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Study online with La Trobe University through Open Universities Australia. Explore all degrees, subjects and short courses now.

With our flexible Bachelor of Arts, you can choose from a wide range of majors and minors taught by La Trobe&#39;s passionate and committed staff. This flexible degree allows you to pursue your passion and your profession, while keeping your career options open.Shape your own future with this interdisciplinary course. You’ll specialise in at least one area by choosing a major from the School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HUSS), and then explore your interests or build an essential skill by choosing secondary majors, minors and electives from HUSS and select other areas of the University. You’ll graduate with your majors and minors listed on your academic transcript, so future employers can recognise your expertise.Create your own path. Want to major in Sociology, with a second major in Marketing, then take a Creative and Professional Writing subject as an elective? Go for it. Or perhaps you’d like to pair Politics and English? Or Crime, Justice and Legal Studies with Linguistics? Build your own future – we’re here to help you achieve your dream. No matter which path you choose, you’ll learn from world-class academics and leading researchers.In your first year, you’ll explore your interests and passions, trying out subjects from a range of different areas. In your second and third years, you’ll delve deeper while also choosing electives and minors that broaden your skills and knowledge. Studying online offers you the flexibility to complete the degree from wherever you’re based. Throughout your degree, you’ll be well supported by La Trobe’s passionate and committed academics, who are experts in their fields. Many of La Trobe’s online subjects in Humanities and Social Sciences also give you the opportunity to log in to live sessions and engage directly with academics and your fellow students in real time.Gain real-world experience and build valuable connections that will shape your career. Take on an industry placement at organisations like SBS Radio, the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre or the United Nations Association of Australia or travel overseas for an international sustainability experience.* Many of our exchange programs are financially supported.The world is waiting for you. Step into it. You’ll learn:<ul><li>Critical thinking<ul><li>Delve into complex problems. Experts say critical thinking will be a highly valued skill in the workforce of tomorrow.**</li></ul></li><li>Emotional intelligence<ul><li>Understand what drives our decisions. Learn how to connect to others with emotion and intelligence.</li></ul></li><li>Creativity<ul><li>Learn how to see new possibilities and turn them into reality.</li></ul></li><li>Communication<ul><li>﻿Learn how to connect, communicate and collaborate with your University peers and future colleagues.</li></ul></li></ul>*Please note: overseas programs may be impacted by travel restrictions.**Forbes, 2019, The 10 Vital Skills You Will Need For The Future Of Work; PwC, 2020, 10 skills you need for future employment

A flexible arts degree offering a large selection of humanities and social sciences majors. Mix it up with minors and electives in business, health, and science. Develop critical thinking, emotional intelligence, creativity, and communication skills.

Bachelor of Arts

Start your university adventure with La Trobe’s Diploma of Arts. Choose your own future – we’re here to help you achieve your dreams.Get straight into your passions when you choose a stream and undertake the first year of the humanities and social sciences degree of your choice. Choose from criminology, global studies, media and communication, and more. Or choose from a wide range of electives – from politics and languages to environmental studies and public health – and study all the topics you’re passionate about.Once you’ve graduated, you could transfer into one of our most varied and flexible degrees – the Bachelor of Arts – or choose from a range of specialised programs including,  Bachelor of Archaeology, Bachelor of Criminology, Bachelor of Global Studies, Bachelor of Languages and Linguistics, Bachelor of Politics, Philosophy and Economics, the Bachelor of Media and Communication and the Bachelor of Visual Arts.No matter which path you choose, you’ll learn from world-class academics and leading researchers, and you’ll build skills in critical thinking, problem-solving and collaboration – highly sought-after skills that are vital in today’s workforce.Get a taste of university life as you study side-by-side Bachelor’s degree students. What’s more, we’ll be with you every step of the way. Receive tailored advice from a dedicated Student Adviser and you can connect with discipline-based peer mentors. We’ll help you enrol, choose your subjects and navigate university systems and requirements. You can also access La Trobe’s Careers Service to help you shape your future. You’ll learn:<ul><li>Critical thinking<ul><li>Delve into complex problems. Experts say critical thinking will be a highly valued skill in the workforce of tomorrow. [1]</li></ul></li><li>Emotional intelligence<ul><li>Understand what drives our decisions. Learn how to connect to others with emotion and intelligence.</li></ul></li><li>Creativity<ul><li>Learn how to see new possibilities and turn them into reality.</li></ul></li><li>Communication<ul><li>Learn how to connect, communicate and collaborate with your university peers and future colleagues.</li></ul></li></ul><a href="https://courseloop.latrobe.edu.au/courseloop/show#_ftnref1" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(228, 35, 18); font-size: 10px;">[1]</a> Forbes, 2019, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2019/04/29/the-10-vital-skills-you-will-need-for-the-future-of-work/#20a8c5df3f5b" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">The 10 Vital Skills You Will Need For The Future Of Work </a>; PwC, 2020, <a href="https://www.pwc.com.au/careers/blog/future-employment.html" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">10 skills you need for future employment</a>

Follow your interests on this humanities pathway into university. Choices range from languages to history, politics, and philosophy. Pick up important skills like critical thinking and collaboration. Shape your future in the arts and social science.

Diploma of Arts

Migration, Multiculturalism and Racialisation: Identities in Context

Thinking Through Gender: Bodies, Deviance, Difference

The Politics Of Play: Issues, Controversies, And Possibilities For Sports, Games, And Leisure

Psychology Of Culture, Communities And Global Citizenship

Language, Society And Culture

Diversity Democracy Dissent

Gender Power Identity

Games and play constitute a part of everyday life. Formal or informal, solitary or shared, physical or virtual, realistic or fantastical, organised or spontaneous, games are a means of escaping the ‘real’ world, or exploring it in new ways. Shared values can be reinforced through play, either by celebrating those who display ‘virtue’ in resplendent forms, or shaming those we believe to be ‘bad sports’. But how are these norms of ‘fair play’ shaped, by whom, and how can they change over time? How can urban sports such as skateboarding and parkour be seen as ‘subversive’ and framed as a public menace, and yet offer opportunities for personal expression and communal belonging? How are video games shaping novel understandings of embodiment, avatars, and interaction, and how are e-sports influencing the future of play?Meanwhile, more ‘traditional’ forms of sport are undoubtedly among the most influential institutions in Australian society. No less than three Australian Test captains and tennis players have been recognised as Australian of the Year. Prime Ministers and other political leaders desperately spruik their team affiliations as markers of their relatability, and Victoria has not one, but two public holidays dedicated solely to sporting events. But why is this the case? Why does sport seem to possess such an outsized influence in Australian society? And what implications does this have for the values, norms, principles, persons, and spectacles that we celebrate? Sport can unite and foster community-building, but it can also divide and be rife with forms of exclusion based on race, gender, sexuality, faith, age, and class. In short, sport may purport to be ‘fair’ while in reality proving ‘foul’. In this subject, we address cultural theories of sports and games, and explore how forms of play can engender more pleasurable, affirming, and accommodative social worlds.This is a Level 3, online, entirely asynchronous subject, meaning there are no live lectures or tutorials, and instead students can work through the content on their own schedules (while, of course, keeping in mind the assessment deadlines). In 2024, this Term One subject will commence on January 8 and should finish before the last week in February. However, it is possible to submit the final assessment prior to the deadline and complete the subject.

This subject will explore the influence of culture on both individuals and communities. You will develop the skills to analyse cultural impacts on thoughts, emotions, and behavioural processes though lectures on cultural psychology and tutorial exercises. This subject will also explore how to build culturally diverse yet cohesive communities by creatively applying the knowledge of cultural psychology, social psychology, and community psychology. Tutorial exercises will provide you with opportunities to explore how to put the basic knowledge into practice when considering issues concerning cultural diversity in communities.  Global Citizenship entails deep appreciation of how we live in an interconnected world being able to recognise the global context of concepts, act across cultures and boundaries, and work with diverse communities - now and in the future. This subject consists of timetabled lectures and tutorial classes. It is typically taken by students in their second or third year.

In this subject, you will reflect on how society and culture shapes language use and communication between individuals and between groups. Drawing on a range of ideas from the fields of intercultural communication, sociolinguistics and linguistic anthropology, students develop tools, knowledge and awareness to assist them in understanding and positively engaging with the linguistic and cultural diversity around them.

This subject measures the ideal of democracy against its capacity to deal with the diversity of the people. You will lstudy how different identities based on class, gender, sexuality, race (among others) articulate, negotiate and contest their place and (mis)representation in democratic life. You will study the heritage of the concept of democracy in relation to its concrete manifestations in nation states, and compare how the democratic ideal of living together in a political community is debated in various contexts. Topics include: sovereignty and Indigenous politics; free speech, censorship and political correctness; the gendered, sexualised and racialized character of culture wars and social change; religious expression and secularism; political activism, civil disobedience and violence; law and justice; and discourses of human rights. Texts include legal documents, petitions, government papers, propaganda, various media, and academic writings.This is a level 3 subject. Please consider the subject pre-requisites before enrolling. This subject includes live sessions with the expectation of student attendance and participation.

How are gender identities in their diversity formed, represented and lived in our private, professional and public interactions? Exploring debates about how we see, are seen, or not seen, we analyse the places, authorities and knowledges linking sex/gender relations to power and social justice. We observe sex/gender in the context of media, family, relationships, work, violence, sport and the sex industry. We ask how our rights, responsibilities and roles in society are gendered, sexualised, racialised and normalised to the extent that they influence changing patterns of living together more justly and freely. Materials include readings, media images, legal and policy documents, film clips and documentaries. We address the Global Citizenship essential, entailing a deep appreciation of living in an interconnected world; we recognise the global context in which concepts act across cultures and boundaries encountered when working with diverse communities - now and in the future.This is a level 1 subject. This subject includes live sessions with the expectation of student attendance and participation.

In this subject we examine the challenges of creating a more equitable social world by aiming to understand social inequalities and their causes and consequences from a sociological perspective. We critically examine patterns of inequality within Australia and in global contexts, and explore the ways in which these patterns are rendered invisible or visible. Explanations of different kinds of social inequalities are examined within the context of theories of social stratification, power, equity and social justice. We tackle contemporary challenges such as the growing gap between poverty and wealth, gender inequality, racial discrimination, barriers to civic participation, alienation, class conflicts, and inequalities in the world stratification system. Students engage in critical thinking about the ways sociological theory and practice can contribute to effective polices and their implementation for shaping a more equitable social world.This is a level 3 subject. Please consider the subject prerequisites before enrolling. This subject includes live sessions.

Worlds of Exclusion: Global Social Inequalities

Emotions are embedded in an individual&#39;s personal, biological and psychological experience of self, and in relationships with others. Emotionality, or the experience and expression of emotions, is fundamental to an individual&#39;s identity and more generally to the practices and tone of everyday social life. In this subject, we consider emotions as phenomena that are intimately experienced, socially contextualised, and culturally learned. Our inquiry leads us to explore particular realms of emotional experience from small-scale interactions to broader relationships between individuals, groups and society. The subject is organised around three modules: the emotional self; love; and suffering and sympathy.This is a Level 2 subject. Please consider the subject prerequisite before enrolling. This subject includes live sessions.

Sociology of Emotions

In this subject you will develop an informed understanding of the many factors influencing food, food use and food habits for individuals, communities and populations. These will include personal, social, cultural, environmental, economic and political factors. Through readings and media, discussion and assignments, you will review cuisines from a variety of cultures and the effects of multiculturalism on Australian culinary culture. An understanding of how the role of food has changed from ancient times to present day will be developed, and you will be introduced to monitoring and surveillance data used to understand factors influencing patterns and trends in food consumption worldwide.

Unwrap the rich relationship people have with food and what influences food use, choice and preferences. Learn how the role of food has transformed in society. Understand why people are impacted by trends, and need to know where their food comes from.

Society, Food Habits and Consumption

What is culture? How do individuals and societies make meaning? Does culture shape social life or does social life shape culture? In this subject you will be introduced to sociological engagements with culture. Our central concern is with culture as meaning-making. We begin by considering sociological analyses of cultural forms, such as art, literature, music and television, and we examine cultural production and consumption in the digital age. We then turn to cultural perspectives on meaning-making as embedded in every aspect of social life. Through close up study of a range of topics, such as happiness, trauma, memory and love, we look at meaning as a central driving force for individuals and for societies more broadly.This is a level 3 subject. Please consider the subject rules before enrolling.This subject includes live sessions.

Culture, Meaning and Social Life

You will be introduced to a range of current methods of social inquiry. These include both quantitative and qualitative research methods such as surveys, interviews, observation, content analysis, spatial analysis, the analysis of historical and policy documents and records and other unobtrusive methods. You will apply these techniques innovatively to complete research projects on current social issues and gain critical understanding of the suitability of various research strategies and approaches. Working collaboratively, the new ideas generated have the potential to create change relating to the social issue identified. This is a level 3 subject. Please consider the subject prerequisites before enrolling. This subject includes live sessions.

Methods in Sociological Research

La Trobe University Sociology Short courses | Open Universities Australia

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