Students

MHIS1102 – Making the Modern World

2026 – Session 2, Online-flexible

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit Convenor
Alison Holland
alison.holland@mq.edu.au
Contact via Email
By appointment
Tutor
Morgan Mumford
morgan.mumford@mq.edu.au
Contact via Email
By appointment
Tutor
Eli Branagh
eli.branagh@mq.edu.au
Contact via Email
By appointment
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description
This unit introduces students to foundational skills and concepts in the study of modern history from the late eighteenth century. Students will traverse the world from 1789 to 2001 looking closely at the role of revolution and the emergence of the nation-state, as well as the cost to humans and the natural world of economic growth and colonisation. Beginning with the French Revolution, the unit investigates conflict and change in the quest for equality and citizenship, telling the story of democratic aspirations in the modern world, including competing visions of modernity. It considers those excluded along with the new forms of solidarity and enmity created against the backdrop of rapid industrialisation, capitalism and environmental change. Students will build a foundational chronology of the modern world and develop skills such as critical and analytical thinking, effective communication and empathy. Students will build a foundational chronology of the modern world and develop skills such as critical and analytical thinking, effective communication and empathy.

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 core issues and problems in building historical knowledge.
  • ULO2: Construct a foundational chronological framework of significant major modern historical developments.
  • ULO3: Locate and organise historical information from a range of sources to support evidence-based arguments and responsible scholarly practice.
  • ULO4: Communicate scholarly arguments in response to historical questions, drawing upon primary and secondary sources.

General Assessment Information

All asseessments to be submitted via turnitin on ilearn site, by 11.55pm on due date.

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.
 
Policy and procedure for Special Consideration can be found here: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/assessment-exams/special-consideration

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due Groupwork/Individual Short Extension AI Approach
Documentary exercise 30% No 31/08/2026 Individual Yes Open
Research Essay 30% No 30/10/2026 Individual Yes Open
Weekly Reflective Tasks 40% No 08/11/2026 Individual Yes Open

Documentary exercise

Assessment Type 1: Practice-based task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: 31/08/2026
Weighting: 30%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: Yes
AI Approach: Open

Students will develop foundational skills in the assessment of historical evidence and apply these to the analysis of a set of primary documents that relate to one of the weekly topics in the unit.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Construct a foundational chronological framework of significant major modern historical developments.
  • Locate and organise historical information from a range of sources to support evidence-based arguments and responsible scholarly practice.

Research Essay

Assessment Type 1: Written Submission
Indicative Time on Task 2: 45 hours
Due: 30/10/2026
Weighting: 30%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: Yes
AI Approach: Open

Essay on designated topic/s from the unit content. 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Identify core issues and problems in building historical knowledge.
  • Locate and organise historical information from a range of sources to support evidence-based arguments and responsible scholarly practice.
  • Communicate scholarly arguments in response to historical questions, drawing upon primary and secondary sources.

Weekly Reflective Tasks

Assessment Type 1: Portfolio
Indicative Time on Task 2: 11 hours
Due: 08/11/2026
Weighting: 40%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: Yes
AI Approach: Open

This assessment is designed to demonstrate regular and critical engagement with the required course materials and learning activities, Students will consolidate and demonstrate the development of this knowledge and historical literacy through the submission of weekly blogs.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Identify core issues and problems in building historical knowledge.
  • Construct a foundational chronological framework of significant major modern historical developments.
  • Communicate scholarly arguments in response to historical questions, drawing upon primary and secondary sources.

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

Students are expected to either attend a 2 hour class on campus every week (on campus students) or participate in online discussions (online students). Students are expected to have listened to the online lecture and completed the required readings. Full assessment guides, weekly topics descriptions and required readings can be found on ilearn.  Weekly recorded lectures available via ilearn and readings via leganto (links in ilearn).

Unit Schedule

  1. The Idea of Modernity
  2. Founding Stories: Political Revolutions of the Late 18th C
  3. The Industrial and Settler Revolutions
  4. Indenture
  5. Revolutions, Reforms and Liberalism in the mid 19th C
  6. Nationalism in Europe
  7. New Imperialism
  8. Communist Revolution
  9. Empire, Capitalism and Ecology
  10. Decolonisation
  11. Post War Displacement and Migration
  12. Gender, Sexuality and Revolution
  13. Neoliberalism

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 https://students.mq.edu.au/support/technology/service-desk. 

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 2026.05 of the Handbook