively in philosophical discussion and activities.

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

Lectures

Lectures will be delivered live on campus from 1-3pm on Mondays, in 17 Wally's Walk, Theatre G02 (please check the timetable, http://timetables.mq.edu.au before the first lecture in case of late room changes). Internal students are expected to attend lectures. Lecture recordings will be available for online students through the Echo block in iLearn.

Tutorials/ discussion

Internal students will attend one tutorial each week (Weeks 2-11). Check the timetable for details (http://timetables.mq.edu.au). Note that there will be an online forum replacing the Monday tutorials in week 9, due to the public holiday.

  • Important note:You must attend or watch the lectures before attending tutorials or engaging in tutorial discussions, since each week's tutorial will be based on that week's lecture. Keep this in mind if you are registering for a Monday tutorial, in particular. 

"Online flexible" students will engage in tutorial discussions through the discussion forums in iLearn (Weeks 2-11). You will need to watch the lectures before engaging in the weekly discussions. 

Reading

All the essential readings and some supplementary readings for the course will be available electronically through the library, with links from the 'Leganto' block  iLearn. You should do the essential weekly reading before your tutorial/discussion.

Website

The unit website is available through iLearn (http://ilearn.mq.edu.au). It contains essential resources for the unit, and you are expected to log in on a regular basis.

Student Email

Communications about the unit may be sent to your MQ student email address. Please make sure you check it regularly. For more information about accessing your MQ email, and how to redirect it to a personal email account if you wish to do so, can be found here: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/technology/service-desk/student-email

Unit Schedule

Part 1 (Weeks 1-4): Dr Jenny Duke-Yonge

Week 1

(28/7)

Introduction: What is knowledge and why is it valuable?

 

Week 2

(4/8)

The Problem of Scepticism

You should start your weekly blog posts this week

Week 3

(11/8)

Does Knowledge have a Foundation?

 

Week 4

(18/8)

Justification: Internalism and Externalism

 

Part 2 (Weeks 5-8): Prof Mark Alfano

Week 5

(25/8)

Anti-luck Epistemology

 

Week 6

(1/9)

Virtue Epistemology

 

Week 7

(8/9)

Knowledge and Perspective

 

Week 8

(15/9)

Hermeneutical Injustice

 

Mid-semester break: 22/9-5/10

Part 3 (Weeks 9-12):  A/Prof Adam Hochman

Week 9

(6/10)

Theories of Political Belief

Essay due Sunday 12/10

Note that because Monday 6/10 is a public holiday, this week's lecture will be provided as a video, and students in Monday tutorials will participate via an online forum for this week only

Week 10

(13/10)

Evidence for Political Beliefs

 

Week 11

(20/10)

Public Debate

 

Week 12

(27/10)

Defining and Identifying Racism

Vivas start this week. Bookings will be available via iLearn.  

Portfolio to be finalised via Turnitin submission by 2/11 (but should be completed over the semester)

Week 13

(3/11)

No classes.

Vivas continue all this week

 

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 connect.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/

Academic Success

Academic Success 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 the Service Connect Portal, 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 2025.04 of the Handbook