Students

BHIS3002 – Bachelor of History Capstone

2026 – Session 1, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor
Camilla Di Biase-Dyson
camilla.dibiasedyson@mq.edu.au
Online Tutor
Abbie Hartman
abbie.hartman@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
160cp at 1000 level or above 
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
BHIX3002
Unit description Unit description

What is history and how do historians practice their craft? What is the history of history and how does it inform issues and debates in contemporary society? What skills does history teach us?   Through the prism of historical literacy, the Bachelor of History Capstone provides students with the opportunity to consolidate the meanings, structures, methodologies and interpretive frames of historical thinking that they have learned about, and reflect on the relationship between history and the public sphere.   Drawing on knowledge and content from across their Bachelor of History major,  students will work individually and collectively on a set of big theoretical questions about history, historical practice, and memory.  The unit enables students to understand and articulate how their historical literacy is an important attribute of their employability in a variety of industries and professional contexts or in pursuit of higher degree research.  By the end of the unit, students will have produced a substantial piece of work, demonstrating their readiness for professional pathways and/or further study that requires analytical, research, and communication skills. 

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: Use discipline-specific knowledge, skills and approaches to investigate and analyse contemporary and historical problems.
  • ULO2: Communicate historical ideas and interpretations effectively through a substantial piece of work, and a complementary debate tailored to academic and public audiences.
  • ULO3: Reflect critically on your intellectual and professional development, demonstrating how your learning journey through the Bachelor of History has influenced and will support your future career, research or study aspirations.
  • ULO4: Collaborate with peers to ideate, research, develop and present complex historical ideas making clear connections between the past and the present.

General Assessment Information

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 Groupwork/Individual Short Extension AI Approach
Research scoping task 30% No Week 5 - 29.03.2026 Individual No Open
Debate Presentation and response 40% No Week 9 - 10.05.2026 AND Week 10 - 17.05.2026 Individual No Open
Employment cover letter OR research pitch 30% No Week 13 - 07.06.2026 Individual No Open

Research scoping task

Assessment Type 1: Written Submission
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: Week 5 - 29.03.2026
Weighting: 30%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach: Open

Students begin preparation for their debate presentations by undertaking secondary and primary research (including prompting of GenAI and checking the responses) and writing a short report on the process using scholarly referencing (see Library guide to APA).
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Use discipline-specific knowledge, skills and approaches to investigate and analyse contemporary and historical problems.
  • Communicate historical ideas and interpretations effectively through a substantial piece of work, and a complementary debate tailored to academic and public audiences.

Debate Presentation and response

Assessment Type 1: Presentation task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 40 hours
Due: Week 9 - 10.05.2026 AND Week 10 - 17.05.2026
Weighting: 40%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach: Open

Students will make individual recorded presentations on their chosen debate topic (and argumentative position) and respond to another student’s recorded presentation.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Use discipline-specific knowledge, skills and approaches to investigate and analyse contemporary and historical problems.
  • Communicate historical ideas and interpretations effectively through a substantial piece of work, and a complementary debate tailored to academic and public audiences.
  • Collaborate with peers to ideate, research, develop and present complex historical ideas making clear connections between the past and the present.

Employment cover letter OR research pitch

Assessment Type 1: Written Submission
Indicative Time on Task 2: 35 hours
Due: Week 13 - 07.06.2026
Weighting: 30%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach: Open

Written submission (word limit: 800–1000 words) on what they personally intend to do in their future job that would implement the learnings they have gathered in the unit. Students will respond to selection criteria for a job advertisement by means of a cover letter or prepare a short research pitch. Both cases will require reflection on their learning journey throughout their course to articulate how historical thinking and discipline-specific skills developed can be transferred to a variety of professional and research contexts.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Use discipline-specific knowledge, skills and approaches to investigate and analyse contemporary and historical problems.
  • Reflect critically on your intellectual and professional development, demonstrating how your learning journey through the Bachelor of History has influenced and will support your future career, research or study aspirations.

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
  • Academic Success 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.

3 An automatic short extension is available for some assessments. Apply through the Service Connect Portal.

Delivery and Resources

For internal students, classes take place every week in the format of 2-hour seminars in which readings are discussed and group activities are completed. For external students, activities based on readings are completed at home and discussions of content take place on the iLearn forum.

Unit Schedule

See the iLearn site for the Weekly Schedule.

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 2026.07 of the Handbook