Unit Guide

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff	Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit Convenor Leigh Boucher leigh.boucher@mq.edu.au Contact via leigh.boucher@mq.edu.au
Credit points	Credit points 3
Prerequisites	Prerequisites 12cp or (3cp in HIST or MHIS or POL units)
Corequisites	Corequisites
Co-badged status	Co-badged status
Unit description	Unit description This unit looks at the ways in which issues of war and peace are shaped by specific cultural and historical conditions that can only be understood in broader international context. While war can be viewed purely in terms of military strategy and through the lens of advancing armies, it also has wider social, economic and cultural meanings that situate men and women as historical actors in the formation of cultures and societies and the construction of new world orders. By looking at the many situations in which wars have been fought across the world under the banner of political cause, national freedom, dynastic and religious crusade, we ponder the ways in which war is the arena in which national and imperial memory has been forged. Our travels will take us to Britain, India, Germany, the United States of America, South Africa, Japan, Algeria, Vietnam, New Zealand and Australia to look at the role of war in the construction of historical memory. We also pay particular attention to the experiences of women in war, to the colonial context of much international conflict and to the moral questions that arise from notions such as winning and losing.

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:

A schematic knowledge of major conflicts and efforts to make peace in modern history
An understanding of how empirical research and methodological debate has expanded and challenged existing historiography.
The ability to locate, identify, read and analyse original documents from a variety of sources and perspectives with some guidance; to summarise, transcribe and catalogue information as appropriate.
An ability to critically evaluate the arguments of other historians (both theoretically and empirically).
An ability to locate, identify, read and analyze existing historical research with some guidance
The ability to clearly communicate a point of view about the past using the terminology and techniques accepted in the historical profession in oral form.
The ability to clearly communicate a point of view about the past using the terminology and techniques accepted in the historical profession in oral form.
Understand the ways in which war and peace are experienced differently (according to gender, race, class, sexuality and historical location) 
An ability to consider how practices of remembrance are shaped by political contexts

Assessment Tasks

Name	Weighting	Due
Tutorial Participation	10%	N/A
Prelim Research Exercise	10%	27/3
Blog (War on Film)	5%	22/4
Research Essay	45%	22/5
Take Home Paper	30%	17/6

Tutorial Participation

Due: N/A
Weighting: 10%

On successful completion you will be able to:

An ability to critically evaluate the arguments of other historians (both theoretically and empirically).
The ability to clearly communicate a point of view about the past using the terminology and techniques accepted in the historical profession in oral form.
Understand the ways in which war and peace are experienced differently (according to gender, race, class, sexuality and historical location) 
An ability to consider how practices of remembrance are shaped by political contexts

Prelim Research Exercise

Due: 27/3
Weighting: 10%

In this task you will find one academic source, follow a footnote to a second academic source, and write about the intellectual linkage between them as well as their utility for your research essay.

On successful completion you will be able to:

An understanding of how empirical research and methodological debate has expanded and challenged existing historiography.
An ability to critically evaluate the arguments of other historians (both theoretically and empirically).
An ability to locate, identify, read and analyze existing historical research with some guidance
The ability to clearly communicate a point of view about the past using the terminology and techniques accepted in the historical profession in oral form.

Blog (War on Film)

Due: 22/4
Weighting: 5%

You will make an initlal blog post about a film about WWII (from a select list) and then respond to a review from a fellow study.

On successful completion you will be able to:

A schematic knowledge of major conflicts and efforts to make peace in modern history
Understand the ways in which war and peace are experienced differently (according to gender, race, class, sexuality and historical location) 
An ability to consider how practices of remembrance are shaped by political contexts

Research Essay

Due: 22/5
Weighting: 45%

In this task you will write an academic research paper answering one question from the list supplied, building on the feedback from your preliminary exercise and augmenting it with further research.

On successful completion you will be able to:

A schematic knowledge of major conflicts and efforts to make peace in modern history
An understanding of how empirical research and methodological debate has expanded and challenged existing historiography.
The ability to locate, identify, read and analyse original documents from a variety of sources and perspectives with some guidance; to summarise, transcribe and catalogue information as appropriate.
An ability to critically evaluate the arguments of other historians (both theoretically and empirically).
An ability to locate, identify, read and analyze existing historical research with some guidance
The ability to clearly communicate a point of view about the past using the terminology and techniques accepted in the historical profession in oral form.

Take Home Paper

Due: 17/6
Weighting: 30%

The final piece of assessment for the class will be a 1500 word essay (or creative response) to a question posed in the final set of lectures. No additional research will be required. The specific task/question will be distributed in the final lecture.

On successful completion you will be able to:

A schematic knowledge of major conflicts and efforts to make peace in modern history
An understanding of how empirical research and methodological debate has expanded and challenged existing historiography.
An ability to critically evaluate the arguments of other historians (both theoretically and empirically).
The ability to clearly communicate a point of view about the past using the terminology and techniques accepted in the historical profession in oral form.
Understand the ways in which war and peace are experienced differently (according to gender, race, class, sexuality and historical location) 
An ability to consider how practices of remembrance are shaped by political contexts

Delivery and Resources

2 x 1 lecture per week

1 x 1 hour tutorial/online discussion per week

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Unit Schedule

Tutorial Topic: Making War and Making Peace
Tutorial Topic: Nation, Citizen, Peace and War
Tutorial Topic: Race and Colonial Conflict in the 19^th C
Tutorial Topic: Gender and Masculinity in WWI
Tutorial Topic: Gendered Practices of Peace-making in the Interwar Years
Online Discussion Topic: Women in WWII
Tutorial Topic: Sexuality and the Cold War
Tutorial Topic: Remembering WWII in an Age of Decolonisation
Tutorial Topic: Memory, Reconciliation and Justice
Tutorial Topic: Peacemaking and Peacekeeping in the late 20^th C
Tutorial Topic: The Politics of Grief and Mourning

Learning and Teaching Activities

Lecture

2 x 1 hour lecture per week

Tutorial

1 x Tutorial or online discussion per week

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Academic Honesty Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html

Assessment Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy.html

Grading Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grading/policy.html

Grade Appeal Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html

Grievance Management Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grievance_management/policy.html

Special Consideration Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/special_consideration/policy.html

In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of Academic Student Support Services. Details of these services can be accessed at: http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

UniWISE provides:

Online learning resources and academic skills workshops http://www.students.mq.edu.au/support/learning_skills/
Personal assistance with your learning & study related questions.
The Learning Help Desk is located in the Library foyer (level 2).
Online and on-campus orientation events run by Mentors@Macquarie.

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

Details of these services can be accessed at http://www.student.mq.edu.au/ses/.

IT Help

If you wish to receive IT help, we would be glad to assist you at http://informatics.mq.edu.au/help/.

When using the university's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students and it outlines what can be done.

Graduate Capabilities

Discipline Specific Knowledge and Skills

Our graduates will take with them the intellectual development, depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content in their chosen fields to make them competent and confident in their subject or profession. They will be able to demonstrate, where relevant, professional technical competence and meet professional standards. They will be able to articulate the structure of knowledge of their discipline, be able to adapt discipline-specific knowledge to novel situations, and be able to contribute from their discipline to inter-disciplinary solutions to problems.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

A schematic knowledge of major conflicts and efforts to make peace in modern history
An understanding of how empirical research and methodological debate has expanded and challenged existing historiography.
The ability to locate, identify, read and analyse original documents from a variety of sources and perspectives with some guidance; to summarise, transcribe and catalogue information as appropriate.

Critical, Analytical and Integrative Thinking

We want our graduates to be capable of reasoning, questioning and analysing, and to integrate and synthesise learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments; to be able to critique constraints, assumptions and limitations; to be able to think independently and systemically in relation to scholarly activity, in the workplace, and in the world. We want them to have a level of scientific and information technology literacy.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcome

An ability to critically evaluate the arguments of other historians (both theoretically and empirically).

Problem Solving and Research Capability

Our graduates should be capable of researching; of analysing, and interpreting and assessing data and information in various forms; of drawing connections across fields of knowledge; and they should be able to relate their knowledge to complex situations at work or in the world, in order to diagnose and solve problems. We want them to have the confidence to take the initiative in doing so, within an awareness of their own limitations.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcome

An ability to locate, identify, read and analyze existing historical research with some guidance

Effective Communication

We want to develop in our students the ability to communicate and convey their views in forms effective with different audiences. We want our graduates to take with them the capability to read, listen, question, gather and evaluate information resources in a variety of formats, assess, write clearly, speak effectively, and to use visual communication and communication technologies as appropriate.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

The ability to clearly communicate a point of view about the past using the terminology and techniques accepted in the historical profession in oral form.
The ability to clearly communicate a point of view about the past using the terminology and techniques accepted in the historical profession in oral form.

Socially and Environmentally Active and Responsible

We want our graduates to be aware of and have respect for self and others; to be able to work with others as a leader and a team player; to have a sense of connectedness with others and country; and to have a sense of mutual obligation. Our graduates should be informed and active participants in moving society towards sustainability.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

Understand the ways in which war and peace are experienced differently (according to gender, race, class, sexuality and historical location) 
An ability to consider how practices of remembrance are shaped by political contexts