ATS1353: Foundations of Modern Politics

Major Essay worth 50%
Exam 30%
Tutorial participation (subjective grade determined by tutor) 10%
Class Test 10%

Decent subject and introduction to politics. I didn't do Global politics in VCE and didn't struggle at all because this subject is introductory and a little bit simple and perhaps not very intellectually stimulating (fair enough.. it's a first year subject). I say this because, apart from the Major Essay, it focuses more on comparisons, definitions etc. rather than analytical skills.

I think the best part of this subject is the Major Essay and the flexibility. They provide five topic questions and they cover a wide range of areas from federalism vs unitary states to fair elections. It really allowed me to delve into what politics is all about. The exam is conducted on Moodle - it's open book and timed.

Readings were interesting and stimulating - we learned about a wide range of concepts albeit superficially. They included: Political culture, Constitutions, Elections, Types of States (Authoritarian, Fascist, Totalitarian, Liberal Democracy etc.) and I think they will allow a good glimpse into what politics is about. However, what you learn in one week does not overlap with another week so this subject does not focus on one concept in detail (again, fair enough because it's a Foundations-based subject). In saying that, I really understood what *politics is* from this subject - ie. we were taught things like political culture, what a nation-state is and what is inherent within politics (ie. power, authority, legitimacy etc.)
Overall, I think this unit is essential if you want to do Politics and you won't struggle if you haven't done VCE Politics.

85/100 HD

Dr Narelle Miragliotta

No. Exam done online on Moodle; open book.

3.5/5

Yes, with screen capture

There are a few prescribed textbook but none of them are compulsory.

1 x 2 hour lecture
1 x 1 hour tutorial

2015, Sem 1:

10% class test (is held around week 4), 10% tutorial attendance & participation, 30% end of semester exam, 50% major essay assignment.

So I believe this is the first year that this particular subject has ran, so keep in mind that the structure of the unit may change.

During the first week of the unit, I was kind of worried. The content seemed to be quite dry and not particularly interesting. Thankfully, the unit became much more interesting and involved as it progressed through the semester as you begin to analyse various political themes such as authoritarian government, elections, democracy, different systems of government, etc. If you are at all interested in politics then you are likely to find the content at least interesting.
The first graded assessment occurs in Week 4 and it is a quiz with 10 short answer questions that must be completed within an hour (or 50 minutes if you are like me and were late because of train delays...) which is worth 10% of the overall unit.

The main lecturer is Narelle Miragliotta, but she sometimes gets other people from her faculty to perform guest lectures on certain topics related to their fields of study.

No past exams.

4.5/5.

Yes, with screen capture.

The textbook was Comparative government and politics: An introduction. I personally found the textbook to be very good and extremely useful as it is very thorough on the topics covered.

1 x 2 hour lecture, 1 x 1 hour tutorial.

2015, semester 1.

88 HD.