Undergraduate Study

The following units of study can be completed as part of a major in either American Studies or Government & International Relations.

Students from all disciplines with an interest in the United States are welcome to take both Introduction to US Politics and US in the World as an elective.

For information on enrolments please contact your Undergraduate Coordinator.

USSC2601 - US in the World
USSC2602 - Introduction to US Politics
USSC2603 - Americanism & anti-Americanism

USSC2601 - US in the World

Overview

The US in the World (USSC2601) is an undergraduate unit that explores the dramatic political and economic changes taking place before our eyes in America that will shape lives in Australia and around the world for years to come. This dynamic unit focuses on the United States under President Barack Obama amid the challenges posed by the worst global economic downturn since the Great Depression and the expanding struggle against violent Islamic extremism.

Students will develop their ability to look behind today's news headlines to understand the deeper forces driving them, focusing on the key policy makers.

2010 guest lecturers will include: Jeffrey Bleich , US Ambassador to Australia (watch video); Daniel Kurtzer, former US Ambassador to Egypt and Israel; Robert Hill, former Australian Environment Minister; Jack Miles, Pulitzer Prize winner for God a Biography; and Peter Beinart, senior writer for The Daily Beast (watch video).

The US in the World is taught by Professor Geoff Garrett, one of Australia's leading analysts of the US and among the most influential political scientists of his generation for his writings on the causes and consequences of globalization. Garrett is founding CEO of the United States Studies Centre and Professor of Political Science, having previously been a Professor at Stanford and Yale universities as well as President of the US West Coast's leading international affairs think tank.

In this interactive unit, Professor Garrett will analyse the interaction among the financial crisis, globalisation and the struggle against Islamic extremism as the dominant forces shaping contemporary America. Students will be encouraged through use of the Socratic Method to develop and substantiate their own arguments and opinions in relation to these topics.

This unit will be taught in Semester 2, 2010.

Learning Method

Students in this unit will learn using the Socratic Method. a crucial analytical tool in political science and is fundamental to the development of views that can be clearly expressed and reasonably defended.

The focus will be on role of the United States amid the challenges posed by the key global transformations of the contemporary era. Both lectures and tutorials will be designed to engage students fully in order to increase their knowledge and develop their skills: analysing situations, forming opinions, solving problems and defending positions.

By the end of this Unit of Study students will be able to:

access a body of knowledge about the role of the United States in the world ;
acquire and evaluate new knowledge through independent research ;
identify, investigate, and solve problems;
access diverse resources to build and defend a reasoned position;
think analytically
defend their opinions in public in a robust manner.

The Fine Print

Lectures run for 90 minutes each week.
There is a one hour tutorial per week.
Assessment consists of:
- Three critical reviews in weeks 5, 8, 11 (each 800 words) 40%;
- One synthetic essay due in week 13 (2500 words) 40%;
- Participation in lectures and tutorials (20%)
This unit is worth 6 credit points.
Pre-requisites: 18 junior credit points (this means it is a senior unit, for students in their 2nd year or above.

USSC2602 - Introduction to US Politics

Overview

This new unit is being offered for the first time in 2010.

The unit introduces students to US political institutions and political culture. The American electoral system and recent presidential elections will be examined as well as the careers of American presidents from the 1960s onwards.

US public policies in the areas of race, welfare, and criminal justice will also be analysed. By the end of the unit student should have a comprehensive understanding of American domestic politics.

This unit will be taught in 2010 by Associate Professor Brendon O'Connor. Brendon is an Associate Professor in American Politics and joined the United States Studies Centre in 2009 from Griffith University.

Students in the unit will be encouraged to critically engage with Brendon's body of work. Students will also undertake their own research (into other sources of expert knowledge) to complete assessment tasks.

This unit will be taught in Semester 1, 2010.

Learning Outcomes

The central aim of the unit is to provide students with a strong understanding of US politics.

Students will receive a solid overview of the key areas of American political culture, institutions, elections and public policy. The unit will also examine public policy issues to provide students with a detailed knowledge of how US society is organised and what we can learn (both positive and negative) from American approaches.

The unit's systematic framework will give students the ability to analyse the US, while encouraging them to see the contradictions within, and the complexity of, American society.

Students will develop the following generic skills within this course:

Communication - oral and written skills
Research skills
Problem solving and decision making
Conceptual and analytical skills
Information skills

USSC2603 - Americanism & anti-Americanism (offered in 2011)

Overview

Squashed Can America has often been described as a culturally backward, unsophisticated and uncouth nation with American politics frequently viewed as populist and anti-intellectual.

In contrast America has also been viewed as a haven from the Old World and as an exceptional nation. This unit will explore the origins and development of both these negative and positive opinions of America. It will also examine how these stereotypes impact on America's foreign relations with Europe, the Middle East and Australia.

This unit will be taught in 2011 by Associate Professor Brendon O'Connor. Brendon is an Associate Professor in American Politics and joined the United States Studies Centre in 2009 from Griffith University.

Associate Professor O'Connor is an expert on anti-Americanism. He has written journal articles on the topic as well as editing seven books on anti-Americanism. He is currently writing a book on the history of anti-Americanism and American populism. Students will be encouraged to critically engage with this body of work.

As well, students will be required to undertake their own research (into other sources of expert knowledge) to complete assessment tasks.

Learning Outcomes

The central aim of the unit is to provide students with a strong understanding of the beliefs and values that have shaped American political culture from the colonial period to the present. Students will examine how Americans perceive their own politics and culture as well as look at positive and negative foreign interpretations. A lecture and tutorial program will provide students with a solid overview of Americanism and anti-Americanism. The unit's systematic framework will give students the ability to analyse the US, while encouraging them to see the contradictions within, and the complexity of, American society.

Students will develop the following generic skills within this course: