Faculty of Arts

 Political Science

Table of Contents

Subject Lists
    First-year subjects
    Second/third-year subjects
    Fourth year Honours subjects
    Subjects not offered in 1999
        Second/third-year subjects not offered in 1999
        Fourth year Honours subjects not offered in 1999

Political Science is the study of how individuals and groups exercise power and influence, or resist power and influence being exercised over them. It deals with an enormous range of phenomena, from how individuals formulate their own self-identity and political allegiance to how nations become involved in war.

The study of politics is a crucial part of any liberal education, linking readily with History, Philosophy, Sociology and Anthropology, Psychology, Criminology, Social Theory and Literary Studies. The Department of Political Science subjects focus not merely on current Australian issues but also on areas such as Europe, post-communist societies, the United States and China. There are also subjects dealing with broad issues of social and economic change, as well as subjects dealing with political and philosophical ideas, debates and assumptions. Other subjects concentrate on providing practical experience and a variety of skills used in political analysis.

The study of Political Science helps in gaining an understanding of the major social and political issues which dominate the local and international agenda. Heightened personal awareness, self-confidence and a firm grasp of specific knowledge are other key benefits you will derive from a study of politics.

 1. Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for first-year subjects in Political Science.

The prerequisite for a second/third year Politics subject is two first-year subjects in Politics (25 points). Students who have completed only 12.5 points of first year study in Politics, or have done suitable alternative subjects may apply to the second/third year coordinator for permission to enrol. Exemptions may also be granted where second/third year Politics subjects are taken as part of an approved interdepartmental program with its own entry requirements.

 2. Requirements for a Major

A Major in Political Science usually consist of nine 12.5 point subjects, totalling 112.5 points. It comprises:

• Two first-year subjects in Political Science (25 points), and;

• Seven second/third-year subjects in Political Science totalling 87.5 points.

 3. Honours entry

The prerequisites for entry to fourth year Honours in Political Science are:

• Completion of all the requirements for the BA, and;

• Completion of a Major in Political Science, and;

• Usually, an average grade of H2A or higher over the second/third-year subjects within the Major.

Entry to Honours must be approved by the Honours coordinator and the Faculty of Arts Honours course adviser.

Students wishing to undertake their thesis in the Political Science Department will need to make written application to the Honours coordinator by October 31 in the year previous to which admission to Honours is sought. Forms will be available from the Departmental Office in September.

 4. Honours requirements

 4.1. Pure Honours

Students undertaking pure Honours in Political Science complete:

• 166-068 Politics Honours Thesis (37.5 points), and;

• Five Honours subjects in Political Science (equivalent to 62.5 points), including 166-055 Approaches to Political and Social Inquiry.

 4.2. Combined Honours

Students undertaking combined Honours in Political Science complete:

• 166-068 Politics Honours Thesis (37.5 points), and;

• Two Honours subjects in Political Science (equivalent to 25 points), including 166-055 Approaches to Political and Social Inquiry.

• Three Honours subjects in the combined area of study (equivalent to 37.5 points).

or

• Honours thesis in the combined area of study (37.5 points), and;

• Two Honours subjects in the combined area of study (equivalent to 25 points), and;

• Three Honours subjects in Political Science (equivalent to 37.5 points.

 5. Further study

Graduate Studies in Political Science at Melbourne is already well established with over 150 postgraduate students pursuing PhDs, MAs, Postgraduate Diplomas and Graduate Diplomas. Further enquiries about postgraduate courses should be directed to the Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Political Science.

 6. Career opportunities

Graduates of the Bachelor of Arts who have majored in Political Science are highly sought after by employers and find that they are on the threshold of many interesting career paths. For example, you may go on to choose a career as a journalist, a diplomat, a policy analyst, a public servant, a management consultant, research consultant, psychologist, or any job which involves critical analysis and writing skills such as an academic, film-maker, educational researcher, politician, media worker, research assistant to parliamentarians and trade unions, school teacher, in banking, business or management (especially in the export industries). Those considering working in government, the law, for welfare agencies or lobby groups, in the creative arts, in public relations and the public service will find the study of politics especially valuable. You will find that international opportunities are opened up by the study of politics, such as posts in the United Nations or its specialised agencies, GATT, overseas aid agencies, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and many more.

 7. For more information

Department of Political Science
Fourth floor, John Medley Building
The University of Melbourne
Parkville Victoria 3052
Tel. +61 3 9344 6565
Fax +61 3 9344 7906
Web: http://www.politics.unimelb.edu.au

First-year subjects

166-001 Australian Politics: Institutions, Parties and Issues
166-002 Contemporary Issues in Australian Politics: Citizenship and Globalisation
166-003 Australian Society: Class, Gender, Race, Ethnicity and Sexuality
166-004 Change and Conflict in Australian Society
166-005 Introduction to Political Ideas
166-006 Media, Politics and Society
166-007 Contemporary Political Ideologies and Movements
166-008 The Making of Modern Europe: Managing Identity in Contemporary Europe
166-009 Politics and the Postcolonial World
166-010 Introduction to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
131-011 The Making of Modern Europe: Reason and the State

Second/third-year subjects

166-013 Parliamentary Internship
166-015 Transforming Australian Culture: State, Society and the Australian Way of Life
166-016 American Politics and Society
166-018 Chinese Politics and Society
166-019 Russian Politics and Society
166-020 Modern Political Thought
166-021 International Relations
166-022 Public Policy Making in Australia
166-023 Issues in American Foreign Policy
166-024 International Gender Politics
166-025 Conflict, Control and Corruption in Western Europe
166-026 The Politics of Ecology
166-027 Australia in the International Political Economy
166-028 Political Psychology: The Public Emotions and the Public Self
166-029 World Politics in Transition
166-030 Dictatorships, Democracies and Transition: Russian and East European Politics
166-031 The Political Economy of Russia
166-034 An/Other China: Theorising Everyday Life
166-035 Australian Foreign Relations
166-038 Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
166-039 Public Affairs Internship (International Students)
166-043 Public Affairs Internship
166-040 Constitutional Design and Change
166-041 Australian Public Policy and Public Sector Change: Current Trends
166-042 Power: Doing Political Analysis
166-044 Parliamentary Internship (International Students)
166-045 International Studies: Maps and Narratives
103-001 Computer Applications
131-036 Indonesian Nationalism: Ethnicity and Religious Change in the Twentieth Century
131-037 Military and State in Twentieth-Century Indonesia
110-074 Indonesian Political Economy
116-031 Foreignness, Integration and Exclusion: Culture and Identity in Contemporary France and Germany

Fourth year Honours subjects

166-068 Politics Honours Thesis
166-046 Managing Diversity
166-047 Australian Politics: Citizenship, Rights and Democracy
166-048 Politics 4A
166-049 Politics 4B
166-051 International Political Economy Theory
166-052 Dilemmas of European Unity: Nation, State and Europe
166-055 Approaches to Political and Social Inquiry
166-057 Leadership in Politics, Organisations and Groups
166-058 Law and the Ethics of Government
166-059 The Emerging World (Dis)Order
166-060 Postcolonial Concerns, Postmodern Theory
166-061 Theories of the Cold War
166-065 Issues in German Politics
166-066 Globalisation and its Discontents
166-067 The Australian Welfare State in International Perspective

Subjects not offered in 1999

Second/third-year subjects not offered in 1999

Fourth year Honours subjects not offered in 1999

Status:                   Official 1999
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Email Enquiries:          Course_Information@registrar.unimelb.edu.au