units

AZA2012

Faculty of Arts

18 September 2017 24 April 2024

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This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2016 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.

Monash University

6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL

Undergraduate - Unit

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

Faculty

Arts

Organisational Unit

South Africa School of Social Sciences

Coordinator(s)

Dr Vusilizwe Thebe

Offered

Not offered in 2016

Synopsis

The purpose of the unit is to provide comparative analysis of different political regimes/systems, particularly among countries of the Global South. Comparative politics will be used to address such puzzles as varying degrees of democracy, political and social conflict, and wealth, and to inform debates about political reform for countries in transition to democracy. The unit will draw comparisons between countries that help us to understand differences between countries, political institutions and economic development.

Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the unit the student will be able to:

  1. be familiar with important concepts, ideas, and analytical tools used to understand the structures and processes of different types of political systems in the developing world and particularly in Africa;
  2. understand the nature of different regime types;
  3. be knowledgeable on the similarities and differences among various government systems, including parliamentary and presidential systems in different African countries;
  4. compare governments in Africa to the South African government;
  5. identify, describe and analyse different processes of development at all levels of society;
  6. successfully undertake a variety of research and written tasks;
  7. demonstrate improved oral and written communication skills in relation to the analysis and explanation of ideas and the development of an argument.

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.

See also Unit timetable information

Chief examiner(s)

Dr Vusilizwe Thebe

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

Political studies - South Africa

Prerequisites

AZA1010 and AZA1011