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Unit of study_
GOVT3993: Power
2025 unit information
Power is the essential concept of political science, which is the systematic study of politics. Bertrand Russell said power is the central concept of all the social sciences. Students explore this concept in different parts of political science and survey some debates on power, assessing the advantages and disadvantages of concepts of power. There are three themes in this unit. The first is the distribution of power in society. The second is power in comparative politics and the third is power in international relations. The emphasis is on the nature, sources and use of power.
Unit details and rules
Managing faculty or University school:
Arts and Social Sciences
| Study level | Undergraduate |
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| Academic unit | Government and International Relations |
| Credit points | 6 |
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Prerequisites:
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12 credit points at 2000 level in Politics or 12 credit points at 2000 level in International Relations or 12 credit points at 2000 or 3000 level from Government and International Relations |
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Corequisites:
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None |
| Prohibitions:
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GOVT3991 |
| Assumed knowledge:
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None |
At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:
- LO1. critically evaluate and apply a range of theories, concepts, assumptions and arguments about power
- LO2. work constructively and creatively with others to solve power-related problems
- LO3. express complex ideas about political power clearly and succinctly
- LO4. communicate ideas about power via new technologies
- LO5. reflect critically on your current and future role in exercising and responding to power in local, national and international contexts.
Unit availability
This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.
The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.
| Session | MoA ? | Location | Outline ? |
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Semester 1 2025
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Normal day | Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney |
Outline unavailable
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Modes of attendance (MoA)
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