AIP301 - Political Parties and Social Movements
Unit details
| Year: | 2019 unit information |
|---|---|
| Enrolment modes: | Trimester 1: Burwood (Melbourne), Online |
| Credit point(s): | 1 |
| EFTSL value: | 0.125 |
| Trimester 1 Unit Chair: | Geoffrey Robinson |
| Prerequisite: | One unit at level 2 in the Politics and Policy Studies major, or equivalent, or with the permission of the Unit Chair |
| Corequisite: | Nil |
| Incompatible with: | AIP207 |
| Scheduled learning activities - campus: | 1 x 2 hour Class per week |
| Scheduled learning activities - cloud (online): | 1 x 2 hour Class per week (recordings provided) |
Content
A contrast between declining interest in formal politics and increasing interest in the less formal politics of social movements poses challenges to conventional understandings of what should be the main form of democratic mobilisation, organisation and expression. Why are so many people in advanced First World countries cynical about politicians? What can political parties do about this? What has been happening to the nature, operation and function of political parties? This unit will further students’ knowledge of political parties and social movements by surveying the histories and various configurations of political parties in Australia and other countries. It will also examine how other forms of mobilisation, including social movements, help to revitalise democracy. Topics include: labour movements and parties of labour; conservative and liberal parties; centrist parties; agrarian parties; civil rights and indigenous peoples’ rights movements; student radicalism including in the “sixties”; green movements and parties; feminist movements; new-right movements and neo-liberal parties; xenophobic populist parties; and the anti-corporate or global economic justice movement and Occupy Wall Street movements.
Assessment
Assessment 1 - Essay (2000 words) - 50%
Assessment 2 - Essay (2000 words) - 50%
Unit Fee Information
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