Unit Overview
- Description
The blue humanities is an emerging field, representing forms of literary and cultural explorations of oceans and islands. This unit applies a multidisciplinary focus including history, literature and social sciences to bodies of water. In an era of climate change and unprecedented pressure on our marine environment, humanities disciplines can provide a practical way to think about and care for oceanic ecologies.
- Credit
- 6 points
- Offering
Availability Location Mode First year of offer Not available in 2026 Albany Flexible - Details for undergraduate courses
- Level 2 elective
- Outcomes
Students are able to (1) outline the interdisciplinary aims of blue humanities; (2) describe the potential contribution of the field to the practice and theory of sustainability; (3) explain key cultural themes pertaining to the sea and islands; (4) describe the historical relationships and interactions humans have had with the sea; and (5) apply creative skills to solving problems relating to oceanic environments.
- Assessment
Indicative assessments in this unit are as follows: (1) workshop participation; (2) field journal; and (3) research project. Further information is available in the unit outline.
Student may be offered supplementary assessment in this unit if they meet the eligibility criteria.
- Unit Coordinator(s)
- Dr Sarah Drummond
- Unit rules
- Prerequisites
- any one HIST unit and one ENGL unitor any one BIOL unit
or prior approval from the unit coordinator - Advisable prior study
- It is recommended that students take HIST1901 Environmental History
and ENGL1501 Reading Creatively/Writing Creatively before taking this unit.
Additional advisable study: BIOL1130 Frontiers in Biology
or HUMA2001 Environmental Humanities
or HUMA2002 Thinking Ecologically
- Incidental fees
- Incidental student fees and charges are costs incurred by students as part of their studies at UWA that are in addition to their tuition fees (further information is available "
Participation in this unit will incur the following incidental fee(s):Field trip (estimated cost - 300.00). - Contact hours
- 5 weeks: W1- pre-reading
W2- 5 x 1h lectures & 4 x 2.5h workshops
W3: field trip to Albany
W4&5: reading & assessment - Note
- There is an Albany field trip component to this unit (5 nights from 15th November) with an incidental fee of $300 to cover food and accommodation expenses.
This unit will take place over five weeks:
Week One: mandatory pre-reading
Week Two: 5 x 1h lectures & 4 x 2.5h workshops
Week Three: field trip to Albany (five nights)
Weeks Four & Five: completing assessments
- The availability of units in Semester 1, 2, etc. was correct at the time of publication but may be subject to change.
- All students are responsible for identifying when they need assistance to improve their academic learning, research, English language and numeracy skills; seeking out the services and resources available to help them; and applying what they learn. Students are encouraged to register for free online support through GETSmart; to help themselves to the extensive range of resources on UWA's STUDYSmarter website; and to participate in WRITESmart and (ma+hs)Smart drop-ins and workshops.
- Visit the Essential Textbooks website to see if any textbooks are required for this Unit. The website is updated regularly so content may change. Students are recommended to purchase Essential Textbooks, but a limited number of copies of all Essential Textbooks are held in the Library in print, and as an ebook where possible. Recommended readings for the unit can be accessed in Unit Readings directly through the Learning Management System (LMS).
- Contact hours provide an indication of the type and extent of in-class activities this unit may contain. The total amount of student work (including contact hours, assessment time, and self-study) will approximate 150 hours per 6 credit points.
Face to face
Predominantly face-to-face. On campus attendance required to complete this unit. May have accompanying resources online.
Online flexible
100% Online Unit. NO campus face-to-face attendance is required to complete this unit. All study requirements are online only. Unit is asynchronous delivery, with NO requirement for students to participate online at specific times.
Online timetabled
100% Online Unit. NO campus face-to-face attendance is required to complete this unit. All study requirements are online only. Unit includes some synchronous components, with a requirement for students to participate online at specific times.
Online Restricted
Not available for self-enrolment. Students access this mode by contacting their student office through AskUWA. 100% Online Unit.
NO campus face-to-face attendance. All study and assessment requirements are online only. Unit includes some timetabled activities, with a requirement for students to participate online at specific times. In exceptional cases (noted in the Handbook) students may be required to participate in face-to-face laboratory classes when a return to UWA’s Crawley campus becomes possible in order to be awarded a final grade.
External
No attendance or regular contact is required, and all study requirements are completed either via correspondence and/or online submission.
Off-campus
Regular attendance is not required, but student attends the institution face to face on an agreed schedule for purposes of supervision and/or instruction.
Multi-mode
Multiple modes of delivery. Unit includes a mix of online and on-campus study requirements. On campus attendance for some activities is required to complete this unit.