Bachelor of Arts

The course information on this page is for new students commencing their degree in 2016 only. 

Students should follow the rules and requirements for the year that they commenced their course. The online course information for years prior to 2016 are available from the Archives link in the menu.

Students should also review current subject availabilities via the Subject Descriptions link in the menu.

Overview

The Bachelor of Arts (BA702, BB702, BE702, SH702 or MV702), is one of the more open degrees offered by the University of Wollongong. Rather than relying on a prescribed program of study, it offers students a range of choices. The degree offers two majors in the disciplinary areas familiar from study at school, English Literatures and History. Other disciplinary areas offered that might not be as familiar include Sociology and the interdisciplinary areas of Indigenous Studies and Community, Culture and Environment. The study of a discipline gives students a developing set of skills while they acquire a set of conceptual frameworks and a body of knowledge interpreted using those frameworks. For example, within the study of 'history', students learn how to research and write history, as well as how to read what historians have thought about the past.

Interdisciplinary areas are built around either a place or a theme (for example Indigenous Studies or Community, Culture and Environment). These majors reach across disciplines to illustrate different ways an issue can be explored. Interdisciplinary majors ask the students to step outside the comfort zone offered by disciplinary majors and offer challenging alternatives to traditional areas of study.(Bega, Batemans Bay, Shoalhaven & Southern Highlands).

Course Learning Outcomes

Students graduating from the Bachelor of Arts will be able to: 

 All BA students will be able to demonstrate these outcomes which are common to each BA major. Each major also has major learning outcomes that are unique to that major. Major Learning Outcomes are outlined under each major.  

Course Structure

To qualify for award of the degree of Bachelor of Arts ,a student must complete a total of at least 144 credit points as outlined in the table below.

Students must complete:

LHA 101 Introduction to Arts and the Humanities - 6 credit points (cp)

At least one major offered within the BA (outlined below) - at least 48 cp

A second major (minimum 48cp and maximum 60cp) from within the Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts (LHA)* or A minor (minimum 24cp) from within LHA*   *Students enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts (BA702,BB702,BE702, SH702 or MV702) can select from the 5 majors and minors offered at their campus. Alternatively, students who wish to undertake other majors or minors may wish to consider undertaking these at the Wollongong campus.

Elective subjects offered in LHA or other faculties up to a cumulative total of at least 144 credit points

Total - 144 credit points

Note: Of the 144 credit points student must complete:

At least 24 credit points of subjects at 300 level within the major, must be at a pass mark or better;

Not more than 60 credit points can be taken in 100-level subjects

LHA 101 Introduction to Arts and the Humanities

Introduction to Arts and the Humanities (subject code LHA101) is a compulsory 6 credit point subject that must be undertaken by each student during their first year, and ideally during their first session. Students will be introduced to key concepts including critical thinking, digital literacy, academic integrity, effective communication and degree and career planning.

This subject is designed to orient and support students during their first session of university and to provide students with the academic skills necessary to succeed in their first year. The subject will also assist students to understand the structure of their degree, to plan their study pathway and to plan for post-university careers.

Subject Code	Subject Name	Credit Points	Session(s)
LHA 101	Introduction to Arts and the Humanities	6	Autumn, Spring

Subject Delivery

Subjects are taught using different methods of delivery. For some subjects, lectures are edustreamed which means students can download the lectures. In other lectures, video conferencing is used where the lecturer talks to students in real time. Other subjects rely on online delivery which includes posting the lectures on the subject's website. 

Note: A number of 200 and 300 level subjects have “First offered 2017” or “First offered 2018”recorded in the session of offer. This note means that these 200 and 300 level subjects have been reviewed and that the first time these new versions may be offered is 2017 for 200 level or 2018 for 300 level. However, some subjects are not on offer every year, therefore it is possible that the new 200 level version of the subject may therefore be run in 2018 or later, rather than 2017. Similarly for the new 300 level versions of subjects. 

Majors

The BA (BA702, BB702, BE702, SH702 or MV702) offers five majors: Community, Culture and Environment, English Literatures, History, Indigenous Studies, Sociology. The five majors aim to offer a comprehensive exposure to each discipline area but subjects offered will vary from those available at the Wollongong Campus.

Majors offered in the Bachelor of Arts require 48 credit points.  All majors require at least a pass in 24 credit points at 300 level from the subjects offered for the major. All Bachelor of Arts majors include the 6cp subject LHA301 Capstone. As students are only permitted to cross count one subject, students who take two BA majors are advised to cross count LHA301 in both of their majors. 

The requirements for each major are set out later in this Handbook.

Students must take one of these majors:

• Community, Culture and Environment
• English Literatures
• History
• Indigenous Studies
• Sociology

Please refer to the South Coast Highlands Handbook for a listing of subjects required to complete the above majors.

Minors

Minor studies are also available to students for course code BB702, BE702, SH702 or MV702. They consist of a minimum of 24 credit points of which at least 12 credit points will be at 200 level or higher. Minors appear on the transcript (i.e. the academic record), but do not appear on the testamur. To have a minor study recorded, students need to declare their minor study by submitting an Application to Declare or change Intended Major/Minor.

Students may choose from the following minors:

• Community, Culture and Environment
• English Literatures
• History
• Indigenous Studies
• Sociology

Please refer to the South Coast Highlands Handbook for a listing of subjects required to complete the above minors.

Community, Culture and Environment

The theme of this major reflects its name, Community, Culture and Environment. Subjects offered by Sociology inform the theme of community, and those offered by English, History and Cultural Studies inform the cultural theme. However, many of the subjects offered will often combine two of the themes listed in the degree, especially the Indigenous Studies subjects.

Learning Outcomes:

On successful completion of this major students will be able to:

1. Develop knowledge of how the concept of identity is understood in a range of disciplines;
2. Critically evaluate a range of theories relevant to the study of Community, Culture and the Environment;
3. Demonstrate understanding of how an interdisciplinary approach is able to enhance knowledge of and research into Community, Culture and the Environment.

A major  in Community, Culture and the Environment is made up of at least 48 credit points as outlined in the table below.

Subject Code	Subject Name	Credit Points	Session(s)
Core
AUST101	Australian Studies: Cultures and Identities	6	Autumn
INDS207	Critical Themes in Indigenous Studies	6	Autumn First Offered 2017
SOC 207	Introduction to Social Theory	6	Autumn First Offered 2017
INDS302	Indigenous Thinkers: Global Perspectives	6	Spring First Offered 2018
HIST351	Debates in Australian Cultural History	6	Autumn First Offered 2018
SOC 300	Power, Resistance and Society	6	Spring First Offered 2018
Plus at least ONE of the following capstone subjects
ENGL383	Contemporary Fiction and Film (capstone)	6	Not available in 2016
HIST389	History Capstone (capstone)	6	Not available in 2016
SOC 328	Social Policy, Neoliberalism and the 'Post-Welfare state' (capstone)	6	Not available in 2016
Plus ONE other subject from the list of elective subjects available at your campus. This elective should be chosen in consultation with the Head of Students

A minor in Community, Culture and Environment will consist of at least 24 credit points as outlined below.

Subject Code	Subject Name	Credit Points	Session(s)
Core
AUST101	Australian Studies: Cultures and Identities	6	Autumn
Plus THREE from the following:
INDS207	Critical Themes in Indigenous Studies	6	Autumn First Offered 2017
SOC 207	Introduction to Social Theory	6	Autumn First Offered 2017
INDS302	Indigenous Thinkers: Global Perspectives	6	Spring First Offered 2018
HIST351	Debates in Australian Cultural History	6	Autumn First Offered 2018
SOC 300	Power, Resistance and Society	6	Spring First Offered 2018

English Literatures

The English Literatures major introduces students to a broad range of texts - novels, poetry, essays, short stories, film, diaries and letters - from medieval times to the modern. The major in English Literatures teaches you to analyse what you read with sharp critical skills and cultural sensitivity, and to articulate your response with power and precision. A strong international focus underpins our subjects and our ways of teaching them: you will be encouraged to enquire into the politics of the writing and reception of texts, and to understand aesthetics and the value of literature within a range of cultural contexts. 

The core subjects within the degree ensure a grounding in the historical development of English Literatures at 200 level and an engagement with literary theory at 300 level. 

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this major students will be able to:

1. Acquire knowledge of literary texts from a range of periods and places, and an understanding of the importance of social, historical and geographical contexts; 
2. Understand and deploy changing theories, methods and concepts in literary studies;
3. Read, understand and interpret complex literary texts;
4. Locate, assess and use appropriate scholarly resources
5. Construct coherent arguments and communicate them effectively in oral and written form; 
6. Apply relevant skills and knowledge to recognise and reflect on the significance of literary texts in imagining and interpreting the social world.

A major in English Literatures is made up of at least 48 credit points as outlined in the table below.

Subject Code	Subject Name	Credit Points	Session(s)
Core:
ENGL120	An Introduction to Literature and Film	6	Autumn
ENGL131	Australian Fiction and Film	6	Spring
ENGL271	The Romantics	6	Autumn
ENGL274	Victorians	6	Spring
ENGL383	Contemporary Fiction and Film (Capstone)	6	Not available in 2017
ENGL361	The Modernists	6	Not available in 2017
ENGL382	Social Justice and Children's Literature	6	Not available in 2017
Plus ONE more 300 level elective chosen from the list of elective subjects available at your campus. This elective should be chosen in consultation with the Head of Students.

A minor in English Literatures will consist of at least 24 credit points  from the Course Structure of the English Literatures major. At least two subjects must be at 200 level or higher.

History

History aims to understand and interpret the past. It is the subject that brings the past into the present. History is a dynamic discipline, since each generation returns to the past with different questions, based on their own experiences and concerns. Historical analysis brings together both facts and moral judgements to analyse the background to contemporary conditions. Perhaps more importantly, History can also help us to imagine the kinds of futures we want to live.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this major students will be able to:

1. Evaluate historical processes using examples from a variety of periods and places;
2. Appraise present-day global affairs from an historical perspective;
3. Utilise different types of evidence to demonstrate an understanding of historical change;
4. Critically review how Historians produce different interpretations of the past.

The History major consists of at least 48 credit points, as outlined in the table below. 

Subject Code	Subject Name	Credit Points	Session(s)
Core
ONE subject from the following:
HIST111	The Modern World	6	Spring
AUST101	Australian Studies: Cultures and Identities	6	Autumn
Plus
HIST257	The World After 1945	6	Autumn First Offered 2017
HIST281	Hands-On History	6	Spring First Offered 2017
Plus
HIST371	Twentieth Century Dictatorships	6	Spring First Offered 2018
HIST351	Debates in Australian Cultural History	6	Autumn First Offered 2018
HIST356	Making History	6	Autumn First Offered 2018
HIST389	History Capstone	6	Autumn/Spring First Offered 2018
Electives
Plus ONE other subject from the list of elective subjects available at your campus. This elective should be chosen in consultation with the Head of Students.

A minor in History will consist of at least 24 credit points in subjects from the schedule of the History major. At least two subjects must be at 200 level or higher.

Indigenous Studies

Indigenous Studies is an interdisciplinary major which links together INDS subjects and a number of subjects offered by the Faculties of Law, Humanities and the Arts and Social Sciences, to provide Indigenous and non-Indigenous students with a coherent program in the study of Indigenous Australia.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this major students will be able to:

1. Identify how Indigenous Studies has developed as a discipline and how it relates to other areas of study; 
2. Evaluate the ideologies and paradigms that continue to shape both popular and scholarly understandings of Indigenous peoples; 
3. Analyse, both critically and reflectively, Indigenous peoples’ understandings of themselves and the world; 
4. Evaluate the major social and political influences that have underpinned the history of colonisation and resistance.

A major in Indigenous Studies  consists of a minimum of 48 credit points as outlined in the table below. 

Subject Code	Subject Name	Credit Points	Session(s)
Core
INDS150	Introduction to Indigenous Australia	6	Autumn
INDS207	Critical Themes in Indigenous Studies	6	Autumn. First offered 2017
Plus
INDS305	Research and Indigenous Communities	6	Autumn First Offered 2018
SOC 356	Cultures in Dispossession	6	Autumn First Offered 2018
HIST351	Debates in Australian Cultural History	6	Autumn First Offered 2018
INDS302	Indigenous Thinkers: Global Perspectives (Capstone)	6	First Offered 2018
Electives
Plus TWO subjects from the list of elective subjects available at your campus. These electives should be chosen in consultation with the Head of Students.

A minor in Indigenous Studies will consist of at least 24 credit points as outlined below. At least two subjects must be at 200 level or higher. 

Subject Code	Subject Name	Credit Points	Session(s)
Core
Choose ONE from the following:
INDS150	Introduction to Indigenous Australia	6	Autumn
INDS207	Critical Themes in Indigenous Studies	6	Autumn Fist Offered 2017
Electives
Plus TWO subjects from the list of elective subjects available at your campus.  These electives should be chosen in consultation with the Head of Students.

Sociology

Sociology is the study of social life, cultural and social change, and the social causes and consequences of human behaviour. By acquiring sociological skills students develop the ability to analyse a wide variety of social processes, institutions, causes of social change and the structures of groups and societies.

Specific areas of study include social policy; social theory and methodologies; gender, sexuality and the body; class; crime and punishment; race and ethnicity; family, welfare and education reform; everyday interaction; social movements; social change in Asia; media and entertainment; and youth and popular culture.

In a rapidly changing world, sociology provides distinctive methodologies and perspectives that offer solutions to complex problems arising from social inequality, globalisation, criminal justice and racism. Sociology is an exciting discipline with expanding opportunities for a wide range of career paths.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this major students will be able to:

1. Understand and critically access core ideas in Sociology and related studies of society;
2. Design and report on independent sociological research projects, using  appropriate qualitative and quantitative research methods;
3. Critically assess and apply contemporary sociological theories to important current social issues.

A major in Sociology consists of a minimum of 48 credit points as outlined in the table below.

Subject Code	Subject Name	Credit Points	Session(s)
Core
ONE from the following:
SOC 103	Introduction to Sociology	6	Autumn
SOC 104	Investigating Society	6	Spring
Plus:
SOC 207	Introduction to Social Theory	6	Autumn First Offered 2017
SOC 234	Social Research Methods	6	Spring First Offered 2017
SOC 352	Power, Resistance and Society	6	Spring First Offered 2018
SOC 328	Social Research and Social Policy (Capstone)	6	Spring First Offered 2018
SOC 356	Cultures in Dispossession	6	Autumn First Offered 2018
Electives
Plus TWO subjects from the list of elective subjects available at your campus. One of these subjects must be at 300 level.These electives should be chosen in consultation with the Head of Students.

A minor in Sociology will consist of at least 24 credit points as outlined in the table below.

Subject Code	Subject Name	Credit Points	Session(s)
Core
Choose ONE from the following:
SOC 103	Introduction to Sociology	6	Autumn
SOC 104	Investigating Society	6	Spring
Plus:
SOC 207	Introduction to Social Theory	6	Autumn First Offered 2017
SOC 234	Social Research Methods	6	Spring First Offered 2017
Electives
Plus ONE subject from the list of elective subjects available at your campus. This elective should be chosen in consultation with the Head of Students.

Internship and International Subjects

One of the Faculty's aims is to encourage students to study in an overseas university. Students can study abroad for a full session taking three to four subjects, or can study abroad for a shorter period of time by taking a study tour. The Faculty's study tour subjects currently focus on War History and incorporate visits to Gallipoli and the Western Front. Both subjects are listed below:

Subject Code	Subject Name	Credit Points	Session(s)
HIST273	Gallipoli Study Tour	6	First Offered 2017
HIST282	Western Front Study Tour	6	First Offered 2017

Honours

Honours is a fourth year of study that students can undertake provided they meet the requirements set out in the honours entry for this handbook. More details on honours can be found in the BA (BA702, BB702, BE702, SH702 or MV702) handbook. See separate entry for the Bachelor of Arts (Honours).

Credit Arrangements

Credit and articulation arrangements are available from the Course Finder. Refer to UOW's credit arrangements for information on how to apply for credit.

Other Information

Further information is available at:
UOW Course Finder
Email: lha-enquiries@uow.edu.au