Social change – even when science and other evidence seem to clearly point the way – is complex, hard and messy. While experts present the ‘facts’ illuminating the optimal path forward, how people interpret, twist, use and misuse that evidence is as nuanced as society itself. Scientific and other evidence is viewed and often distorted through cultural, political, corporate and economic lenses, with different stakeholders using it – explicitly or covertly – to advance their own interests. These are sometimes at odds with the public good, but science communication can offer insight and action to address this.
If you’ve ever lamented why we can’t ‘fix’ climate change despite overwhelming evidence telling us how to – or similar confounding issues – and want tools to deeply understand STEM issues and make a difference, then this is the course for you!
We explore social change and societal transitions through three key foci: the evidence, stakeholders involved, and media and public discourse. These aspects provide means for analysing complex cases of social change and better charting effective, inclusive solutions – an area where science communication can help. Learning experiences will help you deeply engage with science and technology related social change issues, broaden your insights through understanding others' perspectives, and generate solutions.
We’ll cover fundamental theory and social change models for STEM-related issues, then extend into diverse case studies across nature and sustainability, climate and energy transitions, and society, equity and justice. Students will hear from domain experts – astronomy, sustainability, health, law, electric skateboarding and many more (note guest content varies year to year) – and engage in dynamic, conversational lectures.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- Identify and judge the relative merits of evidence from basic qualitative and quantitative research techniques as they are applied in science and social science (science communication) research.
- Compare and critically evaluate the application of basic science and social science research techniques to communication aimed at effecting social change.
- Abstract and characterise key elements of science-based evidence underlying current ‘big’ social issues.
- Construct and defend evidence-based arguments for social change based on the most appropriate available evidence.
- Work as part of a team in a collaborative environment.
Work Integrated Learning
Projects
Students may engage with WIL partners (internal/external) as an element of the major group work assignment. This is not required and will be dictated by the topic a student group chooses to work on and the approach they take
Indicative Assessment
- Major Group Project Part A — individual progress report (30) [LO 1,2,3,5]
- Major Group Project Part B — major group project report. (35) [LO 3,4,5]
- In-class activity 1 (15) [LO 1,2]
- In-class activity 2 (20) [LO 1,2]
The ANU uses 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. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
The expected workload will consist of approximately 130 hours throughout the semester including:
- Face-to face component which may consist of 2 x 1 hour lectures and 1 x 1 hour tutorial each week.
- Approximately 94 hours of self-directed study which will include preparation for lectures, tutorials, and assessment tasks.
Inherent Requirements
No specific inherent requirements have been identified for this course.
Prescribed Texts
N/A
Preliminary Reading
Throughout the course students will be directed to current web-based source material from the scholarly and grey literature as pertinent to the specific case studies being considered each week. In addition, an array of qualitative and quantitative methods text chapters and journal papers covering science communication and social research theory and practice, and statistical reasoning will be used.
Assumed Knowledge
NoneFees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 2
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2026 | $4920 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2026 | $7020 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
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.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
Second Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7725 | 27 Jul 2026 | 03 Aug 2026 | 31 Aug 2026 | 30 Oct 2026 | In Person | N/A |