Course Coordinator:Shannon Brincat (sbrincat@usc.edu.au) School:School of Law and Society
UniSC Sunshine Coast |
Blended learning | Most of your course is on campus but you may be able to do some components of this course online. |
Online |
Online | You can do this course without coming onto campus. |
Please go to usc.edu.au for up to date information on the
teaching sessions and campuses where this course is usually offered.
This course is an introduction to International Relations and Political Science, from an Australian and global perspective. It focuses on the political system of Australia and its importance in the development of democracy and its relations across the globe. It examines a number of key challenges facing the future of world politics, including order, colonialism, human rights, indigeneity, economics, and the environment. The course provides an opportunity for you to critically examine topic areas of your choice covered within the course.
Activity | Hours | Beginning Week | Frequency |
Blended learning | |||
Learning materials – Asynchronous learning materials | 1hr | Week 1 | 13 times |
Tutorial/Workshop 1 – On campus tutorial | 2hrs | Week 1 | 10 times |
Online | |||
Learning materials – Asynchronous learning materials | 1hr | Week 1 | 13 times |
Tutorial/Workshop 1 – Online tutorial | 2hrs | Week 1 | 10 times |
Political ideas and ideologies; Australian political institutions; Democracy; Human Rights; International Relations; Security; World Order; Postcolonial and Indigenous Politics; Environmental Politics
100 Level (Introductory)
12 units
Course Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this course, you should be able to... | Graduate Qualities Completing these tasks successfully will contribute to you becoming... | |
1 | Discuss the key theories and practices relating to major events in international politics. |
Knowledgeable Creative and critical thinker Problem solving Information literacy |
2 | Describe and explain Australia's political institutions, relations with other countries, international organisations and the impact of globalisation on Australian domestic and foreign policy. |
Knowledgeable Empowered Ethical Sustainability-focussed |
3 | Demonstrate critical reasoning and research skills used in international relations and politics. |
Knowledgeable Creative and critical thinker Empowered Engaged Problem solving Information literacy |
4 | Communicate research through written modes. |
Knowledgeable Engaged Communication |
Refer to the UniSC Glossary of terms for definitions of “pre-requisites, co-requisites and anti-requisites”.
Not applicable
Not applicable
Not applicable
Not applicable
Standard Grading (GRD)
High Distinction (HD), Distinction (DN), Credit (CR), Pass (PS), Fail (FL). |
Formative quiz will be given in Week One for early feedback on assessment. Tutorial in weeks 2-7 will practice writing and researching skills needed for the assessments.
Delivery mode | Task No. | Assessment Product | Individual or Group | Weighting % | What is the duration / length? | When should I submit? | Where should I submit it? |
All | 1 | Quiz/zes | Individual | 20% | 20 minutes |
Refer to Format | Online Test (Quiz) |
All | 2 | Examination - not Centrally Scheduled | Individual | 35% | 1000-1500 words |
Week 8 | Online Submission |
All | 3 | Essay | Individual | 45% | 2000 words |
Exam Period | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
All - Assessment Task 1:Weekly reading quizzes | ||||||||||
Goal: | You will enhance your knowledge and understanding of the key concepts, practices, and events in international relations found within International Relations academic literature. |
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Product: | Quiz/zes | |||||||||
Format: | Weeks 2-11. Weekly Canvas quizzes in multiple choice format covering the week's assigned readings. |
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Criteria: |
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Generic Skills: | Information literacy |
All - Assessment Task 2:Multiple Choice and Short Essay Question | |||||||||||||||||||
Goal: | You will demonstrate critical reasoning and research skills used in international relations and politics. You will use the information you have gained from weekly readings, learning materials, tutorials, and quizzes to answer the question you choose from the list distributed from the instructor. |
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Product: | Examination - not Centrally Scheduled | ||||||||||||||||||
Format: | 1000-1500-word essay. You will choose one essay topic from the questions distributed by the instructor. Multiple choice test will be administered on Canvas. Weighting 25% essay and 10% quiz. |
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Criteria: |
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Generic Skills: | Communication, Problem solving, Information literacy |
All - Assessment Task 3:Final Essay | ||||||||||||||||
Goal: | You will demonstrate your ability to apply, analyse, synthesise and communicate the knowledge and concepts in international relations and politics. You will concisely answer essay questions using course materials. |
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Product: | Essay | |||||||||||||||
Format: | Students will answer one long essay question and upload to Canvas. |
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Criteria: |
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Generic Skills: | Communication, Problem solving, Information literacy |
A 12-unit course will have total of 150 learning hours which will include directed study hours (including online if required), self-directed learning and completion of assessable tasks. Student workload is calculated at 12.5 learning hours per one unit.
Please note: Course information, including specific information of recommended readings, learning activities, resources, weekly readings, etc. are available on the course Canvas site– Please log in as soon as possible.
Please note that you need to have regular access to the resource(s) listed below. Resources may be required or recommended.
Required? | Author | Year | Title | Edition | Publisher |
Required | Andrew Heywood | 2019 | Politics | 5 | Bloomsbury Press |
Not applicable
Academic integrity is the ethical standard of university participation. It ensures that students graduate as a result of proving they are competent in their discipline. This is integral in maintaining the value of academic qualifications. Each industry has expectations and standards of the skills and knowledge within that discipline and these are reflected in assessment.
Academic integrity means that you do not engage in any activity that is considered to be academic fraud; including plagiarism, collusion or outsourcing any part of any assessment item to any other person. You are expected to be honest and ethical by completing all work yourself and indicating in your work which ideas and information were developed by you and which were taken from others. You cannot provide your assessment work to others. You are also expected to provide evidence of wide and critical reading, usually by using appropriate academic references.
In order to minimise incidents of academic fraud, this course may require that some of its assessment tasks, when submitted to Canvas, are electronically checked through Turnitin. This software allows for text comparisons to be made between your submitted assessment item and all other work to which Turnitin has access.
Eligibility for Supplementary Assessment
Your eligibility for supplementary assessment in a course is dependent of the following conditions applying:
(a) The final mark is in the percentage range 47% to 49.4%; and
(b) The course is graded using the Standard Grading scale
Late submissions may be penalised up to and including the following maximum percentage of the assessment task’s identified value, with weekdays and weekends included in the calculation of days late:
(a) One day: deduct 5%;
(b) Two days: deduct 10%;
(c) Three days: deduct 20%;
(d) Four days: deduct 40%;
(e) Five days: deduct 60%;
(f) Six days: deduct 80%;
(g) Seven days: A result of zero is awarded for the assessment task.The following penalties will apply for a late submission for an online examination:
Less than 15 minutes: No penalty
From 15 minutes to 30 minutes: 20% penalty
More than 30 minutes: 100% penalty
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For help with course-specific advice, for example what information to include in your assessment, you should first contact your tutor, then your course coordinator, if needed.
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