This course explores the topical phenomenon of populism from a sociological perspective. It includes, but is not limited to, populism in politics. Topics covered thus include:
1) What is populism? Politics offers the most common definition of populism today: social movements and parties that claim to be 'of the people' and 'against the elite'. But is this sufficient?
2) Intellectual and 'cultural' populism: the celebration of all things 'authentic' and 'direct', most notably in the case of popular music, but often in all forms of popular culture.
3) The problem of 'simulated authenticity': how can anything be authentically 'of the people'. What role do different forms of media, including journalism, play here?
4) The dark side of populism: the scapegoating of those deemed 'enemies of the people' by populist demagogues inside and outside politics.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
Upon successful completion of this course, students will have the knowledge and skills to:- recognise some key controversies and debates within the literature on populism;
- identify the basic elements of dispute within a theoretical or methodological perspective;
- display skills associated with scholarly inquiry about populism including those related to critical analysis, argument and written expression; and
- express ideas in writing with conceptual coherence.
Indicative Assessment
Critical Review, 1500 words (40%) Learning Outcomes 1-4Tutorial Presentation of 10 minutes (10%) Learning Outcomes 1-3
Final Essay, 3000 words (50%) Learning Outcomes 1, 2, and 4
In response to COVID-19: Please note that Semester 2 Class Summary information (available under the classes tab) is as up to date as possible. Changes to Class Summaries not captured by this publication will be available to enrolled students via Wattle.
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Workload
130 hours of total student learning time made up from:a) 36 hours of contact: 24 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorials and tutorial-like activities; and
b) 94 hours of independent student research, reading and writing.
Requisite and Incompatibility
Prescribed Texts
Links to Readings will be provided on the course Wattle site and Library ebrick.Preliminary Reading
Berezin M. (2009) Illiberal Politics in Neoliberal Times: Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bartlett J, Birdwell J and Littler M. (2012) The new face of digital populism: Demos.
Eco,U. (2007) Turning Back the Clock: Hot Wars and Media Populism. Orlando: Harvest/Harcourt: 128-156.
Frith, S. (1991) ‘The Good, the Bad, and the Indifferent: Defending Popular Culture from the Populists’, Diacritics, 21:4 (Winter): 102 -115.
Worsley,P. (1969) ‘The Concept of Populism’. In G. Ionescu and E. Gellner (eds.), Populism: Its Meaning and National Characteristics. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson: 212-250
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. Tuition fees are indexed annually. 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 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2020 | $3120 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2020 | $4800 |
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6831 | 25 Jul 2022 | 01 Aug 2022 | 31 Aug 2022 | 28 Oct 2022 | In Person | View |
