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Unit of study_

HSTY2631: Sin City? A History of Sydney

2025 unit information

From its beginnings as a convict colony, Sydney had to deal with an unsavoury reputation. This course explores the history of the city we live in, its people and its places. Distinct communities and neighbourhoods emerged as battles were fought over who belonged in Sydney, and how they should behave. Topics include Aboriginal resistance, convict scandals, poverty and plague, the 'Razor Gang Wars', Mardi Gras protests, the 'Emerald City' excesses of the 1980s, and the Cronulla riots.

Unit details and rules

Managing faculty or University school:

Arts and Social Sciences

Study level Undergraduate
Academic unit History
Credit points 6
Prerequisites:
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12 credit points at 1000 level in History or 12 credit points at 1000 level in Ancient History or 12 credit points at 1000 level in Socio-legal Studies
Corequisites:
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None
Prohibitions:
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None
Assumed knowledge:
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None

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. demonstrate an understanding of the history of Sydney between the late eighteenth and early twenty-first centuries
  • LO2. demonstrate an understanding of a variety of approaches to interpreting the past, in particular spatial history, social history, cultural history, histories of crime and deviance and gender history
  • LO3. demonstrate familiarity with identifying and interpreting written, oral, visual, digital and material primary sources and secondary materials such as monographs, scholarly articles, websites and documentaries
  • LO4. examine historical issues by undertaking research that begins with a problem, establishes its historical context, and uses methodologies chosen from the key disciplines outlined in point one
  • LO5. analyse historical evidence, scholarship and changing representations of Sydney and its history, using the skills of sifting through information to weigh its significance and close reading of various texts
  • LO6. construct an evidence-based argument or narrative in audio, digital, oral, visual or written form according to the options laid out in assignments.

Unit availability

This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.

The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.

There are no availabilities for this year.
Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 1 2025
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Outline unavailable
Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 2 2020
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 1 2021
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 1 2021
Normal day Remote
Semester 1 2023
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

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Modes of attendance (MoA)

This refers to the Mode of attendance (MoA) for the unit as it appears when you’re selecting your units in Sydney Student. Find more information about modes of attendance on our website.