Bachelor of General Studies
Subjects on offer
Subject descriptions
VIS19 Issues in Contemporary Art
This unit provides you with an introduction to the major theoretical issues of contemporary art with a strong emphasis given to contemporary practice. Theories of seeing and of cultural production are examined and illustrated through examples of contemporary art practices.
Back to the top ▲VIS24 Australian Art History
Learn about the historical development of Australian art since European colonisation to 1970. Emphasis will be given to understanding the social and cultural context of Australian art practices. You will explore the role played by Australian institutions in constructing Australian art, the Heidelberg era, academic art and early Modernism, Antipodean art and the development of abstraction and conceptual art.
Back to the top ▲VIS26 Art in the Age of Revolution
This unit focuses on the emergence of 'modern art' and the profound changes that radically transformed European society between the second half of the 18th century and the first half of the 19th century. Through your studies you will explore romanticism, classicism, realism, the emergence of modern political ideologies, the shifting face of European society and the impact of industrialisation upon European culture.
Back to the top ▲VIS27 Modernism and the Visual Arts
Explore the themes and issues underlying the visual arts in the Western world in the period 1860 - 1960. The unit provides you with an understanding of the shifts in the production of visual culture of the time. Through your studies, you will examine the emergence of the avant-garde, technological change and the ideals of Utopia, the modernist myths of primitivism, surrealism, futurism and feminist re-appraisals of modernism.
Back to the top ▲VIS29 Art and Fashion in the 20th Century
Learn about developments in the relationship between, art, design and fashion in the 20th century with an introductory focus on the history of costume. Fashion has been linked to the development of industrialised societies, their customs, desires and the evolution of consumerism. Influences on 20th century art and design and their reflection in fashion are considered both chronologically as well as thematically. Your study will include: Orientalism; The influence of American film between the wars; Political ideology during WWII; Consumerism and popular culture of the 50s; Haute couture; Mass-produced ready to wear and designer items of the 70s; New technology and the return of eastern influences in the 90s.
Back to the top ▲LCS14 Culture and Society: Introduction to Cultural Studies
Gain an introduction into the field of cultural studies. In Block 1, you are introduced to language, text and identity. In Block 2, you learn how culture is formed by/or within a social context. In Block 3, you explore culture and society, understanding and analysing the relationship between culture, government and social regulation. The unit finishes by examining some of the main contemporary issues and debates in cultural policy.
Back to the top ▲MTM102 Tourism Management
Tourism management is not simply confined to supervision within the tourism and hospitality setting. It is closely involved with all the major functions, processes and procedures that are practiced or performed within the tourism industry. Through this unit, you will gain an understanding into the structure, management and functions of the tourism industry within Australia, at both the regional and international levels.
Back to the top ▲PTR100 Perspectives on Security and Terrorism
Attain a critical understanding of the nature of security and how security is threatened or undermined by terrorism. The guiding questions for this unit are: What is security How does terrorism threaten security Pursuing these questions will involve reading in several areas. The first is in theory: What is security What conceptual frameworks best explain terrorism The second is in history: How has international society always addressed the threat of terrorism The third evaluation is in the area of policy: What are the central issues that confront decision-makers and security agencies in the face of terrorism
Back to the top ▲PTR200 International Security Studies
This unit defines international security broadly to incorporate political, societal, military, environmental, economic and technological factors. After you examine the competing theories of international politics and different conceptions of security, your focus will shift to the post-Cold War international system and particularly to the roles of the United Nations and international law in international security. Case studies from Iraq, Cambodia and East Timor will be reviewed to explain the changing dimensions of security.
Back to the top ▲PTR210 Spies, Saboteurs and Secret Agents
Explore famous historical events when spies, secret agents or saboteurs have worked for governments to obtain intelligence on their enemies and even their friends. How they obtained and interpreted this intelligence; how they responded to it; how they tried to keep their own secrets secret; and how secret intelligence has changed history, will all be studied here. Underlying this examination is a strong ethical issue - to what lengths will a state go in order to preserve itself
Back to the top ▲REL12 Religion Studies: Myth, Ritual and the Sacred
Delve into to the phenomena of religion. Your studies in this unit will include: The Sacred; Ritual; Myth; Beliefs; Religious experience; Sacred texts; Symbols; Sacred places; Religious specialists and Interpretation of religious phenomena. You will also have an opportunity to discover what constitutes religion and how to identify the elements that are typical of religious phenomena.
Back to the top ▲REL15 Buddhist Studies 1
Explore the Buddhist tradition and its development. Your studies in this unit will encourage you to review the development of Buddhism through Asian history, focusing on its responses to local cultural, political and economic conditions. The philosophical and practical applications of Buddhist doctrines will then be examined, concluding with a study of Buddhism in the modern world and discussion of the implications for the future. Study for the unit is mainly through guided readings and writing academic essays. The development of skills in the critical analysis of source materials is central to assessment of the academic essays that form the assignments for the unit.
Back to the top ▲SGY120 Introduction to Popular Culture and Society
Broaden your understanding of the key concepts, topics and debates with popular culture. Popular culture refers to cultural forms such as watching television and eating fast food. Popular culture is a valuable source of information about social life and how we live it, it tells us a great deal about a society and how it changes over time. The unit introduces you to a range of sociological concepts and invites you to consider how these concepts help us understand everyday life and how we experience it. Case studies in popular culture will be studied in-depth.
Back to the top ▲SGY130 Youth and Society
Gain an understanding of the problems and issues facing young people in Australia today. Through your study, you will explore the ways in which 'youth' and youth issues are defined in public debate, academic and official research activity and policy discussions. In particular, how stereotypical ideas of youth can be embedded in institutions and professions and prevent young people from getting a fair hearing. This unit introduces you to the principal research materials and methods used by sociological and social policy researchers in youth studies with particular reference to qualitative methods.
Back to the top ▲CMM38 Drama Screenwriting
Learn the script formats and development processes to design and write a short drama screenplay of 10-15 minutes duration. The unit requires you to plan and develop a short drama screen story from an idea to a synopsis/proposal stage, then to write a full professionally formatted first draft screenplay, then to critically review that work before moving on to rewrite, polish and present a full second draft screenplay. While the primary focus of the unit is on the writing of a short drama screenplay the basic processes outlined apply in all forms of screenwriting.
Back to the top ▲CCJ23 Correctional Policies and Administration
Examine the origins and development of corrections in Australia. You will identify and explore the theories and models of corrections and the evolution of current services in custodial and community settings. As part of your studies, you will learn about the history of corrections, public opinion on corrections, prison design, overcrowding, prison escapes, privatisation of corrections and deaths in custody.
Back to the top ▲CCJ22 Introduction to Policing
Explore the central role policing has had on our society throughout history and in the present day. You will focus your studies on policing in Australia. The unit commences with the historical development of policing and discusses the impact of the English tradition on Australia. You will also analyse the socially interactive processes and variety of organisational and operational issues faced by police in the modern era.
Back to the top ▲HST310 Twentieth Century Europe
Explore key issues of European social, cultural, political, economic and military development from 1914 - 45. You will examine consumerism, the Cold War, migration, integration and decolonisation in the post-war era. Was it an age of catastrophe, an increasingly barbaric age or an age when modernity went wrong You will explore the violence of two world wars, the Russian and Spanish civil wars, political polarisation and instability, ideological conflict, the Great Depression and the horrors of the Holocaust. The post-war themes suggest there is more to the European twentieth century than a
straight forward story of ideological struggle.
Back to the top ▲ENV100 Economics and Environmental Management
Focus on the relationship between human economies and the environment. This unit is not an intensive study of economic theories and models. Rather, you will explore how economic concepts, tools and case studies can enable effective environmental science and management. For example, the economic solutions for climate
change, soil erosion, urban expansion and water management. You will also review conventional economic approaches to natural resources, pollution and policy. You will be introduced to the potential of a new range of integrated, ecological and economic approaches for dealing with environmental problems.
Back to the top ▲ENV110 Environmental Planning
Learn the organising concepts and skills of theory and practice in environmental planning. You will look at the evolution of planning thought from Neolithic settlement, Egyptian, Greek and Roman settlement patterns as well as medieval towns, renaissance design, industrial cities and early twentieth century ideals. The complex social, political, cultural, environmental and economic factors that determine contemporary city form and settlement patterns will be examined. Within this context, theories that influence contemporary planning practice are examined, such as sustainable development and environmental management.
Back to the top ▲GEN11 Gender, History and Culture
Delve into how everyday life and social practices organise gender. You will focus on family life and the private sphere as places where gender identities are produced. You will look at television and photography to examine how gender is culturally constructed and transmitted from one generation to the next. You will also investigate how meanings
change to accommodate wider social changes. The unit examines various discourses of everyday life, images and narratives, practices such as watching television, taking photographs, making family albums and institutions.
Back to the top ▲ECO12 Macroeconomics 1
Increase your ability to tackle problems and communicate solutions in the language of
economics, particularly in macroeconomics. You will cover the concepts of macroeconomics including: Inflation; Unemployment; Balance of payments; Growth; The role of government in economic management; Inflation; Cycles; Macroeconomic policy; and Australia in a global context.
Back to the top ▲ECO31 International Economics
Embark on a detailed examination of international trade and economics. Initially you will explore the theory of trade. This will include absolute and comparative advantage, the Heckscher-Ohlin Model and modern theories. Following on from this, you will focus on trade policy. You will study instruments of policy, the impact of policy and economic integration. You will then investigate trade and economic growth, international capital flows, exchange rate determination, the international monetary system and macroeconomic policy in an open economy.
Back to the top ▲NET24 The Internet - Virtual Communities
Explore the meaning of community by examining the role of the internet in providing opportunities for virtual communities. Review the focus on 'community' within the internet industry and explore the professional interaction of networked technology, to form skills in becoming leaders and organisers of communities, partnerships and teams within the virtual realm.
Back to the top ▲NET25 The Internet - Media Business
Analyse the media and information supply chain, to identify how the internet provides new ways of defining media and information 'products' and of distributing media and information to the ultimate 'consumers'. Through an applied project, you will gain skills in business planning for internet-related media and information initiatives including, an analysis of business models, identification of content providers and audiences, security, legal and ethical issues.
Back to the top ▲BLS340 Tax in Sport
Learn about Australia's income tax rules and how they affect sports people and clubs. You will explore the role and responsibility of sports administrators in considering an athlete's taxation position. Many athletes rely on administrators to understand the relevant income tax laws. This can be a burdensome responsibility, given the penalties imposed by the ATO. This unit takes account of the basic areas of tax law including income, deductions and capital gains but it also addresses athlete taxation and the taxation of clubs. International taxation provisions and other relevant taxation issues are also considered.
Back to the top ▲BLS350 International Sport
Examine the political issues relating to international sporting and governing bodies. The unit provides you with an introduction to the relationships between national sporting bodies and government bodies. You will learn about the Olympic movement and international sport governance.
Back to the top ▲BLW35 Meetings Law
Study the principles and procedures associated with the law governing meetings. The meeting is the most common tangible expression of the democratic ideal. This unit covers the guiding principles that emerge from case decisions, with a focus on the practical application of those principles to actual meetings. Australian meetings law is based on case decisions and statutory provisions. The relevant statutes are not a "code" or a meaningful statement of the law. You will examine private and public meetings, meetings of clubs, associations, institutes and company meetings. You will need a high level of proficiency in the English language, both written and spoken.
Back to the top ▲MAN22 Human Resource Management
Gain a comprehensive overview of the major issues and areas of responsibility in the management of human resources within organisations. This unit aims to give you a sound knowledge about how human resources are managed effectively, efficiently and contribute to the achievement of organisational goals.
Back to the top ▲MGM22 Administrative Management
Gain an overview of the major functions performed within an administrative, office and clerical-based work setting. You will cover the following topics in detail: Planning, organisation and control of administrative activities; Systems and services; Resources; Facilities; Equipment and operations; Workspace design; Work environment; Communication; Information and records management; Telecommunications; Workplace automation; Ergonomics; Safety and Challenges, future trends and directions.
Back to the top ▲MTM304 Event Management
Gain a management overview of the growing field of events and Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibition (MICE) management. You will cover: Event conceptualisation; Planning and staging; Sponsorship and marketing; Human resources; ICT; Legal and risk management; Project management, Event administration, Controls and Budgets; and Evaluation. Both leisure and corporate events are reviewed including, special events, festivals, meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions. The relationships between the tourism industry and MICE sectors are also explored.
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