Contemporary Political Theory

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2010:

For the purpose of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements of this entry.

The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison Unit website: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

This subject examines the development of political theory in the last thirty years. It focuses on the emergence of key theoretical paradigms such as contemporary liberalism, communitarianism, multiculturalism, radical pluralism, post-structuralism and post-modernism and the ways in which these schools of thought have framed key conceptual debates on ideology, power and sovereignty. The subject maps this terrain and analyses it through examples such as immigration, violence, the role of religion in public life, markets and economic rationality, the environment and welfare reform. Contemporary political theory emerges as vibrant and dynamic and the subject demonstrates how theory is integral to a developed understanding of current political events.

• have an appreciation of the range of political ideas that have motivated and expressed the needs of large groups of people since Athenian democracy.
• be familiar with the development and principal arguments of the major schools of political thought in the past 250 years.
• have improved their critical and analytical skills in the area of political theory and their ability to express their ideas in written form.

A subject reader will be available for purchase from the University Bookshop.

C.McKinnon (2008) Issues in Political Theory, Oxford University Press.

This subject potentially can be taken as a breadth subject component for the following courses:

• Bachelor of Biomedicine
• Bachelor of Commerce
• Bachelor of Environments
• Bachelor of Music
• Bachelor of Science
• Bachelor of Engineering

You should visit learn more about breadth subjects and read the breadth requirements for your degree, and should discuss your choice with your student adviser, before deciding on your subjects.

• Conceptualise theoretical problems and understand the judgements and arguments they engender.
• Analyse the development of major schools of thought in contemporary politics.
• Apply theoretical ideas to current political issues and debates.
• Communicate clearly in written and oral work showing a command of the language of political theory.
• Demonstrate research skills in accessing and selecting the appropriate literature and using it.