General Information
This subject outlines Australia's natural and human development. You will learn about continental origins, the oldest life forms yet found on Earth, the origin and adaptation of marsupial fauna and the drying of the continent. You will also explore the story of the oldest continuous human culture in the world; the Indigenous Australians. Australia: Dreamtime to Dust examines Aboriginal art, social and belief systems and survival of Aboriginal culture after colonisation. This subject is invaluable for you if you wish to expand your understanding of the history of the continent and its first occupants. You will also find this subject interesting if you are passionate about History, Geography, Environmental and Natural Sciences, Anthropology, Archaeology, Palaeontology, and Social and Cultural Studies.
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Details
Academic unit: Faculty of Society & Design Subject code: AUST11-101 Subject title: Australia: Dreamtime to Dust Subject level: Undergraduate Semester/Year: September 2023 Credit points: 10.000 -
Delivery & attendance
Timetable: https://bond.edu.au/timetable Delivery mode: Standard Workload items: - Forum: x12 (Total hours: 24) - Weekly Forum
- Tutorial: x12 (Total hours: 12) - Weekly Tutorial
- Personal Study Hours: x12 (Total hours: 84) - Recommended Study Hours
Attendance and learning activities: As successful completion of this subject is heavily dependent on participation during all scheduled sessions, attendance will be monitored. 'Class Participation' does not equate to 'Class Attendance'. Merely 'being there' is insufficient to fulfil the following criteria: contribution, collaboration, preparation, cultural sensitivity, and initiative. Most sessions build on the content of the previous one. It is difficult for a student to recover the information if a session is missed. It is the responsibility of the student to view any available recordings of weekly live sessions to catch up on any content missed and to complete set work outside class. In addition to synchronous sessions, students should plan to spend a minimum of 84 hours undertaking preparation/out-of-class work/personal study for this subject. This is intended as a general guide only for workload planning, and more time may be required depending on factors such as familiarity with the content. It is recommended students bring their laptops to class. -
Resources
Prescribed resources: No Prescribed resources.
After enrolment, students can check the Books and Tools area in iLearn for the full Resource List.iLearn@Bond & Email: iLearn@Bond is the Learning Management System at Bond University and is used to provide access to subject materials, class recordings and detailed subject information regarding the subject curriculum, assessment, and timing. Both iLearn and the Student Email facility are used to provide important subject notifications.
Additionally, official correspondence from the University will be forwarded to students’ Bond email account and must be monitored by the student.
To access these services, log on to the Student Portal from the Bond University website as www.bond.edu.au
| Academic unit: | Faculty of Society & Design |
|---|---|
| Subject code: | AUST11-101 |
| Subject title: | Australia: Dreamtime to Dust |
| Subject level: | Undergraduate |
| Semester/Year: | September 2023 |
| Credit points: | 10.000 |
| Timetable: | https://bond.edu.au/timetable |
|---|---|
| Delivery mode: | Standard |
| Workload items: |
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| Attendance and learning activities: | As successful completion of this subject is heavily dependent on participation during all scheduled sessions, attendance will be monitored. 'Class Participation' does not equate to 'Class Attendance'. Merely 'being there' is insufficient to fulfil the following criteria: contribution, collaboration, preparation, cultural sensitivity, and initiative. Most sessions build on the content of the previous one. It is difficult for a student to recover the information if a session is missed. It is the responsibility of the student to view any available recordings of weekly live sessions to catch up on any content missed and to complete set work outside class. In addition to synchronous sessions, students should plan to spend a minimum of 84 hours undertaking preparation/out-of-class work/personal study for this subject. This is intended as a general guide only for workload planning, and more time may be required depending on factors such as familiarity with the content. It is recommended students bring their laptops to class. |
| Prescribed resources: | No Prescribed resources. After enrolment, students can check the Books and Tools area in iLearn for the full Resource List. |
|---|---|
| iLearn@Bond & Email: | iLearn@Bond is the Learning Management System at Bond University and is used to provide access to subject materials, class recordings and detailed subject information regarding the subject curriculum, assessment, and timing. Both iLearn and the Student Email facility are used to provide important subject notifications. Additionally, official correspondence from the University will be forwarded to students’ Bond email account and must be monitored by the student. To access these services, log on to the Student Portal from the Bond University website as www.bond.edu.au |
Enrolment requirements
| Requisites: |
Nil |
|---|---|
| Assumed knowledge: |
Assumed knowledge is the minimum level of knowledge of a subject area that students are assumed to have acquired through previous study. It is the responsibility of students to ensure they meet the assumed knowledge expectations of the subject. Students who do not possess this prior knowledge are strongly recommended against enrolling and do so at their own risk. No concessions will be made for students’ lack of prior knowledge.
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| Restrictions: |
Nil |
Assurance of learning
Assurance of Learning means that universities take responsibility for creating, monitoring and updating curriculum, teaching and assessment so that students graduate with the knowledge, skills and attributes they need for employability and/or further study.
At Bond University, we carefully develop subject and program outcomes to ensure that student learning in each subject contributes to the whole student experience. Students are encouraged to carefully read and consider subject and program outcomes as combined elements.
Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs)
Program Learning Outcomes provide a broad and measurable set of standards that incorporate a range of knowledge and skills that will be achieved on completion of the program. If you are undertaking this subject as part of a degree program, you should refer to the relevant degree program outcomes and graduate attributes as they relate to this subject.
Subject Learning Outcomes (SLOs)
On successful completion of this subject the learner will be able to:
- Identify, analyse, evaluate and communicate broad and coherent theoretical and technical knowledge of the origins of the Australian continent, oldest life forms, dinosaurs, megafauna and the first people in Australia.
- Independently and in teams, generate and transmit solutions to unpredictable and sometimes complex problems related to the origins of the Australian continent and the first people in Australia.
- Apply the knowledge and understanding of the Australian origins, environment and the Indigenous cultures, in Australia and globally, to professional work and/or further learning, demonstrating well-developed judgement and responsibility.
Generative Artificial Intelligence in Assessment
The University acknowledges that Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen-AI) tools are an important facet of contemporary life. Their use in assessment is considered in line with students’ development of the skills and knowledge which demonstrate learning outcomes and underpin study and career success. Instructions on the use of Gen-AI are given for each assessment task; it is your responsibility to adhere to these instructions.
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Assessment details
Type Task % Timing* Outcomes assessed Computer-Aided Examination (Closed) Mid-Term Test includes multiple-choice and short answer questions. The test covers the contents of the sessions discussed in the first part of the semester. 45.00% Week 7 (Mid-Semester Examination Period) 1,2,3 Project Students will present a 10 minute seminar on an approved topic (by week 3) in weeks 11 and 12. 45.00% Week 11 1,2,3 Student Engagement Participation in the tutorial discussion 10.00% Ongoing 1,2,3 - * Assessment timing is indicative of the week that the assessment is due or begins (where conducted over multiple weeks), and is based on the standard University academic calendar
- C = Students must reach a level of competency to successfully complete this assessment.
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Assessment criteria
Assessment criteria
High Distinction 85-100 Outstanding or exemplary performance in the following areas: interpretative ability; intellectual initiative in response to questions; mastery of the skills required by the subject, general levels of knowledge and analytic ability or clear thinking. Distinction 75-84 Usually awarded to students whose performance goes well beyond the minimum requirements set for tasks required in assessment, and who perform well in most of the above areas. Credit 65-74 Usually awarded to students whose performance is considered to go beyond the minimum requirements for work set for assessment. Assessable work is typically characterised by a strong performance in some of the capacities listed above. Pass 50-64 Usually awarded to students whose performance meets the requirements set for work provided for assessment. Fail 0-49 Usually awarded to students whose performance is not considered to meet the minimum requirements set for particular tasks. The fail grade may be a result of insufficient preparation, of inattention to assignment guidelines or lack of academic ability. A frequent cause of failure is lack of attention to subject or assignment guidelines. Quality assurance
For the purposes of quality assurance, Bond University conducts an evaluation process to measure and document student assessment as evidence of the extent to which program and subject learning outcomes are achieved. Some examples of student work will be retained for potential research and quality auditing purposes only. Any student work used will be treated confidentially and no student grades will be affected.
| Type | Task | % | Timing* | Outcomes assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Computer-Aided Examination (Closed) | Mid-Term Test includes multiple-choice and short answer questions. The test covers the contents of the sessions discussed in the first part of the semester. | 45.00% | Week 7 (Mid-Semester Examination Period) | 1,2,3 |
| Project | Students will present a 10 minute seminar on an approved topic (by week 3) in weeks 11 and 12. | 45.00% | Week 11 | 1,2,3 |
| Student Engagement | Participation in the tutorial discussion | 10.00% | Ongoing | 1,2,3 |
- * Assessment timing is indicative of the week that the assessment is due or begins (where conducted over multiple weeks), and is based on the standard University academic calendar
- C = Students must reach a level of competency to successfully complete this assessment.
Assessment criteria
| High Distinction | 85-100 | Outstanding or exemplary performance in the following areas: interpretative ability; intellectual initiative in response to questions; mastery of the skills required by the subject, general levels of knowledge and analytic ability or clear thinking. |
|---|---|---|
| Distinction | 75-84 | Usually awarded to students whose performance goes well beyond the minimum requirements set for tasks required in assessment, and who perform well in most of the above areas. |
| Credit | 65-74 | Usually awarded to students whose performance is considered to go beyond the minimum requirements for work set for assessment. Assessable work is typically characterised by a strong performance in some of the capacities listed above. |
| Pass | 50-64 | Usually awarded to students whose performance meets the requirements set for work provided for assessment. |
| Fail | 0-49 | Usually awarded to students whose performance is not considered to meet the minimum requirements set for particular tasks. The fail grade may be a result of insufficient preparation, of inattention to assignment guidelines or lack of academic ability. A frequent cause of failure is lack of attention to subject or assignment guidelines. |
Quality assurance
For the purposes of quality assurance, Bond University conducts an evaluation process to measure and document student assessment as evidence of the extent to which program and subject learning outcomes are achieved. Some examples of student work will be retained for potential research and quality auditing purposes only. Any student work used will be treated confidentially and no student grades will be affected.
Study Information
Submission procedures
Students must check the iLearn@Bond subject site for detailed assessment information and submission procedures.
Policy on late submission and extensions
A student who has not established a basis for an extension in compliance with University and Faculty policy either by 1) not applying before the assessment due date or 2) by having an application rejected due to failure to show a justifiable cause for an extension, will receive a penalty on assessment submitted after its due date. The penalty will be 10% of marks awarded to that assessment for every day late, with the first day counted after the required submission time has passed. No assessment will be accepted for consideration seven calendar days after the due date. Where a student has been granted an extension, the late penalty starts from the new due date and time set out in the extension.
Academic Integrity
Bond University‘s Student Code of Conduct Policy , Student Charter, Academic Integrity Policy and our Graduate Attributes guide expectations regarding student behaviour, their rights and responsibilities. Information on these topics can be found on our Academic Integrity webpage recognising that academic integrity involves demonstrating the principles of integrity (honesty, fairness, trust, professionalism, courage, responsibility, and respect) in words and actions across all aspects of academic endeavour.
Staff are required to report suspected misconduct. This includes all types of plagiarism, cheating, collusion, fabrication or falsification of data/content or other misconduct relating to assessment such as the falsification of medical certificates for assessment extensions. The longer term personal, social and financial consequences of misconduct can be severe, so please ask for help if you are unsure.
If your work is subject to an inquiry, you will be given an opportunity to respond and appropriate support will be provided. Academic work under inquiry will not be marked until the process has concluded. Penalties for misconduct include a warning, reduced grade, a requirement to repeat the assessment, suspension or expulsion from the University.
Feedback on assessment
Feedback on assessment will be provided to students according to the requirements of the Assessment Procedure Schedule A - Assessment Communication Procedure.
Whilst in most cases feedback should be provided within two weeks of the assessment submission due date, the Procedure should be checked if the assessment is linked to others or if the subject is a non-standard (e.g., intensive) subject.
Accessibility and Inclusion Support
Support is available to students where a physical, mental or neurological condition exists that would impact the student’s capacity to complete studies, exams or assessment tasks. For effective support, special requirement needs should be arranged with the University in advance of or at the start of each semester, or, for acute conditions, as soon as practicable after the condition arises. Reasonable adjustments are not guaranteed where applications are submitted late in the semester (for example, when lodged just prior to critical assessment and examination dates).
As outlined in the Accessibility and Inclusion Policy, to qualify for support, students must meet certain criteria. Students are also required to meet with the Accessibility and Inclusion Advisor who will ensure that reasonable adjustments are afforded to qualifying students.
For more information and to apply online, visit BondAbility.
Additional subject information
Subject curriculum
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Australia's First Walkabout: the Origin of a Continent
The subject uses the first weeks to outline the process of continental development and the natural networks that go to make up 4.4 billion years of Australia's and the wider planetary development these are described through a review of geological, biological and climatic change the world has passed through. We look at the super-continent Gondwana and the earliest lifeforms that have been found in Australia.
SLOs included
- Identify, analyse, evaluate and communicate broad and coherent theoretical and technical knowledge of the origins of the Australian continent, oldest life forms, dinosaurs, megafauna and the first people in Australia.
- Independently and in teams, generate and transmit solutions to unpredictable and sometimes complex problems related to the origins of the Australian continent and the first people in Australia.
- Apply the knowledge and understanding of the Australian origins, environment and the Indigenous cultures, in Australia and globally, to professional work and/or further learning, demonstrating well-developed judgement and responsibility.
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A Continent of Unique Diversity (Continued)
After seeing how the modern continent formed together with its marsupial fauna, we trace the final stages of its drying and look at the changes taking place among our plants and animals.
SLOs included
- Identify, analyse, evaluate and communicate broad and coherent theoretical and technical knowledge of the origins of the Australian continent, oldest life forms, dinosaurs, megafauna and the first people in Australia.
- Independently and in teams, generate and transmit solutions to unpredictable and sometimes complex problems related to the origins of the Australian continent and the first people in Australia.
- Apply the knowledge and understanding of the Australian origins, environment and the Indigenous cultures, in Australia and globally, to professional work and/or further learning, demonstrating well-developed judgement and responsibility.
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The emergence of modern Australia
We now have an understanding how Australia formed and became what it is today, it is time to put humans on it. Without understanding how the Australian continent works it is difficult to understand the ancient culture that grew up here. So this week we begin the story of how humanity evolved and spread around the world. We see how for over two million years various hominins have pushed out from Africa and colonised places as far away as Indonesia and China.
SLOs included
- Identify, analyse, evaluate and communicate broad and coherent theoretical and technical knowledge of the origins of the Australian continent, oldest life forms, dinosaurs, megafauna and the first people in Australia.
- Independently and in teams, generate and transmit solutions to unpredictable and sometimes complex problems related to the origins of the Australian continent and the first people in Australia.
- Apply the knowledge and understanding of the Australian origins, environment and the Indigenous cultures, in Australia and globally, to professional work and/or further learning, demonstrating well-developed judgement and responsibility.
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Out of Africa, into Australia: The First Human Migrations.
This week we continue the story of human migrations around the world. But we now follow the rise of Modern Humans and their cousins the Neanderthals and see how they set up colonies across Asia, Southeast Asia eventually moving into Australasia and Australia itself. We examine what route they took to reach their goals. We see a glimpse of who these people were, how they lived and how they gradually developed the technical skills to take them across open oceans. were to modern humans. We also look at their skills and capabilities for making tools, crossing water gaps, using proto-language and see who the first people to arrive in Australia might have been. The genetic evidence for these people will be reviewed as an aid to understanding where and when people moved about.
SLOs included
- Identify, analyse, evaluate and communicate broad and coherent theoretical and technical knowledge of the origins of the Australian continent, oldest life forms, dinosaurs, megafauna and the first people in Australia.
- Independently and in teams, generate and transmit solutions to unpredictable and sometimes complex problems related to the origins of the Australian continent and the first people in Australia.
- Apply the knowledge and understanding of the Australian origins, environment and the Indigenous cultures, in Australia and globally, to professional work and/or further learning, demonstrating well-developed judgement and responsibility.
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Australia's First People
Finally, in this section of the subject, we look at the evidence for the first people who arrived in Australia and where and how they might have arrived here. We look particularly at a couple of special examples of human who lived in Southern Australia and see how their culture and belief systems have been interpreted from the archaeological record.We also take a look at the issues of the extinction of the giant marsupial megafauna & review some of the ideas that have been put forward to explain it.
SLOs included
- Identify, analyse, evaluate and communicate broad and coherent theoretical and technical knowledge of the origins of the Australian continent, oldest life forms, dinosaurs, megafauna and the first people in Australia.
- Independently and in teams, generate and transmit solutions to unpredictable and sometimes complex problems related to the origins of the Australian continent and the first people in Australia.
- Apply the knowledge and understanding of the Australian origins, environment and the Indigenous cultures, in Australia and globally, to professional work and/or further learning, demonstrating well-developed judgement and responsibility.
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'My Country': Aboriginal People and the Land
In this part of the subject, various aspects of Aboriginal culture are examined. We begin by introducing four cultural corners stones: ties to the land, social organisation and kinship, ritual and ceremony and the notion of the secret and sacred and transmission of culture. This week we examine special ties to the land and what the land means to Aboriginal people and how they see the land in a different perspective from that of an economic resource.
SLOs included
- Identify, analyse, evaluate and communicate broad and coherent theoretical and technical knowledge of the origins of the Australian continent, oldest life forms, dinosaurs, megafauna and the first people in Australia.
- Independently and in teams, generate and transmit solutions to unpredictable and sometimes complex problems related to the origins of the Australian continent and the first people in Australia.
- Apply the knowledge and understanding of the Australian origins, environment and the Indigenous cultures, in Australia and globally, to professional work and/or further learning, demonstrating well-developed judgement and responsibility.
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Aboriginal Social Organisation
Social organisation and kinship tie Aboriginal people together in a vast network of relationships at many levels. In this way a social universe is built to encompass everybody: it is a universe which no Aboriginal person can live outside. The network involves totemic attachment to places in the landscape through relationships handed down over generations using bands, language groups, clans, moieties, phratries, skin group relationships and totemic association.
SLOs included
- Identify, analyse, evaluate and communicate broad and coherent theoretical and technical knowledge of the origins of the Australian continent, oldest life forms, dinosaurs, megafauna and the first people in Australia.
- Independently and in teams, generate and transmit solutions to unpredictable and sometimes complex problems related to the origins of the Australian continent and the first people in Australia.
- Apply the knowledge and understanding of the Australian origins, environment and the Indigenous cultures, in Australia and globally, to professional work and/or further learning, demonstrating well-developed judgement and responsibility.
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Art and Transcontinental Trade
We examine art styles from different parts of the continent. Aboriginal people see and use their art in a different way than Europeans see theirs. Aboriginal art is functional not necessarily aesthetic, it describes the country, bush foods, ancestry, spiritual places and stories, it relates lore, Dreaming Tracks and how things took place in the Dreaming. Most of all it features the ancestral spirits and their stories.
SLOs included
- Identify, analyse, evaluate and communicate broad and coherent theoretical and technical knowledge of the origins of the Australian continent, oldest life forms, dinosaurs, megafauna and the first people in Australia.
- Independently and in teams, generate and transmit solutions to unpredictable and sometimes complex problems related to the origins of the Australian continent and the first people in Australia.
- Apply the knowledge and understanding of the Australian origins, environment and the Indigenous cultures, in Australia and globally, to professional work and/or further learning, demonstrating well-developed judgement and responsibility.
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Survival Strategies and Health
Hunting and gathering has been a way of life for Aboriginal people for millennia. We review what it means to live in the desert, how people feed themselves and find water and how the people themselves have physiologically adapted to a feast and famine diet. The desert lifestyle is then contrasted with that in the tropics. The health of Aboriginal people depended upon the success of their economic adaptation to the various Australian environments.
SLOs included
- Identify, analyse, evaluate and communicate broad and coherent theoretical and technical knowledge of the origins of the Australian continent, oldest life forms, dinosaurs, megafauna and the first people in Australia.
- Independently and in teams, generate and transmit solutions to unpredictable and sometimes complex problems related to the origins of the Australian continent and the first people in Australia.
- Apply the knowledge and understanding of the Australian origins, environment and the Indigenous cultures, in Australia and globally, to professional work and/or further learning, demonstrating well-developed judgement and responsibility.
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Economic and Demographic Change
The common conception of Aboriginal economics is one of the wandering hunter & gatherer. Although this particular lifestyle was dominant because of the type of landscape that covers most of Australia, other methods of feeding the population did take place. We look at the economic intensification of Aboriginal groups in Victoria as an example of this. There, canals & small lakes were constructed to provided bigger harvest of eels and fish.
SLOs included
- Identify, analyse, evaluate and communicate broad and coherent theoretical and technical knowledge of the origins of the Australian continent, oldest life forms, dinosaurs, megafauna and the first people in Australia.
- Independently and in teams, generate and transmit solutions to unpredictable and sometimes complex problems related to the origins of the Australian continent and the first people in Australia.
- Apply the knowledge and understanding of the Australian origins, environment and the Indigenous cultures, in Australia and globally, to professional work and/or further learning, demonstrating well-developed judgement and responsibility.