Students

POIR2010 – Contemporary Issues in Australian Politics: Race, Nation, Class and Gender

2022 – Session 2, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit Convenor and Lecturer
Vince Scappatura
vincenzo.scappatura@mq.edu.au
Room B254, Level 2, 25B Wally’s Walk
By appointment
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
40cp at 1000 level or above OR (10cp in POL or POIR or POIX units)
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

Australia confronts a number of persistent questions: does it live up to its reputation as an egalitarian country whose unofficial motto is a 'fair go for all!'? How have class relations been influenced by the mining boom and its aftermath? Are Australian women and men making progress toward greater equality? What are the prospects for ‘closing the gap’ between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and more recent arrivals? Taking as its central themes, race, nation, class, and gender, the course is structured into sections addressing race and nation; class politics; gender and sexuality.

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:

  • ULO1: Demonstrate the ability to peer below the surface feature of Australian politics and its discourses to identify the underlying inequalities at play
  • ULO3: Understand and identify linkages between class, race, gender and Australian nationhood
  • ULO4: Critically analyse Australian politics and assess the ways in which it reinforces, reduces or normalises inequality/
  • ULO5: Demonstrate capacity to assess the extent that the media and new technologies impact – if at all – on the reproduction of existing social relations
  • ULO6: Demonstrate critical understanding of the interplay between discourse, ideology, structures and agency in shaping the makeup of Australian society in terms of race, nation, class and gender

General Assessment Information

Late Assessment Submission Penalty  

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a mark of ‘0’ (zero) will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical issue.

This late penalty will apply to non-timed sensitive assessment (incl essays, reports, posters, portfolios, journals, recordings etc). Late submission of time sensitive tasks (such as tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, scheduled practical assessments/labs etc) will only be addressed by the unit convenor in a Special consideration application. Special Consideration outcome may result in a new question or topic.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Participation 10% No Ongoing
Online test 20% No 17/08/22; 7/09/22; 12/10/22; 2/11/22
Essay 40% No 3/10/22
Take-home exam 30% No 6/11/22

Participation

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 12 hours
Due: Ongoing
Weighting: 10%

 

Participation in class discussion (either online or tutorials)

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate the ability to peer below the surface feature of Australian politics and its discourses to identify the underlying inequalities at play
  • Critically analyse Australian politics and assess the ways in which it reinforces, reduces or normalises inequality/

Online test

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: 17/08/22; 7/09/22; 12/10/22; 2/11/22
Weighting: 20%

 

Online test based on reading and lecture content.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate the ability to peer below the surface feature of Australian politics and its discourses to identify the underlying inequalities at play
  • Understand and identify linkages between class, race, gender and Australian nationhood

Essay

Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 40 hours
Due: 3/10/22
Weighting: 40%

 

2500 word research essay - details provided on ilearn

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate the ability to peer below the surface feature of Australian politics and its discourses to identify the underlying inequalities at play
  • Understand and identify linkages between class, race, gender and Australian nationhood
  • Critically analyse Australian politics and assess the ways in which it reinforces, reduces or normalises inequality/
  • Demonstrate capacity to assess the extent that the media and new technologies impact – if at all – on the reproduction of existing social relations
  • Demonstrate critical understanding of the interplay between discourse, ideology, structures and agency in shaping the makeup of Australian society in terms of race, nation, class and gender

Take-home exam

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: 6/11/22
Weighting: 30%

 

Take-home exam - details and timing described on ilearn.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Understand and identify linkages between class, race, gender and Australian nationhood
  • Critically analyse Australian politics and assess the ways in which it reinforces, reduces or normalises inequality/
  • Demonstrate critical understanding of the interplay between discourse, ideology, structures and agency in shaping the makeup of Australian society in terms of race, nation, class and gender

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Welcome to Australian Politics: Race, Nation, Class and Gender. Australia has often been imagined as a nation where egalitarianism and a "fair-go" have shielded the general population from the inequalities and injustices faced in many other countries. This is a myth that is still pedaled in our politics and public discourse, but one that does not stand up to even the mildest of scrutiny. This unit will interrogate this myth through the lens of race and nation, and class and gender. We will explore the ways in which these categories have been constructed historically and how they manifest themselves in contemporary Australian politics.

There is no set text for the unit. Instead, key weekly readings will be posted on ilearn, as well as any supplementary readings. In addition, the week's recorded lectures and power point slides can be found on ilearn, as will a variety of other resources. To do well in the unit it is essential that students engage with the lectures and the readings as well as with each other in the weekly tutorials (in-person cohort) or in the weekly online discussion forums (online cohort).

Unit Schedule

Week Date, Week beginning Lecture Tutorial Assessment
1 July 25 Introduction: Politics and Social Division in the Age of Covid-19 The political relevance of race, nation, class and gender in an era of global pandemic None
2 August 1 'Race' and the politics of reconciliation 'Race' and Reconciliation None
3 August 8 The History Wars: Australian Multiculturalism in Question History Wars, Multiculturalism None
4 August 15 Immigration, Border Protection and Securitization Immigration, Borders and Exclusion Quiz 17/08/22
5 August 22 Australian Nationalism: Whose National Identity? The Politics of Nationalism None
6 August 29 Citizenship and the Politics of Fear + Religion in Australian Politics Fear, Religion and Citizenship None
7 September 5 Class, Affluenza and the Environment Capitalism, Consumption, and Environmental Politics Quiz 07/09/22
8 September 26 The Changing Face of Work and Industrial Relations The Politics of Workplace Change and Industrial Relations None
9 October 3 Mutual Obligation and the Welfare State + the Marketisation of Education Welfare and Education Essay 3/10/2021
10 October 10 Feminism, Gender and Power Gender inequality and women in politics

Quiz 12/10/22
11 October 17 Exam Preparation How to best prepare for the final online exam. None
12 October 24 Babies, the Family and Same-Sex Relationships in Australia Babies, the Family and Same-Sex Relationships in Australia None
13 October 31 Concluding Remarks Conclusions

Quiz 02/11/22

Online Exam 6/11/22

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Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) 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 or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

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

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Unit information based on version 2022.04 of the Handbook