Course Title: Victorian State Politics

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Victorian State Politics

Credit Points: 12

Course Code	Campus	Career	School	Learning Mode	Teaching Period(s)
POLI1001	City Campus	Undergraduate	365H Global Studies, Soc Sci & Plng	Face-to-Face

Course Coordinator: Benno Engels

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 8255

Course Coordinator Email:benno.engels@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: 8.7.27

Course Coordinator Availability: By appointment

Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

No pre-requisite courses are required.

Course Description

Our daily lives are affected perhaps more than we realise by the political and policy decisions made at the state level, even though they do not receive the amount of attention that they warrant. State governments deliver the bulk of government services in such politically sensitive areas as: education, housing, health, child care, transport, policing, criminal law, gambling, youth, prostitution, the environment, gender and ethnic equality. This course explores the importance of state politics in Victoria, and provides students with an understanding of how the political and public policy system functions at this level. The course will introduce you to the factors that have shaped the political development of Victoria over the last 150 years, the main political institutions and structures in Victoria and the ways that the public policy-making processes operate in Victoria. It also assists to undertake a critical assessment of a few contemporary political and policy issues relevant to the Victorian context.

Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

At the completion of this course you will have developed an appreciation of why Victorian state politics is indeed different from other states and territories; be able to apply a comparative approach to the study of state politics in Australia, with an emphasis on Victoria; have acquired a sound grasp of the political and policy system and how it operates in Victoria; be able to understand how state politics impacts upon the nature of public policy in Victoria, and have become acquainted and better understand, a number of contentious issues prevalent in Victorian state politics and public policy.

To be advised.

Overview of Learning Activities

You will be able to engage in a variety of lectures and smaller classes.

Overview of Learning Resources

You will be able to use a prescribed text.

Overview of Assessment

You will be able to prepare assessment tasks with a total word length or equivalent of 4,000 words.