POLS221 - Politics in Practice: Solving Contemporary Political Challenges

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

Unit rationale, description and aim

As the world enters what many political leaders, policymakers and scholars consider to be a particularly volatile era in the early twenty-first century, political scientists and international relations analysts will play an increasingly vital role in society. This unit offers students a practical and hands-on guide that will ensure they understand the major political crises and challenges we face and what, if anything, we might do about it. In today's complex and interconnected world, where unpredicted events shape and shift the way we think, governments, industries, businesses, NGOs, think tanks, and advocacy groups all depend on practically engaged researchers to help them understand and overcome the challenges our society confronts. The aim of this unit is to equip students with the key tools, approaches and methods in political science and international relations so that they can think critically and act decisively in an ever-changing world.

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 major political crises and challenges we face and the key institutional arrangements in which they operate (GA5) 

LO2 - Critically discuss diverse political perspectives, particularly with respect to marginalised, disadvantaged, and vulnerable peoples and communities (GA2) 

LO3 - Demonstrate the capacity to gather, analyse and advocate solutions to political problems through evidence-based argument and evaluation of secondary and primary sources (GA4, GA7, GA8, GA9) 

LO4 - Apply concepts, theories, trends and methods used in the study of political science and international relations to the analysis of interests, ideas, institutions and political behaviour in a way that informs students’ own practices of engaged citizenship (GA6).

Graduate attributes

GA2 - recognise their responsibility to the common good, the environment and society 

GA4 - think critically and reflectively 

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

GA6 - solve problems in a variety of settings taking local and international perspectives into account

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 

Content

Topics will include: 

• Research methods in political science and international relations and their application 
• Theory-driven versus puzzle-driven research 
• Applied political science 
• Major political crises and challenges (i.e. climate change, human migration, inequality, healthcare, education) 
• Running for political office 
• Lobbying 
• Protest and activism 
• Ethical consumption 

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

This unit offers two formal ways of learning and teaching. Lectures are organised based on case-based learning, a format that involves deep learning. Students 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, concepts and methods critical to understanding, analysing and engaging real world political challenges.  

Tutorials for this unit provide opportunities for active learning. Students will engage in activities including reading, writing, interrogating ideas, exploring case studies and giving presentations. These activities, as well as promoting analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of lecture content, are designed to build skills appropriate to second year study in Politics and International Relations.  

This 10-credit point unit has been for 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 lectures, tutorials, reading, reflection, discussion, webinars, podcasts, video etc.

Assessment strategy and rationale

A range of assessment procedures will be used to meet the unit learning outcomes and develop graduate attributes consistent with University assessment requirements. The assessment strategy allows students to engage in a variety of tasks, each aligned to their own learning outcomes. 

The student-led task (in-class presentation) enables students to describe the nature and significance of a key political crisis or challenge we face and the key institutional arrangements in which it operates and to critically discuss diverse political perspectives, particularly with respect to marginalised, disadvantaged, and vulnerable peoples and communities. 

The major written task (plan of action) gives students opportunity to gather, analyse and advocate ethical solutions to political problems through evidence-based argument and evaluation of secondary and primary sources and to apply concepts, theories, trends and methods used in the study of political science and international relations to the analysis of interests, ideas, institutions and political behaviour in a way that informs students’ own practices of engaged citizenship.

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Boczkowski, Pablo J. and Papacharissii, Zizi (eds.) (2018) Trump and the Media. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. 

Chadwick, Andrew (2017) The Hybrid Media System: Politics and Power. 2nd edition. New York: Oxford University Press. 

Esser, Frank and Stromback, Jesper (eds.) (2014) Mediatization of Politics: Understanding the Transformation of Western Democracies. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. 

Hallin, Daniel C. and Mancini, Paolo (eds.) (2011) Comparing Media Systems Beyond the Western World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 

Highfield, Tim (2016) Social Media and Everyday Politics. Cambridge: Polity. 

Iyengar, Shanto (2015) Media Politics: A Citizen’s Guide. 3rd edition. New York: W.W. Norton. 

Kenski, Kate and Jamieson, Kathleen Hall (2017) The Oxford Handbook of Political Communication. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 

McNair, Brian, Flew, Terry, Harrington, Stephen and Swift, Adam (2017) Politics, Media and Democracy in Australia: Public and Producer Perceptions of the Political Public Sphere. New York: Routledge.  

Papacharissi, Zizi (2014) Affective Publics: Sentiment, Technology, and Politics. Oxford: Oxford Unviersity Press. 

Young, Sally (2011) How Australia Decides: Election Reporting and the Media. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.