ARTS1240: Environment and Society
Assessment 3: Final Essay

Due: 11pm, 15 August 2025

Word Length: 2000 words, excluding bibliography.

Weight: 40%



Essay Question:

“Scholars in the environmental humanities begin with a principled refusal of the ‘compartmentalisation
of ‘the environment’ from other spheres of concern’ (Neimanis et al., 2015: 67). From this perspective,
nature and culture, facts and values, scientific and human dimensions, cannot be neatly separated out
from each other. The always culturally and historically specific ways in which societies—including our
own—understand and relate to their environments, matter profoundly.”
van Dooren, T. 2018: Environmental Humanities. In: Noel Castree, Mike Hulme and James D.Proctor
(eds.) Companion to Environmental Studies. Milton Keynes: Routledge, pp. 418-22.


Task:
Critically discuss this claim with reference to examples and case studies drawn from weeks 1-10 of
ARTS1240.


Guidance
The final assessment for ARTS1240 is a 2000-word essay designed to examine your understanding of
some of the key concepts addressed in this course.

The essay question relates to the content discussed from Week 1-10 of ARTS1240.

This is an ESSAY and should be structured accordingly. Please use sub-headings to structure your
essay.

Your answer should include case studies and examples from the set course readings and lectures. You
may draw on some materials external from our course readings, online tasks, tutorials and lectures,
however reference to at least eight scholarly sources drawn from the course is the minimum
expectation for a proficient/competent grade. The most advanced essays will reference a minimum of
fifteen scholarly sources drawn from course readings and readings introduced in course lectures. See
Final Essay Rubric for further guidance on research and reference expectations.
This assessment represents 40% of your final grade for the course.
Submission and Formatting
Your essay should be submitted via turnitin, on the course Moodle Site. You should submit your essay
as either a Word document or a PDF via Turnitin.

The word-count is 2000 words, not including the reference list. Your essay should be formatted in 12
point and single-spaced. No cover letter is required.

Late Submission of Assignments
Please refer to the course outline for policies regarding the late submission of assessment tasks.

Academic Integrity and Plagiarism
Please see university policies regarding academic integrity and plagiarism here:
https://www.student.unsw.edu.au/plagiarism/integrity

The guiding principle here is that you are expected to create all your own work and to cite external
sources thoroughly (see below for guidance below on referencing).

Generative AI Assistance Tools

With respect to generative AI assistance, such as ChatGPT google Bard, please see the UNSW
statement here: https://www.student.unsw.edu.au/notices/2023/02/academic-integrity-reminder-
chatgpt.

This statement makes clear that generative AI assistance tools is only allowed in cases where
permission is sought from course convenor, normally where the use of such tools is commensurate in
demonstrating having met the course learning outcomes. For this reason, in ARTS1240 the use of such
tools is prohibited in the completion of all assessment tasks.


Referencing
Please use the Harvard In-Text System for references. This is one of the simplest and most
straightforward approaches to referencing, but you will need to familiarise yourself with the system.
Full details are available on the University’s website: https://student.unsw.edu.au/harvard-referencing
A useful way of handling referencing in all of your courses is the bibliographic software Endnote –
which is available on the IT website.

Special Consideration
Information regarding special consideration requests is available at: https://student.unsw.edu.au/special-
consideration


Image credit - USGS on Unsplash


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