Course Title: Contemporary Australian Politics

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Contemporary Australian Politics

Credit Points: 12

Course Code	Campus	Career	School	Learning Mode	Teaching Period(s)
POLI1025	City Campus	Undergraduate	330H Social Science & Planning	Face-to-Face	Sem 1 2006
POLI1025	City Campus	Undergraduate	365H Global Studies, Soc Sci & Plng	Face-to-Face	Sem 1 2007, Sem 1 2008, Sem 1 2009

Course Coordinator: Dr James Rowe

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 2319

Course Coordinator Email:james.rowe@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: 15.4.06

Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

There are no pre-requisite courses and no knowledge or capabilities are assumed in the area of study.

Course Description

Contemporary Australian Politics is an introductory level foundation course for all students enrolled in undergraduate copurses withion the School of Global Studies, Social Sciences and Planning at the City Campus.  The course starts from the premise that politics is not something which only politicians do, but is something we are all compelled to engage in during the course of our daily lives. As members of a nation, a state, a local community or even a family, we live together in a communal setting and consequently must address questions of how we are to live together and of who is to decide the manner in which we do so. In this sense, politics is inescapable. The course is intended to open up and discuss questions about who decides what in Australia today? On what values do they base their decisions and are these values contested by others? Have these values changed over time? How can individuals outside of the political system participate in that system? How can they express themselves politically? Can grassroots be an influential as Ivory Towers? The course assumes no prior knowledge or study of the poliitical system. It simply requires an enthusiasm to enquire into the current forms of some very old questions. Many introductory politics courses, and many of the textbooks developed for them, focus on the political arrangements and institutions in Australia. While we will be exploring these arrangements, they are not our main focus. Instead, we will be examining contemporary issues and debates and investigating through these, the means of decision making, the values of our contemporary polictical system and, where necessary, the institutions in which they are expressed.

Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

At the conclusion of this course we expect that you will be able to demonstrate a beginning-level ability to identify, evaluate and account for the key features of Australian politics as well as the patterns of political action, political relationships and political identities that are part of contemporary life. This would incorporate the ability to discuss how every individual is an active participant in political life; to understand the central political processes and institutions that drive the formal political system in contemporary Australia; to understand some of the values, beliefs and allegiances around which groups of Australians develop a sense of personal and / or formal political identity; and to identify how influences from outside of the formal political system, such as the media and lobby groups, play a role in policy making.

In particular, at the conclusion of this course we would like you to demonstrate:

1. A beginning-level ability to confidently engage with political issues and debates by being able to think critically about the political process and the different interests and influences which are part of this process;

2. A beginning-level ability to identify and assess different claims made about the ways the political system works, and fails to work, at a time of far-reaching change within and beyond Australia;

3. A beginning-level ability to identify and think critically about some of the conventional descriptions and explanations given about contemporary Australian politics;

4. A beginning-level ability to identify the core processes and elements involved in university-level reading, writing and analysis, as demonstrated by completion of some introductory research tasks;

5. A beginning-level ability to communicate your ideas and the views you have formed about contemporary Australian politics in a manner that demonstrates an understanding of your audience and the application of university-level skills, including: critical reading, development and critical analysis of arguments, and academic writing.

Overview of Learning Activities

You will be able to engage in a variety of lectures and smaller classes.

Overview of Learning Resources

You will use a prescribed text.

Overview of Assessment

You will be able to prepare assessment tasks with a total word length or equivalent of 4,000 words.