Please note - Swinburne University of Technology

APIOI Foundations of Modern Politics
No. of hours per week: three hours
Prerequisites: nil
Assessment: by class work and essap
Subject aims and description
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,
Vietnam and Afghanistan wars.
Textbooks
La Feber, Walter, America, Russia and the Cold War. 6th edn, New
York: McGraw-Hill, 1991
References
Ambrose, S.E., Rise to Globalism: American Foreign blicy Since 1938.
6th rev. edn, New York: Penguin, 1991
Nogee, J.L. and Donaldson. R.H. Soviet foreign Policy Since Mrld
War 11. 3rd edn. New York: Pergamon Press, 1988
2 API 12 Australian Identities
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No. of hours per week: three hours
r" Prerequisites: nil
% Assessment: by essays and tutorial participation
> Subject aims and description
2 This is the first in a new sequence of Australian Studies
subjects.
This subject examines four ways in which people identify
themselves as members of society. It begins by looking at
national identity to see how different ideas of what it means
to be Australian have developed during the last one hundred
years. ~t goes on to explore the role of families in moulding
gender identity. This is followed by a study of how people
have defined themselves in terms of the work they do and
then looks at the way cultural heritages have shaped ethnic
identity. The subject concludes with a discussion of the
social movements that have grown out of these collective
identities.
Preliminary reading
White, R. Inventing Australia: Images and Identity. 16887980.
Sydney: George Allen and Unwin, 1981
API 13 Asia: Politics and Development
No. of hours per week: three hours
Prerequisites: nil
Assessment: by essays and tutorial participation
Subject aims and description
This subject examines the social and economic changes
taking place in contemporary Asia. The aim is to understand
what is happening in this region which is of immense
importance to Australia. The emergence of regional
superpowers, growth in high-tech industries, political
instability and continuing poverty are continuing
characteristics of contemporary Asia. How did these occur?
Topics include: politics of aid, commercialisation of
agriculture, the environment, industrialisation and labour and
the role of the state.
References
Bello, W. and Rosenfeld, 5. Dragons in Distress. Asia's Miracle
Economies in Criss. London: Penguin, 1992
McCoy, A.W. Priests on Tral Ringwood. Vic.: Penguin. 1984
AP114 Australia and Asia
No. of hours per week: three hours
Prerequisites: nil
Assessment: continuous
Subject aims and description
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.
References
Evans, G. and Grant. 6. Australia's foreign Relations in the Mrld of
the 1990s. Carlton, Vic.: Melbourne University Press, 1992
Garnaut, R. Australia and the Northeast Asian Ascendency. Canberra:
AGPS, 1989
API 15 Introduction to Modern Asia
No. of hours per week: three hours
Prerequisites: nil
Assessment: continuous
Subject aims and description
This subject provides an introduction to modern Asia
through the biographicallautobiographical accounts of four
major leaders who fundamentally altered the political
framework of their countries, They include Mahatma Gandhi,
Mao Zedong, Benazir Bhutto and Corazon Aquino. The
course will consider their contribution within the broader
context of nationalism, revolution and modernisation. It
offers important insights into the history, politics and culture
of diverse societies in Asia. Some of the topics covered
include India's nationalist movement, the growth of
communism in China, and democratisation in the Philippines
and Pakistan.
References
Fischer, L. Gandhi. His Life and Message to the World. New York:
Penguin, 1982
Gonzalez-Yap, M. The Making of Cory. Quezon City: New Day
Publishers, 1987
lamb, C. Waiting for Allah. Benazir Bhufto and Pakistan. London:
Penguin, 1992
Murphy, R. A. History of Aria. New York: Harper Collins, 1992
APZOO Advanced Australian Politics
Not offered 1994
No. of hours per week: three hours
Prerequisite: any stage one political studies
subject or approved equivalent. A background in
Australian Politics
andlor social and political theory is desirable.
Assessment: continuous
Subject aims and description
In this subject an analysis of power structure in Australia is
attempted.
There are four main sections:
Section 1
The Condition of the People. This section surveys distribution
of wealth, distribution of income, aspects of poverty, and
social mobility.
Section 2
The Will of the People. This section analyses the social policy
of the Whitlam Government 1972-75, and the electorate's
response.