Unit Guide

General Information

Unit convenor and teaching staff	Unit convenor and teaching staff Chris Vasantkumar chris.vasantkumar@mq.edu.au
Credit points	Credit points 4
Prerequisites	Prerequisites Admission to MRes
Corequisites	Corequisites
Co-badged status	Co-badged status ANTH831
Unit description	Unit description Since the fall of the Soviet Bloc and the move of China toward an open market, 'capitalism' looks to many people like the inevitable outcome of unbending human nature. In fact, humans have found many ways to organise production, distribution, and consumption; even within free markets, certain spheres of life follow different logics. Market-based economies have faced many alternative forms of organisation, and they make very specific, peculiar demands of participants. This course examines the cultural dimensions of capitalism, exploring issues such as forms of wealth, the value of money, customs of trade, the implications of commoditisation, the corporation as social organisation, forms of distribution, the creation of human 'needs', globalisation and everyday life, investment and anticipation of the future, advertising as meaning-making, and the forms of irrationality that exist in diverse economies. Some critics have argued that commoditisation spells the end of authentic culture, that the human capacity for creativity is replaced by the cultural industries’ ability to mass produce images for passive consumption. This unit, instead, argues that the human capacity to make meaning, forge individual identity, build relationships, and distinguish ourselves from others remains, often by hijacking the products of capitalism.

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 familiarity with anthropological approaches to economic institutions and transactions
Develop the ability to assess received understandings of economic discourses and practices using anthropologically informed holistic and relativistic descriptions of cultural practices
Question commonly held and taken for granted assumptions about what is ‘natural’ or ‘normal’ human economic experience.
Apply a critical, anthropologically informed understanding of economic transactions and institutions to real world situations and phenomena
Describe how global interconnectedness shapes contemporary practices of consumption and structures of inequality.
Analyze how cultural difference affects the interpretation and practice of economic transactions and institutions s in different societies.
Improve writing skills, especially structuring of argument, organization, and use of supporting evidence and data.
Prepare a presentation on independent research that effectively summarizes one's research project and conveys its content and importance effectively.

General Assessment Information

Submission and Citation

All essays must be submitted via the turnitin link on the unit iLearn page by 23:59 on the due date.

All words and ideas that are not your own must be cited correctly. See iLearn for further details.

Late submissions on any assignment will incur a penalty, unless the unit convenor has granted an extension due to “unavoidable disruption” certified as such via the formal Disruption of Studies request process (see Undergraduate Student Handbook). The late penalty is a 5% deduction in your mark per 24-hour period. The unit convenor at his discretion may waive this deduction for assignments turned within 1 hour of the deadline.

No consideration for lost work or technology issues

It is the student’s responsibility to keep a copy (electronic or otherwise) of all written work submitted for each unit. No consideration will be given to claims of ‘lost work’ or technology issues no matter what the circumstances. It is your responsibility to ensure that your computer is fully compatible with iLearn during exam periods.

Extensions and Disruption of Study:

Please view the Disruption to Studies Policy at: http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html

All Disruption to Studies notifications are to be made online via the University’s Ask MQ system.

Remember, the University has determined that some circumstances routinely encountered by students are not acceptable grounds for claiming Disruption of Studies. These grounds include, but are not limited, to:

Routine demands of employment
Routine family problems such as tension with or between parents, spouses, and other people closely involved with the student
Difficulties adjusting to university life, to the self-discipline needed to study effectively, and the demands of academic work
Stress or anxiety associated with examinations, required assignments or any aspect of academic work
Routine need for financial support
Routine demands of sport, clubs and social or extra-curricular activities

Conditions existing prior to commencing a unit of study are not grounds for Special Consideration. The student is responsible for managing their workload in light of any known or anticipated problems. The student is responsible for contacting Student Support Services if they have a chronic condition.

Re-mark of Work During the Semester:

A re-mark will be considered only on the following grounds:

1. Administrative error

2. The feedback provided on the assessment does not justify the grade awarded

Grade Appeals

The Macquarie Grade Appeal Policy is available here: http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html

Assessment Tasks

Name	Weighting	Due
Class Preparation: DPG	20%	Weekly
Participation in Seminar	20%	Weekly
Short Paper #1	10%	26/08/16
Short Paper II	10%	14/10/2016
Final Presentation	10%	8/11/2016
Research Essay	30%	14/11/2016

Class Preparation: DPG

Due: Weekly
Weighting: 20%

Each week, you must fill out a Discussion Preparation Guide and bring it to class. See iLearn for details and sample DPG.