1996 Swinburne Higher Education Handbook

Themes which serve as a focus for this course may include
one or more of the following: Darwin's theory of evolution
the concept of the self (from Descartes to Freud), God and
nature; knowledge and belief.
Recommended reading
To be advised
AH102 Theories of the Universe
3 houn per week Hawthorn Prerequisite: nil
Assessment: continuous
A subject in the Bachelor of Arts
Objectives and Content
Ideas about the world and our relationship to the universe.
Within the general framework of social history the main
emphasis is on the interaction of culture, civilisation, social
change, and science.
Major topics include ancient societies, religion and science,
concepts of the universe, theories and hypotheses.
Recommended reading
Please consult with lecturer before buying recommended reading.
Koestler, A. The Sleepwalkers A History of Man's Changing Vision
of the Uniwse. Harmondsworth, Penguin, 1964
Kuhn, T. The Copernican Revolution. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard
University Press, 1957, Repr. 1973-74
AH103 Critical Thinking
3 houn per week Hawthorn Prerequisite: nil
Assessment: examination and class exercises
A subject in the Bachelor of Arts
Objectives and Content
The aim of this course is to help students develop critical
reasoning skills which they can apply both in the assessment
of arguments encountered in academic and everyday
contexts and in the construction of strong arguments in
support of their own claims. A variety of practical skills is
taught. For example, how to distinguish claims from
evidence; assess claims on the basis of the evidence
presented; identify fallacies in arguments; organise material
in logically coherent patterns; evaluate objections to claims
made and to respond to them in a sustained and objective
manner. Such skills are basic to the effective completion of
academic assignments.
Recommended reading
Please consult with lecturer before buying recommended reading.
Barry, V. and Rudinow, J. Invi& to Crid irhinking. 2nd edn,
Fort Worth, Tex., Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1990
Govier, T. Practical Study of Argument. 3rd edn, Belmont, CA,
Wadsworth, 1992
AH201 Mind, Language and Thought
3 hours per week Hawthorn Prerequisite: one of AH100,
AH101, AH102, AH103 or approved equivalent
Assessment: continuous
A subject in the Bachelor of Arts
Objectives and Content
This subject explores theories of the relationship between
mind, cognition, language and culture. Themes studied will
be chosen from the following list: mind, brain and
cognition; language, meaning and truth; language as
representation and as metaphor; signs, language and culture.
Recommended reading
Please consult with lecturer before buying recommended reading.
Lakoff, G. and Johnson, M. Metaphors We Live By. Chicago,
University of Chicago Press, 1980
Teichman, J. Philosophy and the Mind. Oxford, Blackwell, 1988
Dreyfus, H:L. What~omputers Still Can't Do. Cambridge, Ma,
MIT Press, 1992.
AH203 Nature and Human Nature
3 hours per week Hawthorn Prerequisite: AHl00, AHIOI,
AHIO2, AH103 or approved equivalent Assessment:
continuous
A subject in the Bachelor of Arts
Objectives and Content
The purpose of this subject is to examine the ways in which
biological theories of behaviour and heredity have
influenced social thought. The interrelationships between
theories of human nature are explored in terms of the birth
of the new science of psychology at the end of the
nineteenth century. Themes to be explored include the 'mismeasure
of man'; the origins of the nature/nurture
controversy; the rise of the concept of culture in social
science: the origins of industrial psychology; biology and
scientific utopias; the concept of the savage; behaviour and
the perfectibility of man; scientific theories of race and their
impact; the image of the black Australian in European
anthropology; Sigmund Freud, his life and times.
Recommended reading
Please consult with lecturer before buying recommended reading.
Fancherf, R Pioneers of Psychology. 2nd edn, New York, Norton,
1990
Freud, S. Two Short Accounts of Psychoa~lySi~ Harmondsworth,
Penguin, Repr. 1972
Gould, S.J. The Mismeasure of Man. Harmondsworth, Penguin,
1984
AH204 Philosophy of Culture
3 hoursper week Hawthorn Prerequisite: one ofAH100,
AHIOI, AHlO2, AH103 or approved equivalent
Assessment: continuous
A subject in the Bachelor of Arts
Objectives and Content
This subject is designed to provide students with the
historical and philosophical background to current research
in the studv of culture. to examine the assum~tions
underlying the major theoretical developments and major
schools of cultural studies and thereby to show the
relationships between the different dimensions of culture, to
reveal the practical implications of such research, and to
consider what are the most promising lines of research for
the future. The subject examines Marxist, hermeneuticist,