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A History of Violence (HIST30068)
Undergraduate level 3Points: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
About this subject
- Overview
- Eligibility and requirements
- Assessment
- Dates and times
- Further information
- Timetable(opens in new window)
Contact information
Overview
Availability | Semester 2 |
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Fees | Look up fees |
Every act of violence has a history. In order to more fully understand how and why violence recurs, how it has changed over time, and how it has been a driving force in history, we need to develop a more sophisticated and complex understanding of its historical origins. This subject will explore the manner in which violence has been used by individuals, communities and the state over time, as well as the way in which that use has been perceived and portrayed in the modern world, from the sixteenth century to the present. It will be organised around four key themes: war, bodies, othering and contact zones. The power and practice of violence will be explored through the origins, causes, and experience of violence through changing technologies, media representations, acts and legal frameworks, and lived experience of violence at an individual and community level. From Hiroshima to the Holocaust, from Aztec rituals to witchcraft trials: how is violence embedded in and representative of societies through time, and how do we understand this comparatively as historians? We will analyse the legacies and aftermaths of violence, exploring how it is remembered and how it is forgotten. A violent act is never erased; it continues to resonate and has an impact on contemporary society in ways that we do not always fully comprehend.
Intended learning outcomes
Students who successfully complete this subject should be able to:
- demonstrate a critical understanding of the types of violence that has occurred in the past; how it has been represented and remembered;
- demonstrate a critical understanding of how scholars have theorised violence;
- understand and reflect upon theoretical and methodological issues involved with writing a history of violence; and
- improve research and interpretative skills by developing a research project which is theoretically informed.
Generic skills
Students who successfully complete this subject should be able to:
- think critically and analyse material and determine the strength of an argument through completing recommended reading, essay writing and tutorial discussion;
- demonstrate research skills through competent use of the library and other information sources;
- demonstrate an understanding of social, ethical and cultural contexts through the contextualisation of judgments, and also being open to new ideas and possibilities and expressing responses to them by constructing an argument;
- be able to communicate knowledge intelligibly and economically through essay writing and tutorial discussion; and
- demonstrate attention to detail, time management and planning through organising their workload and completing assessment tasks.
Last updated: 27 April 2024
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
None
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
None
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 27 April 2024
Assessment
Additional details
- A 2500 word research essay due mid semester (55%)
- A 1500 word reflective essay due in the examination period (35%)
- Tutorial participation (10%)
Hurdle requirement:
- Students must attend a minimum of 75% of tutorials in order to pass this subject.
- All pieces of written work must be submitted to pass this subject.
Note: Assessment submitted late without an approved extension will be penalised at 10% per day. After five days late assessment will not be marked. In-class tasks missed without approval will not be marked.
Last updated: 27 April 2024
Dates & times
- Semester 2
Principal coordinators Katherine Ellinghaus and Jenny Spinks Mode of delivery On Campus (Parkville) Contact hours 29 hours – 12 x 1.5 hour lectures and 11 x 1 hour tutorials Total time commitment 170 hours Teaching period 23 July 2018 to 21 October 2018 Last self-enrol date 3 August 2018 Census date 31 August 2018 Last date to withdraw without fail 21 September 2018 Assessment period ends 16 November 2018
Time commitment details
170 hours
Last updated: 27 April 2024
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
Subject readings will be available online.
- Related Handbook entries
This subject contributes to the following:
Type Name Major History - Breadth options
This subject is available as breadth in the following courses:
- Links to additional information
- Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
Last updated: 27 April 2024