POLS140 - The Global Citizen: Civics and Citizenship in a Changing World

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

Teaching organisation

Unit rationale, description and aim

Citizenship is not what it used to be. In the age of globalisation, most of us are not only citizens of a particular country or community. We are also global citizens. But what does it mean to be a citizen of the world? What rights and duties do global citizens have? In this unit, students will explore the nature of citizenship in all its manifestations, from the local to the national to the global. In particular, the unit will critically examine the role that civics and citizenship education can play, both in Australia and internationally, in nurturing an intercultural and cosmopolitan outlook fit for citizens of the twenty-first century. Particular attention will be paid to how children and young people develop as citizens in a global context and how we can better understand their political activism today. How citizenship is constructed and practiced is immensely political. From how it is taught in schools to our children to the way that government policies apply it to new citizens, understanding the complex nature of citizenship in the twenty-first century is increasingly necessary for educators, policy analysts, and political consultants alike. The aim of this unit is to provide students the necessary grounding to understand and engage in sophisticated discussions about the state of civics and citizenship today.

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

LO1 - Describe the nature and significance of the various conceptions of citizen and citizenship and the different political contexts – local, national, global – in which they operate (GA5) 

LO2 - Critically discuss diverse political perspectives in citizenship studies, particularly with respect to marginalised, disadvantaged, and vulnerable peoples and communities (GA1, GA7) 

LO3 - Demonstrate the capacity to gather and analyse solutions to civic problems through evidence-based argument and evaluation of secondary sources (GA4, GA8, GA9)

LO4 - Apply relevant concepts and trends to the analysis of civics and citizenship education in a way that informs students’ own practices of engaged citizenship (GA10). 

Graduate attributes

GA1 - demonstrate respect for the dignity of each individual and for human diversity 

GA4 - think critically and reflectively 

GA5 - demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession 

GA7 - work both autonomously and collaboratively 

GA8 - locate, organise, analyse, synthesise and evaluate information 

GA9 - demonstrate effective communication in oral and written English language and visual media 

GA10 - utilise information and communication and other relevant technologies effectively.

Content

Topics will include: 

• Citizen compliance vs citizen resistance 
• Communitarianism and cosmopolitanism 
• Identity: nationalism, race, gender 
• Globalisation and glocalisation 
• Post-national and ‘de-national’ citizenships 
• Young people’s political participation and innovations 
• Asia literacy and intercultural competencies 
• Civics and citizenship education in Australia and internationally 
• The Discovery Democracy Program 
• Formal and informal political participation 
• Global activism and social movements 

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

This unit engages students in active learning activities, such as reading, writing, discussion and problem-solving to promote analysis, synthesis and evaluation of class content. In this unit, lectures are structured to promote case-based learning, a format that involves collaborative deep learning. Students will explore real world challenges and problems, a process that requires them to demonstrate their investigative, problem-solving and decision-making skills. Case-based learning requires learning specific theories and concepts that will complement the conceptual tools and theoretical knowledge critical to analysing divergent approaches in civics and citizenship. 

Tutorials for this unit provide students opportunities for active learning. Students will engage in activities including reading, writing, interrogating ideas, and debating. In particular, students will act collaboratively to deliver presentations during the tutorials. Collaborative learning is an important component of active learning and sits within a community of inquiry theoretical framework. These activities, as well as promoting analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of lecture content, are designed to build skills appropriate to first year study in Politics and International Relations. 

This is a 10-credit point unit and has been designed to ensure that the time needed to complete the required volume of learning to the requisite standard is approximately 150 hours in total across the semester. To achieve a passing standard in this unit, students will find it helpful to engage in the full range of learning activities and assessments utilised in this unit, as described in the learning and teaching strategy and the assessment strategy. The learning and teaching and assessment strategies include a range of approaches to support your learning such as reading, reflection, discussion, webinars, podcasts, video etc. 

Assessment strategy and rationale

The assessment strategy allows students to engage in a variety of tasks, each aligned to their own learning outcomes. 

The descriptive task (online quizzes) requires students to describe the nature and significance of the various conceptions of citizen and citizenship and the different political contexts – local, national, global – in which they operate.  

The student-led analytical learning task (presentation) helps students to work together to teach a topic on citizenship to their peers. They are required to critically discuss diverse political perspectives in citizenship studies, particularly with respect to marginalised, disadvantaged, and vulnerable peoples and communities. 

The written task enables students to develop, research, and write an essay on contemporary civics and citizenship education. This requires students opportunity to gather and analyse ethical solutions to civic problems through evidence-based argument and evaluation of secondary sources and to apply relevant concepts and trends to the analysis of civics and citizenship education in a way that informs students’ own practices of engaged citizenship.  

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Arnot, M. (2009). Educating the gendered citizen: sociological engagements with national and global agendas. London: Routledge. 

Arvanitakis, J., & Marren, S. (2009). ‘Putting the politics back into Politics: Young people and democracy in Australia’, Whitlam Institute Discussion Paper January. 

Cabrera, L. (2010). The practice of global citizenship. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.  

Chou, M., Gagnon, JP., Hartung, C., & Pruitt, L. (2017). Young People, Citizenship and Political Participation: Combatting Civic Deficit? London: Rowman and Littlefield International. 

Civic Expert Group. (1994). Whereas the people… Civics and citizenship education. Canberra, ACT: Australian Government Publishing Service. 

Dower, N., & Williams, J. (Eds.) (2002). Global citizenship: A critical introduction. New York: Routledge. 

Evans, M., Halupka, M., & Stoker, G. (2014). The power of one voice – Power, powerlessness and Australian democracy. Institute of Governance and Policy Analysis and the Museum of Australian Democracy: Canberra, ACT. 

Loader, B., Vromen, A., & Xenos, M. (2014). The networked young citizen: Social media, political participation and civic engagement. London: Routledge. 

Peterson, A. & Tudball, L. (2016). Civics and Citizenshp Education in Australia: Challenges, Practices and International Perspectives. New York: Bloomsbury. 

Schattle, H. (2008). The practices of global citizenship. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield.