Course Title: Foundations of Law
Part A: Course Overview
Course Title: Foundations of Law
Credit Points: 12.00
Terms
Course Code |
Campus |
Career |
School |
Learning Mode |
Teaching Period(s) |
JUST2314 |
City Campus |
Postgraduate |
365H Global, Urban and Social Studies |
Face-to-Face |
Sem 1 2020, Sem 2 2020 |
JUST2314 |
City Campus |
Postgraduate |
365H Global, Urban and Social Studies |
Face-to-Face or Internet |
Sem 1 2017, Sem 1 2018, Sem 1 2019 |
JUST2314 |
City Campus |
Postgraduate |
365H Global, Urban and Social Studies |
Internet |
Sem 2 2016, Sem 2 2017, Sem 2 2018, Sem 2 2019 |
Course Coordinator: Dr Russell Solomon
Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 8256
Course Coordinator Email: russell.solomon@rmit.edu.au
Course Coordinator Location: 37.04
Course Coordinator Availability: By appointment
Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities
None
Course Description
This course introduces the concept of ‘law’. You will learn about the legal principles, concepts, and structures that underpin the justice system in Australia. You will study theories of law and you will be encouraged to think critically about key socio-legal issues, locally and globally, including the intersection between law and philosophy, law and morality, law and politics, law and human rights, and law and ethics. You will also learn about legal research techniques as well as different approaches to interpreting and applying the law in practice.
Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development
Program Learning Outcomes
In course you will develop the following program learning outcomes:
- Use strategic, critical, creative, and analytical thinking to develop creative solutions to a range of dynamic problems associated with crime management and the justice system
- Employ a wide range of research tools, methods and approaches to produce new knowledge of justice issues and guide policy development and inform decision making
Course Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:
- Identify and critique various concepts, theories and elements of law
- Evaluate key aspects of jurisprudential thinking and major ideas in the philosophy of law
- Use legal research methods to source information required in specific legal contexts
- Critique and apply methods of legal interpretation in a range of different justice contexts
- Identify, explain, and apply different types and sources of law to practical situations that arise in justice contexts
Overview of Learning Activities
You will be engaged in learning that involves a range of activities online such as recorded lectures, online activities and individual research.
Overview of Learning Resources
Resources will be available through the Canvas student portal, myRMIT, and RMIT Library resources. You will have the opportunity to contribute collectively to class resources by sharing your own research findings and sources with your peers.
RMIT will provide you with resources and tools for learning in this course through our online systems.
There are services available to support your learning through the University Library. The Library provides guides on academic referencing and subject specialist help as well as a range of study support services. For further information, please visit the Library page on the RMIT University website and the myRMIT student portal.
Overview of Assessment
You will be assessed on how well you meet the course’s learning outcomes and on your development against the program learning outcomes.
Assessment Tasks
Assessment Task 1: Test, 20%, CLO1 – CLO5
Assessment Task 2: Essay, 50%, CLO1 – CLO5
Assessment Task 3: Test, 30%, CLO1 – CLO5
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.