In Semester 2 2018, Carole Marple and Joan Laing from the Politics class piloted four sessions of a unit called 'Hot Topics'
"Do you enjoy discussing current affairs? In today’s world of disasters with half-baked solutions we feel that we all have some of the solutions to these problems and yet we have no outlet for our views. Well, we have now! It is called ‘Hot Topics’ and will cover topics ranging from Reality Television to the Uluru Statement, from Climate Change to Tabloid Journalism, from Euthanasia to the Newstart allowance. Topics discussed will be wide ranging, but there will always be a topic set for a chaired discussion and you will get a chance to prepare your thoughts for the next session. Come along, It will be great to get things ‘off your chest’.
The sessions were provocative and well worth attending. The newsletter reports and resources for the sessions have been retained on this page and demonstrate the potential of such a current affairs based unit.
Unfortunately Carole and Joan decided they were unable to continue, however were always hopeful that others would be able to take up the reins.
In late 2019, Ian Gray and Brian Harker decided to do so, developing the format for 'The News - Fact or Fiction' ready to begin in 2020.
'An adjunct to the Politics and Current Affairs course, ‘The News - Fact or Fiction’ provides a structured round table forum for selected stories and issues which are hitting the headlines which affect our lives and the society in which we live.
Sessions will include an analysis of the contents and letters pages of different media outlets to see how various issues have been reported by different organisations; discussion of one of these topics in more detail; and a pre-alerted topic to be explored.'
The Politics group was stunned and bereft at the loss of Ian, who died suddenly in Paris in November. Brian has decided to continue to offer the unit and many people have expressed interest in attending. In many ways 'The News - Fact or Fiction? course will be dedicated to Ian, who clearly enjoyed wide ranging and well informed discussions.
Bev Lee
Programs Committee
"Do you enjoy discussing current affairs? In today’s world of disasters with half-baked solutions we feel that we all have some of the solutions to these problems and yet we have no outlet for our views. Well, we have now! It is called ‘Hot Topics’ and will cover topics ranging from Reality Television to the Uluru Statement, from Climate Change to Tabloid Journalism, from Euthanasia to the Newstart allowance. Topics discussed will be wide ranging, but there will always be a topic set for a chaired discussion and you will get a chance to prepare your thoughts for the next session. Come along, It will be great to get things ‘off your chest’.
The sessions were provocative and well worth attending. The newsletter reports and resources for the sessions have been retained on this page and demonstrate the potential of such a current affairs based unit.
Unfortunately Carole and Joan decided they were unable to continue, however were always hopeful that others would be able to take up the reins.
In late 2019, Ian Gray and Brian Harker decided to do so, developing the format for 'The News - Fact or Fiction' ready to begin in 2020.
'An adjunct to the Politics and Current Affairs course, ‘The News - Fact or Fiction’ provides a structured round table forum for selected stories and issues which are hitting the headlines which affect our lives and the society in which we live.
Sessions will include an analysis of the contents and letters pages of different media outlets to see how various issues have been reported by different organisations; discussion of one of these topics in more detail; and a pre-alerted topic to be explored.'
The Politics group was stunned and bereft at the loss of Ian, who died suddenly in Paris in November. Brian has decided to continue to offer the unit and many people have expressed interest in attending. In many ways 'The News - Fact or Fiction? course will be dedicated to Ian, who clearly enjoyed wide ranging and well informed discussions.
Bev Lee
Programs Committee