In Progress
Please note that this Unit Profile is still in progress. The content below is subject to change.Overview
Dawn of Humanity: An Introduction to World History provides an overview of world history to c.1500 CE. In this unit you will examine early human societies from around the world and the rise of empires in this broad period. Areas of study include ancient Egypt, India, China, Greece, Rome, the Islamic world, Japan, and Meso-America. Students will be introduced to the political, economic, social and cultural aspects of these societies and the historical interactions between them. You will gain a preliminary understanding of historical methods and how to interpret and analyse historical evidence. You will develop both discipline-specific and generic skills. You will require a computer and internet access to complete some assessment for this unit. Together with the optional sequel, The Modern World Emerges: An Historical Overview, Dawn of Humanity: An Introduction to World History provides you with a firm foundation for more specialised history studies offered at CQU.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
There are no requisites for this unit.
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 1 - 2025
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of 'pass' in order to pass the unit. If any 'pass/fail' tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully ('pass' grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the 'assessment task' section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback - Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from Student Unit Teacher Evaluations
Clarify expectations for assessment tasks
Revise the assessment descriptions, criteria and marking rubrics to clarify expectations for students.
Feedback from Student Unit Teacher Evaluations
Revise and streamline learning resources
Revise and update learning resources to reflect the current state of the field in ancient and world history. Furthermore, clarify expectations regarding what are considered essential reading materials for weekly discussions as against supplementary learning resources that are included as aids for assessment tasks.
Feedback from Student Unit Teacher Evaluations, Informal Student Feedback and Teaching Staff Evaluation
Co-designed assessment and conference
Refine the co-designed oral presentation assessment task that is delivered as part of a student led conference. The inaugural 'dawn of humanity' conference hosted at the Rockhampton North campus and featuring hybrid modes of delivery was well received by students, staff and community members. This assessment and corresponding conference will be planned with the benefit of experience from 2024. Furthermore, students who formed the organising committee from the 2024 cohort have committed to helping the 2025 organising committee with the conference planning.
- demonstrate a broad knowledge of the political, economic, social and cultural history of major world empires and societies and their interactions from pre-history to 1500CE (AD1500).
- critically apply an unprejudiced understanding of the differing worldviews of these cultures and an acceptance of others' informed opinions.
- recognise key historical problems of the period and be able to present evidence-backed solutions to these problems.
- develop essential skills for historians including the ability to locate and analyse historical evidence and the ability to communicate findings in an academic manner.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Essay - 35% | ||||
| 2 - Essay - 40% | ||||
| 3 - Online Quiz(zes) - 25% | ||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Communication | ||||
| 2 - Problem Solving | ||||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | ||||
| 4 - Information Literacy | ||||
| 5 - Team Work | ||||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | ||||
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | ||||
| 8 - Ethical practice | ||||
| 9 - Social Innovation | ||||
| 10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | ||||
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
| 1 - Essay - 35% | ||||||||||
| 2 - Essay - 40% | ||||||||||
| 3 - Online Quiz(zes) - 25% | ||||||||||