Australia in the World 1914 to 2014 (HIST20070)

What is Australia’s place in the world? Has it shifted over time? If so, how? And why? This subject seeks answers to these questions. If offers a broad overview of Australia’s place in the world in the twentieth century. The subject will be of interest not only to students drawn to Australian history, but also to those concerned with the power of transnational relationships and their influence on domestic events. With these general questions in mind, we traverse key moments in the twentieth century: World War I; the Great Depression; World War II; the Cold War; mass immigration and multiculturalism; the protest movements of the sixties; the changing relationships between Australia and Asia; the attempt to market Australia to the world, through the Bicentenary and the Sydney Olympics; the quest for reconciliation and the republic; the recent spread of neo-liberalism; the allegedly growing importance of American culture and politics; the impact of events such as the rise of Pauline Hanson and the Tampa maritime incident; and the Global Financial Crisis.