ABOUT THIS UNIT

WELCOME

Welcome to the Open Learning Unit: Citizenship and Australian Democracy DEM11.

This subject is part of the Commonwealth Government's Discovering Democracy program. It is intended to encourage you to learn about key issues, concepts and debates about the institutions of democracy and citizenship in Australia. This unit is also designed to introduce you to tertiary level study in the Social Sciences and Humanities. In particular, you will find it a useful introduction to the study of politics, history and Australian studies.

Keep in mind that reading, understanding, analysing and writing about these topics is not only a way of learning about the content knowledge of democracy and citizenship. Such skills are also essential to the practice of being a citizen in a democracy. For many writers, a 'liberal' education, which enables you to examine different arguments and competing points of view, is precisely what is needed for citizen participation in a healthy democracy. Without these skills, citizens would be unable to comprehend complex issues, debate them or make their voices heard. Good luck!

Course Production Team
University of Queensland
Griffith University
Monash University

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Discrete political issues and policies are often foremost in our awareness of Australian politics. In this unit, however, we are primarily concerned with understanding the terms under which such issues get decided, and by whom. That is, we examine the historical conditions under which certain political values and institutions have arisen and a few of the competing views on them. For example, one of the most prominent of recent political debates has been whether Australians should abandon a constitutional monarchy and replace it with a republic. Although this debate is often couched in terms of building a new Australian national identity, it is also a dispute over the kinds of institutions under which Australians should be governed. In this debate, a key question is: Who should hold ultimate political power in Australia and how should it be exercised? As we shall see, this question and the various answers given to it have a long lineage and they set the objectives of the subject.

OBJECTIVES

This subject aims to introduce students to conceptual, historical and contemporary perspectives on citizenship and Australian democracy. The focus will be upon the different kinds of civic identity, and the rights, responsibilities and resources relevant to the exercise of citizenship in Australian democracy. Emphasis will be given to the values of pluralism, toleration and peaceful resolution of differences. The subject will point out the importance of informed debate and active democratic participation in the local, national and international institutions of Australian society and politics. It will also be shown how citizenship is an ideology that is the product of political conflict, struggles and settlements, and therefore open to change and negotiation.

CONTENT

These are the various parts of the course Citizenship and Australian Democracy:

1. The Study Guide.
2. The Reader - Citizenship and Australian Democracy: An Introduction comprises longer articles, documents and debates.
3. The Dossier - comprises a selection of documents and short articles.
4. The Workbook - comprises weekly questions and journal.
5. The Guide to Assessment - comprises assessment items and information.
6. A series of ABC radio programs broadcast weekly.

Your work for this course is divided into four parts:

PART 1:

Citizenship and Australian Democracy: History, Theory, Practice.

This section of the course introduces you to different historical and contemporary accounts of citizenship and democracy. You will learn about two different ways of organising your knowledge of citizenship, namely those of the 'civic republican' and 'liberal' traditions. You will also be introduced to the distinction between 'direct democracy' and 'representative democracy'. These concepts provide a foundation for examining the historical evolution of Australian democracy, and hence the history of political institutions. The topics of responsible government, the federal structure and the constitution are central here. Australian citizenship is shown to be an evolving political ideology comprising (a) legal requirements defining membership of a political community, (b) values and assumptions about the public and private good, (c) civic identity and (d) ideal civic practices. In addition, this part of the course will show how these images have evolved alongside and in tension with the institutions of Australian democracy.

PART 2:

Australian Democracy: Rights, Responsibilities, Resources.

This section encourages you to gain a knowledge of the major political institutions of Australian democracy. In addition you will explore your civic rights and responsibilities by examining civic participation in both official governmental institutions and unofficial or voluntary organisations. A further objective is to demonstrate the types of political knowledge, skills and values required by active citizenship and how they can be acquired. You will learn how these institutions provide a primary means for expressing and managing power and conflict in Australia. Reference will be made to the various resources needed for the exercise of citizenship.

PART 3:

Citizenship Controversies: Cooperation and Conflict.

This section encourages you to think about the dynamics of power, conflict and cooperation in Australian democracy by means of historical and contemporary case studies of contentious issues.Each case study explores a major tension inherent in political controversies over the exercise of citizen's rights and responsibilities. An essential part of any education in democratic citizenship is learning how to deal effectively with difficult and controversial questions without recourse to violence. This is both a conceptual and practical issue. Accordingly, you will be encouraged to argue from opposing partisan perspectives, to reflect upon how to deal with such conflicts, to identify the different requirements of 'active citizenship', and seek out appropriate resources and institutions.

PART 4:

Beyond the Nation-state: Transnational Citizenship.

This section explores the limits and possible futures for Australian citizenship and democracy. You will consider the impact of 'globalisation' and the exercise of cosmopolitan and international civic rights and responsibilities by, and beyond, the nation state. There will be discussion of the historical precedents for global and internationalist values and institutions. Attention is directed towards the growth of a 'global democracy' and conflicts between national and international laws in Australia, as well as those between state and NGOs arising from pursuit of different concepts and practices of international and global citizenship. Brief consideration will be given to the historical evolution of international institutions and transnational forms of citizenship. This section refers to the ideas and practices of global democracy, international citizenship and global citizenship. The goal is to review the historical evolution of citizenship, its contested and negotiated nature, and the possible futures for democracy in Australia and the world.

STUDY GUIDE

Each week the Study Guide will set three kinds of tasks.

• You will be directed to a major reading and asked to answer a number of Study Exercises about it. So that you can check your understanding of the reading, notional answers will be given to these questions in the Appendix. This task is not for assessment.

• You will also be asked to read other shorter articles which supply essential background knowledge and for which no questions or answers are supplied. In addition, you will be asked to read various historical and contemporary 'documents'. These will be useful in writing your essay and preparing for the examination.

• To review your work, at the end of each week you will be asked to read again these documents and to answer the Study Questions in the Workbook. Because this workbook will be submitted as an assessment item, no answers will be given to the questions. There will also be other tasks to complete. You will find that writing is crucial for your comprehension of the material.

Completing these tasks will be useful preparation for writing the essay assignment and reviewing them again at the end of the course will assist you to prepare for the examination.

READER

The Reader, entitled Citizenship and Australian Democracy: An Introduction accompanies this course and is essential for your working through the Study Guide. You will be instructed by the Study Guide to turn to the Reader when required and to work through selected pages in a particular way. The Reader is a collection of key articles, documents and debates selected and edited for this unit. Your work with the Reader is directed by sets of questions in the Study Guide. These questions aim to orient you to the central events, issues and concepts.

DOSSIER

The Dossier is also essential for your working through the Study Guide. You will be instructed by the Study Guide to turn to the Dossier when required and to work through selected pages. The reading materials in the Dossier are usually shorter and include background articles, documents and debates selected for this unit. Your work with the Dossier is directed by instructions in the Study Guide, and also by questions in the Workbook. These questions aim to orient you to the central events, issues and concepts.

RADIO PROGRAMS

A series of thirteen 30 minute ABC radio programs have been produced to complement the work of this course.

WEB SITE

The unit web site will contain similar material to the Study Guide and Workbook, but will also refer you to other sites of interest to your studies in this unit. These will include the site which contains the transcripts of the ABC Radio programs on the topic.

NOTE: The written materials have been developed so that you can complete the course without reference to the web site or radio or television programs. The programs will address issues which are identified in the Study Guide, but they will not duplicate exactly the Study Guide materials. These programs do, however, offer a supplement to the course which may assist you to understand better the content.

How to use these materials on a weekly basis

As a general rule, we suggest that you work with the various course materials in the following way:

• Read the Study Guide materials for the week, together with the relevant chapters from the Reader and documents from the Dossier. Make sure you understand the questions and the task set.
• Where possible listen to the relevant radio program for the week.
• Return to the Study Guide, work through the readings and Study Exercises and answer the set questions.
• Complete the Study Questions in the Workbook and other tasks set for assessment each week.

You may find that a different approach works for you. Be prepared to experiment, using the notional time of six to eight hours a week as a guide.

TEACHING AND LEARNING EXPERIENCES

The majority, if not all of content for this unit will be available on the world wide web (www). The web site will contain a range of media including interactive quizzes and activities which provide feedback to the students on their progress; links to other web sites; discussion groups and peer assisted learning groups; on-line contact with the teaching team and content experts.