Course Title: Farming The Future

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Farming The Future

Credit Points: 12.00

Important Information:

Please note that this course may have compulsory in-person attendance requirements for some teaching activities.  

To participate in any RMIT course in-person activities or assessment, you will need to comply with RMIT vaccination requirements which are applicable during the duration of the course. This RMIT requirement includes being vaccinated against COVID-19 or holding a valid medical exemption.  

Please read this RMIT Enrolment Procedure as it has important information regarding COVID vaccination and your study at RMIT: https://policies.rmit.edu.au/document/view.php?id=209.  

Please read the Student website for additional requirements of in-person attendance: https://www.rmit.edu.au/covid/coming-to-campus  

Please check your Canvas course shell closer to when the course starts to see if this course requires mandatory in-person attendance. The delivery method of the course might have to change quickly in response to changes in the local state/national directive regarding in-person course attendance.  

Terms

Course Code	Campus	Career	School	Learning Mode	Teaching Period(s)
SOCU2098	City Campus	Undergraduate	315H Architecture & Design	Face-to-Face	Sem 1 2006, Sem 2 2006, Sem 1 2007, Sem 1 2008, Sem 2 2009, Sem 1 2010, Sem 2 2010, Sem 1 2011, Sem 2 2011, Sem 1 2012, Sem 2 2012, Sem 1 2013, Sem 2 2013
SOCU2098	City Campus	Undergraduate	320H Architecture & Urban Design	Face-to-Face	Sem 1 2014, Sem 2 2014, Sem 1 2015, Sem 2 2015, Sem 1 2016, Sem 2 2016, Sem 1 2018, Sem 1 2019, Sem 2 2019, Sem 1 2020, Sem 2 2023

Flexible Terms

Course Code	Campus	Career	School	Learning Mode	Teaching Period(s)
SOCU2098	City Campus	Undergraduate	320H Architecture & Urban Design	Face-to-Face	UGRDFlex17 (ZZZZ), UGRDFlex17 (ZZZY)

Course Coordinator: Fiona Harrisson

Course Coordinator Phone: Contact via email

Course Coordinator Email: fiona.harrisson@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: B100.L08

Course Coordinator Availability: Appointment via email

Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

None

Course Description

Farming the Future is a field trip based course that provides insights into sustainability through listening to and talking with the people (farmers, community groups, government and other stakeholders). You will hear directly from those involved with making decisions, contesting, and negotiating a wide range of land based issues. Your field trip experience is also informed by reading academic literature, undertaking regional research and by conversations with students from other disciplines. As a participant in this course you will be asked to reflect on your own personal and disciplinary assumptions about sustainability; in light of your exposure to a multitude of views both spoken and written.

Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

Capabilities to be developed through this course include:

• Participation in a community of learning’ where students and staff all learn from each other; and staff’s role as educators is to assist you to extend your capacity to interpret what you see, hear, read and discuss
• Undertaking different methods of research and analysis

Upon successful completion of this course you will be able to:

• Make connections between theory and experience in understanding of the term ‘sustainability’,
• Identify, analyse and interpret the different ways of speaking and values underpinning various land managers and stakeholders views and actions,
• Undertake and reflect on the implications of different research methods,
• Reflect on own assumptions both personal and disciplinary through field trip activities and academic reading,
• Undertake a recursive approach: where new observations and knowledges are developed from and in consideration of previous understandings through readings, site visits, discipline knowledge, conversations with others and you own observation

Overview of Learning Activities

Pre-Field Class

The primary purpose of these classes is preparation and adminstration necessary for the fieldtrip. In these classes we will established the methods to be used on the trip including how;

• discussion of sustainability has multiple and often contested meanings;
• you will undertake your fieldwork and what is required;
• you will link the academic reading to your fieldtrip experience;
• you engage in different disciplinary and stakeholder understandings;
• you develop and presented regional research undertaken in groups.

Fieldtrip

You will be required to;

• engage with different people telling their story of sustainability through listening and asking respectful questions;
• take field notes and undertake required exercises and personal reflections in field workbook;
• respond to questions asked to provoke you to to reflect on your experience and readings;
• participate in and contribute to the smooth running of the field trip itself.

Overview of Learning Resources

Alvarez, A. and Rogers, J. (2006)‘Going “out there”: Learning about sustainability in place’, International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 7, 2: 176-188.

Chambers, R. (1994) ‘Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA):Analysis of Experience’, World Development, Vol. 22, No 9, pp 16: 1253-1268.

Pannell, D.J. and Schilizzi, S. (1999) ‘Sustainable agriculture: A question of ecology, ethics, economic efficiency or expedience?’ Journal of Sustainable Agriculture, 13(4): 57-66.

Sveiby, K.E. (2009) ‘Aboriginal Principles for Sustainable Development as Told in Traditional Law Stories’, Sustainable Development 10.1002/sd

Overview of Assessment

You will be assessed on how well you meet the course’s learning outcomes. 

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task 1: Reading Summaries, 20%, CLOs 3 & 4

Assessment Task 2: Reseach Presentation, 20%, 2, 3 & 4

Assessment Task 3: Workbook, 50%, CLOs 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5

Assessment Task 4: Participation, 10% CLO 4

Feedback will be given on all assessment tasks.

If you have a long term medical condition and/or disability it may be possible to negotiate to vary aspects of the learning or assessment methods. You can contact the program coordinator or Equitable Learning Services if you would like to find out more.

Your course assessment conforms to RMIT assessment principles, regulations, policies, procedures and instructions.