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INTS1004 – Ways of Knowing: Interdisciplinary Thinking for Global Challenges

2026 – Session 2, Online-flexible

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit Convenor
Tom Baudinette
tom.baudinette@mq.edu.au
Contact via tom.baudinette@mq.edu.au
25WW C332
By appointment
Unit Convenor
Jasna Novak Milic
jasna.novakmilic@mq.edu.au
Contact via jasna.novakmilic@mq.edu.au
25 Wally's Walk, C340
By appointment
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
INTS1001
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description
This unit introduces students to the power and limits of different disciplinary approaches to global challenges. Complex problems rarely fit within a single field, so students in this unit explore how the humanities, social sciences, STEMM, and business frame global issues, and how integrating these perspectives can unlock new possibilities for analysis and action. Through contemporary case studies, students will examine how cultural interpretations, economic models, scientific methods, and technological innovations approach the same problem, and how they can converge to offer robust and innovative analysis. Students develop skills in recognising disciplinary assumptions, bringing methods into dialogue, and reflecting on how knowledge systems shape definitions of and solutions to global problems. By the end of the unit, students will have a critical foundation for developing innovative, cross-sector strategies and human-centred responses to global change.

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 and describe approaches to creating knowledge across disciplines and perspectives.
  • ULO2: Compare disciplinary approaches from the humanities, social sciences, STEMM, and business to address complex global challenges.
  • ULO3: Explore the role of emerging technologies, including AI, in enabling interdisciplinary responses to problems.
  • ULO4: Design interdisciplinary ways to approach human-centered solutions for unpredictable global change.

General Assessment Information

LATE SUBMISSION OF ASSESSMENT TASKS

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-time-sensitive assessments (including 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.

The granting of extensions is subject to the university’s Special Consideration Policy. Extensions will not be granted by unit conveners or tutors, but must be lodged through Special Consideration:  https://students.mq.edu.au/study/assessment-exams/special-consideration

 

GRADE APPEAL POLICY

Macquarie University operates a Grade Appeal Policy:  https://students.mq.edu.au/study/assessment-exams/appeals/grade-appeal

 

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due Groupwork/Individual Short Extension AI Approach
Content Quiz 25% No 25/08/2026 Individual No Open
Analysis Task 35% No 21/09/2026 Individual Yes Open
Video Presentation 40% No 06/11/2026 Individual and Group Yes Open

Content Quiz

Assessment Type 1: Problem-based task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: 25/08/2026
Weighting: 25%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach: Open

Show knowledge of distinct theoretical and practical approaches to understanding social issues.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Identify and describe approaches to creating knowledge across disciplines and perspectives.
  • Compare disciplinary approaches from the humanities, social sciences, STEMM, and business to address complex global challenges.

Analysis Task

Assessment Type 1: Written Submission
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: 21/09/2026
Weighting: 35%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: Yes
AI Approach: Open

Analyse a global challenge through two or more disciplinary approaches.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Identify and describe approaches to creating knowledge across disciplines and perspectives.
  • Compare disciplinary approaches from the humanities, social sciences, STEMM, and business to address complex global challenges.
  • Design interdisciplinary ways to approach human-centered solutions for unpredictable global change.

Video Presentation

Assessment Type 1: Creative task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 40 hours
Due: 06/11/2026
Weighting: 40%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual and Group
Short extension 3: Yes
AI Approach: Open

Design and communicate a series of possible solutions to a hypothetical scenario related to disruptive technologies by practically applying the theoretical knowledges introduced within the unit.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Compare disciplinary approaches from the humanities, social sciences, STEMM, and business to address complex global challenges.
  • Explore the role of emerging technologies, including AI, in enabling interdisciplinary responses to problems.
  • Design interdisciplinary ways to approach human-centered solutions for unpredictable global change.

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

CLASSES

Weekly lectures will be recorded and made available in Echo360 within 48 hours of the scheduled class time.

For current updates, lecture and tutorial times and classrooms, please consult the MQ Timetables website: http://www.timetables.mq.edu.au.

 

UNIT REQUIREMENTS AND EXPECTATIONS

You should spend an average of 12 hours per week on this unit. This includes watching or attending lectures prior to seminars or tutorials, reading weekly required materials as detailed in iLearn/Leganto, participating in iLearn discussion forums and preparing assessments.

Internal students are expected to attend all seminars or tutorial sessions, and external students are expected to make significant contributions to the online discussion forums/activities.

In most cases, students are required to attempt and submit all major assessment tasks to pass the unit.

 

REQUIRED READINGS

The citations for all the required readings for this unit are available to enrolled students through the unit iLearn site, and the Leganto site.  Electronic copies of required readings may be accessed through the library or will be made available by other means.

 

TECHNOLOGY USED AND REQUIRED

This unit has an online presence. Login is via:  https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/

Students are required to have regular access to a computer and the internet. Mobile devices alone are not sufficient. Basic computer skills and word-processing skills are also required.

Information about IT used at Macquarie University is available at   http://students.mq.edu.au/it_services/

Unit Schedule

Please note that the weekly topics presented here are subject to change. For the most up-to-date information on weekly topics, activities, and assessment requirements, please refer to the unit iLearn site.

 

Week/Dates

Topic

Assessment

Week 1

(27/07 – 02/08)

How Can You Prepare to Understand the Global Challenges that We Face? The Importance of Interdisciplinarity and Consilience

 

 

Week 2

(03/08 – 09/08)

What Makes the World 'Global'? Language, Migration, and the Systems that Decide Who Belongs

 

 

Week 3

(10/08– 16/08)

How Can We Navigate between the Global and the Local? Understanding Global Culture through Market Adaption between the US and Asia

 

 

Week 4

(17/08 – 23/08)

Is the World Just a Business? Exploring Socio-Cultural Approaches to Global Financescapes and Consumer Capitalism

 

 

Week 5

(24/08 – 30/08)

Who Gets to Define Which Perspectives Are Legitimate? Area Studies and the Eurocentricism of Social Theory

 

Quiz

due 25/08/2026

Week 6

(31/08 – 06/09)

Post(-)colonial, Decolonial, Anti-colonial - What's the Difference and Why Does it Matter?

 

 

Week 7

(07/09 – 13/09)

Who Gets to Save Whom?  Decolonial Approaches and Contemporary Humanitarianism

 

 

 

Week 8

(14/09 – 20/09)

How Have Indigenous Epistemologies Been Excluded and How are Indigenous Academics Making Black Thought Matter?

 

 

(21/09 – 05/10)

Recess (no lectures or tutorials)

Analysis task

due 21/09/2026

Week 9

(05/10 – 11/10)

Who Does the Border Keep Out? Sovereignty, Nature, and the More-Than-Human World

 

 

Week 10

(12/10 – 18/10)

Is the Algorithm Neutral? Technology, Power, and the Politics of Automated Decision-Making

 

 

Week 11

(19/10 – 25/10)

Narrating the Anthropocene: How is Cli-Fi Challenging Climate Change Denial? 

 

 

Week 12

(26/10 – 01/11)

How Do We Put the Pieces Back Together? Consilience, Synthesis, and the Limits of Any Single Discipline

 

Week 13

(02/11 – 06/11)

(no lectures or tutorials)

Video presentations

due 06/11/2026

 

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 2026.03 of the Handbook