Australian National University

This course examines the basic skills and techniques associated with relief printing processes such as lino and woodcuts. Using a combination of autographic (drawing) and reprographic techniques, hand tools and machines, students will develop a body of work in the studio over the course of the semester. To complement the studio-based delivery, students will participate in lectures and tutorials contextualizing relevant conceptual, historical and contemporary practices.

This course examines the dynamics of political economy in the contemporary Middle East. There is a focus on how political actors and social forces influence, and in turn are influenced, by political economy structures and development strategies. In particular, the effects of state institutions, international actors, social classes, and new groups such as private sector businesspeople are assessed, and their roles considered in the context of political economy theoretical approaches. Particular case studies focus on recent trends in the region, especially: the growth of Islamic models of economic development; the processes and outcomes of economic reform; the impacts of globalization and foreign penetration of the region; and the ways in which new industries and technologies are shaping the political economies of the region.

This course examines the security challenges facing the Pacific Islands and, in particular, Australia’s role in the security of the region. This includes cooperation on transnational crime and counterterrorism; intervention and stabilization; criminal justice assistance; governance capacity-building; natural disaster response; and substantial development assistance. It also considers ways in which Pacific understandings of security differ from Australia’s, and the implications of this for Australia’s engagement with Pacific Island governments, security agencies and societies. It also assesses the outlook over the next decade for security in this strategically important and rapidly changing region.

This course examines the main techniques and theories for analyzing and understanding how governments make foreign policy decisions. It will be divided into two main interactive components. The first will be dedicated to surveying the leading theories on foreign policy decision-making to provide an avenue for addressing questions such as: What role do personalities play in the process? Does the bureaucracy have an impact? Where do questions of national identity and ambition fit in? How does the form of political regime - democratic or authoritarian - impact the decision-making process? What impact do external factors and structural constraints have on foreign policy decision-making? The second component will emphasize participation and application of the theories through the research and presentation of selected case studies.

This course looks at the ideas, issues, and actions that shape our contemporary world.  It asks how we understand the world, how we might understand it differently and why certain issues dominate global politics while others are ignored.  It also examines the capacity for people, organizations, and nations to co-operate in search of solutions to today’s pressing problems. In doing so, this course is broken up into two key sections: Global Visions; and Conflict and Co-operation. The first section looks at different approaches to thinking about international relations and world politics and introduces students to the key actors, agents, institutions and ideas that dominate the world today. The second section, ‘Crisis and Co-operation’ looks at the sources of international tensions, and the possibilities for global co-operation around major issues such as transnational conflict, international political economy, global environmental management, and human and social rights. In each theme this course examines the history of these major areas of contemporary international relations and the competing debates and agendas within them. It then focuses upon causes and consequences of a contemporary crisis and examines the possibilities of global co-operation in its resolution.

This course examines archaeologies of world religions and determine the materiality of sacred and secular ritual expression. It explores rituals associated with death such as sacrifice, mummification and cannibalism; shamanistic practices as shown in rock art from Kazakhstan to cave art in France and Spain; the rise of "fertility cult" figurines from Czech Republic to Malta; totemic beliefs and ancestor worship in Torres Strait and ritual landscapes surrounding Stonehenge.

This course examines the purpose and application of theoretical paradigms in international relations. Theories provide frameworks to understand the behavior of actors in a complex and dynamic global environment. Distinct theoretical paradigms make central assumptions about primary factors that drive human action with implications for how we understand, explain, and predict issues and interactions in the international arena. Such factors range from scarcity and a drive for control (e.g., classical realism, neorealism, game theory); to a drive to cooperate for absolute gains (e.g., neoliberal institutionalism, liberalism), constructed identities based on historically-contingent meanings and values (e.g., constructivism), and unequal power relations that underpin a drive for autonomy, agency, and empowerment. (e.g., critical theories, feminist theory). The course teaches all theoretical paradigms with a focus on how they can be applied to better understand political issues and challenges in the contemporary global environment.

This course examines the subjects of political leadership and executive government theoretically, methodologically and comparatively. Theoretically, it covers the trajectory of the major approaches to the study of leaders and executives that includes institutionalism, feminism and rational choice theory. Methodologically, it covers different quantitative and qualitative methods that can be employed to address research questions pertaining to leaders and executives. It also looks at leaders and executives comparatively by assessing the leadership and executive experience geographically and institutionally. Additional topics to be addressed may include political communication, non-elected leaders (e.g. advisors and judges) and the executive experience at sub and supranational levels of government.

This course examines Australian politics from a historical perspective. It explores the foundation and working of democracy, the formation and transformation of the party system, and the relationship of politics to broader changes in society. The first part follows a chronological structure, beginning with traditional Indigenous government and extending through the colonial era to the present day, while the second examines a range of themes such as federation, nationalism and republicanism, women, gender and politics, rural politics, Indigenous politics and the media.

This course is a broad survey of the field of international business.