Life today is characterised by mounting concerns over inequality, oppression and environmental sustainability. Following Karl Marx's insistence that "The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it", the unit engages with exploring other possible ways of organising the world in which we live. Social scientists are well placed to diagnose and propose responses to the biggest challenges we face. Students will apply a social science lens to persistent problems in our economy, society and environment. The unit evaluates prevailing and alternative policy models in the context of the forces shaping and contesting states and economies.

Our lives are increasingly shaped by data, not only from official government agencies but from diverse sources in our social world. As the sources, form and content of data diversify somust the social science techniques for analysing and using that data. This unit of study focuses on the world of big data. It equips students with an understanding of how the emergence of big data has expanded the power and scope of the social sciences and of how to make use of big data for social science purposes. It introduces some key techniques for presenting, communicating, and analysing data, including data visualisation and pattern discovery.

Technological disruption, demographic change, globalisation and economic transformation are having a profound impact on the quantity and quality of jobs, how and by whom work is undertaken as well as the distribution of income and well-being. Such changes make the future of work challenging for all societies in the 21st Century. This project unit offers students the opportunity to explore the historical, contemporary and potential future(s) of the role of 'work' in the national and international context. Students will engage in primary and secondary research, with research experts within and external to the University, and apply social science expertise to contemporary public debate.