UNIB10003: An Ecological History of Humanity

10 x 150 word journals (assessed weekly, worth 37.5% in total), 1 x 500 word tutorial paper (12.5%), 1 x 2000 word research paper due in exam period

Let me preface this by saying that I've always actually been pretty interested in history and the environment. So, having read the subject description, I went into this subject expecting it to be a thought-provoking exploration of environmental issues, viewed from a number of different historical and social perspectives.

Instead, each topic consisted of the same banal platitudes repeated ad nauseam, with all the subtlety of a man getting hit in the nuts with a sledgehammer. Every topic was some kind of variation on "This is how we used to do things. This is how we do things now. We are DESTROYING the environment because of CAPITALISM. Maybe we are not as advanced as we think??!?!?!?" It's hard to sum up in my own words just how irritatingly smug and self-congratulatory this subject was, so I'll let this actual quote from the lectures (on the topic of macroparasites) sum up what I mean.
Lecturer: "However, I'd urge you to consider that there may be a far more insidious, far more destructive parasite on this earth... Mmm, yes... It's HUMANS". I gave up on going to the lectures after a couple of weeks.

The assessments are all pretty easy, but they're not always entirely clear about what they want you to write. The best piece of advice I can give for the journals is to not summarise the lectures. They're looking for a personal reflection on the topics, so you're better off making up something about how the topic inspired you and made you think, or reflects some dark aspect of human nature.
All that aside, there were one or two topics which were vaguely interesting, so I gave it a point for that. The other 0.5 was because our tutor was mostly nice and gave us Freddos in the last tutorial.

Yes, with screen-capture

>implying i went to the lectures

N/A

1.5 out of 5

None. A New Green History of the World by Clive Ponting is the prescribed text, but it's not worth buying. There's an abridged version of the text available in PDF form on the internet if you know where to look.

Two 1 hour lectures and one 1 hour tute per week

Semester 1, 2015

N/A

class blog of 500 words (15%)
10 weekly personal blogs (20%)
a research essay of 2000 words (50%)
tutorial participation (15%)

This is my second breadth subject that I have done, and I am so glad that I choose it! Honesty I did not go to any lectures, because I got the main topic from conversations in tutorials! But lecturers are from different departments I heard!

In tutorials you will talk about the topic of the last week's lectures, really try to involve in their conversation for that 15% participation mark! In my class everyone where local,so I was a bit shy to start speaking in front of them but still I got 12% with no talking at all!

Now for the assessments, you will have 10 weekly blogs which are not time consuming at all. best way is to avoid summarising lectures and instead write 150 words about what did you felt or understand about the topic of that week. I would just look at images on slides and then write about what ever I felt and I got full mark for this part.

The class blog is 500 word and you should choose your question. each week of tutorial has couple of questions, so for example if you choose a question that is in week 9, you should submit your report by the end of week 8 and just talk a bit about your topic in tutorial. My suggestion is to choose one of the questions in early weeks so you don't have to do any research in between your other subjects mid sem test!

The final essay was due to 19th of june, and you again had to choose your topic. it is 50% of your mark, so really write a good essay for it so hopefully you can get H1
I highly comment this subject. the staff were so kind and answer your emails very fast and nicely. It was a super chill subject, you can do nothing for most of the time and get a good mark,so really save it for the semester that other subjects are hard and time consuming! The topics that were mentioned in tutorials were also interesting, so it is not a boring subject.

Yes, with screen capture

From different departments

Sample essays for class blog

5 Out of 5

There is one book that they said we should buy, I did not and I guess you dont have to!

2 x 1 hr lectures per week and 1 hr tutorial starting from week 2

2014, semester 1

TBA