| Semester 1, 2021 On-campus Toowoomba | |
| Short Description: | Introduction to Social Justice |
| Units : | 1 |
| Faculty or Section : | Faculty of Business, Education, Law and Arts |
| School or Department : | School of Humanities & Communication |
| Student contribution band : | 2021 Grandfather Funding Cl 1 |
| ASCED code : | 090301 - Sociology |
| Grading basis : | Graded |
Staffing
Examiner:
Other requisites
Students will require access to e-mail and have internet access to UConnect for this course.
Rationale
Social Justice is a fundamental condition for the survival of any family, community, society, and state. Over time, the perpetuation of systems of injustice leads to experiences of despair and the collapse of any social and economic organisation. The course introduces students to a range of contemporary ideas of equal rights, recognition, and care in multicultural societies. It capacitates students with the most recent theories related to the social struggles for rights, and the juggling of new rights regimes for humans, animals, and machines. The course prepares students to critically evaluate the role of the states in maintaining or transforming injustice predicaments.
Synopsis
This course deals with themes of systems of injustice, the social pathological impacts of inequalities, and the responses offered by social justice approaches. Through theoretical perspectives and practical exercises, students will gain a broad scope of knowledge regarding the meaningfulness of equality, the potential and limits of meritocracy, the need for accountability, knowledge for care giving, and the practices of various social movements. Students will acquire new knowledge of the ways states and state officials operate in responding to injustices.
Objectives
On successful completion of this course students should be able to:
- Identify challenges, and analyze systems of injustice and their pervasive consequences for societies;
- Examine and apply theories of social justice in multicultural contexts through a focus on care, responsibility, meritocracy and accountability processes;
- Apply theories of social justice to emerging notions of human, animal and machine rights;
- Scrutinize social movements and state interventions to determine forms of perpetuation or transformation of systems of injustice;
- Research and examine the field of study, and develop decision-making capacities including adaptability and responsibility as a learner.
Topics
| Description | Weighting(%) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Systems of Injustice and Pathologies of Inequalities | 10.00 |
| 2. | Social Justice: Histories and Theories | 10.00 |
| 3. | Social Justice: Why it Matters | 10.00 |
| 4. | Equality of Opportunity | 10.00 |
| 5. | Meritocracy: Potentials and Pitfalls | 10.00 |
| 6. | The Cult of Personal Responsibility | 10.00 |
| 7. | Social Justice in Multicultural Societies | 10.00 |
| 8. | Knowing and Not-Knowing - Care for Others | 10.00 |
| 9. | Relationships in transition: Humans, Animals and Machines | 10.00 |
| 10. | The Visible Hands of Societies: Social Movements I, II, III | 10.00 |
Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed
ALL textbooks and materials available to be purchased can be sourced from (unless otherwise stated). (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/textbooks/?year=2021&sem=01&subject1=SOC1000)
Please for alternative purchase options from USQ Bookshop. (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/info/contact/)
Reference materials
Student workload expectations
| Activity | Hours |
|---|---|
| Directed Study | 39.00 |
| Independent Study | 126.00 |
Assessment details
| Description | Marks out of | Wtg (%) | Due Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QUIZZES | 100 | 20 | 24 May 2021 | |
| ESSAY | 100 | 40 | 28 May 2021 | |
| OPEN EXAM - ONLINE | 100 | 40 | End S1 | (see note 1) |
Notes
- This will be an online exam. Students will be provided further instruction regarding the exam by their course examiner via StudyDesk. The examination date will be available via UConnect when the Alternate Assessment Schedule has been released.
Important assessment information
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Attendance requirements:
Students must attend and complete the requirements of the Workplace Health and Safety training program for this course where required.
External and Online:
There are no attendance requirements for this course. However, it is the students’ responsibility to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration.
On-campus
It is the students’ responsibility to attend and participate appropriately in all activities (such as lectures, tutorials, laboratories and practical work) scheduled for them, and to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration. -
Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
Due to COVID-19 the requirements for S1 2021 are: To satisfactorily complete an individual assessment item a student must achieve at least 50% of the marks for that item.
Requirements after S1, 2021:
To satisfactorily complete an individual assessment item a student must achieve at least 50% of the marks. -
Penalties for late submission of required work:
Students should refer to the Assessment Procedure (point 4.2.4) -
Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
Due to COVID-19 the requirements for S1 2021 are: To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must achieve at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course.
Requirements after S1, 2021:
To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must achieve at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course. -
Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the aggregate of the weighted marks obtained for each of the summative assessment items in the course. -
Examination information:
Due to COVID-19 the requirements for S1 2021 are: An Open Examination is one in which candidates may have access to any printed or written material and a calculator during the examination.
Requirements after S1, 2021:
An open examination is one in which candidates may have access to any printed or written material and a calculator during the examination. -
Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
Normally Deferred and Supplementary Examinations are held in the next Examination period. In S1 2021 selected courses will pilot an early Deferred and Supplementary Examination period held within 30 business days of results release. The list of courses involved can be found at . -
University Student Policies:
Students should read the USQ policies: Definitions, Assessment and Student Academic Misconduct to avoid actions which might contravene University policies and practices. These policies can be found at .
Other requirements
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Students can expect that questions in assessment items in this course may draw upon knowledge and skills that they can reasonably be expected to have acquired before enrolling in the course. This includes knowledge contained in pre-requisite courses and appropriate communication, information literacy, analytical, critical thinking, problem solving or numeracy skills. Students who do not possess such knowledge and skills should not expect to achieve the same grades as those students who do possess them.