131-299 Australia in the World: 1914-2001

Usually 25 points of first-year history.

This subject offers a broad overview of Australian understandings of its place in the 20th century world. It will be of interest both to students wanting a broad understanding of Australia's foreign policies in the 20th century, and to students interested in the ways understandings of the world outside have shaped Australia's domestic political culture. The course will begin with a consideration of Australia's place as a white Dominion in the British empire, its involvement in World War 1, and the strategic considerations that resulted in the formation of the Commonwealth. Attention will be given to Australia's role in the Asian-Pacific region after World War 1, especially in New Guinea and the Pacific islands. The broad shift of Australian loyalty from Britain to the United States will be examined in cultural and social as well as foreign policy terms: World War 2 and the Vietnam wars will be considered as well as the effects of Hollywood and Americanisation more generally. Another strand of the subject will examine the ways in which members of Australian social movements - Communists and anti-Communists, feminists, and indigenous political activists among others - have been influenced by international movements of ideas and engagement with the United Nations. The course will conclude with some case studies of moments in recent history when Australia's relationship with the world has come under particular scrutiny: the crisis in East Timor, the 2000 Olympics, the refugee crisis of 2001, and the war on terrorism.

Class participation, and written work totalling 4000 words.

A subject reader will be available.