politics/ug-arts-politics

aos

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Students who commenced study in 2016 should refer to this area of study entry for direction on the requirments; to check which units are currently available for enrolment, refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your area of study.

Monash University

Undergraduate

Commencement year

This area of study entry applies to students commencing this course in 2016 and should be read in conjunction with the relevant course entry in the Handbook.

Any units listed for this area of study relate only to the 'Requirements' outlined in the Faculty of Arts component of any bachelors double degrees.

Unit codes that are not linked to their entry in the Handbook are not available for study in the current year.

Managing faculty

Faculty of Arts

Offered by

School of Social Sciences

Coordinator

Dr Nicholas Economou

Websites

Faculty of Arts

School of Social Sciences

Location

Caulfield, Clayton

Politics is a broad area of study that tends to overlap with all the other major humanities and social science disciplines. It is an excellent discipline for learning about the interrelationships in the human world, and for acquiring a diverse range of interpretive, analytic and synthetic (especially conceptual) skills. The discipline is engaged in critical debates about resource allocation, decision-making, social behaviour and political action, the management or resolution of conflict, power struggles, ideologies and political movements, and the nature of the government and the state, including relations between states. The study of politics is ultimately concerned with important questions about the nature of power and authority, with the relationship between theory and practice, and with trying to understand the nature of social existence and the conditions needed for establishing more desirable forms of human community.

Politics at Monash aims to offer students an understanding of many aspects of the contemporary world, coupled with a solid intellectual grounding in the key debates, texts and traditions of inquiry in which the discipline is immersed. The Politics program at Monash emphasises three broad areas:

  • politics and governance: Australia and the world
  • international relations and global politics
  • political theory and philosophy

and students are encouraged to choose explore the different facets of political studies.

Availability

Politics is listed in A2000 Bachelor of Arts at Caulfield and Clayton and 0202 Bachelor of Letters at Clayton as a major or minor, and A0502 Diploma of Liberal Arts at Caulfield and Clayton as a major.

Outcomes

In addition to achieving the broad outcomes of their course, students successfully completing this major will be able to:

  • recognise, interpret and analyse theoretical and ideological perspectives on politics with regard to key elements of power and public institutions, freedom and transformation, closed and open political systems
  • critically discuss and evaluate outlooks on key political debates concerning power, freedom and political change at global, regional, national and local levels
  • critically relate political theories and ideas to major contemporary issues of human rights, political violence, value conflict and cultural difference, and to a range of political institutions and processes including leadership contest, political parties, interest groups and social movements.

Units

Major requirements (48 points)

No more than 12 points at level 1 may be credited to the majormajor (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2016handbooks/undergrad/arts-07.html) and at least 18 points must be at level 3.

Students complete:

(a.) Two level 1 gateway unitsgateway units (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2016handbooks/undergrad/arts-08.html) (12 points):

  • ATS1353 Foundations of modern politics
  • ATS1945 Australian government and politics

(b.) Two level 2 cornerstone unitscornerstone units (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2016handbooks/undergrad/arts-08.html) (12 points):

(c.) One level 3 capstone unitcapstone unit (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2016handbooks/undergrad/arts-08.html) (6 points) chosen from:

(d.) Three units (18 points) from the remaining cornerstone or capstone units or the elective list below, with at least two units at level 3.

Minor requirements (24 points)

No more than 12 points at level 1 may be credited towards the minorminor (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2016handbooks/undergrad/arts-07.html).

Students complete:

(a.) Two level 1 gateway unitsgateway units (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2016handbooks/undergrad/arts-08.html) (12 points):

  • ATS1353 Foundations of modern politics
  • ATS1945 Australian government and politics

(b.) Two level 2 or 3 units (12 points) as listed within the major. It is a highly recommended that students complete a level 2 unit before enrolling in level 3 unit.

Elective list

Units are 6 points unless otherwise stated.

  • ATS2088 Russia and the US: Comparative politics
  • ATS2256 Political psychology
  • ATS2691 Politics, violence and memory
  • ATS2698 Middle East politics
  • ATS2706 Foreign policy analysis
  • ATS3266 Washington and the world: Washington D.C study tour
  • ATS3399 The politics of identity
  • ATS3690 Reflections on humanity: Truth, freedom and power
  • ATS3719 Modern political thought
  • ATS3836 Victorian parliamentary internship

Relevant courses

Diplomas

  • A0502 Diploma of Liberal Arts

Bachelors

Single degrees

Successful completion of the minor or major can be counted towards meeting the requirements for the following single degrees:*

  • A2000 Bachelor of Arts
  • 0202 Bachelor of Letters

Students in other single bachelor's degrees may be eligible to complete the minor or major by using 24 or 48 points of their free electives.

Double degrees

Successful completion of the minor or major can be counted towards meeting the requirements for the Bachelor of Arts component in the following double degrees:*

  • A2005 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Fine Art
  • A2004 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Music
  • B2019 Bachelor of Business and Bachelor of Arts
  • B2012 Bachelor of Business Specialist and Bachelor of Arts
  • B2020 Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Arts
  • B2024 Bachelor of Commerce Specialist and Bachelor of Arts
  • D3002 Bachelor of Education (Honours) and Bachelor of Arts
  • E3002 Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) and Bachelor of Arts
  • C2002 Bachelor of Information Technology and Bachelor of Arts
  • L3003 Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and Bachelor of Arts
  • S2006 Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts

* Students cannot complete both the minor and major in the same area of study.