Unit Guide

General Information

Unit convenor and teaching staff	Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit Convenor Gabriele Marranci gabriele.marranci@mq.edu.au Contact via gabriele.marranci@mq.edu.au +61-2-9850-8040 TBA on iLearn
Credit points	Credit points 3
Prerequisites	Prerequisites 39cp or admission to GDipArts
Corequisites	Corequisites
Co-badged status	Co-badged status XX
Unit description	Unit description Mass communications, technological advances such as the cyberspace are powerful forces for cultural change in the contemporary world. For anthropology the globalisation thesis raises important questions about culture, religion and also how violence and its control has changed in a global world. How are we to understand cultures, religious movements and ideologies, previously understood as bounded entities, in a globalising world? How might we theorise the relationship between local and global events, such as conflicts, terrorism and violence? Some commentators argue that globalisation is nothing more than the spread of the West; that it is Americanisation or McDonalisation. Others argue that culture does not move only from the 'West to the rest' but flows freely and in multiple directions. History shows us that culture has always been dynamic and changing yet there are certain features that characterise the 'modern', 'late modern' or 'post-modern' world in which we live. In this unit we will draw on a variety of phenomenon such cultures, religion and violent local conflicts that turns global to examine critically some of the issues which are raised by the globalisation thesis. We will look at the 'speeding-up' of the world in terms of our experience of time and space. And we will consider the possibility of alternative or parallel modernities.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

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

Develop a critical analysis and capacity to debate complex social political issues
Explore the role of social settings and norms in shaping culture and politics in a globalised context through comparative research
Actively participate in discussion and debates about a range of topics related to the anthropology of religion and globalisation
Gain a greater understanding of diverse techniques for investigating from an anthropological viewpoint the complex dynamics which affect religious conflicts and violence within global contexts
Investigate in greater depth one area of special interest in the study of globalisation and religion, in particular as far as extremism and fundamentalism are concerned
Improve presentation and oral expression skills through tutorial discussions of critical issues concerning globalisation, religion and conflict
Improve writing and critical reading skills through online questions

Assessment Tasks

Name	Weighting	Due
Participation	15%	Continuos
Quiz 1	15%	May 2 (Week 7)
Quiz 2	15%	May 23 (Week 10)
Research Essay	45%	13 June (Week 13)
Course reflection	10%	June 19th

Participation

Due: Continuos
Weighting: 15%

This assesment is divided in

5% attendance

5% activity on iLearn,

On successful completion you will be able to:

Develop a critical analysis and capacity to debate complex social political issues
Actively participate in discussion and debates about a range of topics related to the anthropology of religion and globalisation
Gain a greater understanding of diverse techniques for investigating from an anthropological viewpoint the complex dynamics which affect religious conflicts and violence within global contexts
Investigate in greater depth one area of special interest in the study of globalisation and religion, in particular as far as extremism and fundamentalism are concerned
Improve presentation and oral expression skills through tutorial discussions of critical issues concerning globalisation, religion and conflict

Quiz 1

Due: May 2 (Week 7)
Weighting: 15%

iLearn Quiz. The modality and instruction can be found in iLearn.

On successful completion you will be able to:

Explore the role of social settings and norms in shaping culture and politics in a globalised context through comparative research
Gain a greater understanding of diverse techniques for investigating from an anthropological viewpoint the complex dynamics which affect religious conflicts and violence within global contexts
Improve writing and critical reading skills through online questions

Quiz 2

Due: May 23 (Week 10)
Weighting: 15%

Second Quiz. The modality and instructions will be available on iLearn

On successful completion you will be able to:

Explore the role of social settings and norms in shaping culture and politics in a globalised context through comparative research
Gain a greater understanding of diverse techniques for investigating from an anthropological viewpoint the complex dynamics which affect religious conflicts and violence within global contexts
Improve writing and critical reading skills through online questions

Research Essay

Due: 13 June (Week 13)
Weighting: 45%

The student must complete a research-based paper on a topic related to the course material.

Guidelines including advice, citations, and marking rubric are all available through the unit's iLearn material.

On successful completion you will be able to:

Develop a critical analysis and capacity to debate complex social political issues
Explore the role of social settings and norms in shaping culture and politics in a globalised context through comparative research
Gain a greater understanding of diverse techniques for investigating from an anthropological viewpoint the complex dynamics which affect religious conflicts and violence within global contexts
Investigate in greater depth one area of special interest in the study of globalisation and religion, in particular as far as extremism and fundamentalism are concerned
Improve presentation and oral expression skills through tutorial discussions of critical issues concerning globalisation, religion and conflict

Course reflection

Due: June 19th
Weighting: 10%

500 words of reflection about the student's engagement and achievements with the course.

Information of the format will be provided on iLearn.

On successful completion you will be able to:

Actively participate in discussion and debates about a range of topics related to the anthropology of religion and globalisation

Unit Schedule

Week 1: Thinking about Globalisation, Conflict and Religion

No tutorials

Shani, G. (2003). The liberal project: globalization, modernity and identity. Ritsumeikan Annual Review of International Studies, 2, 37-57.

Joseph A. Camilleri (2011) ‘religion: part of the problem or part of the solution? in Anceschi, L., Camilleri, J. A., & Palapathwala, R. (2011). Religion and Ethics in a Globalizing World: Conflict, Dialogue, and Transformation. Palgrave Macmillan., pp 1-22

Week 2 From Modernization to Globalization

Inda, J. X. and Rosaldo, R. 2008 ‘Introduction: A world in motion’ in J. X. Inda and R. Rosaldo (eds), The Anthropology of Globalization a reader, Second ed., Blackwell Publisers. pp 3-46

Mittelman, J. H. (2000). ‘The Dynamics of Globalization’ in

The globalization syndrome: transformation and resistance. Princeton University Press. pp 15-30

Further recommended readings for this topic

Neal, A. G. 2007 ‘Introduction and Orientation ‘ in A. G. Neal Sociological perspectives on modernity : multiple models and competing realities, New York : Lang, pp 4-32

Week 3 Globalization, Glocalization

Kearney, M. 1995 The local and the global: Anthropology of globalization and transnationalism. Annual Review of Anthropology, 24, pp. 547-565.

Robertson. R. 2003 ’The conceptual promise of Glocalization: commonality and diversity’ in Proceedings of the International Forum on Cultural Diversity and CommonValues. Seoul, pp.1-6.

Week 4 Resistance to Globalization

Mittelman, J. H. (2000). ‘Conceptualizaing Resistance to Globalizaiton’ in The globalization syndrome: transformation and resistance. Princeton University Press. pp 15-30

Week 5 Globalization and Religion

Kale, Sudhir. 2004. "Spirituality, Religion, and Globalization". Journal of Macromarketing. 24 (2): 92-107.

Casanova, José. 2001. "Religion, the New Millennium, and Globalization". Sociology of Religion. 62 (4): 415-441.

Week 6 Fundamentalism: A Global Phenomenon

Emerson, M. O., & Hartman, D. (2006). The rise of religious fundamentalism. Annual Review of Sociology, 127-144.

Marranci, G. (2009). “Reading Islamic Fundamentalism: Theories, Theorems and Kernels of Truth” in Understanding Muslim identity: rethinking fundamentalism, London Palgrave, pp 51-78

Week 7: Discussion about the first part of the course

Material for discussion on iLearn

Week 8 The Middle East Conflict and its Global impact: The case of Indonesia

Bubalo, A., & Fealy, G. (2005). Between the Global and the Local: Islamism, the Middle East, and Indonesia. Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution. pp

Salzman, M. B. (2008). Globalization, religious fundamentalism and the need for meaning. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 32(4), 318-327.

Week 9 Al-Qaeda: Globalisation of religious conflict?

Juergensmeyer, M. (2003). “Theater of terror” Terror in the mind of God: The global rise of religious violence (Vol. 13). University of California Pp 122-135

Ogbonnaya, U. M. (2013). Globalization, Religious Extremism and Security Challenges in the Twenty–First Century. Journal of Sustainable Society, 2(2), 59-65.

Week 10 Globalization and Clash of Civilization of Civilizers?

Casanova, J. (2011). Cosmopolitanism, the clash of civilizations and multiple modernities. Current Sociology, 59(2), 252-267. Chicago

Marranci, G. (2009). ‘How to be Human: The Civilised and the Civilisable’ in Understanding Muslim identity: rethinking fundamentalism, London Palgrave, pp 51-78

Week 11 Discussion: What Anthropologists Can Do?

Appadurai, A. 2001 “Globalization, Anthropology of,” in International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences, edited by Neil J. Smelser and Paul Bew York: Elsevier Science. pp 6266-6271

Appadurai, A. (June 01, 1997). Discussion: Fieldwork in the Era of Globalization. Anthropology Humanism 22 (1) pp. 115-118.

Further recommended readings for this topic:

Phipps, P. (2009), 'Globalization, indigeneity and performing culture', Local-Global: Identity, Security, Community, 6: 2009, pp. 28–48.

Week 12: General Discussion and Summary

No Tutorial

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html

Assessment Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy.html

Grading Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grading/policy.html

Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html

Grievance Management Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grievance_management/policy.html

Disruption to Studies Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html The Disruption to Studies Policy is effective from March 3 2014 and replaces the Special Consideration Policy.

In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/

Student Support

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Learning Skills

Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

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IT Help

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When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Graduate Capabilities

Capable of Professional and Personal Judgement and Initiative

We want our graduates to have emotional intelligence and sound interpersonal skills and to demonstrate discernment and common sense in their professional and personal judgement. They will exercise initiative as needed. They will be capable of risk assessment, and be able to handle ambiguity and complexity, enabling them to be adaptable in diverse and changing environments.