Migrant Nation: Culture and Identity

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2012:

On campus

8.5 hours per week: 102 hours over the semester.

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For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements of this entry.The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison Unit website: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

What does it mean to live in a nation that has been built on immigration? What histories, policies and attitudes underpin this experience? And what key issues, challenges and opportunities face Australia as a result? This subject encourages students to engage critically with Australia as a migrant nation through a variety of disciplinary perspectives. Focusing particularly on the post-Second World War period, topics covered include migration and refugee histories, the politics of immigration, the development of multicultural policies, critical debates about multiculturalism, racial politics, refugee issues, case studies of migrant communities and ethnic/national identities. Taught by specialists in the field, the subject draws on the work of historians, social and cultural theorists, policy makers, activists, writers and artists, and invites students to produce writing and research that explores controversial and contested issues. This subject will appeal to those with an interest in immigration, multiculturalism, refugee studies, ethnic and national identity, and those who seek to understand contemporary Australian society.

Students who complete this subject should be able to:

• comprehend and engage with a range of interdisciplinary approaches to Australia as a migrant nation.
• demonstrate a critical understanding of the history and politics of Australian immigration.
• think in critical terms about the concept of multiculturalism in an Australian context.
• demonstrate a capacity for critical thinking about Australian culture and society.
• demonstrate skills in research, analysis and communication that draw upon materials and concepts presented in lectures and tutorials.

Class presentation 10%, a 1500 word analytical essay 35% (due mid-semester) and a 2500 word research essay 55% (due at the end of semester).

Hurdle requirement: students must attend a minimum of 75% of tutorials in order to pass this subject. Assessment submitted late without an approved extension will be penalised at 10% per day; after five working days, no late assessment will be marked. In-class tasks missed without approval will not be marked. All pieces of written work must be submitted to pass this subject.

A subject reader will be available.

This subject potentially can be taken as a breadth subject component for the following courses:

• Bachelor of Biomedicine
• Bachelor of Commerce
• Bachelor of Environments
• Bachelor of Music
• Bachelor of Science
• Bachelor of Engineering

You should visit learn more about breadth subjects and read the breadth requirements for your degree, and should discuss your choice with your student adviser, before deciding on your subjects.

• acquire skills in the following areas as a result of attendance at scheduled classes, participation in planned activities and discussion groups, and timely completion of essays and assignments:
• research: through competent use of the library and other information sources, and the definition of areas of inquiry and methods of research.
• thinking in theoretical terms: through lectures, tutorial discussion, essay writing and engagement in the methodologies of the humanities and social sciences.
• understanding of social, ethical and cultural context: through the contextualisation of judgments, developing a critical self-awareness, being open to new ideas and possibilities and by constructing an argument.
• communicating knowledge intelligibly and economically: through essay writing and tutorial discussion. written communication: through essay preparation and writing. public speaking: though tutorial discussion and class presentations.