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School of Sociology · ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences
The term "neoliberalism" refers to an intellectual movement dating back to the 1930s and to the political movement that translated these ideas into policy practice beginning in the 1970s. The movement inspired a backlash against the mid-century welfare state and sought to achieve a complete transformation of social, economic and political life in accordance with free market principles. This course will offer an introduction to the concept and practices of neoliberalism from a sociological perspective. It will introduce students to major texts and authors in the emerging field of neoliberalism studies and examine the key intellectual controversies. Topics to be covered include neoliberalism and the ideology of the free market, neoliberalism and the welfare state, neoliberalism and the transformation of the social world, neoliberalism and gender, taxation and public spending austerity, and the relationship between neoliberalism and social conservatism. While theoretical texts will be drawn from multiple contexts, special attention will be paid to the roll out of neoliberalism in Australia.
Critical review, 1500 words
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 4
Major essay, 3000 words
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4
Tutorial participation
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4
130 hours of total student learning time made up from: a) 36 hours of contact: 24 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorials and tutorial-like activities; and b) 94 hours of independent student research, reading, and writing Other Information This course will be cross-listed in the Gender, Sexuality and Culture Studies Major and Minor.
Not applicable Preliminary Reading Pierre Dardot and Christian Laval, The New Way of the World: On Neoliberal Society. New York: Verso, 2013. David Harvey, A Brief History of Neoliberalism. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2005. Elizabeth Humphrys .How Labor Built Neoliberalism: Australia's Accord, the Labour Movement and the Neoliberal Project. Leiden: Brill, 2018. Philip Mendes. Australia's Welfare Wars: The Players, the Politics and the Ideologies. Kensington: UNSW Press, 2017. Philip Mirowski and Dieter Plehwe, eds, The Road from Mont-Pelerin – The Making of the Neoliberal Thought Collective. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 2009. Jamie Peck, Constructions of Neoliberal Reason. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010. Ben Spies-Butcher. Politics, Inequality and the Australian Welfare State after Liberalisation. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2023. Eve Vincent. Who Cares? Life on Welfare in Australia. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 2023.