Understanding emotion is an urgent and ongoing task in philosophy and the sciences of the mind. While the nature of emotions has been debated by philosophers in various cultures for centuries, significant empirical and philosophical puzzles persist. This course explores some of the current issues about emotions in philosophy and the mind sciences. It will take a philosophical approach and will consider materials from a range of disciplines, such as cognitive science, neuroscience, psychology and evolutionary biology. Topics may include the nature of emotions, their function, objects, and how they relate to cognition, whether emotions form a natural kind, whether they are produced by evolved biological mechanisms or are socially constructed, what role social scaffolding plays in their development, expression, and regulation, and what role emotions play in social and moral life. Perspectives and topics considered will vary from year to year.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. analyse and critically assess philosophical positions and arguments relating to emotions;
2. synthesise information from a range of sources and extend philosophical positions to new domains of inquiry;
3. conduct philosophical research and effectively integrate and organize concepts and arguments to defend a position; and
4. dispute and evaluate philosophical ideas verbally and to engage in interactive dialogue.

Recommended Resources

Whether you are on campus or studying remotely, there are a variety of online platforms you will use to participate in your study program. These could include videos for lectures and other instruction, two-way video conferencing for interactive learning, email and other messaging tools for communication, interactive web apps for formative and collaborative activities, print and/or photo/scan for handwritten work and drawings, and home-based assessment.

ANU outlines recommended student system requirements to ensure you are able to participate fully in your learning. Other information is also available about the various Learning Platforms you may use.

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

-       verbal feedback in tutorials and lectures

-       written individual feedback by tutors on essays

-       individual feedback in office hours of tutor and/or lecturer

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). Feedback can also be provided to Course Conveners and teachers via the Student Experience of Learning & Teaching (SELT) feedback program. SELT surveys are confidential and also provide the Colleges and ANU Executive with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement.

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	Introduction	Proposed class structure is provisional and subject to change.
2	Basic Emotion Theory
3	Challenges to Basic Emotion Theory
4	Social Constructionism about Emotions
5	Appraisal, feeling and motivation
6	Emotions as dynamic processes
7	The somatic marker theory of emotions	First Essay Due: Monday 19th September
8	Conscious experience of emotions and animal research
9	Modeling emotions in predictive processing theory
10	The social baseline theory of emotion regulation
11	Social scaffolding in childhood emotional development
12	Review	Second Essay Due (in the week after the review): Thursday 3rd November

Tutorial Registration

ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage https://www.anu.edu.au/students/program-administration/timetabling.

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Learning Outcomes
Tutorial Participation (20%)	20 %	*	1, 2, 4
First Essay	40 %	18/09/2022	1, 2, 3
Second Essay	40 %	03/11/2022	1, 2, 3

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines , which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Integrity Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Special Assessment Consideration Guideline and General Information 
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure
• Code of practice for teaching and learning

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the Academic Skills website. In rare cases where online submission using Turnitin software is not technically possible; or where not using Turnitin software has been justified by the Course Convener and approved by the Associate Dean (Education) on the basis of the teaching model being employed; students shall submit assessment online via ‘Wattle’ outside of Turnitin, or failing that in hard copy, or through a combination of submission methods as approved by the Associate Dean (Education). The submission method is detailed below.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Participation

Assessment Task 1

Tutorial Participation (20%)

There are two main ways in which you can get a good participation grade in this course. To get the most out of this course you are encouraged to participate in both ways but a strong performance in any one of these areas could merit a good participation grade.

1.    Participation in Tutorial Discussions

2.    Reading Response (to be submitted to Wattle 24 hours prior to seminar):

Each student is requested and encouraged to submit a brief response to the reading assigned for a seminar using Wattle at least 24 hours in advance of that seminar. These responses may raise a few questions about the reading, raise a point of confusion or request for clarification, they may suggest how to interpret a section of the reading or to resolve an issue that had been raised in a previous discussion (so long as it relates to that week’s reading). Please do not spend too much time and effort on this. Just jot down some thoughts and reflections as you read. These responses will also assist you when it comes to writing your essays. They will not be individually graded but will count towards your participation grade.

Assessment Task 2

First Essay

You will be required to write an essay of 2,000 words in length, valued at 40% of your final grade.

Due Date: Monday 19th September (@ 11.59pm)

Rubric

Grade	Criteria 1: Content	Criteria 2: Presentation	Criteria 3: Argumentation	Criteria 4: Careful reading	Criteria 5: Creative Philosophical Response
HD	Essay displays accurate and insightful comprehension.	Presentation of material is clear, well-written, well-organized, and easy to follow.	Argumentation proceeds in accordance with accepted rules of inference, is creative, and philosophically insightful.	Reading of the text is both accurate and consistently insightful.	Has fully succeeded in crafting a coherent, reasonable, and creative philosophical response to the material being studied.
D	Essay displays solid comprehension with minor errors or omissions.	Presentation is generally clear, well-organized, and easy to follow, but few and minor portions are unclear, poorly written, and difficult to understand.	Argumentation proceeds in accordance with accepted rules of inference and displays a competent understanding of the material.	Reading of the text is accurate and quotations relevantly connect to the argument	Essay displays moderate success at crafting a coherent, reasonable, and creative philosophical response to the material being studied.
CR	Generally well acquainted with content, but does not fully understand or appreciate its depth and value.	Presentation is unclear, or poorly written, or disorganized, or, the student has relied excessively on the text, contributing little critical thought	Argumentation displays some logical errors, some lack of comprehension of content, or is weak or trivial in some respects.	Reading of the text is accurate, but lacks philosophical insight and/or references do not support the argument	Essay displays reasonable efforts at crafting a coherent, reasonable, and creative philosophical response to the material being studied.
P	Knowledge of content is superficial with gaps or errors.	Presentation is unclear, or poorly written, or disorganized, or, the student has not shown that they have thought about or absorbed the material.	Argumentation displays major logical errors, significant lack of comprehension of content, or is weak or trivial in several respects.	Reading of the text is superficial or references do not relate to the argument	Efforts at creative engagement are unsuccessful, and/or lead to error or misunderstanding of content.
N	The student has completely misunderstood the content.	Presentation misrepresents or misconstrues content and thus is evidence of a failure of comprehension.	Displays little or no effort at constructing an argument.	Makes no reference to texts	Makes very little effort to engage the material creatively at all; or such efforts are not tied to the material at all.

Assessment Task 3

Second Essay

You will be required to write an essay of 2,000 words in length, valued at 40% of your final grade.

Due Date: Thursday 3rd November (@ 11.59pm)

Rubric

Grade	Criteria 1: Content	Criteria 2: Presentation	Criteria 3: Argumentation	Criteria 4: Careful reading	Criteria 5: Creative Philosophical Response
HD	Essay displays accurate and insightful comprehension.	Presentation of material is clear, well-written, well-organized, and easy to follow.	Argumentation proceeds in accordance with accepted rules of inference, is creative, and philosophically insightful.	Reading of the text is both accurate and consistently insightful.	Has fully succeeded in crafting a coherent, reasonable, and creative philosophical response to the material being studied.
D	Essay displays solid comprehension with minor errors or omissions.	Presentation is generally clear, well-organized, and easy to follow, but few and minor portions are unclear, poorly written, and difficult to understand.	Argumentation proceeds in accordance with accepted rules of inference and displays a competent understanding of the material.	Reading of the text is accurate and quotations relevantly connect to the argument	Essay displays moderate success at crafting a coherent, reasonable, and creative philosophical response to the material being studied.
CR	Generally well acquainted with content, but does not fully understand or appreciate its depth and value.	Presentation is unclear, or poorly written, or disorganized, or, the student has relied excessively on the text, contributing little critical thought	Argumentation displays some logical errors, some lack of comprehension of content, or is weak or trivial in some respects.	Reading of the text is accurate, but lacks philosophical insight and/or references do not support the argument	Essay displays reasonable efforts at crafting a coherent, reasonable, and creative philosophical response to the material being studied.
P	Knowledge of content is superficial with gaps or errors.	Presentation is unclear, or poorly written, or disorganized, or, the student has not shown that they have thought about or absorbed the material.	Argumentation displays major logical errors, significant lack of comprehension of content, or is weak or trivial in several respects.	Reading of the text is superficial or references do not relate to the argument	Efforts at creative engagement are unsuccessful, and/or lead to error or misunderstanding of content.
N	The student has completely misunderstood the content.	Presentation misrepresents or misconstrues content and thus is evidence of a failure of comprehension.	Displays little or no effort at constructing an argument.	Makes no reference to texts	Makes very little effort to engage the material creatively at all; or such efforts are not tied to the material at all.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of the ANU culture as a community of scholars. The University’s students are an integral part of that community. The academic integrity principle commits all students to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support, academic integrity, and to uphold this commitment by behaving honestly, responsibly and ethically, and with respect and fairness, in scholarly practice.

The University expects all staff and students to be familiar with the academic integrity principle, the Academic Integrity Rule 2021, the Policy: Student Academic Integrity and Procedure: Student Academic Integrity, and to uphold high standards of academic integrity to ensure the quality and value of our qualifications.

The Academic Integrity Rule 2021 is a legal document that the University uses to promote academic integrity, and manage breaches of the academic integrity principle. The Policy and Procedure support the Rule by outlining overarching principles, responsibilities and processes. The Academic Integrity Rule 2021 commences on 1 December 2021 and applies to courses commencing on or after that date, as well as to research conduct occurring on or after that date. Prior to this, the Academic Misconduct Rule 2015 applies.

 

The University commits to assisting all students to understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. All coursework students must complete the online Academic Integrity Module (Epigeum), and Higher Degree Research (HDR) students are required to complete research integrity training. The Academic Integrity website provides information about services available to assist students with their assignments, examinations and other learning activities, as well as understanding and upholding academic integrity.

Online Submission

You will be required to electronically sign a declaration as part of the submission of your assignment. Please keep a copy of the assignment for your records. Unless an exemption has been approved by the Associate Dean (Education) submission must be through Turnitin.

Hardcopy Submission

For some forms of assessment (hand written assignments, art works, laboratory notes, etc.) hard copy submission is appropriate when approved by the Associate Dean (Education). Hard copy submissions must utilise the Assignment Cover Sheet. Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.

Late Submission

Individual assessment tasks may or may not allow for late submission. Policy regarding late submission is detailed below:

• Late submission permitted. Late submission of assessment tasks without an extension are penalised at the rate of 5% of the possible marks available per working day or part thereof. Late submission of assessment tasks is not accepted after 10 working days after the due date, or on or after the date specified in the course outline for the return of the assessment item. Late submission is not accepted for take-home examinations.

Referencing Requirements

The Academic Skills website has information to assist you with your writing and assessments. The website includes information about Academic Integrity including referencing requirements for different disciplines. There is also information on Plagiarism and different ways to use source material.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure. Extensions may be granted for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information.
In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service – including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy.
If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes.

Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Access and inclusion for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills and Learning Centre supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling Centre promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents undergraduate and ANU College students
• PARSA supports and represents postgraduate and research students