ASP129 - Love, Sex and Death

Unit details

Year

2025 unit information

Enrolment modes:Trimester 2: Burwood (Melbourne), Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Online
Trimester 3: Online
Credit point(s):1
EFTSL value:0.125
Unit Chair:Trimester 2: Christopher Mayes
Trimester 3: Leesa Davis
Prerequisite:

Nil

Corequisite:Nil
Educator-facilitated (scheduled) learning activities - on-campus unit enrolment:

1 x 1-hour on-campus lecture per week

1 x 1-hour on-campus seminar per week

Educator-facilitated (scheduled) learning activities - online unit enrolment:

1 x 1-hour online lecture per week (recordings provided)

1 x 1-hour online seminar per week

Typical study commitment:

Students will on average spend 150-hours over the teaching period undertaking the teaching, learning and assessment activities for this unit.

This will include educator guided online learning activities within the unit site.

Content

This unit consists of three modules. The first is a philosophical exploration of the concept of romantic love, including its relationship to biology, rationality and friendship, and its expression in the institution of marriage. The second module explores sex and the moral concepts that have grown up around it. Related social issues such as sex-work and pornography are also discussed. The third module explores death, including traditional and contemporary understandings of death, medical definitions of death, and ethical issues related to killing such as abortion and euthanasia.

Learning Outcomes

ULO These are the Unit Learning Outcomes (ULOs) for this unit. At the completion of this unit, successful students can:

Alignment to Deakin Graduate Learning Outcomes (GLOs)

ULO1

Identify and discuss in a reflective and critical way, in both essay and dialogue format, some of the philosophical problems raised by love, sex, and death

GLO1: Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities

GLO2: Communication

ULO2

Interpret, understand and engage critically with a range of primary and secondary philosophical texts relating to love, sex, and death

GLO1: Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities

GLO3: Digital literacy

GLO4: Critical thinking

GLO6: Self-management

ULO3

Work collaboratively to analyse, compare, and defend philosophical arguments, backed by relevant evidence, in the course of constructing a group dialogue

GLO1: Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities

GLO7: Teamwork

ULO4

Construct essay-length arguments of your own using language that is concise, clear and conforms to the standards of academic scholarship (e.g., proper referencing of sources)

GLO1: Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities

GLO2: Communication

GLO4: Critical thinking

GLO5: Problem solving

Assessment

Assessment Description Student output Grading and weighting
(% total mark for unit)
Indicative due week
Assessment 1: (Group) Assignment 800 words
or equivalent
20% Week 4
Assessment 2: Essay 1600 words
or equivalent
40% Week 8
Assessment 3: Essay 1600 words
or equivalent
40% Week 12

The assessment due weeks provided may change. The Unit Chair will clarify the exact assessment requirements, including the due date, at the start of the teaching period.

Learning resource

The texts and reading list for ASP129 can be found via the University Library.

Note: Select the relevant trimester reading list. Please note that a future teaching period's reading list may not be available until a month prior to the start of that teaching period so you may wish to use the relevant trimester's prior year reading list as a guide only.

Unit Fee Information

Fees and charges vary depending on the type of fee place you hold, your course, your commencement year, the units you choose to study and their study discipline, and your study load.

Tuition fees increase at the beginning of each calendar year and all fees quoted are in Australian dollars ($AUD). Tuition fees do not include textbooks, computer equipment or software, other equipment or costs such as mandatory checks, travel and stationery.

Estimate your fees

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