Bachelor of Arts

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This major embraces the study of antiquity through ancient language, literature, philosophy, art, architecture, treasure, tombs, and other intellectual and material culture. It gives students insight into and understanding of the world today by exploring how ancient cultures have contributed to the development of the modern world. Principal areas of specialisation include: archaeology, religious, political and social life in ancient societies, classical literature and mythology, ancient ethnicity, gender and sexuality in the ancient world, Byzantine worlds, and ceramic analysis.

Anthropology (minor only)

Anthropology is the study of the many societies and cultures of the world and their complex interaction. Anthropology’s global comparative scope is complemented by a local focus; its unique perspective is made possible by intensive participation in the daily life and language of the communities studied. Contemporary social anthropology asks broad and detailed questions about what it means to be human in a globalising world, as well as providing a critical vantage point from which to reflect on ourselves and others. It draws on the observations of anthropology and other social sciences.

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Anthropology and Social Theory

School of Philosophy, Anthropology and Social Inquiry

This major combines the strengths of two related disciplines. Anthropology is the study of communities, people and languages, and the methods and through processes related to the study and research of societies. Social Theory focusses on contemporary critical theories, psychoanalysis, identities, social and political relations, critical theories, science, and technologies

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Arabic Studies

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Arabic is spoken by more than 300 million people around the world. The significant increase in trade and diplomatic exchanges between Australia and the Arabic-speaking world makes it important for students wishing to pursue careers in the global arena to acquire Arabic language skills and to better understand these societies and cultures. The acquisition of Arabic language is also highly desirable for developing a deeper cultural understanding of Islamic society. Melbourne offers Arabic language classes from beginners to advanced level.

Art History

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The Art History program is the premier provider of art historical scholarship in Australia. Thematic and interdisciplinary subjects deal with the theories of art history, architecture, garden design, art and the market, prints, and other issues. Areas of specialisation include Renaissance, Baroque, eighteenth- and nineteenth-century European art, modernism and postmodernism, Indigenous Australian art, and international art.

Asian Studies

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Knowledge about Asia is a crucial national asset at a time of rapid globalisation and social change. The Asian Studies program at the University of Melbourne is one of the largest in Australia and comprises a comprehensive range of subjects in the intellectual, cultural, political and religious traditions of Asia, with a focus on China, Indonesia, Japan and South-east Asia. Asian Studies subjects are taught in English and do not require language prerequisites. Study abroad programs are available and Asialink offers a stimulating program of events and activities with an Asian focus.

Australian Indigenous Studies

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The Australian Indigenous Studies program is a cross-faculty, interdisciplinary program that offers students an opportunity to study the history and cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Subjects offered reflect the rich diversity of the field of Australian Indigenous studies. Areas of specialisation include Indigenous arts and literature; Indigenous land and resource issues; native title; Indigenous issues in anthropology, geography and environmental studies; Indigenous Australian political issues; Indigenous health; Indigenous history; identity and resistance; and Australian Indigenous languages and linguistic issues.

Australian Studies

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The Australian Centre coordinates the University of Melbourne’s vibrant interdisciplinary program in Australian Studies and provides an examination of contemporary Australian culture, society and institutions in their global context. Some subjects incorporate field trips and encourage students to explore Australian life through interactive learning and an exchange of ideas.Principal areas of focus include: memory, lifenarrative and belonging; migration, ethnicity and marginality; national identity, community and place; histories of poverty and welfare; Arts and creative production; and Indigenous and non-Indigenous relations.

Chinese Studies (minor only), Chinese Language

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Chinese is spoken in some form by almost a quarter of the world’s population. Chinesespeaking societies are one of the most significant strands in the contemporary global economic, political and cultural system. The Chinese written language has been used by millions of people over several thousand years, forming a huge repository of human knowledge that covers areas from history to literature, philosophy, religion, the sciences and art. The Chinese language major offers students the opportunity to study all the language skills – listening, speaking, reading and writing – as well as developing a deeper cultural understanding of China.

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Cinema and Cultural Studies

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Cinema and Cultural Studies embraces a broad field including studies of popular media and screen culture; Australian, Hollywood and art house cinema; everyday life, television and entertainment; consumption; computer games; the Internet; and global cultures. The major offers subjects which are concerned with questions of media histories and narrative structures, film and screen aesthetics, identity and gender, sexuality and spectatorship, and class and ideology. Students encounter a variety of screen media, net-based cultures and popular cultures in order to consider their histories, their cultural significance, and theories that help make sense of how they relate to power, commerce and lived culture today. Through innovative teaching, students in Cinema and Cultural Studies encounter new ways of interpreting and analysing contemporary media and culture. Academic staff in the discipline are specialists in screen cultures and media histories; entertainment cultures; gender and sexuality; postcolonialism, European cinemas, cultural policy and media technologies.

Classics

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The Classics major, offered through the Centre for Classics and Archaeology, presents a streamlined progression from beginners through to advanced Latin (or intermediate through to advanced for students who have done VCE Latin) and beginners, intermediate and advanced Ancient Greek.

Creative Writing

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This major offers students the opportunity to explore their creative potential and to extend their work to avant-garde, cross-genre and experimental forms of writing. Students are encouraged to critcally test the creative potential and the influence of contemporary theoretical and philosophical schools of thought in all forms of writing. Areas of specialisation include fiction, poetry, poetics, non-fiction, performance and writing for theatre and autobiography.

Criminology

School of Political and Social Sciences

Criminology draws knowledge and perspectives from a range of disciplines such as law, sociology, psychology, psychiatry and history. Initially, criminology had a strong practical focus: its role was to advise governments on issues such as policing, the management of prisons, sentencing and offender treatment. Concern with policy and practice remains, but criminologists now work in a much wider range of fields including crime prevention, corporate and white-collar crime, business regulation, drug policy and consumer and environmental protection. Criminology doesn’t take crime and criminal law for granted. As an academic discipline it continually questions why different societies define and respond to crime in different ways, and why approaches to punishment and other forms of social control have varied so much from era to era. Increasingly criminologists also study the ways cultures depict crime: whether in newspapers, television and other mass media or in films, novels and art.

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Development Studies (minor only)

School of Philosophy, Anthropology and Social Inquiry

Development Studies is an interdisciplinary program that addresses major issues connected with social, political and environmental changes in developing countries. It examines how these changes impact on the livelihoods and quality of life of both urban and rural populations. Students learn about a range of issues, including food and environmental security, debt and poverty, gender relations, culture and human rights, and globalisation and national sovereignty. Continual growth in the development sector, in organisations such as international aid agencies, nongovernment organisations, and consulting companies, ensures this program is relevant and valuable.

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Economics

Faculty of Commerce

Studies in Economics may be taken as a major of minor in an Arts degree. Students need to obtain a minimum study score of 25 in VCE Mathematical Methods or equivalent to enrol in economics subjects, which are taught by the Faculty of Commerce. Some economics subjects will be studied within the breadth component of the Bachelor of Arts.

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English

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English is the study of imaginative writing and dramatic performance. It focuses on their forms and traditions, and on the myriad ways they engage with the everyday world. The program offers subjects in a wide range of fields, from the Medieval to Romanticism, Modernism, Postmodernism, and beyond. This includes English, Australian, American and postcolonial writing and theatre; European, Classical, Japanese and Australian drama; and literary, cultural and performance theory. English at Melbourne University is recognised nationally and internationally for its innovative teaching, scholarship and research.

In first year, students will be introduced to the wider dimensions of studying English with more specialised subjects at second and third year. The program also offers honours and postgraduate studies including Masters and PhD.

English Language Studies (minor only)

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English Language Studies enhance effective use of the most widely used language in the world effectively. Students develop an understanding of its history, its subtle and intricate grammar, and the status of its many social and geographical varieties.

Environmental Studies (minor only)

Melbourne School of Land and Environment

This versatile program enables students to gain practical and relevant experience in Environmental Studies through laboratory work, group projects and field trips, including opportunities for fieldwork research in China. Environmental Studies combines knowledge of natural environments with an understanding of how human societies work. It analyses environmental management, biogeography and sustainability.

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European Studies (minor only)

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European Studies is a cross-disciplinary program that looks at European culture, society and languages. Students complete core European Studies subjects and can also choose to take subjects from areas such as history, literary studies, languages, philosophy, politics and art history.

French

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The French studies program combines language learning and cultural awareness in a comprehensive range of subjects. It accommodates entry at all language levels, from beginners to advanced. Cultural subjects include courses on food and wine, cinema, theatre, immigration and identity, and several literary options. As one of the major languages and cultural influences in the European Union and the United Nations, French provides access to a whole network of international communications. French is the language of many countries and cultures, and through French Studies at the University of Melbourne, a vast body of literary, historical and scientific knowledge will be opened to students.

Gender Studies (minor only)

School of Philosophical and Social Inquiry

Gender Studies is an interdisciplinary area of study that asks simple questions about complex fields. How do we know we are male or female? What are sexuality, femininity and masculinity? Is the nation heterosexual? How are practices and institutions gendered (sport, beauty, work, shopping, war, and politics)? Has globalisation created new contests around gender, sexuality, the family, the nation? Subjects also address issues of gender, inequality, race and class, and the lives and cultural contexts of people who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered. These issues are addressed within a global and cross-cultural context.

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Geography

Melbourne School of Land and Environment

Geography is the study of landscape, people, space, place and environment. It recognises the great differences in societies and environments across the world, and also the links between them. Geography tackles wide-ranging problems across various scales, and contributes to the emergence of just societies and sustainable environmental practices. Geography integrates both physical science and social science knowledge to provide students with the skills and conceptual frameworks needed to understand the processes and power relations that shape the world around us. Geography is a fieldbased discipline, and the major enables students to gain practical and relevant research experience.

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German

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German is the study of the language and cultures of German-speaking countries, one of the world’s economically and culturally most important areas, providing students with an excellent foundation for linguistic and cultural communication with the largest group of native speakers in the European Union. German also offers a wide range of extracurricular events for students, such as the theatre group ‘The Germanic Players’, and an extensive exchange program to German-speaking countries.

Hebrew

School of Languages and LInguistics

Hebrew language is taught from beginners to advanced level, alongside Jewish culture, literature and society. Students explore topics that draw on extensive archival resources available in Australia and internationally.

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History

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This History curriculum is an engaging and dynamic program offering students the opportunity to extend their knowledge and understanding of historical interests in a range of diverse contexts, as well as to develop their capacity to analyse, think critically and communicate effectively. The School of Historical Studies offers both flexibitiy and focus, covering a diversity of times, places and themes, from Ancient Rome to modern Indonesia, which reflect the latest developments in historical research and vocational practice.

History and Philosophy of Science

School of Philosophy, Anthropology and Social Inquiry

From global warming to gene technologies, from cyber-relationships to religion and politics, science and technology mediate change. This area explores the humanities, history and science of medicine, the philosophy of science, and the social studies of science and technology, while also relating to social theory and computer applications.

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Indonesian

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Islamic Studies

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Islam is one of the fastest growing religions in the world. It is embraced by approximately one-fifth of the world’s population. The Islamic studies program provides students with the opportunity to study the development of Islamic thought and Muslim societies from a broad multidisciplinary perspective. Islamic studies addresses the issues relevant to the development of Islam as a religion and civilisation from its origins to the present. It draws on broad multidisciplinary perspectives provided by subjects taught from across the University.

Italian

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Italian is a language that has special significance in Australia through the many people who settled here from Italy, and more generally because of the impact of Italian on the world of music, theatre, art, and literature. Italian can be studied from beginners to advanced levels and the course encourages students to discover Italy’s contribution to global culture.

Japanese

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The study of Japanese language and culture gives the individual insight into a complex and diverse culture, and also provides important contrasts when considering various nations and their roles in the Asia Pacific region. Due to its geographic isolation, Japan is in some ways unrelated to its Asian neighbours; yet, in other areas, such as religion and philosophy, Japan is firmly entrenched within the Asian community. An understanding of Japanese language and culture contributes to a wider understanding of these complex and fascinating cultural, historical, political and economic flows in Asia.

Jewish Studies

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The Jewish studies program offers an unparalleled opportunity to study the development of Jewish civilization from its origins to the contemporary world. Jewish studies investigates the history, literature, archaeology, philosophy, ethnography and social theory of Jewish society and culture. Students are encouraged to engage in contemporary debates about ethnicity and identity, assimilation, exile and Diaspora cultures. Students benefit from the interdisciplinary breadth and the opportunity to combine this with options in Hebrew language study.

Linguistics and Applied Linguistics

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Linguistics is the study of language in all its aspects including its structure, its diversity, how it changes and evolves, how people learn and make use of it to communicate, and how it is implicated in relations of power. It provides students with an insight into the most fundamental of all human faculties, develops strong analytical skills and a foundation for work in many diverse areas.

Media and Communications

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Media and Communications is concerned with interpretative, theoretical and historical approaches to the media and its communication technologies, in close combination with the development of practical communication skills. An exciting range of subjects enables students to develop a comprehensive overview of the media’s places in today’s society, economy and culture, with an emphasis on the Asia-Pacific region. Students also learn to think across media, and to achieve an understanding of the effects and impact of new communication technologies on emerging global media environment.

In 2010 students can also apply for the Bachelor of Arts (Media and Communications).

Philosophy

School of Philosophy, Anthropology and Social Inquiry

Philosophy offers students an opportunity to engage with important issues, sharpen their thinking skills and expressing complex ideas, and to learn traditions of thought from different times and places. These skills are not only useful in the workplace – they are a part of understanding our world and our place in it.

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Politics and International Studies

School of Social and Political Sciences

Politics and International Studies enables students to gain an understanding of the major political issues, institutions, ideas and actors that dominate the local, national and international agenda.

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Psychology

School of Behavioural Sciences

Psychology is the scientific study of the human mind and behaviour, how these are shaped by development, social relationships and culture, and how personal and social problems can be remedied. With direct applications to everyday life, Psychology offers students a thorough understanding of mind, brain and behaviour, research skills, and a pathway into professional practice as a psychologist.

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Russian

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Russian provides a comprehensive study in Russian language through engaging with not only the language itself, but with Russian literature, film and culture, from beginners to advanced levels. It provides students with deep knowledge of one of the world’s most important languages and a fresh and different perspective on global issues.

Social Theory (minor only)

School of Philosophy, Anthropology and Social Inquiry

Social Theory analyses the ways in which social life is organised and, sometimes, transformed. It questions the everyday assumptions which shape our lives and reflects in a systematic manner on such issues as the division of power, the nature of identity, forms of agency and rationality and our experiences as pre-modern, modern or postmodern subjects. Social Theory critically assesses the adequacy of the descriptions, analyses and critiques which are already prevalent in the social science literature and responds, at the level of theory, to the inadequacies it uncovers. In this manner it serves as a field of critical inquiry which is interdisciplinary in character and which addresses the various social and human sciences.

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Sociology

School of Social and Political Sciences

Sociology engages with central dimensions of life in contemporary societies, from transformations in the life course, contemporary families, gender relations, ethnic, racial and sexual identity, and the body, through to media, new technologies, and globalisation. It engages with emerging patterns of social inequality and new forms of social problems, and the ways in which people and societies confront these new challenges. Sociology also explores emerging questions of action and identity – from new social movements to subcultures to forms of action evident in contemporary social transformations.

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Spanish

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Students who study Spanish at the University of Melbourne learn to speak the language of more than 25 countries and 350 million people. Students learn about the culture and histories of the largest Spanish-speaking nations and how the language has influenced cultures around the world. By learning such a popular and influential language, students create a wide range of new career opportunities around the world. Student exchange opportunities in Spanish speaking countries are available.

Swedish