Undergraduate - UnitATS1945 - Australian government and politics

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2015 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

Level	Undergraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Arts
Organisational Unit	Politics and International Relations
Offered	Caulfield Second semester 2015 (Day) Clayton Second semester 2015 (Day)
Coordinator(s)	Dr Nick Economou; Dr Zareh Ghazarian

Synopsis

The unit explores the government and politics of the Australian liberal democratic state. It undertakes study of Australia's approach to Westminster governance, the development of the national constitution, the institutions of national government, federal-state relations, the political struggle that occurs between labour and capital to exert influence over the process of government, and the form and nature of Australia's system of representative democracy.

Outcomes

To develop a deep understanding of how government is arranged in a liberal democratic state, using the Australian state as the case study;
To foster knowledge about Australia's constitutional arrangements including a thorough understanding of the impact and legacy of the Westminster system of Responsible Government;
To develop knowledge of the Australian federal system and its impact upon national, sub-national and local governance;
To understand the political dynamics of the mobilisation of sections of the community in pursuit of executive power, or to influence those in executive power;
To foster knowledge about Australia's democratic institutions and their inter-relationship with the community and with the processes of government
To foster the ability of graduates to critically evaluate politics and government, and to communicate these ideas in tutorial engagement and provide rigorous analysis in research essays.

Assessment

Within semester assessment: 60%
Exam: 40%

Workload requirements

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. A unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

Chief examiner(s)

Dr Nick Economou; Dr Zareh Ghazarian

This unit applies to the following area(s) of study

Politics

Prohibitions

ATS2945