HSY2300 - Twentieth Century Australia

Leader: Christina Twomey

Offered

Clayton First semester 2007 (Day)

Synopsis

A study of the changing character of the Australian state and of national aspirations and identity. The topics covered include federation and national goals in the first decade of the twentieth century, the defence of the state from external and internal enemies, including consideration of involvement in overseas conflicts from the First World War to Vietnam, the significance of race and gender, changing representations of the Australian way of life, and the remaking of Australia in the 1980s and 1990s.

Objectives

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Distinguish the key moments of demographic, economic, social and political change in twentieth-century Australia.
2. Understand the changing character of the Australian state.
3. Identify the incidence of conflict and consensus in Australian political life.
4. Analyse the changing representations of Australian identity.
5. Apply the analytical frameworks of race, gender, class, ethnicity and power to twentieth-century Australian history.
6. Recognize how these key concepts are used by historians of twentieth-century Australia.

Assessment

Class participation: 10%
Tutorial paper (500 words): 15%
Book review (750 words): 15%
Research essay (2250 words): 35%
Examination (1 hour): 25%

Contact hours

1 hour lecture and 1 hour tutorial per week

Prerequisites

A first-year sequence in History or permission

Prohibitions

HSY3300, HSY2740, HSY3740