Alternative Faculty Handbook

CONTENTS
Arts Union Representatives .................................................................................................................................... 3 President Emma Brede .................................................................................................................................... 3 Social Vice-President Henry Austin .................................................................................................................. 4 Education Vice-President Rob McCloud .......................................................................................................... 4 Admin Vice-President - Hannah Gifford ............................................................................................................. 5 Equity Vice-President Vacant ........................................................................................................................... 5 Admin Vice-President Hannah Gifford ............................................................................................................. 6 Senior Social Thomas Chadwick ....................................................................................................................... 7 Senior Social Sofia T-Chenko ............................................................................................................................ 7 Senior Education Adaena Sinclair .................................................................................................................... 8 Senior Education Tom Beyer ............................................................................................................................ 8 Sports Rep Michael Morrisey ........................................................................................................................... 9 Sports Rep Jess Murray .................................................................................................................................... 9 Careers Daniel Kirkby & Corey Walsh ............................................................................................................ 10 Majors ................................................................................................................................................................... 11 Archaeology ...................................................................................................................................................... 11 English ............................................................................................................................................................... 11 European Studies .............................................................................................................................................. 11 French ............................................................................................................................................................... 11 German ............................................................................................................................................................. 12 History .............................................................................................................................................................. 12 Italian ................................................................................................................................................................ 12 Philosophy ........................................................................................................................................................ 13 Psychology ........................................................................................................................................................ 13 Political Science ................................................................................................................................................ 13

ARTS UNION REPRESENTATIVES

PRESIDENT EMMA BREDE

Being an arts student at UWA will be one of the most amazing and rewarding experiences of your life. The university culture UWA offers is incredible and a one of a kind and its entirely up to you to make the most of it. You are about to embark on the greatest years of your life and trust me it goes to quickly. The UWA Arts Union is here to help you make the most of your university life. We represent the 6000+ students from Arts, Humanities and Social Science in a variety of ways; We provide you with a liaison with the university, we assist you in taking care of any equity issues that may arise and we run heaps of events throughout the year. I personally represent you sitting on three university boards as well as the UWA Student Guilds Education Council. Now for the fun bit; our awesome events! The UWA Arts Union is renowned for our variety of educational, equity and social events held each semester. Our events range from arts showcase, a charity gala, mock parliament, quiz nights, a braveheart themed pub-crawl, the Arts Ball and of course our annual PoopDeck pirate themed party in the tav. In semester one we are also having a combined event with the University Engineers Club on Oak Lawn for the end of summer. Past Arts Union presidents and myself agree that the Arts Unions catalogue of creatively themed events aims to appeal and reflect the diverse and multifaceted nature of the UWA arts student. It is true that the course structure is probably the most removed from life at school, here you are no longer spoon fed to do study and there are far less contact hours, but do not fall into the trap of slacking off, its not worth it in the long run. Its true that arts units give the impression of being fairly easy, but this in a misconception, if you want to do well you have to put the effort in to work hard. What you really need to do is find that balance between work and play, because university life here at UWA is a mix of both. Work hard on that essay and reward yourself with that courtyard show. One final piece of advice; GET INVOLVED! Join every club you can, go to every party you can afford and be a part of fantastic university culture UWA has to offer. If you leave UWA with simply a degree, then the university has failed you Alan Robson

SOCIAL VICE-PRESIDENT HENRY AUSTIN

Hey buddy, welcome to the Arts Union and welcome to the Social Report! My name is Henry, your Social Vice President for 2013. My job (with a subcommittee, woo) is to plan the parties, and it is your job to attend them! The Arts Union has a long, sweaty history of Braveheart Pub-crawls, Pirate parties at the Tav ('Poopdeck') and classy balls. So buy a kilt, a pirate costume and your gender-specific cocktail attire in preparation for these events. And keep them, it will save you money when you lose track of time and realise this is your sixth Poopdeck. Really, it happens. Your opportunities with the Arts Union are almost boundless. Join us for things such as Prosh, Relay For Life (see the Equity Report, and begin practicing your milk sculls) and a plethora of events, social and otherwise, to complete your university experience. Everyone loves new faces, so come, chat, debate, laugh and be social in the common room. You have made a fine choice in picking up this Alternative Faculty Handbook, and an even better one in joining the Arts Union. We hope we can provide the guidance and giggle that you need. Don't be a stranger.

EDUCATION VICE-PRESIDENT ROB MCCLOUD

Hey there, my name is Rob McLeod and I am your Education Vice-President of the Arts Union for 2013! I am currently in 4th year studying Anthropology and History and can usually be found around the Arts common room or the Arts building in general. As your Education VP, my job is to represent Arts Students on education issues, that be issues with your units, results, majors or any disciplinary or appeal issues. Not only that, but any worries or concerns you may have with anything to do with your university education or even university life, come and get into contact with me! As Education VP, myself and the Arts President Emma Brede sit on the Education Council of the Guild, meaning that any issues for

Arts Students can be given a sturdy platform from which they are raised. In this position I also intend to unfold some new initiatives and begin work on issues affecting current Arts Students, such as tutorial sizes and anonymous assessment structure. There is more to the education portfolio than just student educational representation, throughout the year the Education Portfolio is responsible for a few events! Showcase: No matter what you are told by others around the university, Arts Students, without a doubt, comprise the most talented, free thinking and outside the box thinking, artistic students throughout the university. As such it is with great pleasure to tell you that there is a platform from which any willing student can perform or display any art work they are willing to share with like-minded people in a supportive and fun environment. However, this year we intend to change up the routine by combining Showcase with our other event, the Charity Gala, to create a bigger audience and a better event! Mock Parliament: If debating and politics are your passion, look no further than the first semester Mock Parliament night. Mock Parliament is a serious, but fun event in which students take sides and attempt to see who can trash talk the other side the hardest whilst trying to address real world issues. You should also feel free to come along and spectate, as sometimes the most fun to be had is watching the mayhem and arguing unfold. Back to School Quiz Night: Back to School Quiz Night assesses you on all of the general basics, including questions from school, and come wearing your school uniform again, to make sure you are ready for the upcoming testing of your knowledge. It is a great night to go along to with your friends, whether you are just in it for the drinking and the good company, or create your solid dream-team to try and take out first place and the prizes that come with that. It is also good news if you are (like myself), one of those with a later birthday in the year, this events position in second semester offers a better chance of being 18 years old and able to attend with your amigos.

EQUITY VICE-PRESIDENT VACANT

This position is currently vacant, but if youre interested in social justice, charity and all things equitable keep an eye out for our elections happening early in semester 1!

ADMIN VICE-PRESIDENT HANNAH GIFFORD

Minutes and money. Yeah, it really is that awesome! I take all your dolla billz and make sure they turn into great events. And then I make sure you all know about whats going on through Arts Union emails and our facebook page! Some things you should know about me is that I love Arts Union milk Mondays, dirty common room couches and cooking delicious food for the masses. The Arts Union is a faculty society that not only makes your year amazing with all our social events but gives you career options, educational advice and advocacy and overall, helps you make lifelong friends! Being a part of the Arts Union is the best decision you can make when youre a UWA student so make sure you become a member and get involved! If you ever have any questions about getting involved in the Arts Union, our general administration (YAY!!) or just want a buddy to hang out and have a D&M with in the common room, come at me bro! Ill always be keen to spend time with you <3

SENIOR SOCIAL THOMAS CHADWICK

Hey kiddlywinks ;) Welcome to the Arts Union! Well done on picking up this Alternative Faculty Handbook, its a cracking good read. My name is Thomas Chadwick and I am one of your Senior Social Reps for 2013. Ive been a general hack in the UWA community for 5 years now and Ive reached the point where all I want to do is drink, and help you drink by organising awesome social events. This year is going to be an excellent year for fun! Weve got the classic tav parties and pub crawls, but were also adding some new events to the line-up including a pyjama party! Were also working hard to make the common room a more inviting and social place for everyone to come and hang out. Make sure you get involved by coming to our events, hanging out in the common room and liking the UWA Arts Union on Facebook! Did you know that tigers cannot stand the smell of alcohol and are more likely to attack you if they can smell it on your breath? True facts. Thank me later.

SENIOR SOCIAL SOFIA T-CHENKO

Hey guys, Im Sofia T-chenko and Im the Senior Social Representative on the Arts Union 2013 committee. University will change your life and if it doesnt you arent doing it right. Especially with an Arts degree. From classy goon to cheeky lecturers, Arts will make your life so much more exciting. No more annoying teachers, terrible subjects and far too much drama. Arts is the degree to do if you want to have the best university experience ever and the most exciting future career. I mean everyone wants to know where a Greek Mythology degree could take you. And with Arts it can take you anywhere you want. So come get involved with the Arts Union, (attend ALL the events, they sell out fast!!), hang out in the Arts common room and get ready for the best time of your life :)

SENIOR EDUCATION ADAENA SINCLAIR

Hey everyone, welcome to the Faculty of Arts and the Arts Union! Im Adaena Sinclair and Im one of your 2013 Senior Education Representatives. The best advice I have for you is to get involved in university life. I know everyone may tell you this, but if you leave university with just a degree and youve never been involved in any clubs or societies on campus then you havent truly experienced university. Please come to chat with me about any issues involving your education whether that is concerns with your tutorials or you think that youve been treated unfairly in an assessment. Rob, Tom and I are here to represent you! Have a fantastic fresher year and Im sure Ill be seeing you at all the fantastic Arts Union events throughout the year!

SENIOR EDUCATION TOM BEYER

Hey all! Im one of your senior education reps for 2013. University is the time of your life and youre doing it wrong if you dont immerse yourself in the great social life we have at UWA. However youre also here for an education and thats where I step in. Myself and my Ed counterparts here in the Arts Union have the job of representing you and making sure you have a voice a clear avenue to deal with any grievances or issues you may have. Despite the common misconception Im a nice friendly guy so dont have any hesitancy to come visit me in the common room or whilst sauntering around campus if you have need a hand with anything. I look forward to meeting you throughout the year.

SPORTS REP MICHAEL MORRISEY

Listen up maggots, if you are one of these scum suckers who thought you could get out of sport by choosing to study an Arts degree youre mostly right! It is the job of Jess and Michael here as your sports representatives to try and organise a group of you soap avoiding, unemployable and alcoholic hippies (Arts students) into a hardened team of athletes ready to battle against the evils of Science and Engineering! You will be dragged unwillingly out of the common room at 1pm on Wednesday afternoons and onto the sporting battlefield in a similar manner to how Australian boys were dragged out of their homes to fight in the Vietnam War!

SPORTS REP JESS MURRAY

HAI GUYS I am Jess. I don't wear pants. I'm super excited about being Sports Rep this year to get to know all you new freshers and because I am always been an endorphin addict with a swimming, running, horse riding and cycling array. Start getting ready for some rough "noncontact" sports and bowing down to Pavlich during footy time or you better gtfo. As Michael said before, any questions about sports or anything else (drinking is a speciality of mine ;)) just ask. I am also a veteran of broken bones so never fear about your injuries :) GET KEEN!

CAREERS DANIEL KIRKBY & COREY WALSH

Careers and arts, two terms most people refuse to accept are synonymous. Clearly these people dont understand the simple joy derived from being a sandwich artist. But seriously though, Corey insists to me that apparently archaeology is a real career and apparently its a major being taught through the arts faculty, personally I just feel privileged to be working with the Indiana Jones of our generation. Myself (Daniel Kirkby) and Corey Walsh will be your careers reps for the coming year. We are pretty passionate about throwing mad stacks and thus have a desire to generate earning potential in our lives, a passion we want to share with all of you. Careers is a really new portfolio and we are really excited to run a bunch of new initiatives next year, we are also passionate about surprises and thus refuse to reveal the content or nature of these initiatives at this point. What we can tell you though is that we will be working hard with the Uni and business/government departments who have a habit of hiring arts students (like maccas) and putting you in contact with them. If you have any questions please dont hesitate to come find either myself or Corey, we spend our entire time in the arts common room. Just remember though, law may prepare you to be a lawyer, and engineering might prepare you to be a grease monkey, but just because the job title isnt in the name of the degree doesnt mean there arent useful skills and gainful employment to be had through an arts degree. Plus we will teach you how to drink goon, thrift shop and consume cheap coffee at which point one has to question whats the point in having some fancy suit wearing job in the first place.

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MAJORS
Note: if a major isnt listed here it just means we didnt have anyone knowledgeable enough to write about it, so you should do some of your own research.

ARCHAEOLOGY
Are you planning to pick this unit to be like Indiana Jones, running around shooting things and finding cool ancient things? Or to find a dinosaur? Then this is not the subject for you. The reality is you will spend the majority of your days dusting sand of rocks or digging up old beer cans at a beach. The course is a good mixture theory and practical work focusing on human development and human history. This unit ties in well with history and anthropology units as you will spend the majority of your time writing long complicated essays on things you probably wont understand.

ENGLISH
ENGLISH, MOTHERFUCKER, DO YOU SPEAK IT?! If you didnt enjoy speaking or reading or quoting in High School English then I cant recommend studying University English hell if you hate large amounts of reading you probably shouldnt be studying Arts. However if you want to study novels and films instead of endless journal drivel then English could be for you! In addition to what you might expect from English units at UWA, there are several exciting creative writing units and other units specifically for the study of films or theatre which is a nice break from all those books you have to read in other units. And as a bonus most English units after first year dont have exams; even more reason to consider studying English!

EUROPEAN STUDIES
If youre the type of student who enjoyed English, Politics and History in High School but cant decide which path to follow at UWA, then European Studies will satisfy all your cravings. Imagine a blend of all three where you learn the History and Politics of Europe through the same study methods used in English classes. It is an orgasmic mix that should be tried by all, especially if youre looking to try some new units to make up your credit point requirements. Naturally a love or interest in Europe and/or European languages will only make these units even more enjoyable.

FRENCH
Parlez-vous franais? French truly is the sexiest and most romantic language on earth and studying. French at UWA is the best decision I have made. Whether youre a beginner, youve studied French at school or youre a near-native speaker, there is a class for you! My advice for you is to not be freaked out by the unit outlines and descriptions. When they say that youll be studying French literature, they really mean
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that youll be reading shorts plays, short stories or novels that dont require a great array of vocabulary. In addition to the literature and culture class, youll do grammar and conversation classes which will not push you much more than school French did. The lecturers are all native speakers but in my experience they are some of the most approachable professors that you will have at university. They are really lovely and are genuinely interested in seeing you get the best out of your French units. And if some of you are still hesitant about French literature, lets just say that English copies of all the novels and plays are available in Reid Library. If all of this hasnt already convinced you, my final reason why you should take French is that after first year, French doesnt have exams!

GERMAN
German is a whole new level of awesome. Not only do you get to learn words that consist of 23 letters (or more), you get to be able to have the ability to speak one of the most hoarse languages in the world. And if anything, I have one piece of VERY important advice. German exams (at the very least Beginners German exams) do NOT allow a dictionary in the exam. There, I have warned you way before your exam. Because let me tell you, finding that out a week before the exam and learning the whole course in that week, is not fun. Or good for your grade. Learn from my mistakes kids, check your unit outlines at the start of semester.

HISTORY
People have been known to ask whats to be gained by studying something that has already happened. The answer is loads. Studying history gives you perspective and an understanding of the world around you, how weve arrived at where we are and what will likely happen in the future. Its also just really interesting! If youre looking to expand your horizons and learn a little about whats been happening in the world over the previous several hundred years then the level one units could be great for you, however if youre a committed history student with a good core knowledge then you might find these tedious and exasperating. That said, dont be too disheartened, things get a lot more interesting in second and third years and its well worth sticking around long enough to experience these joys.

ITALIAN
LItaliano ma che cosa mi dice? Italian is a language full of passion and humour and studying Italian at UWA is a decision that you certainly wont regret! Whether youre a beginner, youve studied Italian at school or youre a near-native speaker, there is an Italian course for you. Youll have culture classes, grammar classes and of course conversation where you get to wave your arms around while pretending youre stringing a sentence together. My number one piece of advice for you is make sure you get the English copy of the novel youll read (obviously as well as the Italian copy) so when it comes to translation work, youll breeze through it. The Italian professors are
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mostly native-speakers and they are all lovely and approachable, although they arent the most organised department so patience is key! Dont stress about language tests with no dictionaries either, they dont expect you to know everything and will often not even mark you based on your vocabulary. In second year, there is also the option to replace one of your core units with a four week Italian course in Bergamo, a town just outside of Milan, with other UWA students. If all of this hasnt already convinced you, my final reason why you should take Italian is that after first year, there are no exams!

PHILOSOPHY
Philosophy is an emotional rollercoaster of a major, you can go from discussing topics as heavy as abortion euthanasia and whether life has any meaning at all, to discussing things as fun as why science cant really teach us anything and why morality is just an artificial construct created by society. So yeah I lied, very few topics in philosophy are full of rainbows or kittens. Having said that studying philosophy is one of the most rewarding things you can do at Uni. The pure intellectual rigor and the gauntlet that is thrown down in front of you when engaging in tute discussions or writing philosophy essays is truly a thing of beauty. Word to the wise though, if you dont want to be classified as a professional masturbator remember to confine the infinite wisdom you will learn in your philosophy degree to the classroom.

PSYCHOLOGY
Being the study of human behaviour, Psychology is really fun. Especially first year Psych. - your exams are all MCQ and you get to watch a video of some adorable narcoleptic dogs (aww, bonus). You can major in Social & Applied Psych. or Neuropsychology & Cognitive Science. Or both. Interesting, enjoyable and you'll be very employable. Just watch out for the crazies.

POLITICAL SCIENCE
Do you enjoy reading the newspaper and watching the news? Want to have a more informed opinion about politics and current affairs? This is the major for you! Units cover a range of topics including political philosophy, political history, human rights, environmental issues, international relations, the media and politics, the Australian system and American politics. A political science major can be very interesting and relevant. It can also do wonders for your employability. The best unit Ive ever done was run by David van Mill. He is a massive babe who will challenge your world view and charm you with his sexy British accent.

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