ATS3959 Chinese politics and political cultures
Faculty of Arts
ATS3959 Chinese politics and political cultures is a level 3, 6-credit-point, undergraduate unit from the Faculty of Arts, offered in 2025 in Semester 2 at Clayton. It has no prerequisites.
- Credit points
- 6
- Offered in 2025
- Semester 2
- Clayton
- Assessment
- No exam
- 4 tasks
- Workload
- 144 hours
- per semester
This is the 2025 handbook entry. See the 2027 entry.
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Requisites
Before ATS3959
No prerequisites or corequisites besides the enrolment rules below.
After ATS3959
No unit lists ATS3959 as a prerequisite in the 2025 handbook.
Enrolment rules
Must have completed 12 points of level 2 Arts units
Overview
This unit introduces students to China’s political system and cultures. We begin from an overview of the historical origins of the current system, with a particular emphasis on divergent schools of political thought throughout history, including Confucianism, Legalism, Taoism, republicanism, and communism.
We then proceed to an overview of the reform era political system and the challenges faced by the leadership. Questions for consideration include leadership succession, corruption and inequality, nationalism, civil society, health, ethnic and gender relations, and international relations.
The unit concludes with a discussion of how best to classify China’s current political model, as well as thinking through possible paths for the future.
Offerings in 2025
| Teaching period | Campus | Mode |
|---|---|---|
| Second semester | Clayton | On campus |
Assessment
- Critical reading responseWritten25%
- Tutorial presentation and discussionPresentation15%
- Research proposal and annotated bibliographyWritten20%
- Research paperWritten40%
Learning outcomes
When you finish this unit, you should be able to:
- 1
Demonstrate enhanced and critically informed knowledge of Chinese political thought and China’s current political system
- 2
Demonstrate understanding of the diversity of China and Sinophone communities, developing the ability to work across cultures with people of diverse backgrounds
- 3
Demonstrate understanding of the disciplinary approaches through which knowledge about China is developed, with specific reference to political and anthropological perspectives and theories
- 4
Demonstrate capacity for analytical and critical thinking, for library and web-based research skills, and for clear written and oral communication.
Workload and teaching
- Lectures24 hours
- Tutorials24 hours
- Teaching approachActive learning
Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.
Where it fits
ATS3959 is part of 4 areas of study in the 2025 handbook.
Contacts
- Chief Examiners
- Dr Jonathan Benney
- Unit Coordinators
- Dr Jonathan Benney
Common questions
What are the prerequisites for ATS3959?
ATS3959 has no prerequisites, but enrolment rules apply.
When is ATS3959 offered?
In 2025, ATS3959 runs in Semester 2 at Clayton.
How much work is ATS3959?
The handbook expects about 144 hours of study across the semester. No students have rated its difficulty yet.
Does ATS3959 have an exam?
No. ATS3959 has 4 assessment tasks and no exam.
Which majors and minors include ATS3959?
ATS3959 is part of Chinese studies and Global Asia.