52673 Political Ideas and Change
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particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source
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Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.
Credit points: 6 cp
Result type: Grade and marks
Requisite(s): 12 credit points of completed study in spk(s): MAJ09476 48cp Social and Political Sciences Major
These requisites may not apply to students in certain courses. See access conditions.
Anti-requisite(s): 54051 Politics, Ideologies and Beliefs
Description
This subject investigates the main concepts that define politics, and which influence the everyday political lives of states, economies and civil societies. Drawing on real world contexts, students examine a range of contemporary political ideologies, including liberalism, conservatism, social democracy and nationalism.
Using ethnographic research methods, students conduct participant observation of one organisation, choosing from a range of political parties, non-government organisations, religious institutions, trade unions and political movements. By immersing themselves in their chosen organisation, students learn how the organisation’s goals and activities are shaped by different political ideas.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
| a. | Identify the key features of major contemporary political ideologies |
|---|---|
| b. | Analyse how contemporary social, political, cultural and religious institutions reflect political ideologies |
| c. | Undertake qualitative research, in particular, participant observation, and mobilise resulting empirical data for social analysis |
| d. | Communicate effectively and professionally in both oral and written formats |
Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)
This subject engages with the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs), which are tailored to the Graduate Attributes set for all graduates of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences:
- Act in a professional manner appropriate to communication industries (1.1)
- Employ appropriate research and inquiry skills to independently gather, organise and analyse information across diverse platforms (2.1)
- Act as reflexive critical thinkers and innovative creative practitioners who evaluate their own and others' work (2.2)
- Exemplify effective and appropriate communication in different communication industry contexts (6.1)
Teaching and learning strategies
This subject consists of lectures and tutorials, with independent student reading forming the basis for active, collaborative learning and supported by online and open education resources. Face-to-face classes incorporate a range of teaching and learning strategies including short presentations, videos, simulations, discussion of readings and case studies, student groupwork and individual in-class assessment. Tutorials and assignments provide opportunities for students to deepen their knowledge through critical analysis, creative, self-directed, and collaborative inquiry, library and digital research, and through giving and receiving constructive feedback. Tutorials and assignments enhance students’ capacity to apply their knowledge and to advocate and intervene ethically in public debates and global civil society, by developing professional skills in communication, responsible leadership and teamwork, project management, and problem solving. Early formative feedback is provided in class activities including quizzes.
Content (topics)
In this subject, students are introduced to a range of major contemporary ideologies, such as liberalism, conservatism, socialism, social democracy, environmentalism, and populism. They are introduced to ethnographic research methods, especially participant observation, and use these methods in on-the-ground analysis of the way a particular organisation uses political ideas. At the same time, students address academic debates about ideologies and beliefs, and interpret various forms of present-day political rhetoric. As a result, students gain an important capacity to interpret organisations and political claims in terms of the key ideologies and beliefs that are current in political life.
Assessment
Assessment task 1: Online Quiz
| Objective(s): | a and b | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight: | 30% | ||||||||
| Length: | 60 minutes | ||||||||
| Criteria linkages: |
SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes |
Assessment task 2: Ethnography proposal and presentation
| Objective(s): | a, b, c and d | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight: | 20% | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Length: | 3 slides for presentation + 500 word proposal | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Criteria linkages: |
SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes |
Assessment task 3: Ethnography – Observation Report
| Objective(s): | a, b, c and d | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight: | 50% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Length: | 1,800 words | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Criteria linkages: |
SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes |
Minimum requirements
Attendance at classes is essential in this subject. Classes are based on a collaborative approach that involves essential workshopping and interchange of ideas with other students and the tutor to build capacities towards meeting the subject learning objectives. A roll will be taken at each class (whether on campus or online). Students who have more than two absences from class will be refused marking of their final assessment (see Rule 3.8).
Required texts
There are no required textbooks for this subject. Required readings will be available via UTS Library and the Canvas subject site.
References
Boellstoff, T., B.Nardi, C. Pearce and T.L. Taylor (2013). Ethnography and Virtual Worlds. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Edwards, L. (2012) The Passion of Politics: The role of ideology and political theory in Australia, Sydney, Allen and Unwin.
Freeden, M. (2003). Ideology: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Freeden, M. and Stears, M. (eds) (2013). Oxford Handbook of Political Ideologies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Gillespie, A. and Michelson, M. (2011) ‘Participant Observation and the Political Scientist: Possibilities, Priorities, and Practicalities’, Political Science and Politics, Vol. 44, No. 2, pp. 261-265.
Goodwin, B. (2012) Using Political Ideas, 5th edition; Glasgow: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Goodman. J. (2009). “Organising for power: solidarities and transformation’, Cosmopolitan Civil Societies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, Vol. 1, No. 2.
Heywood, A. (2017, 6th edition). Political Ideologies: An Introduction. New York: Palgrave Macmillan [earlier editions are good too].
Juris, J. (2013) Conclusion: the possibilities, limits and relevance of engaged ethnography’, in Juris, J. and Khasnabish, A. (eds) Insurgent Encounters: Transnational Activism, Ethnography, and the Political, Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, pp. 367-390.
Mack, N., et al (2005). Qualitative Research Methods: A Data Collector’s Field Guide. USAID, North Carolina.