1996 Swinburne Higher Education Handbook

nationalism reflected in the nature of Japan's modernisation,
the consequences of her emergence as a world power, her
defeat, and re-emergence as an economic power. An
examination of the social configuration of Japanese society
will shed light on what are claimed to be the characteristic
features which distinguish contemporary Japan from other
industrialised societies, especially in politics, education,
business operations and employer-employee relations.
Recommended reading
Storry, R. A History ofModm Japan. 2nd edn, Harmondsworth,
Penguin, 1969
AP206 Politics of China A
3 hours per week Hawthorn Prerequisite: one stage one
political studies subject Assessment: continuous
A subject in the Bachelor of Arts
(This subject cannot be taken by students who have ~assed
AP305 Comparative Politics China A or AP309 Chinese
Politics A)
Objectives and Content
In 1949 the Chinese Communist Party came to power after
the defeat of the Nationalists. This subject investigates the
development of 'New China' through an examination of the
political system, different models for economic growth,
social restructuring, mass campaigns and the place given to
dissent. Through an examination of these issues, an
understanding of the factors that have made China the
nation it is today, its political culture, shifting ideological
framework and changing relations with the West will be
reached. By the end of the subject, some insights into the
future options that lie before China will be possible.
Recommended reading
Meisner, M. Mao's China and A&. New York, The Free Press,
1986
Spence, J. The Search For Modern China. New York, W.W.
Norton & Company, 1990
Townsend, J. and Womack, B. Politics in China. 3rd edn, Boston,
Little Brown, 1986
AP207 Modern Australia
3 hours per week Hawthorn Prerequisite: any stage one
political studies subject or equivalent Assessment: essays and
tutorial participation
A subject in the Bachelor of Arts
Objectives and Content
This subject explores the patterns of change that have
shaped contemporary Australia. It starts by looking at the
attempts to build a fairer society at the turn of the century,
and at the modern social institutions which emerged from
that process. It next considers the impact of the Great War,
of prosperity in the 1920s and depression in the 1930s on the
manner in which wealth and Dower were shared. It then
examines how the experience'of those thirty years shaped
the grand plans to establish a more just and secure nation
after the Second World War. Through a survey of the long
post-war boom, it analyses the effects of Australia's relations
with its major allies on domestic and foreign ~olicies. The
subject concludes with a study of the ways in which recent
governments have tried to adapt national interests to a
rapidly changing world.
Recommended reading
Macintyre, S. The Oxford History ofAustralia, vo1.4,1901-1942, fie
Succeeding Age, Melbourne, Oxford University Press, 1986
AP300 Public Policy in Australia
3 hours per week Hawthorn Prerequisite: APlOO or
equivalent, two stage two political studies subjects
Assessment: continuous
A subject in the Bachelor of Arts
Objectives and Content
In this subject the decision and policy-making structures and
processes of the Australian Federal Government are
examined. While the focus is on the Federal Government,
other institutions and actors in the policy process will also,
where necessary, be examined. This could include state
government, business and labour organisations, and other
interest and pressure groups. The approach to the study of
the decision and policy-making process is through a critical
evaluation of the performance and programs of the Hawke
and Keating Labor Governments. There are lectures and
workshops dealing with selected areas of labor government
policy. Students are able to specialise in an area of
government policy and are asked to submit a policy case
study at the end of the semester.
Recommended reading
Davis, G., Wanna, J., Warhurst, J. and Weller, D. Public Policy in
Australia. 2nd edn, St. Leonards, Allen & Unwin, 1993
Gruen, F. and Grattan, M. Managing Government Labor's
Achievements and Failures. Melbourne, Longman Cheshire, 1993
AP303 Politics of the USSR
(Not offered in 1996)
3 hours per week Hawthorn Prerequisite: two stage two
political studies subjects Assessment: continuous
A subject in the Bachelor of Arts
(This subject cannot be taken by students who have passed
AP302 Comparative Politics The Soviet Union)
Objectives and Content
This subject introduces students to the political history of
the Soviet Union from 1924 to the Gorbachev era. It looks
at the decision to collectivise agriculture and embark on a
crash program of industrialisation in the late 1920s as the
key for understanding Stalin's rise to power and the
establishment of his dictatorship. The political economy of
the Stalinist system in the 1940s and 1950s is examined with
the aim of providing a framework for understanding
subsequent attempts at economic and political reform.
Krushchev's --
rise to Dower is considered and the limitations
of his populist approach to reform examined. The ousting of
Khrushchev and the establishment in power of Brezhnev is
inter~retated as a victory for the party apparatus and the
consolidation of a conservative bureaucratic dictatorship.
The failure of the reforms under Andropov provides the