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Unit outline_

SCWK6944: Dying, Death and Mourning

Semester 2, 2022 [Normal evening] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

This unit of study is designed to introduce students to the various, often competing, discourses both constituting and challenging ideas around dying, death and mourning in contemporary societies. Taking a critical and sociological approach, it considers how dying, death and mourning reflect social and cultural understandings of issues such as gender, illness, community, stigma and identity. This unit is also available as a single unit of study to professionals who wish to undertake this as a stand-alone unit.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit Social Work
Credit points 6
Prerequisites
? 
None
Corequisites
? 
None
Prohibitions
? 
None
Assumed knowledge
? 

None

Available to study abroad and exchange students

No

Teaching staff

Coordinator Margaret Spencer, margaret.spencer@sydney.edu.au
Type Description Weight Due Length
Assignment hurdle task group assignment Group project
Group project on specific topic including class presentation
30% Multiple weeks 3000 word equivalent
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4
Assignment hurdle task Critical reflection essay
Critical reflection essay on ideas & experience of dying, death & mourning
30% Week 03
Due date: 21 Aug 2022 at 23:59
1500 words
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4
Assignment hurdle task Photovoice journal
Photovoice journal- 5 photos with 300 words in response to set prompts
40% Week 13
Due date: 06 Nov 2022 at 23:59
1500 words
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO4 LO3 LO2
hurdle task = hurdle task ?
group assignment = group assignment ?

Assessment summary

Critical reflection essay (1500 words, 30%, due week 3): Review your own experiences of and ideas about dying, death and/or mourning. Reflect on how these impact on your current understandings of dying, death and/or mourning. Comment on the discourses that inform your views and have shaped your experiences. This is a hurdle task.

Group assessment (3000 word equivalent, 30%, due weeks 9-11): Choose a topic from the list provided and develop a module to be uploaded to Canvas for your peers to engage with. Make connections to social work. Include discussion questions in the module and prepare to facilitate the class discussion using these questions. This is a hurdle task.

Photovoice Journal: (1500 words, 40%, due week 13) 5 reflection prompts will be posted in modules across the course.  You will be asked to take a photo from your surroundings that speaks to the prompt and write a 300 word self-reflection. This is a hurdle task.

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas

Assessment criteria

 

Result Name

Mark Range

Description

High Distinction

85-100

High distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard

Distinction

75-84

Distinction indicates work of a high standard

Credit

65-74

Credit indicates work of a good standard

Pass

50-64

Pass indicates work of an acceptable standard

Fail

0-49

Work doesn’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

  • Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
  • After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date: • Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date. • After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

WK Topic Learning activity Learning outcomes
Week 01 What is a good death? Block teaching (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4
Week 02 Discourses on dying and death Block teaching (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4
Week 03 Accompaniment and care of the dying Block teaching (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4
Week 04 Suicide, traumatic and sudden death Block teaching (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4
Week 05 After death-funerals and rituals Block teaching (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4
Week 06 Compassionate communities Block teaching (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4
Week 07 What is good grief? Block teaching (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4
Week 08 Disenfranchised and ambiguous loss and grief Block teaching (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4
Week 09 Applying knowledge and theory Block teaching (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4
Week 10 Applying knowledge and theory Block teaching (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4
Week 11 Applying knowledge and theory Block teaching (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4
Week 12 Dying, death and mourning and social work practice Block teaching (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4

Attendance and class requirements

The Sydney School of Education and Social Work requires attendance of at least 90 percent of all seminars, workshops or lectures. Where a student is unable to attend at the required rate evidence of illness or misadventure may be required and the student may be required to undertake extra work. Students should discuss the circumstances of their absence(s) with the co-ordinator of the unit of study. Further details are provided in the School canvas site: https://canvas.sydney.edu.au/courses/13426

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

Reading list is available on Canvas 

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

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

  • LO1. Identify the socially and culturally constructed nature of dying, death and mourning in modern society
  • LO2. Engage in policy debates on current issues of dying, death and mourning
  • LO3. Apply social work values to encounters of dying, death and mourning
  • LO4. Demonstrate professional attributes that enable practice in the area of dying, death and mourning.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1 Depth of disciplinary expertise

Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.

GQ2 Critical thinking and problem solving

Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.

GQ3 Oral and written communication

Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.

GQ4 Information and digital literacy

Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.

GQ5 Inventiveness

Generating novel ideas and solutions.

GQ6 Cultural competence

Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.

GQ7 Interdisciplinary effectiveness

Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.

GQ8 Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity

An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.

GQ9 Influence

Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes Graduate qualities
GQ1 GQ2 GQ3 GQ4 GQ5 GQ6 GQ7 GQ8 GQ9

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

The seminar program and assessment tasks have been updated for enhanced peer-learning and group work

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.