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Unit of study_
GOVT2991: Political Analysis
2025 unit information
This unit introduces students to the history and diversity of theoretical approaches used in the study of politics. The unit begins with an overview of the history of political thought, encompassing Ancient political thought, Medieval political thought, and the Enlightenment and Modern political thought. Next, debates within the philosophy of knowledge are used to explore the broad theoretical frameworks used within the contemporary study of politics, ranging from positivism, behavioralism, critical realism, Marxism, feminism, interpretivism and postcolonialism.
Unit details and rules
Managing faculty or University school:
Arts and Social Sciences
| Study level | Undergraduate |
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| Academic unit | Government and International Relations |
| Credit points | 6 |
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Prerequisites:
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12 credit points at 1000 level in GOVT and a minimum of 36 credit points |
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Corequisites:
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None |
| Prohibitions:
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GOVT2091 |
| Assumed knowledge:
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None |
At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:
- LO1. Understand a wide range of approaches employed by researchers in politics and international relations.
- LO2. Develop an understanding of the differences between primary and secondary sources of evidence, and their value in conducting social research.
- LO3. Develop an understanding of qualitative and quantitative research approaches in the social sciences and their strengths and weaknesses.
- LO4. Develop skills to critically engage with published research in the social sciences, by understanding the process of how research is conducted.
Unit availability
This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.
The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.
| Session | MoA ? | Location | Outline ? |
|---|---|---|---|
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Semester 1 2025
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Normal day | Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney | |
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Semester 2 2025
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Normal day | Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney |
Outline unavailable
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Modes of attendance (MoA)
This refers to the Mode of attendance (MoA) for the unit as it appears when you’re selecting your units in Sydney Student. Find more information about modes of attendance on our website.
