Animals in Society 1: Introduction

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2016:

36 contact hours total consisting of 24 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorials.

An estimated total time commitment of 170 hours.

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

This course is designed to encourage students to begin to think about how and why animals are so integral to human society. Utilising case studies of current hot topics in animal welfare, we examine human-animal relationships; how they originated, the process of domestication, changing attitudes throughout time and humankind's moral and ethical obligation to animals. This subject contains presentations from international experts to compliment lectures and tutorials exploring the diverse roles of animals as pets, pests, research subjects and food.

First year hot topics include:

• The roles of zoos and wildlife conservation
• Pest animal management
• The role of dogs as companions and sources of entertainment
• Current issues in animal farming
• Animals in research
• Anthrozoological ranking of animals

• Comprehend the complexity of debate concerning the costs and benefits to humans and animals of having animals embedded within our societies
• Be familiar with the historical, social, economic, cultural, biological and moral contexts within which our current relationships with non-human animals have developed and are maintained
• Be able to understand and express multiple views around the use of animals in current society

• A five-minute intra-semester oral presentation with 300 word synopsis completed during tutorials in Weeks 5 and 6 worth 25%
• One 1200 word excursion report due in approximately Week 9 worth 25%
• A two-hour end-of-semester examination worth 50%

N/A

Students will listen to a selection of pre-recorded materials as part of the course.

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

• Bachelor of Arts
• 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.

Upon completion of the course students should be skilled at using the knowledge acquired in the course to objectively and critically evaluate current issues involving animals in society - including issues with wild animals, recreational animals, animals used for science and medicine, agricultural animals and companion animals.