As industrialized societies become more diverse, there is a growing need to understand how ‘racial,’ ethnic and religious minorities participate in politics and society. This course will focus on the political and social inclusion of migrant and ethnic minority (MEM) groups in Australia and other countries. It considers such questions as: Are there differences in the participation and voting behaviours of members from migrant and ethnic minority groups, compared to other citizens? Is there such a thing as the ‘ethnic vote’? What are the political behaviours of ethnic, ‘racial’ and religious minorities in comparison to citizens from majority groups? What are the sources of mobilization for minority political participation? What are the individual, cultural and structural barriers to full participation among MEM groups within Western democracies? The course considers these questions in both an Australian and comparative context, and looks carefully at how contextual differences matter.
The course is designed both as an exercise in covering the theory and literature in the field, and as a vehicle for encouraging research in migration politics. With respect to theory, the course covers themes in comparative and Australian political science including mass political behaviour, parties and party systems, parliamentary systems, elections and electoral systems, representation, legislative behaviour, social capital, identity politics, political elites, citizenship frameworks and immigration policies. With respect to research, the course includes online tasks that are designed to help you engage in research on significant questions regarding the political participation of minority groups in Australia and in comparative perspective.
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:
- Evaluate the
contribution that research evidence makes to our understanding of migration
politics.
- Critically
assess and present arguments based on migrant politics literature.
- Assess the
most important events and issues underpinning migration politics.
- Discuss and
reassess central ideas in weekly assessment tasks.
- Analyze survey data using software packages.
- Develop analytical and writing skills through reflection paper and essay.
Indicative Assessment
Seminar Paper (500 words) (20%) LOs 1,2
Reflection Paper (800 words) (30%) LOs 3,4
Essay (2200 words) (50%) Los 5-6
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
Online: 1 hour of lecture, 2 hours of directed online learning activities per week for 12 weeks. Students are expected to commit a further 94 hours of independent study over the semester (total 130 hours).
Preliminary Reading
Jennifer L. Hochschild and John Mollenkopf. 2009. “Modeling Immigrant Political Incorporation.” Ch. 2 in Bringing Outsiders In: Transatlantic Perspectives on Immigrant Political Incorporation. New York: Cornell University Press, 2009.
Laura Morales. 2011. “Conceptualizing and Measuring Migrants’ Political Inclusion” Pp 19- 42 in L. Morales and M. Giugni (eds.), Social Capital, Political Participation and Migration in Europe. New York: Palgrave.
Thomas Saalfeld, Andreas Wüst and Karen Bird. 2010. “Epilogue: Towards a Strategic Model of Minority Participation and Representation” Pp 266-275 in Bird et al., The Political Representation of Immigrants and Minorities: Voters, Parties and Parliaments in Liberal Democracies. New York: Routledge.
Kanchan Chandra. 2006. “What is Ethnic Identity and Does it Matter?” Annual Review of Political Science, vol. 9: 397-424.
James Jupp. 2003. How Well Does Australian Democracy Serve Immigrant Australians (Democratic Audit of Australia report no. 1). Canberra: Australian National University.
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you 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). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 14
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found 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 |
|---|---|
| 2024 | $4440 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2024 | $6000 |
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.
First Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2498 | 23 Feb 2026 | 02 Mar 2026 | 31 Mar 2026 | 29 May 2026 | Online | N/A |
