• Offered by School of Politics and International Relations
  • ANU College ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences
  • Course subject Political Science
  • Areas of interest Political Sciences
  • Academic career UGRD
  • Course convener
    • Jillian Sheppard
  • Mode of delivery In Person
  • Offered in Second Semester 2014
    See Future Offerings

Australia is one of the world’s oldest liberal democracies.  This longevity is due, in part, to institutional design.  A close examination of Australia’s political institutions reveals both stability and evolution from their original design.  This course explores this stability and change dynamic through an examination of the Australian political system. It provides students with an overview of the cleavages that characterize Australia and the institutions that attempt to manage them.  This course concentrates on formal political institutions paying particular attention to the constitution, institutions of government (e.g. High Court, Parliament, federalism), and electoral competition. We will also compare Australia to other advanced democracies enhancing our understanding of the Australian state.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

Upon completing this course students should be able to:

1.     Critically analyse the structure and dynamics of Australian political institutions

2.     Analyse the contribution of institutions to our understanding of Australian politics

3.     Apply the various analytical frameworks of political science to Australian institutions

4.     Be able to place Australian political institutions in comparative perspective by making reference to other advanced democracies

5.     Have developed their research, writing, and verbal presentation skills.

Indicative Assessment

Workshop participation 10% (learning Outcomes: 1, 3, 5)

Mid-TermExamination (1 hour, in class): 20% (Learning Outcomes: 1, 2, 3)

Research Paper (10-12pages, 2500-3000 words) 40%(Learning Outcomes: 1, 3, 4, 5)

Final Exam: (2 hours) 30% (Learning Outcomes: 1, 2, 3)

The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.

Workload

Three hour workshop each week.Students are expected to undertake 7 hours of independent study a week including reading and preparing essays.). Lectures will be recorded.

Requisite and Incompatibility

To enrol in this course you must have completed POLS1002 and 6 units of 1000 level POLS courses; or permission of the convenor

Prescribed Texts

To be determined

Majors

Minors

Fees

Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.  

If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Students continuing in their current program of study will have their tuition fees indexed annually from the year in which you commenced your program. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.

Student Contribution Band:
1
Unit value:
6 units

If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.  Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.

Units EFTSL
6.00 0.12500
Domestic fee paying students
Year Fee Description
1994-2003 $1164
2014 $2478
2013 $2472
2012 $2472
2011 $2424
2010 $2358
2009 $2286
2008 $2286
2007 $2286
2006 $2286
2005 $2286
2004 $1926
International fee paying students
Year Fee
1994-2003 $2574
2014 $3246
2013 $3240
2012 $3240
2011 $3240
2010 $3240
2009 $3240
2008 $3240
2007 $3132
2006 $3132
2005 $3132
2004 $2916
Note: Please note that fee information is for current year only.

Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links

ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.

The list of offerings for future years is indicative only.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.

Second Semester

Class number Class start date Last day to enrol Census date Class end date Mode Of Delivery Class Summary
8902 21 Jul 2014 01 Aug 2014 31 Aug 2014 30 Oct 2014 In Person N/A

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