History and Political Thought, Major (0013)

This is an archived copy of the 2022-2023 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit https://hbook.westernsydney.edu.au.

Western Sydney University Major Code: 0013

Previous Code: M1137.1

Available to students in other Western Sydney University Programs: Yes. Check that your program has the available credit points required to complete the subjects in this field of study. Any requisite requirements must also be met. Consult your Program Advisor for further advice.

Since the revival of humanist thought in the Renaissance, universities have placed studies in history and political thought at the centre of exploring what it is to be human. At the heart of the History and Political Thought major are four compulsory subjects which introduce the student to the modern (since 1500) history of humanity. Although Europe is very prominent in the Major, the student will be invited to compare its history to the histories of Asia, Africa and the Americas. The Major culminates in a capstone subject in students’ final semester discussing historical theories and methods. A wide range of elective subjects covers European, American, Australian and Asian history and political thought and includes thematic subjects which range widely over time and place.

Location

Location (Specialisation)
Campus	Mode	Advice
Bankstown Campus	Internal	enquiriesHCA@uws.edu.au
Bankstown City Campus (from 2023)	Internal	enquiriesHCA@uws.edu.au
Parramatta Campus - Victoria Road	Internal	enquiriesHCA@uws.edu.au
Penrith Campus	Internal	enquiriesHCA@uws.edu.au

Major Structure

Students must successfully complete 80 credit points from the subjects listed below.

Students must complete the following compulsory subjects.

Subject List
Subject	Title	Credit Points
HUMN 3104	Historical Methodologies	10
HUMN 2067	History of the Ancient World	10
HUMN 1039	Modern European History and Politics	10
HUMN 1054	When Worlds Collide: European Empires and the World, c.1600-1950	10
Total Credit Points		40

Students must also complete four subjects from the following pools with a minimum of two subjects at Level 3.

Note: Not all Level 2 and 3 pool subjects will be offered each year. Subjects will be offered on a rotational basis.

Level 2 Subject Pool

Subject List
Subject	Title	Credit Points
HUMN 2001	A History of Modern Global Buddhism	10
HUMN 2011	Ancient Western Culture: Periclean Athens	10
LANG 2015	Cultural History of Books and Reading	10
HUMN 2034	Keeping the Past	10
HUMN 2074	Origins of the Secular West	10
HUMN 2039	Political Terror	10
HUMN 2040	Politics of Sex and Gender	10
HUMN 2075	Sports History in Global Perspective	10
PHIL 2010	The Ethical Life	10
PHIL 2017	Western Political Philosophy	10

Level 3 Subject Pool

Subject List
Subject	Title	Credit Points
POLI 3004	American Foreign Policy Since 1945	10
HUMN 3013	Australian Colonial History	10
HUMN 3015	Australian History Around Us	10
HUMN 3017	Australian Indigenous History from Federation to Reconciliation	10
HUMN 3018	Australian Indigenous History: From first contact to 'dying race'	10
HUMN 3019	Britain in the Age of Botany Bay, 1760-1815	10
HUMN 3109	Catastrophe: The Environmental History of the Ancient World	10
HUMN 3024	Comparative Nationalism	10
HUMN 3026	Convicts and Settlers - Australian History 1788 - 1840	10
POLI 3005	Democracy in Asia	10
HUMN 3032	Dictators, Democrats and Dreamers: Indonesia 1942 to now	10
HUMN 3035	Enlightenment and Revolution	10
HUMN 3036	Ethics in Historical Perspective	10
HUMN 3039	Food: A Cultural History	10
HUMN 3040	From Vindication to Liberation: A Comparative History of Feminism	10
HUMN 3042	Global Politics	10
HUMN 3105	History of Religion	10
HUMN 3048	History of Sexuality	10
HUMN 3046	History of Modern China to 1949	10
HUMN 3047	History of Muslim Civilisations and Ideas	10
HUMN 3111	History of the People's Republic of China	10
HUMN 3051	Human Rights and Culture	10
POLI 3009	Looking at Global Politics Through Film	10
HUMN 3115	Medieval Europe from the Fall of the Roman Empire to the Reformation	10
HUMN 3060	Modern Japanese History	10
HUMN 3061	Mystical Islam: The Emergence of Sufism in World History	10
HUMN 3062	Napoleon: the Making of a Legend	10
PHIL 3015	Philosophy of History	10
POLI 3010	Politics of Post-War Japan	10
HUMN 3064	Politics, Power and Resistance	10
HUMN 3076	Sultans, Colonists and Nationalists: Indonesia C1200-1942	10
HUMN 3080	The History of Southeast Asia	10
HUMN 3081	The International Relations of the Middle East Since 1945	10
POLI 3012	The Politics of Civilisation	10
CULT 3021	Theories of Authority	10
HUMN 3084	Theories of Conflict and Violence	10
HUMN 3087	Twentieth Century Australia	10
HUMN 3088	Understanding Freedom	10
HUMN 3090	Understanding Power	10
HUMN 3093	War	10
HUMN 3094	War and Society in the Twentieth Century	10
HUMN 3092	WWII in Asia and the Pacific	10
HUMN 3096	What is the Human?	10

Equivalent Major Subjects

The subjects listed below count towards completion of this major for students who successfully completed the subjects in 2019 or earlier.

HUMN 3010 - American History, 1898-1945, no longer offered.
HUMN 3038 - Exploring Local History, replaced by HUMN 3015 Australian History Around Us
BEHV 3013 - Humanities Internship, no longer offered as part of this major.
HUMN 3053 - International Study Tours, no longer offered as part of this major.
HUMN 2043 - Religion and the Origins of Modern Science, no longer offered.
HUMN 3074 - Social and Political Developments in Contemporary China, replaced by HUMN 3111 History of the People's Republic of China
POLI 3013 - United States Government and Politics, no longer offered.
HUMN 3095 - Warlords, Artists and Emperors: Power and Authority in Japanese History, no longer offered.

Major Structure

Students must complete eight subjects (80 credit points) as follows

Students must complete the following compulsory subjects.

Subject List
Subject	Title	Credit Points
HUMN 1054	When Worlds Collide: European Empires and the World, c.1600-1950	10
HUMN 1039	Modern European History and Politics	10
HUMN 2067	History of the Ancient World	10
HUMN 3104	Historical Methodologies	10
Total Credit Points		40

Students must also complete four subjects from the following pools with a minimum of two subjects at Level 3.

Note: Not all Level 2 and 3 pool subjects will be offered each year. Subjects will be offered on a rotational basis.

Subject List
Subject	Title	Credit Points
Level 2 Subject Pool
HUMN 2011	Ancient Western Culture: Periclean Athens	10
LANG 2015	Cultural History of Books and Reading	10
HUMN 2034	Keeping the Past	10
HUMN 2074	Origins of the Secular West	10
HUMN 2039	Political Terror	10
HUMN 2040	Politics of Sex and Gender	10
PHIL 2010	The Ethical Life	10
PHIL 2017	Western Political Philosophy	10
Level 3 Subject Pool
POLI 3004	American Foreign Policy Since 1945	10
HUMN 3013	Australian Colonial History	10
HUMN 3015	Australian History Around Us	10
HUMN 3017	Australian Indigenous History from Federation to Reconciliation	10
HUMN 3018	Australian Indigenous History: From first contact to 'dying race'	10
HUMN 3019	Britain in the Age of Botany Bay, 1760-1815	10
HUMN 3109	Catastrophe: The Environmental History of the Ancient World	10
HUMN 3024	Comparative Nationalism	10
HUMN 3026	Convicts and Settlers - Australian History 1788 - 1840	10
POLI 3005	Democracy in Asia	10
HUMN 3035	Enlightenment and Revolution	10
HUMN 3036	Ethics in Historical Perspective	10
HUMN 3040	From Vindication to Liberation: A Comparative History of Feminism	10
HUMN 3042	Global Politics	10
HUMN 3046	History of Modern China to 1949	10
HUMN 3047	History of Muslim Civilisations and Ideas	10
HUMN 3105	History of Religion	10
HUMN 3048	History of Sexuality	10
HUMN 3111	History of the People's Republic of China	10
HUMN 3051	Human Rights and Culture	10
POLI 3006	International Organisations and Global Governance	10
POLI 3007	International Relations of Southeast Asia	10
POLI 3009	Looking at Global Politics Through Film	10
HUMN 3061	Mystical Islam: The Emergence of Sufism in World History	10
HUMN 3062	Napoleon: the Making of a Legend	10
PHIL 3015	Philosophy of History	10
POLI 3010	Politics of Post-War Japan	10
HUMN 3076	Sultans, Colonists and Nationalists: Indonesia C1200-1942	10
HUMN 3080	The History of Southeast Asia	10
HUMN 3081	The International Relations of the Middle East Since 1945	10
POLI 3012	The Politics of Civilisation	10
CULT 3021	Theories of Authority	10
HUMN 3084	Theories of Conflict and Violence	10
HUMN 3087	Twentieth Century Australia	10
HUMN 3088	Understanding Freedom	10
HUMN 3090	Understanding Power	10
HUMN 3094	War and Society in the Twentieth Century	10
HUMN 3092	WWII in Asia and the Pacific	10
HUMN 3096	What is the Human?	10