ARTS 2908 Course Outline
School of Humanities and Languages
ARTS 2908
Premodern Japan: Status, Sex and Power
Semester 1, 2017
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Course Staff and Contact Details
Course Details
Course Schedule
Course Resources
Learning and Teaching Rationale and Strategies
Course Assessment
Attendance and Absence
Special Consideration for Illness or Misadventure
Class Clash
Academic Honesty and Plagiarism
Course Evaluation and Development
Student Support
Grievances and Review of Assessment Results
Other Information
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1. Course Staff and Contact Details
Course Convenor, Lecturer and Tutor
Name
Alexander Brown
Room Morven Brown 211
Phone
N/A
Email [email protected]
Consultation Time Mondays and Tuesdays by appointment.
2. Course Details
Units of Credit
(UoC)
Course Description
6
This course offers a thematic overview of Japanese history from
prehistory to the Meiji Imperial Restoration of 1868. The course
has a special focus on women’s and gender history (which
includes social constructions of both femininity and masculinity).
Since it is mostly a cultural and social history, we will not only
discuss the ideas and social practices of ruling classes such as
civil aristocrats and bushi/warriors but also look at popular
Buddhism, folk religion, peasant rebellion and commoner
resistance as well as aspects of popular culture. In other words, we
pay attention to differences between the different classes of premodern societies in the Japanese archipelago.
Each week there is one key reading and one primary source
material assigned for discussion in the tutorial groups. One of the
key aims of this course is to develop students’ ability to use
primary sources and use them as a basis for historical arguments.
The weekly topics are varied. Central themes include the situation
and role of women of different classes from ancient times, the
construction of gender in the literature of different classes and in
scripture and sexualities. The course emphasises the importance
of conflict in the making of Japanese history.
Learning Outcomes
1.
Demonstrate an understanding of the basic chronology
and themes of pre-modern Japanese history.
2.
Conduct research in a self-motivated and independent
manner.
3.
Present one’s ideas effectively verbally and in writing.
4.
To achieve an understanding of interdisciplinary
approaches to the study of women, gender and sexualities
in the context of the history of one culture, with particular
attention to the intersection of class and status differences.
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3. Course Schedule
To view course timetable, please visit: http://www.timetable.unsw.edu.au/
Week Commencing
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
Lecture Content
Tutorial/Lab Content
An Invitation to the Study of PreNo tutorial in Week 1
modern Japan
Origins of ‘Japan’ and the ‘Japanese’
Mythical Origins: ‘Age of the Gods’ (& Goddesses)
State Formation: His- and Her-stories
Heian: The Classical World in Women’s Diaries
Warriors, Buddhists and the Nō Theatre
Nonhumans and Riverside Dwellers: Pollution and Stigma in
Medieval Japan
No Tuesday tutorials in Week 8
The Sixteenth Century
due to ANZAC Day Public
Revolution
Holiday 25 April
Urban Popular Culture: The ‘Pleasure’ Quarters?
Riotous Pilgrimages and Peasant Protest
Dress, Grooming and Social Status in Tokugawa Japan
Twilight of the Tokugawa World: Towards Restoration
No Lecture in Week 13
The Meiji Restoration/Revolution
Tutorial Guide
NB: All readings to be downloaded from Moodle or via Library Catalogue
Week Two
Origins of ‘Japan’ and the ‘Japanese’
Key Reading
A. Walthall, Japan: A Cultural, Social, and Political History, Houghton Mifflin Company,
Boston, 2006, pp. 1–7
Primary Source
‘The Power of Dogu: Ceramic Figures from Ancient Japan’, Past Exhibitions, The British
Museum,
https://www.britishmuseum.org/system_pages/holding_area/whats_on/the_power_of_dogu.a
spx
Tutorial Questions
1. What were some of the connections between different parts of East Asia that existed in
prehistoric time?
2. How significant was migration from the Korean peninsula into the Japanese archipelago
in prehistory? What are some of the social and technological changes that resulted from
this migration?
3. Examine the images from the British Museum’s Power of Dogu exhibition. What do you
make of these figures? Drawing on the lecture, discuss the significance of the
development of this style of pottery.
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Week Three
Mythical Origins: ‘Age of the Gods’ (& Goddesses)
Key Reading
H. Fujimura, ‘Kamuy: Gods You Can Argue With’, in Ainu: Spirit of a Northern People, W. W.
Fitzhugh and C. O. Dubreil (eds), Arctic Studies Center, Washington, 1999, pp. 193–97.
Primary Source
C. Yukie, ‘The Song the Owl God Himself Sang. An Ainu Tale’, K. Selden (trans), The AsiaPacific Journal, Vol. 4–5–9, January 24, http://apjjf.org/-Chiri-Yukie/3026/article.html
Tutorial Questions
1. What did you know about the Ainu before taking this class?
2. In the story, the owl god refers to the ‘children of paupers of old now rich’. What does this
phrase suggest to you about the historical consciousness of the Ainu?
3. The story of the owl god is an English translation of a Japanese transliteration of an
original oral narrative in Ainu. What is the significance of this? How does the form and
context in which we tell myths shape our understanding about the present?
4. What do you make of the concept of ‘gods you can argue with’? Do you know of any
similar ideas from other cultural traditions?
5. What differences do you note between the myth of the owl god and the Yamato myths we
discussed in the lecture?
Week Four
State Formation: His- and Her-stories
Key Reading
J. Piggott, ‘Chieftan pairs and corulers: female sovereignty in early Japan’, in H. Tonomuru,
A. Walthall and W. Haruko (eds), Women and Class in Japanese History, University of
Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1999, pp. 7–26.
Primary Source
‘History of the Kingdom of Wei’, in W. T. de Bary, D. Keene, G. Tanabe and P. Varey (eds),
Sources of Japanese Tradition, 2nd edn, vol 1, Columbia University Press, New York, pp. 6–8.
Tutorial Questions
1. What does the extract from ‘History of the Kingdom of Wei’ suggest about gender
relations in the kingdom of Wa (early Japan)?
2. What else can we learn about life in early Japan from the ‘History of the Kingdom of
Wei’?
3. How did rulers legitimise their power in early Japan? What role did magic and sorcery
play in the practice of ancient rulership?
4. Why might modern Japanese historians have ignored the presence of powerful female
rulers in early Japan?
5. Why might problems in the royal succession in early Japan made it easier for royal
women to assume the throne?
6. Why did female rulership come to an end? What traces of it remained in court practices?
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Week Five
Heian: The Classical World in Women’s Writing
Key Reading
R. Bundy, ‘Japan’s First Woman Diarist and the Beginnings of Prose Wrtings By Women in
Japan’. Women’s Studies vol. 19, 1991, pp. 79–97.
Primary Source
The Gossamer Years–Kagero Nikki: The Diary of a Noblewoman of Heian Japan, E.
Seidensticker (trans), Tuttle, Tokyo, 1973, pp. 33–7.
Tutorial Questions
1. Why did prose fiction and diary writing in Heian Japan come to be regarded as women’s
writing?
2. Why were letters and poems so central to courtship among the Heian aristocracy? What
were the possibilities and limitations for communication of letter writing as a form of
communication?
3. Discuss the construction of masculinity and femininity in the extract from the Gossamer
Years. Examine the roles of all of the characters that appear in the extract, including the
writer, her maid and father and her suitor.
Week Six
Warriors, Buddhists and the Nō Theatre
Key Reading
W. R. LeFleur, The Karma of Words: Buddhism and the Literary Arts in Medieval Japan,
University of California Press, Berkeley, 1983, pp. 116–132.
Primary Source
Zeami, ‘Atsumori’, in The Nō Plays of Japan, A. Waley (trans), Charles E. Tuttle, Rutland,
1921, pp. 35–44.
Tutorial Questions
1. In what ways is the Nō theatre Buddhist? Discuss with reference to LeFleur and Zeami’s
‘Atsumori’.
2. Discuss the construction of gender in ‘Atsumori’.
3. The great struggle between the Taira and Minamoto clans is at the centre of the Atsumori
play. What do you think the significance of remembering past battles might have been for
contemporary audiences of Zeami’s play?
Week Seven
Nonhumans and Riverside Dwellers: Pollution and Stigma in
Medieval Japan
Key Reading
Y. Amino, ‘Fear and Loathing’, in Rethinking Japanese History, A. S. Christy (trans),
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, pp. 171–216.
Primary Source
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‘Illustrated Biography of the Holy Man Ippen, scroll 7’, Digital Scroll Paintings Project, Center
for the Art of East Asia, The University of Chicago,
https://scrolls.uchicago.edu/scroll/illustrated-biography-holy-man-ippen-scroll-7
Tutorial Questions
1. Examine this week’s primary source material, a scroll from the Illustrated Biography of
the Holy Man Ippen. Based on your reading of Amino Yoshihiko, can you find images of
nonhumans, beggars and other outcasts. Where are they located in each of the scenes in
which they are depicted? What distinctive clothing, hairstyles and other characteristics do
they have?
2. What is the common theme running through the various outcast groups Amino
discusses? What is the basis on which they are stigmatised?
3. The writer Nakagami Kenji has suggested that while Japan’s discriminated caste and the
imperial family are positioned at opposite ends of the social spectrum, they can also be
located on a horizontal plane? Based on your reading of Amino’s chapter, what do you
think he might have meant by this?
Week Eight
The Sixteenth Century Revolution
Key Reading
N. McMullin, Buddhism and the State in Sixteenth-Century Japan, Princeton University Press,
Princeton, 1984, pp. 236–63.
Primary Source
‘The Assault on Mount Hiei and the Blessing of Nobunaga’, in Sources of Japanese Tradition,
W. T. de Bary, D. Keene, G. Tanabe and P. Varey (eds), 2nd edn, vol 1, Columbia University
Press, New York, pp. 444–7.
Tutorial Questions
1. Why was the suppression of Buddhist power important for the unifiers Oda Nobunaga,
Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu?
2. Why did Nobunaga attack the Buddhist stronghold of Mount Hiei?
3. Who wrote the account of Nobunaga’s assault on Mt Hiei? How does his relationship to
Nobunaga come through in his writing?
4. How did Japanese society change with the suppression of the powerful Buddhist
monasteries?
Week Nine
Urban Popular Culture: The ‘Pleasure’ Quarters?
Key Reading
Y. Teruoka, ‘The Pleasure Quarters and Tokugawa Culture’, in C. A. Gerstle (ed), 18th
Century Japan: Culture & Society, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1989, pp. 2–27.
Primary Source
R. Lane, Masters of the Japanese Print, Thames and Hudson, London, 1962, pp. 220–49.
Tutorial Questions
1. New eras and socio-economic systems tend to bring with them new cultural and artistic
forms. Discuss the changing nature and social role of woodblock printing in the Edo era.
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2. What patterns of gender construction (of femininity and masculinity) can you identify in
the prints of Utamaro and other ukiyo-e artists?
3. Reflect upon questions of power, agency and victimization—both in such texts and in
the everyday world of Tokugawa prostitution.
Week Ten
Riotous Pilgrimages and Peasant Protest
Key Reading
A. Walthall, Peasant Uprisings in Japan, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1991, pp. 1–
34.
Primary Source
‘Unrest in the Countryside: A Song in Memory of a Protest (1786) and Petition to the Lord of
Sendai from the Peasants of the Sanhei (1853)’, in Voices of Early Modern Japan:
Contemporary Accounts of Daily Life during the Age of the Shoguns, C. N. Vaporis (ed),
Westview Press, Boulder, 2012, pp. 149–52.
Tutorial Questions
1. What were some of the causes of peasant protest in Tokugawa Japan?
2. How did the peasants in the documents presented in ‘Unrest in the Countryside’ portray
themselves? What are their claims and what do they suggest about the nature of peasant
protest.
Week Eleven
Dress, Grooming and Social Status in Tokugawa Japan
Key Reading
K. Yamakawa, Women of the Mito Domain: Recollections of Samurai Family Life, K. W.
Nakai (trans), University of Tokyo Press, Tokyo, 39–55.
Primary Source
‘Samurai Dress and Grooming Standards: Prohibitions of 1615 and 1645’, in Voices of Early
Modern Japan: Contemporary Accounts of Daily Life during the Age of the Shoguns, C. N.
Vaporis (ed), Westview Press, Boulder, 2012, pp. 34–37.
Tutorial Questions
1. What role did dress and grooming play in defining social status in Tokugawa Japan?
2. How important do you think dress and grooming are to the construction of gender in this
period?
3. Why might the Tokugawa state have felt the need to issue the prohibitions of 1615 and
1645 included in the primary source?
Week Twelve
Twilight of the Tokugawa World: Towards Restoration
Key Reading
M. Maruyama, Studies in the Intellectual History of Tokugawa Japan, Princeton University
Press, Princeton, 1974, pp. 249–64.
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Primary Source
‘Andō Shōeki’s Ecological Community’, in Sources of Japanese Tradition, T. de Bary, D.
Keene, G. Tanabe and P. Varey (eds), 2nd edn, vol. 2, Columbia University Pres, New York,
pp. 416–424
Tutorial Questions
1. Discuss Andō Shōeki’s critique of Tokugawa society.
2. Why does agriculture play such an important role in Andō’s thought? How does this relate
to the broader Confucian ideology of Tokugawa Japan?
3. What does Maruyama argue is the significance of Andō’s thought?
Week Thirteen
The Meiji Restoration/Revolution
Key Reading
E. H. Norman, ‘The Restoration’, in Origins of the Modern Japanese State: Selected Writings
of E. H. Norman, J. Dower (ed), Pantheon, New York, 1975, pp. 156–92.
Tutorial Questions
1. Was the Western menace the only important factor in creating the conditions for major
change in the Tokugawa era?
2. What motivated the ‘men of high purpose’ in their struggle with the Tokugawa
government?
4. Course Resources
Moodle
Moodle is the core resource for this course. There you will find a copy or link to all of the
set readings an primary source materials. There is also an extensive list of additional
readings and resources for each topic available here for your research essays and wider
reading.
Textbook Details
For an overview of pre-modern Japanese history see, Anne Walthall, Japan: A Cultural,
Social and Political History, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006. Copies of this text will be
available in the High Use Collection (HUC).
TRTRUE
Journals
Ampo: Japan-Asia Quarterly Review
Asian Studies Review
Japan Interpreter
Japan Forum
Japan Quarterly
Japanese Studies
Japanese Journal of Religious Studies
Journal of Japanese Studies
Monumenta Nipponica
Intersections
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East Asia Survey
Critical Asian Studies
Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies
Journal of Asian Studies
Modern Asian Studies
Positions: East Asia Culture Critique
History and Theory
Rethinking History
Websites
The Samurai Archives Japanese History Page, http://www.samurai-archives.com/
Links to additional web resources will be available on the Moodle site.
5.
Learning and Teaching Rationale and Strategies
My aim in this course is to share my love of Japanese history with you and to join with you in
a collective inquiry into the past. The emphasis of my classes is on participation and
discussion. I hope that all of the participants in this course will enjoy the experience of
exploring Japanese history.
Lectures and tutorials form the basis of the course in conjunction with students’ own reading
of the assigned texts. The two hour lecture will be broken into two parts. In most weeks, the
first part of the lecture will give you a general overview of the topic while in the second part I
will focus on a specific incident or case study that will then form the basis of the subsequent
tutorial. Students are encouraged to ask questions and make comments during lectures. I will
use a variety of cultural materials including images, film, music and literature to bring the
Japanese past alive.
Each week’s tutorial will cover the same topic as the lecture but with a particular focus on the
assigned reading and primary source material. Students MUST read the assigned reading
for each week BEFORE coming to the tutorial in order to participate effectively in
class discussions. A number of tutorial questions are included in this Course Outline.
These questions will serve as a launching pad for class discussions. In many of the tutorial
classes we will also undertake in-class exercises based on the primary source material for
that week. This will help students to develop their skills in reading primary source materials
and using them as the basis for making arguments. These skills will, in turn, assist students
in writing the major research essay.
6. Course Assessment
Assessment
Task
Length
Weight
Learning
Outcomes
Assessed
Facilitation
N/A
10%
Especially 1
&3
Tutorial
Responses (3
@ 5% each)
3 x 200
words
15%
Especially 1
&3
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Due Date
Submitted in
Moodle?
(Yes/ No)
N/A
Friday
Weeks 5, 8
and 12 by
Yes
ARTS 2908 Course Outline
4:00pm
Research
Proposal and
Bibliography
Research
Essay
500 words
2000 words
30%
45%
All
Friday 24
March by
4:00pm
(Week 4)
Yes
All
Friday 12
May by
4:00pm
(Week 10)
Yes
Please Note: If students attend less than 80% of their classes they may be refused final
assessment. See “Attendance and Absence” for details of attendance requirements.
Assessment Details
Tutorial Facilitation (10%)
You will be assessed on the basis of your preparation for and participation in the tutorial
classes. I expect students to contribute to class discussions on a regular basis and to
demonstrate a familiarity with the readings and lecture contents. In some tutorial classes we
will break up into small groups to undertake document analysis and discussion. Your
contribution to these groups will also form part of the assessment.
Tutorial Reflections (3 @ 5% each)
In weeks 5, 8 and 12 you will need to submit a 200 word reflection addressing one of the
tutorial questions from that week. These responses must be completed and submitted online
via Moodle. You will need to reference the key reading and primary source document from
that week in order to complete this assessment. If these two references are missing then
a mark of zero will be recorded for this task. Additional references are not required.
Research Proposal (30%)
To help you develop your research skills, you are first expected to submit a tentative title,
essay plan and bibliography (on the Thursday of Week 4). The research essay is worth a
considerable part of your overall mark. Doing a proposal early in the course will encourage
you to begin researching it well in advance of the due date (Friday of Week 10). Your
submission of a written plan will enable your lecturer to give you written feedback on the
feasibility of the research project of your choice in terms of the availability of sources,
workable approaches etcetera. Of course, submitting a plan that makes sense will require
that you read a little in advance on the topic of your choice. Note that while extensive reading
lists are available for each topic on Moodle, I give extra marks to students who have done
good library searches. I expect to see evidence of reflection in the selection of sources and
the use of internet sources of doubtful veracity will be heavily penalised.
The research plan should be 500 words in length (up to about two pages of double-spaced
text). You may use point-form for all or part of the plan. You may set your own research
essay question, or choose one from the weekly tutorial guide or the research essay ideas
given on Moodle. Note, however, that it is up to you to justify why your chosen question is
worthy of an extended research essay. Not all of the tutorial questions will necessarily be
suitable for a full research essay. Please contact the lecturer if you are unsure.
The proposal should include
1. a tentative title and general topic (e.g. peasant protest)
2. state the issue or question you will address (e.g. How political and/or religious was
Tokugawa peasant protest?)
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3. comment on the historiographical significance of the topic/issue (e.g. Japan had a
significant tradition of peasant protest yet this was long ignored in English sources
because ...)
4. ideally, also refer to available sources and their approach
5. append a tentative bibliography of sources compiled from the weekly tutorial guide, the
Moodle resources and your own library searches
6. correct referencing for sources mentioned in points 4 and 5
Research Essay (45%)
The research essay is the major assessment for this subject and is due at the end of Week
10. The essay must refer to a range of primary and secondary sources and be referenced
correctly using either the Harvard style or the Footnote/Bibliography style detailed on the
UNSW Academic Study Skills website (https://student.unsw.edu.au/referencing). This essay
is expected to be a critical argument. It must show evidence of:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
extensive research
a good critical awareness of the issue at hand
a clear, structured argument
care and attention to detail in the written expression
careful proofreading
Your reading for this essay must include not only factual material but theoretical and
historiographic material that can give context to the specific question you choose to address.
Grades
All results are reviewed at the end of each semester and may be adjusted to ensure
equitable marking across the School.
The proportion of marks lying in each grading range is determined not by any formula or
quota system, but by the way that students respond to assessment tasks and how well they
meet the learning outcomes of the course. Nevertheless, since higher grades imply
performance that is well above average, the number of distinctions and high distinctions
awarded in a typical course is relatively small. At the other extreme, on average 6.1% of
students do not meet minimum standards and a little more (8.6%) in first year courses. For
more information on the grading categories see:
https://my.unsw.edu.au/student/academiclife/assessment/GuideToUNSWGrades.html
Submission of Assessment Tasks
Assignments must be submitted electronically through Moodle
(http://moodle.telt.unsw.edu.au/). You must use your zID login to submit your assignments in
Moodle.
Refer to the section “Course Assessment” for details of assessment tasks that are to be
submitted via Moodle.
** Please note the deadline to submit an assignment electronically is 4:00 pm on the
due date of the assignment.
When you submit your assignment electronically, you agree that:
I have followed the Student Code of Conduct. I certify that I have read and understand the
University requirements in respect of student academic misconduct outlined in the Student
Code of Conduct and the Student Misconduct Procedures. I declare that this assessment
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item is my own work, except where acknowledged, and has not been submitted for academic
credit previously in whole or in part.
I acknowledge that the assessor of this item may, for assessment purposes:


provide a copy to another staff member of the University
communicate a copy of this assessment item to a plagiarism checking service (such
as Turnitin) which may retain a copy of the assessment item on its database for the
purpose of future plagiarism checking.
You are required to put your name (as it appears in University records) and UNSW
Student ID on every page of your assignments.
If you encounter a problem when attempting to submit your assignment through
Moodle/Turnitin, please telephone External Support on 9385 3331 or email them on
[email protected]. Support hours are 8:00am – 10:00pm on weekdays and
9:00am – 5:00pm on weekends (365 days a year).
If you are unable to submit your assignment due to a fault with Turnitin you may apply for an
extension, but you must retain your ticket number from External Support (along with any
other relevant documents) to include as evidence to support your extension application. If
you email External Support you will automatically receive a ticket number, but if you
telephone you will need to specifically ask for one. Turnitin also provides updates on its
system status on Twitter.
For information on how to submit assignments online via Moodle:
https://student.unsw.edu.au/how-submit-assignment-moodle
Late Submission of Assignments
Students are responsible for the submission of assessment tasks by the required dates and
times. Depending of the extent of delay in the submission of an assessment task past the
due date and time, one of the following late penalties will apply unless Special Consideration
or a blanket extension due to a technical outage is granted. For the purpose of late penalty
calculation, a ‘day’ is deemed to be each 24-hour period (or part thereof) past the stipulated
deadline for submission.

Work submitted less than 10 days after the stipulated deadline is subject to a
deduction of 5% of the total awardable mark from the mark that would have been
achieved if not for the penalty for every day past the stipulated deadline for
submission. That is, a student who submits an assignment with a stipulated
deadline of 4:00pm on 13 May 2016 at 4:10pm on 14 May 2016 will incur a
deduction of 10%.
Task with a non-percentage mark
If the task is marked out of 25, then late submission will attract a penalty of a deduction of 1.25
from the mark awarded to the student for every 24-hour period (or part thereof) past the stipulated
deadline.
Example: A student submits an essay 48 hours and 10 minutes after the stipulated deadline. The
total possible mark for the essay is 25. The essay receives a mark of 17. The student’s mark is
therefore 17 – [25 (0.05 x 3)] = 13.25.
Task with a percentage mark
If the task is marked out of 100%, then late submission will attract a penalty of a deduction of 5%
from the mark awarded to the student for every 24-hour period (or part thereof) past the stipulated
deadline.
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Example: A student submits an essay 48 hours and 10 minutes after the stipulated deadline. The
essay is marked out of 100%. The essay receives a mark of 68. The student’s mark is therefore 68
– 15 = 53

Work submitted 10 to 19 days after the stipulated deadline will be assessed and
feedback provided but a mark of zero will be recorded. If the work would have
received a pass mark but for the lateness and the work is a compulsory course
component (hurdle requirement), a student will be deemed to have met that
requirement;

Work submitted 20 or more days after the stipulated deadline will not be
accepted for assessment and will receive no feedback, mark or grade. If the
assessment task is a compulsory component of the course a student will receive
an Unsatisfactory Fail (UF) grade as a result of unsatisfactory performance in
essential component of the course.
7. Attendance and Absence
The UNSW Policy on Class Attendance and Absence can be viewed at:
https://student.unsw.edu.au/attendance
The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences guidelines on attendance and absence can be
viewed at:
https://www.arts.unsw.edu.au/current-students/academic-information/protocols-guidelines/
From time to time, the Course Authority may vary the attendance requirements of a course. It
is the students’ responsibility to ensure that they are familiar with the specific attendance
requirements stipulated in the course outline for each course in which they are enrolled.
Students are expected to be regular and punctual in attendance at all classes in the courses
in which they are enrolled. Students who seek to be excused from attendance or for absence
must apply to the Course Authority in writing. In such situations, the following rules relating to
attendances and absences apply.
In this course, students must attend at least 80% of lectures (10 out of 12 lectures).
Students must attend at least 80% of tutorials (10 out of 12 tutorials).
A student who attends less than eighty per cent of the classes within a course may be
refused final assessment. The final assessment in this course is identified under “Course
Assessment”.
In the case of illness or of absence for some other unavoidable cause students may be
excused for non-attendance at classes for a period of not more than one month (i.e., 33%)
or, on the recommendation of the Dean of the appropriate faculty, for a longer period.
Explanations of absences from classes or requests for permission to be absent from
forthcoming classes should be addressed to the Course Authority in writing and, where
applicable, should be accompanied by appropriate documentation (e.g. medical certificate).
After submitting appropriate supporting documentation to the Course Authority to explain
his/her absence, a student may be required to undertake supplementary class(es) or task(s)
as prescribed by the Course Authority. If examinations or other forms of assessment have
been missed, then the student should apply for Special Consideration.
Students who falsify their attendance or falsify attendance on behalf of another
student will be dealt with under the Student Misconduct Policy.
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ARTS 2908 Course Outline
8. Special Consideration for Illness or Misadventure
Students can apply for Special Consideration if illness or misadventure interferes with their
assessment performance or attendance.
Applications are accepted in the following circumstances only:

Where academic work has been hampered to a substantial degree by illness or other
cause. Except in unusual circumstances, a problem involving only 3 consecutive days
or a total of 5 days within the teaching period of a semester is not considered
sufficient grounds for an application.

The circumstances must be unexpected and beyond your control. Students are
expected to give priority to their university study commitments, and any absence must
clearly be for circumstances beyond your control. Work commitments are not
normally considered a justification.

An absence from an assessment activity held within class contact hours or from an
examination must be supported by a medical certificate or other document that clearly
indicates that you were unable to be present. A student absent from an examination,
or who attends an examination and wants to request special consideration, is
normally required to provide a medical certificate dated the same day as the
examination.

An application for Special Consideration must be provided within 3 working days of
the assessment to which it refers. In exceptional circumstances an application may
be accepted outside the 3-day limit.
Students cannot claim consideration for conditions or circumstances that are the
consequences of their own actions or inactions.
Applications are normally not considered if:

The condition or event is not related to performance or is considered to be not serious

More than 3 days have elapsed since the assessment for which consideration is
sought

Any key information is missing

Supporting documentation does not meet requirements

The assessment task is worth less than 20% of the total course assessment, unless
the student can provide a medical certificate that covers three consecutive days.
Applications for Special Consideration must be made via Online Services in myUNSW. Log
into myUNSW and go to My Student Profile tab > My Student Services channel > Online
Services > Special Consideration.
Applications on the grounds of illness must be filled in by a medical practitioner. Further
information is available at: https://student.unsw.edu.au/guide
If a student is granted an extension under Special Consideration, failure to meet the
stipulated deadline will result in a penalty. The penalty will be invoked one minute past the
approved extension time. See section “Late Submission of Assignments” for penalties of late
submission.
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ARTS 2908 Course Outline
9. Class Clash
Students who are enrolled in an Arts and Social Sciences program (single or dual) and have
an unavoidable timetable clash can apply for permissible timetable clash by completing an
online application form. The online form can be found at:
https://www.arts.unsw.edu.au/ttclash/index.php
Students must meet the rules and conditions in order to apply for permissible clash. The
rules and conditions can be accessed online in full at:
https://www.arts.unsw.edu.au/media/FASSFile/Permissible_Clash_Rules.pdf
Students who are enrolled in a non-Arts and Social Sciences program must seek advice from
their home faculty on permissible clash approval.
10.
Academic Honesty and Plagiarism
Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s thoughts or work as your own. It can take many
forms, from not having appropriate academic referencing to deliberate cheating.
In many cases plagiarism is the result of inexperience about academic conventions. The
University has resources and information to assist you to avoid plagiarism.
The Learning Centre assists students with understanding academic integrity and how to not
plagiarise. Information is available on their website: https://student.unsw.edu.au/plagiarism/.
They also hold workshops and can help students one-on-one.
If plagiarism is found in your work when you are in first year, your lecturer will offer you
assistance to improve your academic skills. They may ask you to look at some online
resources, attend the Learning Centre, or sometimes resubmit your work with the problem
fixed. However, more serious instances in first year, such as stealing another student’s work
or paying someone to do your work, may be investigated under the Student Misconduct
Procedures.
Repeated plagiarism (even in first year), plagiarism after first year, or serious instances, may
also be investigated under the Student Misconduct Procedures. The penalties under the
procedures can include a reduction in marks, failing a course or for the most serious matters
(like plagiarism in an Honours thesis) or even suspension from the university. The Student
Misconduct Procedures are available here:
http://www.gs.unsw.edu.au/policy/documents/studentmisconductprocedures.pdf
11.
Course Evaluation and Development
Courses are periodically reviewed and students’ feedback is used to improve them.
Feedback is gathered from students using myExperience. It is encouraged students
complete their surveys by accessing the personalised web link via the Moodle course site.
12.
Student Support
The Learning Centre is available for individual consultation and workshops on academic
skills. Find out more by visiting the Centre’s website at:
http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au
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ARTS 2908 Course Outline
13. Grievances
and Review of Assessment Results
13.1 Grievances
All students should be treated fairly in the course of their studies at UNSW. Students who
feel they have not been dealt with fairly should, in the first instance, attempt to resolve any
issues with their tutor or course convenor.
If such an approach fails to resolve the matter, the School of Humanities and Languages has
an academic member of staff who acts as a Grievance Officer for the School. This staff
member is identified on the notice board in the School of Humanities and Languages. Further
information about UNSW grievance procedures is available at:
https://student.unsw.edu.au/guide
13.2 Review of Assessment Results
There is no automatic right to have an assessment reviewed, the Faculty reserves the right
to make such judgements.
In the first instance a student should seek an informal clarification, this should normally be
done within two working days of the return of the assessed work.
If the student is not satisfied with the informal process, they should complete the UNSW
Review of Results Application form, which is available at: https://student.unsw.edu.au/results.
An application must be lodged within 15 working days of receiving the result of the
assessment task.
Further information on review of student work in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences can
be viewed at: https://www.arts.unsw.edu.au/current-students/academicinformation/Protocols-Guidelines/
14.
Other Information
myUNSW
myUNSW is the online access point for UNSW services and information, integrating online
services for applicants, commencing and current students and UNSW staff. To visit
myUNSW please visit either of the below links:
https://my.unsw.edu.au
OHS
UNSW's Occupational Health and Safety Policy requires each person to work safely and
responsibly, in order to avoid personal injury and to protect the safety of others. For all
matters relating to Occupational Health, Safety and environment, see
http://www.ohs.unsw.edu.au/
Student Equity and Disabilities Unit
Students who have a disability that requires some adjustment in their learning and teaching
environment are encouraged to discuss their study needs with the course convener prior to
or at the commencement of the course, or with the Student Equity Officers (Disability) in the
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ARTS 2908 Course Outline
Student Equity and Disabilities Unit (9385 4734). Information for students with disabilities is
available at: https://student.unsw.edu.au/disability
Issues that can be discussed may include access to materials, signers or note-takers, the
provision of services and additional examination and assessment arrangements. Early
notification is essential to enable any necessary adjustments to be made.
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CRICOS Provider Code 00098G