BACHELOR OF ARTS
The first ever Bachelor of Arts conference was held in Brisbane at the University of Queensland on 25 and 26 September, 2017!
Bringing together teachers, students, leaders and employers
Reimagining teaching in Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
Sharing teaching innovation and practices
Considering key challenges and opportunities in BA curricula
Broadening conversations about curriculum
This conference was designed to provoke discussions around the Australian Bachelor of Arts curriculum. It was also a call to action, to evoke change in the ways that humanities, arts and social science (HASS) education is viewed, described and experienced in Australia and beyond.
The two-day conference was designed to allow participants to address challenges and highlight successes in contemporary HASS education. The program offered presentations, panel discussions, speakers and poster sessions that provoke debate, stimulate discussion, offer new ideas and encourage creative solutions. Time was allocated to engage with detailed discussion on a range of topics identified during a series of Think Tanks that sought to generate a value proposition for generalist HASS education.
Conversation topics included
The two-day conference was designed to allow participants to address challenges and highlight successes in contemporary HASS education. The program offered presentations, panel discussions, speakers and poster sessions that provoke debate, stimulate discussion, offer new ideas and encourage creative solutions. Time was allocated to engage with detailed discussion on a range of topics identified during a series of Think Tanks that sought to generate a value proposition for generalist HASS education.
Conversation topics included
- How to create interdisciplinary learning spaces to empower students?
- What is unique to the BA classroom experience?
- Are there perils in overusing technology in the BA classroom? What is lost and what is gained in a digital world?
- How do we resource compelling HASS experiences in current university ecosystems?
- How do we juggle the need for self-awareness with the need for social-awareness?
- What about an HASS education is unique? Why is this valuable? What are the core strengths and values of a HASS degree?
- What about an HASS education prepares our graduates for global contexts?
- How do we enable students to imagine a different way of being in a neoliberal world? How do we develop our students’ employability while maintaining the values of a liberal education?
- How can we advocate for action for HASS education?
PRESENTATIONS
Speaker Presentations:
Ten years after studying ‘just Arts’: thoughts on skills and status
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Parallel Sessions:
1:30 - 2:00pm
The Impossible Curriculum: Imagining the BA from ScratchA/Prof Parshia Lee‐Stecum |
Reimagining HASS pedagogies – from sage on the stage to director in the wings Dr Genevieve Hundermark |
Can the BA be future proofed?Prof. Robbie Robertson |
Embedding (and signalling) employability in the Adelaide BADr Wayne Errington |
Follow the yellow brick road: an interactive planner to help students maximise the BA’s valueMr Chris Frost, Ms Sherrie Hoang & Ms Shirley Moran |
2:00 - 2:30pm
Balancing the BA with institutional imperatives: consolidation and renewalA/Prof Heather Monkhouse & Ms Miriam Doi |
The Pros and Cons of International Short Term Mobility Programs for HASS Students Dr Janette McWilliam |
More than a satisfying journey: valuing the BA degree in Australia into the futureProf Catharine Coleborne & Dr Hamish Ford |
The Innovative Assessment Database: A catalogue of assessment techniques that increase student engagement and encourage academic integrityDr Mair Underwood and Miss Annabel Shewring |
2:30 - 3:00pm
Streamlining the BA: a whole of program approachDr Vanessa Fredericks, A/Prof Cath Ellis & Ms Yan Liu |
Lost in Transit? The transition to University-level French Dr Barbara E. Hanna & Dr Joe Hardwick |
Experiential pedagogies? Moving toward multi-disciplinarity HASS pedagogies and the place of the BA WIL curriculaDr Violeta Schubert |
3:30 - 4:00pm
Capping the degree: Providing a strong HASS capstone experienceDr Wajeehah Aayeshah, Dr Mitch Goodwin, Dr Bryonny Goodwin-Hawkins, Dr Kay Are, Dr Maxx Schmitz |
History and HBO, or using popular culture to teach unfamiliar pastsDr Rhiannon Evans |
BA students qualitative feedback and reflections on assessment tasks:
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In defence of discomfort: on the importance of making students sad through radical defamiliarisationA/Prof Greg Hainge |
4:00 - 4:30pm
The Common European Framework of Reference for languages - bitcoin for language graduates?The Teaching Innovation Grant (TIG) research team led by A/Prof Marisa Cordella |
Research-led teaching in the Arts: Pathways to Active Learning and Student Engagement?A/Prof Martin Forsey |
Pecha Kucha Presentations
JxD: lessons from interdisciplinary teachingDr Skye Doherty |
Cirrus: a teaching & learning platform for innovative digital assignmentsMs Kerry Kilner & Dr Natalie Collie |
The Adventures of HASS CrewMs Clarissa Dharmeseta & Ms Ellen Dearden |
Poster:
Exploring BA students expectations using Social MediaMs Carmen Garratt & Ms Yitong (Coco) Bu |
