HUMN1052 Australian Politics and Active Citizenship Assessment

Further Information on Assessment Task 1 for Week 4

Select one of the essential or additional readings from weeks 2-4 in the Learning Modules on vUWS, and write a short analytical review of that reading, for submission through the submission link for Assignment 1 on Turnitin by midnight, Friday March 31. I have listed these readings below for clarity.

Assessment Task 1 is an analytical article review. At school most of us learn to read novels and similar texts my immersing yourself in them, and letting the words roll over us. In your reading at university you’ll be expected to read in a more switched-on, analytical fashion, asking yourself: why am I reading this? Why is it relevant for this topic? Why did the author write it? How can I best make use of what the author is saying?

Note that this is intended as a relatively brief task to develop these analytical skills, and to aid the teaching staff in identifying weak spots in people’s skills, for which we can offer helpful advice. You should take no more than 250 words to complete your answer.

You should not need to engage in any formal referencing in this task. (You may want ot put page numbers from your chosen text in parentheses if necessary.) However, should you choose to do so, be aware that the required referencing scheme for this unit is the Harvard system, as explained in the learning guide.

Foer the same reasons, you do not need to construct your review in a formal essay style: there’s simply no space. There’s no need for a formal introduction or conclusion. And it’s fine for you to present your responses in three paragraphs numbered 1, 2 and 3. Lastly, you do not need to copy and paste any of the assessment information into your document.

You should write directly to the reader in clear English prose, addressing each of these three issues:

1. You should highlight several of the reading’s key points (three should be ample).
2. You should explain the main purpose of the reading, as you understand it. Is the author responding to a current debate by adding a new and different point of view? Are they responding critically to other points of view? Are they filling in gaps in our knowledge? Are they summarising a body of literature, and if so for what audience?
3. You should briefly suggest why the author thought the article needed to be written, in the light of 2. above. Is the author claiming to say something new? Are they trying to disseminate research to a wider audience? Are they trying to summarise a wide body of research for the purposes of a unit like this one?

Any further questions? Feel free to email to d.burchell@westernsydney.edu.au

Essential and additional readings for week 2-4

(Texts are available in the learning modules on vUWS)

Week 2: Liberal Democracy

Essential: N Miragliotta, W Errington and N Barry (2013) ’Democracy and liberalism in Australia’, in Narelle Miragliotta, et al, The Australian Political System in Action, 2nd edition (Oxford UP)

Additional: B. Crick (1964), ’A defence of politics against democracy’, in In Defence of Politics, 2nd edition (Penguin)

Week 3: Electoral Democracy

Essential: B.Costar (2014) ’The Electoral System’ in Fenna, A., Robbins, J., & Summers, J. Government and Politics in Australia. Pearson Higher Education,  Melbourne

Additional: Lisa Hill (2015) 'Does compulsory voting violate a right not to vote?', Australian Journal of Political Science, 50:1, 61-72

Helen Pringle (2012) 'Compulsory Voting in Australia: What is Compulsory?', Australian Journal of Political Science, 47:3, 427-440  

Anthoula Malkopoulou (2020) 'Compulsory voting and right-wing populism: mobilisation, representation and socioeconomic inequalities', Australian Journal of Political Science, 55:3, 276-292

Week 4: Representative Democracy

Essential: N. Miragliotta and N.Barry (2015) ’The Rise of the Professional Legislative Class in Australia’s Federal Parliament’ Meanjin, Vol 74, No 3 Spring 66-68

1. Stoker, Jinjing Li, Max Halupka & Mark Evans. ’Complacent young citizens or  cross-generational solidarity? An analysis of Australian attitudes to democratic politics’, Australian Journal of Political Science, 52:2, 2017, 218-235

Additional: 

1. Byron (2015) ’Now is the time: Public Cynicism and Australian Democracy’ Meanjin, Vol74, No3, Spring: 87-90