GOVT3653: Semester 1, 2020

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Units GOVT3653 Semester 1 2020 [Normal day]

Unit of study_

GOVT3653: The Australian Political Party System

Semester 1, 2020 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

The unit examines the Australian party system, including colonial-era pre-party politics, the development of major parties (Labor, Liberal and National) and minor parties (Greens, One Nation etc), parties and ideology, parties and social movements, internal party politics, parties and the law, parties and elections, parties and parliamentary politics, and parties and public policy. Emphasis is placed on how theoretical and comparative models of political parties help to explain Australian party politics.

Unit details and rules

Unit code	GOVT3653
Academic unit	Government and International Relations
Credit points	6
Prohibitions ?	GOVT2114 or GOVT2104
Prerequisites ?	12 credit points at 2000 level in International Relations or 12 credit points at 2000 level in Politics or 12 senior credit points from Government and International Relations
Corequisites ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Sarah Cameron, sarah.cameron@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s)	Sarah Cameron, sarah.cameron@sydney.edu.au
Tutor(s)	Jordan McSwiney, jordan.mcswiney@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Participation	Participation n/a	10%	-	Whole semester
Outcomes assessed:
Final exam	Take-home exam 1500 words	30%	Formal exam period	2.5+ hours
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Digital review n/a	20%	Week 07 Due date: 08 Apr 2020 at 23:59	1000 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Essay n/a	40%	Week 11 Due date: 13 May 2020 at 23:59	2000 words
Outcomes assessed:

Assessment summary

Digital review: You will be required to develop a detailed critical evaluation of how one political party operates in the federal arena – in the digital space.
Essay: You will be required to choose between writing a briefing paper for a political party or answering a provided essay question.
Tutorial participation: Students are expected to attend a tutorial each week, have read all the required readings and then actively participate in the discussion and exercises set by your tutor.
Exam: The exam will contain short and medium answer questions, designed to test students’ knowledge of theoretical and empirical issues surrounding Australian political parties.

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a High distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a Distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100
Distinction	75 - 84
Credit	65 - 74
Pass	50 - 64
Fail	0 - 49	When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see sydney.edu.au/students/guide-to-grades

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

You may only use artificial intelligence and writing assistance tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator, and if you do use them, you must also acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section.

Studiosity is permitted for postgraduate units unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Introduction: Political parties in Australia	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 02	The Australian Labor Party	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 02	Introduction: Political parties in Australia	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 03	The Liberal-National Coalition	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 03	The two major parties	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 04	The Greens / Far-right parties	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 05	Micro-parties and independents / The relevance of parties today	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 06	Campaigns	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 07	Leaders and representatives	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 08	Documentary week 'The Killing Season'	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 09	Voter behaviour (I)	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 10	Voter behaviour (II)	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 11	Party government	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 12	Party reform	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 13	Review and conclusions	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance: According to Faculty Board Resolutions, students in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences are expected to attend 90% of their classes. If you attend less than 50% of classes, regardless of the reasons, you may be referred to the Examiner’s Board. The Examiner’s Board will decide whether you should pass or fail the unit of study if your attendance falls below this threshold.
Lecture recording: Most lectures (in recording-equipped venues) will be recorded and may be made available to students on the LMS. However, you should not rely on lecture recording to substitute your classroom learning experience.
Preparation: Students should commit to spend approximately three hours’ preparation time (reading, studying, homework, essays, etc.) for every hour of scheduled instruction.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

All readings for this unit can be accessed on the Library eReserve link available on Canvas.

Required textbook: Miragliotta, N., Gauja, A. & Smith, R. (Eds). (2015). Contemporary Australian Political Party Organisations. Melbourne: Monash University Press.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. Develop an understanding of the political party system in Australia, including major and minor parties, how they developed over time, and their relevance for Australian politics today.
LO2. Develop an understanding of the role of political parties in the Australian political system including the selection of leaders and candidates, election campaigns, what explains voting for the different parties, and what parties do in government.
LO3. Develop an understanding of challenges to Australia's party system, potential reforms, and how Australia's party system compares to other democracies.
LO4. Develop skills to critically analyse political parties in Australia, including demonstrating an understanding of key concepts and being able to situate Australia in a broader cross-national context.
LO5. Develop written and oral communication skills through completion of assignments and participation in tutorials.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

New content has been integrated on party leaders, and voter behaviour.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

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