Rhonda Evans Case
GOV 365N, Australian Society and Politics
38963
TTH 12:30-2:00 PM
MEZ B0.306
Closing Limit: 75; no known prerequisites
Description: Australia is the principal democratic, economic, and military power in the Southwest Pacific. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples inhabited the continent and its surrounding islands for some 50,000 years before Europeans arrived. In 1788, British colonization began with establishment a penal colony near present-day Sydney. Six distinct colonies federated voluntarily in 1901 to form the Commonwealth of Australia. Today, the country boasts a multi-ethnic population of 22 million, dispersed unevenly across a landmass nearly the size of the lower 48 US states. It has served as a key US ally since World War II. While Australia retains special ties to Britain and the US, it has become an important economic and political actor in the Asia Pacific region, with strong trading links to China, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, the Philippines, and, increasingly, India. This course will (1) provide a succinct overview of Australia’s history and constitutional development; (2) examine the country’s political institutions and party politics; and (3) consider distinct opportunities and challenges that Australia faces across a range of domestic and foreign policy areas, such as energy, trade, immigration, welfare, and issues concerning its Indigenous population. Throughout the course, Australia will be compared and contrasted with Texas, the US, and the other Anglo-American democracies – Britain, Canada, and New Zealand.
Requirements: (1) Three exams, each worth 25% of the final grade. The last of these will be administered during the final examination period. All exams will include a combination of essay, short-answer, multiple-choice, and true-or-false questions. The final will also have a take-home essay component. (2) A research project that has both an individual and a group dimension will be worth 25% of the final grade. It will involve data collection, coding, and analysis with a significant writing component. Students who anticipate missing more than two or three classes are advised not to enroll. Likewise, reading and absorbing assigned materials will be important, with roughly half of each examination concentrating on their content. Students unwilling to read two relatively compact books and a collection of articles are advised not to enroll.
Required Reading Materials: (1) Stuart Macintyre, A Concise History of Australia, 3rd ed. (Cambridge University Press, 2009); (2) Ian Ward and Randal G. Stewart, Politics One, 4th ed. (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012); additional readings will be made available on Canvas.