Students

POL 305 – Religion and Politics

2017 – S1 External

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit Convenor
Marion Maddox
Contact via marion.maddox@mq.edu.au
W6A 424
Monday 5-6 pm, Tuesday 2-3 pm
Unit Convenor
Steve Chavura
Contact via steve.chavura@mq.edu.au
By arrangement
Credit points Credit points
3
Prerequisites Prerequisites
39cp at 100 level or above or (6cp in HIST or MHIS or POL units at 200 level including 3cp in POL)
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description
Since the eighteenth century Enlightenment philosophers have predicted that religion would vanish as capitalism, science and state separation from religion progressed. To some extent this has happened in some European countries, but, on the whole, the 'secularisation thesis' has not come true. Not only is religion still with us, but in many regions of the world it has grown and its impact has become more intense. This unit examines the nature of the relationship between religion and politics by analysing the history of political thought, as well as recent developments in global and national politics.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • The ability to analyse and express your judgement about the relationship between religion and politics in oral and written form.
  • Critically interpret some classic and contemporary texts on the relation between religion and politics.
  • Think more critically and systematically about politics and religion, and related ideas such as secularism and secularisation, religious freedom, and civil religion.
  • Appreciate the historical and philosophical subtleties of ideas such as secularism, the secular state, and religious pluralism.
  • Place contemporary debates and controversies within broader philosophical and historical contexts.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Essay 30% No Friday 14 April
Essay 30% No Friday 16 June
Participation 10% No ongoing
Final Test 30% No Friday 9 June

Essay

Due: Friday 14 April
Weighting: 30%

Write a 2000 word essay. Questions to be distributed in week 2.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • The ability to analyse and express your judgement about the relationship between religion and politics in oral and written form.
  • Critically interpret some classic and contemporary texts on the relation between religion and politics.
  • Think more critically and systematically about politics and religion, and related ideas such as secularism and secularisation, religious freedom, and civil religion.
  • Appreciate the historical and philosophical subtleties of ideas such as secularism, the secular state, and religious pluralism.
  • Place contemporary debates and controversies within broader philosophical and historical contexts.

Essay

Due: Friday 16 June
Weighting: 30%

Write a 2000 word essay. Questions to be distributed in week 8.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • The ability to analyse and express your judgement about the relationship between religion and politics in oral and written form.
  • Critically interpret some classic and contemporary texts on the relation between religion and politics.
  • Think more critically and systematically about politics and religion, and related ideas such as secularism and secularisation, religious freedom, and civil religion.
  • Appreciate the historical and philosophical subtleties of ideas such as secularism, the secular state, and religious pluralism.
  • Place contemporary debates and controversies within broader philosophical and historical contexts.

Participation

Due: ongoing
Weighting: 10%

Internal students will be assessed on their contributions to class discussion.

External students will be assessed on their contribution to the online forum.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • The ability to analyse and express your judgement about the relationship between religion and politics in oral and written form.
  • Think more critically and systematically about politics and religion, and related ideas such as secularism and secularisation, religious freedom, and civil religion.
  • Appreciate the historical and philosophical subtleties of ideas such as secularism, the secular state, and religious pluralism.
  • Place contemporary debates and controversies within broader philosophical and historical contexts.

Final Test

Due: Friday 9 June
Weighting: 30%

Internal students sit a final class test in the last lecture of the semester. Instructions to follow.

External students are required to complete a take-home exam, due Friday 9 June. Instructions to follow.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Critically interpret some classic and contemporary texts on the relation between religion and politics.
  • Think more critically and systematically about politics and religion, and related ideas such as secularism and secularisation, religious freedom, and civil religion.
  • Appreciate the historical and philosophical subtleties of ideas such as secularism, the secular state, and religious pluralism.
  • Place contemporary debates and controversies within broader philosophical and historical contexts.

Delivery and Resources

Delivery:

Day, External

This unit will use:

iLearn, iLecture

Times and Locations for Lectures and Tutorials

Lectures: Friday 10 -12, W6B 282 Tutorial Room

Tutorials: Friday 12 - 1, W5C 302 Tutorial Room or Friday 1 - 2, W5A 202 Tutorial Room

 

For timetable information consult the MQ timetables website:

https://students.mq.edu.au/student_admin/timetables.jsp

Resources:

Most of the readings for this unit will be available on e-reserve. Some material will be available in the 7 day loan section of the library.

Unit Schedule

Weekly Topics:

Week 1 Inventing 'Religion', 'Politics' and the 'Secular'

Week 2 'So help me God': Religion, Ritual and Parliament

Week 3 Religion and Party

Week 4 Religion, Race, and Reconciliation

Week 5 Religious Freedom

Week 6 The Sacred and the State

Week 7 Good Friday public holiday -- no classes

MIDSEMESTER BREAK

Week 8  The Secular State: Australian Interpretations

Week 9  Fundamentalism and Politics I: Christian

Week 10 Fundamentalism and Politics II: Islamic

Week 11 Fundamentalism and Politics III: Human Rights

Week 12 Can Religion and Politics be separated?

Week 13  Class test in regular lecture time -- internal students; take-home exam due -- external students.

 

 

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html

Assessment Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy_2016.html

Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html

Complaint Management Procedure for Students and Members of the Public http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/complaint_management/procedure.html​

Disruption to Studies Policy (in effect until Dec 4th, 2017): http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html

Special Consideration Policy (in effect from Dec 4th, 2017): https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/special-consideration

In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/

Results

Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Learning Skills

Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Graduate Capabilities

Creative and Innovative

Our graduates will also be capable of creative thinking and of creating knowledge. They will be imaginative and open to experience and capable of innovation at work and in the community. We want them to be engaged in applying their critical, creative thinking.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcome

  • Place contemporary debates and controversies within broader philosophical and historical contexts.

Assessment tasks

  • Essay
  • Essay
  • Participation
  • Final Test

Capable of Professional and Personal Judgement and Initiative

We want our graduates to have emotional intelligence and sound interpersonal skills and to demonstrate discernment and common sense in their professional and personal judgement. They will exercise initiative as needed. They will be capable of risk assessment, and be able to handle ambiguity and complexity, enabling them to be adaptable in diverse and changing environments.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • The ability to analyse and express your judgement about the relationship between religion and politics in oral and written form.
  • Think more critically and systematically about politics and religion, and related ideas such as secularism and secularisation, religious freedom, and civil religion.

Assessment tasks

  • Essay
  • Essay
  • Participation
  • Final Test

Discipline Specific Knowledge and Skills

Our graduates will take with them the intellectual development, depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content in their chosen fields to make them competent and confident in their subject or profession. They will be able to demonstrate, where relevant, professional technical competence and meet professional standards. They will be able to articulate the structure of knowledge of their discipline, be able to adapt discipline-specific knowledge to novel situations, and be able to contribute from their discipline to inter-disciplinary solutions to problems.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Critically interpret some classic and contemporary texts on the relation between religion and politics.
  • Think more critically and systematically about politics and religion, and related ideas such as secularism and secularisation, religious freedom, and civil religion.
  • Appreciate the historical and philosophical subtleties of ideas such as secularism, the secular state, and religious pluralism.
  • Place contemporary debates and controversies within broader philosophical and historical contexts.

Assessment tasks

  • Essay
  • Essay
  • Participation
  • Final Test

Critical, Analytical and Integrative Thinking

We want our graduates to be capable of reasoning, questioning and analysing, and to integrate and synthesise learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments; to be able to critique constraints, assumptions and limitations; to be able to think independently and systemically in relation to scholarly activity, in the workplace, and in the world. We want them to have a level of scientific and information technology literacy.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • The ability to analyse and express your judgement about the relationship between religion and politics in oral and written form.
  • Critically interpret some classic and contemporary texts on the relation between religion and politics.
  • Think more critically and systematically about politics and religion, and related ideas such as secularism and secularisation, religious freedom, and civil religion.
  • Place contemporary debates and controversies within broader philosophical and historical contexts.

Assessment tasks

  • Essay
  • Essay
  • Participation
  • Final Test

Problem Solving and Research Capability

Our graduates should be capable of researching; of analysing, and interpreting and assessing data and information in various forms; of drawing connections across fields of knowledge; and they should be able to relate their knowledge to complex situations at work or in the world, in order to diagnose and solve problems. We want them to have the confidence to take the initiative in doing so, within an awareness of their own limitations.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • The ability to analyse and express your judgement about the relationship between religion and politics in oral and written form.
  • Critically interpret some classic and contemporary texts on the relation between religion and politics.
  • Think more critically and systematically about politics and religion, and related ideas such as secularism and secularisation, religious freedom, and civil religion.
  • Place contemporary debates and controversies within broader philosophical and historical contexts.

Assessment tasks

  • Essay
  • Essay
  • Participation
  • Final Test

Effective Communication

We want to develop in our students the ability to communicate and convey their views in forms effective with different audiences. We want our graduates to take with them the capability to read, listen, question, gather and evaluate information resources in a variety of formats, assess, write clearly, speak effectively, and to use visual communication and communication technologies as appropriate.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • The ability to analyse and express your judgement about the relationship between religion and politics in oral and written form.
  • Critically interpret some classic and contemporary texts on the relation between religion and politics.
  • Place contemporary debates and controversies within broader philosophical and historical contexts.

Assessment tasks

  • Essay
  • Essay
  • Participation
  • Final Test

Engaged and Ethical Local and Global citizens

As local citizens our graduates will be aware of indigenous perspectives and of the nation's historical context. They will be engaged with the challenges of contemporary society and with knowledge and ideas. We want our graduates to have respect for diversity, to be open-minded, sensitive to others and inclusive, and to be open to other cultures and perspectives: they should have a level of cultural literacy. Our graduates should be aware of disadvantage and social justice, and be willing to participate to help create a wiser and better society.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • The ability to analyse and express your judgement about the relationship between religion and politics in oral and written form.
  • Critically interpret some classic and contemporary texts on the relation between religion and politics.
  • Think more critically and systematically about politics and religion, and related ideas such as secularism and secularisation, religious freedom, and civil religion.
  • Place contemporary debates and controversies within broader philosophical and historical contexts.

Assessment tasks

  • Essay
  • Essay
  • Participation
  • Final Test

Socially and Environmentally Active and Responsible

We want our graduates to be aware of and have respect for self and others; to be able to work with others as a leader and a team player; to have a sense of connectedness with others and country; and to have a sense of mutual obligation. Our graduates should be informed and active participants in moving society towards sustainability.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Think more critically and systematically about politics and religion, and related ideas such as secularism and secularisation, religious freedom, and civil religion.
  • Place contemporary debates and controversies within broader philosophical and historical contexts.

Assessment tasks

  • Essay
  • Essay
  • Participation
  • Final Test