English/History/Legal Studies/Politics/Philosophy/Geography

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English/History/Legal Studies/Politics/Philosophy/Geography Faculty

English

Narrabundah College has the widest ranging choice of Tertiary English courses in the ACT. Where else can you take units such as Latin-American Literature, European Classics, Aboriginal Literature, Gothic Literature or Creative Writing. We also offer the units that have proved popular at all colleges such as Children's Literature, Science Fiction, and Fantasy Fiction. Anyone can find his or her own level of ability and area of interest. Although we have a number of units to offer, students demand largely determines what is offered each session. We also run an Accredited course that is flexible enough to tailor learning to the needs of individual students.

Almost all the students at Narrabundah who are not doing ESL (English as a Second Language) do English; many people take it on two lines.

There are two Tertiary streams of English at Narrabundah College: English and Literature. Both are cognitively the same, have the same type of assessment tasks and are compared against each other for scoring purposes. The only difference is that the subject matter varies. Students may switch from English to Literature, or back again, at the beginning of any session – all units still count towards a major.

English and Literature Units

	Y11 English	Y11 Literature
Session 1	Communication of Meaning	Ways of Reading and Creating
Session 2	The Hero Burning Issues Love, Lust and Literature Children’s Literature	Aboriginal Experience Australian Identity Latin American Literature Asian Narratives African and Pacific Narratives African American Experience Irish Writers North American Literature
Session 3	The Journey Language: Use and Abuse Fantasy Fiction Science Fiction Writer’s Workshop	Poetry Then and Now Life Stories Plays

	Y12 English	Y12 Literature
Session 1	Gothic Literature Detective Fiction	Page to Screen: Adaptations
Session 2	Women in Literature Travel Literature Images of War Orwell/Miller	Modern Novels Texts Through Time Dystopias 19^th Century British Literature Shakespeare’s Tragedies European Classics Crime and Punishment Post-Colonial Literature
Session 3	Shakespeare’s Comedies Satire and Subversion	Intertextuality: Appropriations

Useful Documents

English Handbook

Essay Template

Creative Response Rationale Guidelines

History

Why History?

History is a means of satisfying a natural curiosity regarding the diversity of human experience in time. Through the study of history, students acquire perspectives that give them a clearer understanding of many aspects of societies both past and present. Such understanding fosters a deeper appreciation of human experiences, providing a vital understanding of the world, the society in which we live, and a valuable set of skills.

The skills of history include examining and comprehending a wide variety of materials, seeing conflicts, making judgements, developing thinking, communicating ideas and making logical conclusions. Anyone with these skills is capable of succeeding in many subjects and occupations. Moreover, history provides a rewarding leisure interest. Many television shows or books have historical incidents as their central focus and many news items have historical origins. History will give you an insight into such areas.

History has a direct connection with a number of professions such as law, journalism, politics, teaching, librarianship and archaeology. Research skills provide a useful background course of study for occupations in the public service, travel, banking, business and administration. Students undertaking trade courses which require a communications or humanities component in their course requirements will also benefit from studying history.

Anyone with skills gained by a study of history is capable of succeeding in many subjects and occupations.

History has a direct connection with a number of professions such as law, journalism, politics, teaching, librarianship and archaeology.

Within the history courses mentioned there is a broad range of very interesting units. They will provide you with a vital understanding of the modern world plus an extremely valuable set of skills.

At Narrabundah, students can choose to study the modern or ancient streams, or both.

Modern History Units

	Year 11	Year 12
Session 1	The French Revolution	Civil Rights in the USA
Session 2	World War One & Weimar to Reich	Apartheid South Africa and the Cold War
Session 3	China Under Mao	Conflict in the Middle East

Ancient History Units

	Year 11	Year 12
Session 1	Egypt	Rome in the Middle Republic
Session 2	Greece, Bronze Age and the Peloponnesian War	Roman Revolution 133BC-14AD
Session 3	Alexander the Great	The Julio-Claudians

Legal Studies

Legal Studies at Narrabundah College teaches students about how the legal systems of Australia and the world influence their everyday lives. From learning about how the Australian political system influences our laws to grappling with pirates, cybercrime, police powers, serial killers and terrorism, students are encouraged to question the ethics and morality that underpin our society.

At its heart, Legal Studies gives students the opportunity to learn and understand about their rights as citizens both in Australia and on a global stage.

Course overview

Year 1	Year 2
SESSION ONE Introduction to the Law This unit provides the foundations for legal studies, examining the constitution, Australian legal system and analysing the links between politics and the law. Students explore key legislation, compare government systems and question if justice is really blind.	SESSION ONE Consumer Law Students are introduced to consumer rights and responsibilities, elements of a contract and consumer remedies. We examine product safety legislation, how to get a refund, the power of big business, truth in advertising and whether or not individual rights are evenly balanced with corporate power.
SESSION TWO Introduction to Criminal Law We’ll examine the criminal justice system, types of crime, police powers and sentencing. How does the system balance community expectations and still arrive at justice? Criminology Why do people commit crimes? We’ll explore criminality, police responses, changing laws and alternatives to the current justice system.	SESSION TWO International Crime, Conflicts, and Terrorism We study extradition, political, social and economic unrest, causes of terrorism, religious and political ideologies, war crimes, genocide, borders, the changing nature of warfare, intercountry co-operation, jurisdictional issues, extra-territorial reach, domestic and international cybercrime. Sea, Sky, and Space International law as it relates to the law of the sea, law of airspace and the law relating to space. We’ll look at everything from shifting global powers, modern pirates, sea rescues, space junk and, wait for it, the moon treaty.
SESSION THREE Civil Wrongs The course introduces students to Civil Law and the realm of torts. We examine negligence, nuisance, trespass and defamation as we explore the effects of an increasingly litigious society.	SESSION THREE Family and the Law The Family Law Act governs many aspects of our lives, yet very few are aware of it. The course examines the laws regarding marriage, parenting, children, divorce and how families resolve their conflicts in and out of court.

Australian and Global Politics

This course explains how and why politicians behave as they do, and how issues in public debate such as the republic, human rights, the environment, taxes and censorship are resolved. Australia's democratic system is compared with other democratic and authoritarian systems, and major governments around the world: USA, Russia, Japan, and India. Students often have opportunities to attend youth conventions and meet politicians, or do work experience in government departments.

Narrabundah College offers a series of units in Politics which ask the following questions:

Are you interested in election results and who governs Australia?
Find leadership battles within political parties fascinating?
How are politicians elected?
What is an election system?
Interested in the political systems of the USA, Russia, Japan, China or the United Nations?
What role do women play in politics?
What is a democracy?
How well are minorities represented?

The Politics course will help you with the answers!

Available Units:

Political Theory
Politics of Russia and China
USA Politics
Introduction to Australian Politics
International Relations
Elections, Pressure Groups & the Media

PHILOSOPHY

'Philosophy is the adult attempt to deal with genuinely baffling questions of childhood.' (Gareth Matthews).

In 2018, we will be offering the new Year 11 & 12 ACT Philosophy Course
The various units address such questions as:

Is there a God? Are Science and Religion compatible?
Is doubt the key to knowledge?
Who am I? Do we have freewill?
What is life about? Is happiness enough?
Why should I be moral?
Is morality against self interest?
Can we, and should we judge other cultures?
What is the relationship between language and thought?
Does art have to be beautiful? Does beauty matter?

Some benefits of doing Philosophy

You become more aware of value assumptions in the positions that you or others hold.
You are introduced to the big questions of life and to an exciting tradition of enquiry
Philosophy provides a ‘conceptual scaffold’ as you acquire new knowledge and form your own position.
Studying Philosophy prepares you for tertiary studies

Available Units include:
Epistemology
Ethics
Philosophy of Language
Metaphysics

Geography

Geography draws on students’ curiosity about the diversity of the world’s places and their peoples, cultures and environments. Geography is an interdisciplinary subject that is both a Humanities and a Science. At Narrabundah College the focus is more towards the human elements of Geography.

Units are offered at a tertiary and accredited level. Geography is run in a two-year cycle. The units are sequential within the calendar year only. Students may complete a Minor (one year of study) or a Major (two years of study). The order below may change at the teacher's discretion.

Students engage in a range of field trips and guest speakers throughout the year to demonstrate the connection between class content and the real world.

	Year 1	Year 2
Session 1 (0.5)	Unit 1a: Natural & Ecological Hazards Topic: Natural Hazard We may focus on the management and mitigation of a range of hazards including atmospheric hazards, geomorphological hazards	Unit 1b: Natural & Ecological Hazards Topic: Ecological Hazards We may focus on the geography of biological hazards (i.e. pests and weeds), transport and industrial hazards (the impacts that these can cause), and diseases and pandemics.
Session 2 (1.0)	Unit 3: Land Cover Transformations Topic 1: Land Cover Transformations and Climate Change OR Biodiversity Topic 2: Responding to Local Land Cover Transformations with fieldwork OR secondary sources We may focus on the impact of climate change and/or biodiversity loss in a particular landscape. We will also address managing these landscapes.	Unit 2: Sustainable Places Topic 1: Challenges faced by a megacity in a developing country Topic 2: Challenges faced by a place in Australia We may focus on a range of places including various megacities, Canberra and a regional/rural/remote place in Australia
Session 3 (0.5)	Unit 4a: Global Transformations Topic: International Cultural Integration We may focus on the globalisation of cultures, such as the impact for first nations peoples on language and cultural loss.	Unit 4b: Global Transformations Topic: International Economic Integration. We may focus on the globalisation of economic goods, particularly illegal goods, and the global movement of money and assistance through official development aid and remittances.