1996 Swinburne Higher Education Handbook

is a variety of political, social and ethical issues, including
vexed territory such as ownership and control of
information systems, privatisation and de-regulation of
broadcasting and telecomn~unications, corporate and
community information systems and international
information transfer.
Recommended reading
A Vision of an Intelligent Island. National Computer Board,
Singapore, March 1992
Alvarado, M. and Thompson, J. (eds) The Media Reader, London,
BFI Publishing, 1990
Skovmand, M. and Schroder, K.C. (eds.) Media Cultures: Re-
Appraising Tramnational Media. London, Routledge, 1992
Sussman, G. and Lent, J. Transnational Corporations: Wiring The
Third World. London, Sage Publications, 1991
APl 00 Australian Politics
3 hours per week Hawthorn Prerequisite: nil
Assessment: class work and essays
A subject in the Bachelor of Arts
Objectives and Content
This subject is an introduction to Australian politics. To
beein with the subject covers the basic framework of
go;ernment. The following topics are considered the
electoral system, , . the constitutional basis, federalism and the
Westminster system, parliament, cabinet and the public
sewice, the organisation of the main political parties, and
the role and future of minor political parties. These topics
are taught at a level which presumes no previous knowledge
of Australian However, as the subject progresses
students are introduced to the broader dimensions of politics
which include the role of pressure groups, their basis of
support, in the electorate and in society at large, and their
bearing on Australian democracy.
Recommended reading
Mayer, D.Y. Democracy in Australia. Melbourne, Dellasta, 1991
or
Jaensch, D. Parliament, Parties and People. Melbourne, Longman
Cheshire, 1991
API 01 Foundations of Modern Politics
3 hours per week Hawthorn Prerequisite: nil
Assessment: class work and essays
A subject in the Bachelor of Arts
Objectives and Content
This subject deals with the origin and development of the
main force shaping world politics since 1945 - namely the
Cold War between the US and the USSR. It deals with their
emergence as world powers, the origin of the conflict in
post-war Europe, and follows the development of US-Soviet
relations from the Truman-Stalin era to the break-up of the
USSR in the early 1990s. Particular emphasis is placed on
the impact of the Cold War on Australia's strategic
environment, the Asia-Pacific region, and topics include the
Korean and Vietnam wars.
Recommended reading
Ambrose, S.E., Rise to Globalism American Foreign Policy Since
1938. 7th rev. edn, New York, Penguin, 1993
LaFeber, Walter, America, Russia and the Cold War, 1945-1992.
7th edn, New York, McGraw-Hill, 1993
Walker, Martin, The Cold War and the Making of the Modern
World, London, Vintage, 1994
AP112 Australian Identities
3 hours per week 0 Hawthorn Prerequisite: nil
Assessmat: essays and tutorial participation
A subject in the Bachelor of Arts
Objectives and Content
This is the first in a sequence of Australian Studies subjects.
This subject examines the relationship between citizenship and
contemporary social movements. It begins with an analysis of
the core ideas which have shaped Australian national
identity. It goes on to explore the role of gender identity in
the emergence of contemporary feminism. This is followed
by a study of how the shared experience of work gave rise to
the labour movement, and how cultural heritages have been
politically mobilised as ethnic identities. The subject
concludes with an examination of how the promise of
formal equality underlying the nationalist idea of common
citizenship has been contested by these contemporary social
movements.
Recommended reading
White, R. Inventing Australia Images and IdPntity, 1688-1980.
Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 1981
Whitlock, Gillian and Carter, D. (eds), Images of Australia An
Introductory Reader in Australian Studies, St Lucia, University of
Queensland Press, 1992
AP114 Australia and Asia
3 hours per week Hawthorn Prerequisite: nil
Assessment: continuous
A subject in the Bachelor of Arts
Objectives and Content
This subject introduces students to Australia's relations with
the nations of Asia through a series of thematic classes and
case studies. It outlines the contours of the debate
concerning Australia's place in Asia and traces the process of
foreign policy making, outlining institutional structures,
pressure groups and key concepts such as the 'national
interest'. The various elements of foreign policy are
examined - trade, defence and security, aid and political
relations. The course has a historical dimension and
highlights the ways in which policies towards specific Asian
nations have changed over time.
Recommended reading
Evans, G. and Grant, B. Australia's Foreign Relations in the World
of the 1990s. Carlton, Vic., Melbourne University Press, 1992
Garnaut, R. Australia and the Northeast Asian Ascendency.
Canberra, AGPS, 1989
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