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The Power of Ideas: Ten Great Books (ARTS90004)
Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
For information about the University’s phased return to campus and in-person activity in Winter and Semester 2, please refer to the on-campus subjects page.
About this subject
- Overview
- Eligibility and requirements
- Assessment
- Dates and times
- Further information
- Timetable(opens in new window)
Contact information
Semester 2
Please refer to the LMS for up-to-date subject information, including assessment and participation requirements, for subjects being offered in 2020.
Overview
Availability | Semester 2 |
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Fees | Look up fees |
Great books teach us how to describe experience, how to evaluate it, and how to imagine its liberating transformation. They deepen our engagement with critical traditions of thought that extend back through time and, by doing this, they enable us to better understand and address key issues facing the world today. Emboldened and impelled by the voices of great thinkers and writers, we gather crucial lessons on leadership, empathy, moral capacity, critical thinking, cultural complexity, social difference, creativity and innovation and arguably the very meaning of being human. Given what we can do in the world today, great books also help us to think about what we should do. This subject provides a critical introduction to ten great works on the basis that answers to the challenges of our era won’t simply come from technical skills, managerial capacity or datasets alone, but from a developed knowledge of the powerful ideas that underpin literature, history and philosophy.
Intended learning outcomes
On successful completion of this subject, students should be able to:
- understand the key import and legacy of ten great books;
- comprehend the context in which they were produced;
- appreciate their potential ‘real world’ relevance;
- enhance their comprehension, critical thinking and analysis skills;
- develop their capacity for critical and creative thinking through;
- understand new perspectives of human behavior; and
- appreciate the power of creative expression and ideas.
Generic skills
At the completion of this subject, students should gain the following generic skills:
- critical analysis and creative thinking skills;
- leadership and professional communication skills; and
- developed ethical practice skills.
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
This subject is compulsory for the Executive Master of Arts, and is only available to students who are admitted to the MC-EMA.
Code | Name | Teaching period | Credit Points |
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No longer available |
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: 3 November 2022
Assessment
Due to the impact of COVID-19, assessment may differ from that published in the Handbook. Students are reminded to check the subject assessment requirements published in the subject outline on the LMS
Description | Timing | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Online assessment, due weekly
| Throughout the teaching period | 10% |
One short essay
| Mid semester | 20% |
One long essay
| End of semester | 70% |
Hurdle requirement: Students are required to attend a minimum of 80% of classes in order to pass this subject. | Throughout the teaching period | N/A |
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Dates & times
- Semester 2
Coordinator Olivia Meehan Mode of delivery On Campus (Parkville) Contact hours Total 24 hours: 12 x 2 hour seminars, taught weekly. Total time commitment 170 hours Teaching period 3 August 2020 to 1 November 2020 Last self-enrol date 14 August 2020 Census date 21 September 2020 Last date to withdraw without fail 16 October 2020 Assessment period ends 27 November 2020 Semester 2 contact information
Time commitment details
170 hours
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
Selected readings from the 10 key texts will be available on-line via LMS, and a recommended reading list will be available one month before semester commences.
- 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.
Additional information for this subject
Subject coordinator approval required
Last updated: 3 November 2022