HIST19031 - Australia's Foreign Relations

Showing: 2026 HE Term 1
General Information

Unit Synopsis

This unit examines the development of Australia's foreign policy and Australia's relations with other nations from Responsible Government to the present. After reflecting on the various approaches to the study of international affairs, and the domestic context, the unit considers the imperial relationship and the emergence of nascent foreign policies among the Australasian British colonies. In the context of domestic politics, trade and immigration policy, the unit then examines the history of Australia's diplomatic relations, especially in the Asia Pacific region. The focus is on changing relationships with Britain, the USA, Japan, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. The unit concludes with a critical and historically informed analysis of Australia's current foreign policy positions.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 3
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 4
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites Prerequisite: Minimum of 18 credit points

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2019

Term 1 - 2019 Profile
Online
Term 1 - 2020 Profile
Online
Term 1 - 2021 Profile
Online
Term 1 - 2022 Profile
Online
Term 1 - 2023 Profile
Online

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Written Assessment 30%
2. Practical and Written Assessment 40%
3. Online Quiz(zes) 30%

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).

Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades

Past Exams

Previous Feedback

No previous feedback available

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Source: Emails and Unit Review Survey.
Feedback:
 Maintain current structure

Recommendation:
 Student feedback was extremely positive for this unit and recommended it continue in its current form.

Action Taken:
 This unit receives very positive student feedback and will continue in its current form.
Source: Emails, Student surveys, in class comments.
Feedback:
 Continue in current form.

Recommendation:
 Student feedback for this unit was extremely positive and it was recommended that it continues in its current form.

Action Taken:
 In Progress
Unit Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. demonstrate a broad knowledge of the main theoretical approaches to and historical underpinnings of Australia's past and present foreign policy and the consequent evolving relationships with Great Britain, United States of America and selected nations of the Asia-Pacific region.
  2. demonstrate a preliminary understanding of the problems of historical evidence in both primary and secondary sources.
  3. demonstrate an understanding of how the construction and historical implementation of foreign policy pose questions of ethical action and social responsibility for both Australian governments and the nation in general.
  4. demonstrate the following generic skills: i. the ability to explain the significance of processes of, and approaches to, Australia's foreign policy making and the significance of historical events related to Australia's foreign relations; ii. the ability to critique theoretical and historical interpretations of Australia's foreign policy making and foreign relations, and their applications to contemporary issues; iii. the ability to understand and use the principle that ethical action and social responsibility are inherent in the study of history and its interpretations; iv. the ability to locate, retrieve, organise, analyse and synthesise historical evidence from both primary and secondary sources; v. the ability to develop and communicate cogent historical argument and knowledge in written and oral forms, employing the required referencing methods where necessary; vi. the ability to be self-directed and self-disciplined, and to show initiative.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Written Assessment • • • •
2 - Practical and Written Assessment • • • •
3 - Online Quiz(zes) • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Communication • • • •
2 - Problem Solving • • • •
3 - Critical Thinking • • • •
4 - Information Literacy • • • •
5 - Team Work • • • •
6 - Information Technology Competence • • • •
7 - Cross Cultural Competence • • • •
8 - Ethical practice • • • •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 10
1 - Written Assessment • • • • • • • •
2 - Practical and Written Assessment • • • • • • • •
3 - Online Quiz(zes) • • • •