Humanities
Common Unit
Subject Description
Students begin this course with Geography. They study landscapes and their distinctive landform features, focusing on geomorphic and gradational processes as well as the visual, cultural and spiritual value of landscapes. A fieldwork report is completed and students learn about human causes of land degradation, ways of protecting significant landscapes and the causes, impacts and responses to geomorphological hazards, such as volcanoes and earthquakes. Mountain and coastal landscapes are the primary areas of study in this unit.
Students then move to a study of the causes and consequences of urbanisation. Issues associated with urbanisation, such as urban concentration, urban settlement patterns, internal migration and the planning and management of an urban future are studied at a variety of scales including, local, regional and global.
In Semester 2, students focus on the changes that occurred after the collapse of the Roman Empire, beginning with a focus on the Vikings and their influence on surrounding societies. Students will develop their source analysis skills as they investigate Viking culture and expansion. They then move to a study of Shogunate Japan, where students continue to use their source analysis skills while exploring the roles of samurai and feudalism. To conclude the course, students will work in groups to research a chosen aspect of the Middle Ages, such as the Black Death or crime and punishment, and present their findings through a creative video project.
