Students

ANTH106 – Drugs Across Cultures

2017 – S3 External

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Guy Threlfo
Credit points Credit points
3
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description
Using anthropological and ethnographic studies, this unit focuses mainly on the social and cultural contexts of drug use, both legal and illegal. This includes the economic and political factors influencing the production and distribution of drugs and the way in which these processes are enmeshed in a global economy. This unit also examines psychological theories of addiction and the neurology of drug use. Topics include: the international traffic in opium/heroin and cocaine in the Golden Triangle of mainland South–East Asia and in South America and the way this traffic intermeshes with regional politics and local tribal, peasant and commercial systems of production and exchange; the social history of drugs in the USA, UK and Australia; youth culture and drugs in the West; AIDS and intravenous drug use; addiction and treatment; drugs and the law; the global political economy of pharmaceuticals, particularly contraceptives, erectile dysfunction drugs, and antiretrovirals in the age of AIDS; and the placebo effect.

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:

  • acquire a basic understanding of the pharmacology of legal and illicit drugs and the physical, psychological and social aspects of addiction;
  • gain familiarity with ethnographic approaches to drug use i.e., drug use in small group / community settings, including the ritual and symbolic aspects of drug use;
  • understand the impact of broad social, political and economic forces on drug use and on social perceptions of drugs, including the influence of gender, class and race on public images of drugs and on legislation as well as the influence of local, regional and global factors on drug production and distribution;
  • clarify your own position on drugs and to make informed and responsible decisions about social policies and strategies relating to drug use;
  • apply and adapt anthropological knowledge to real world issues
  • research skills through active reading, analysis, and contextualisation of scholarly materials;
  • essay-writing skills, enabling you to organise points and arguments in a scholarly writing manner with appropriate citation;
  • critical analysis and creative thinking skills through the research assignment;
  • computer skills through the unit's extensive use of on-line resources;
  • enhance organisational and time management skills.

General Assessment Information

LATE SUBMISSION POLICY

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, (a) a penalty for lateness will apply – two (2) marks out of 100 will be deducted per day for assignments submitted after the due date – and (b) no assignment will be accepted more than seven (7) days (incl. weekends) after the original submission deadline. No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments – e.g. quizzes, online tests. 

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Midterm Exam 30% No 15/12/2017
Research Essay 35% No 8/01/218
Final Exam 35% No 25/01/2018

Midterm Exam

Due: 15/12/2017
Weighting: 30%

This is a multiple-choice quiz of 30 questions. The quiz will examine your knowledge of prior lectures and the REQUIRED (not recommended) lecture readings for weeks 1 and 2 only. NO MOVIES WILL BE EXAMINED IN THE TEST.

The examined readings are listed here in the unit guide - and shown on iLearn - as a supplementary resource only.

You will have 30 minutes to complete the quiz. The quiz will only be available online. The online quiz may be taken anytime from 9:00am to 11.29pm on the specified day, and accessed through iLearn. (The link will appear the day of the quiz.)

The quiz is available all that day to accommodate multiple work schedules, but please note: once you begin the quiz you have only 30 minutes to finish it, so make sure that you have 30 minutes uninterrupted and that you are at a computer with a reliable internet connection. 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • acquire a basic understanding of the pharmacology of legal and illicit drugs and the physical, psychological and social aspects of addiction;
  • gain familiarity with ethnographic approaches to drug use i.e., drug use in small group / community settings, including the ritual and symbolic aspects of drug use;
  • understand the impact of broad social, political and economic forces on drug use and on social perceptions of drugs, including the influence of gender, class and race on public images of drugs and on legislation as well as the influence of local, regional and global factors on drug production and distribution;
  • computer skills through the unit's extensive use of on-line resources;
  • enhance organisational and time management skills.

Research Essay

Due: 8/01/218
Weighting: 35%

The 35% essay should be 1400-1500 words in length and should be submitted by the 8th of January, 2018 (11.59pm). You should provide a word count when you submit your essay. Please note: 1500 words is the absolute maximum word limit! You will be penalised by 1 percentage point of your grade for each 10 words that you exceed the 1500 word limit, so it is imperative that you make your points clearly and concisely. It is also imperative that your written expression is free of grammatical and spelling errors.

We advise students who have significant writing problems to take a writing skills course (for further information see the Undergraduate Studies Handbook). You are to submit your essay via a turnitin link that will be posted on ilearn.

For advice on essay writing see 'Writing Anthropological Essays' on the Anthropology Web site: 

https://www.mq.edu.au/about/about-the-university/faculties-and-departments/faculty-of-arts/departments-and-centres/department-of-anthropology/our-students/how-to-write-an-anthropology-essay

Topics and a list of resources will be handed out in Week 1. Essay topics and a list of reference sources will be placed on the Unit Homepage on iLearn.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • acquire a basic understanding of the pharmacology of legal and illicit drugs and the physical, psychological and social aspects of addiction;
  • gain familiarity with ethnographic approaches to drug use i.e., drug use in small group / community settings, including the ritual and symbolic aspects of drug use;
  • understand the impact of broad social, political and economic forces on drug use and on social perceptions of drugs, including the influence of gender, class and race on public images of drugs and on legislation as well as the influence of local, regional and global factors on drug production and distribution;
  • clarify your own position on drugs and to make informed and responsible decisions about social policies and strategies relating to drug use;
  • apply and adapt anthropological knowledge to real world issues
  • research skills through active reading, analysis, and contextualisation of scholarly materials;
  • essay-writing skills, enabling you to organise points and arguments in a scholarly writing manner with appropriate citation;
  • critical analysis and creative thinking skills through the research assignment;
  • computer skills through the unit's extensive use of on-line resources;
  • enhance organisational and time management skills.

Final Exam

Due: 25/01/2018
Weighting: 35%

This is a multiple-choice quiz of 35 questions. The quiz will examine your knowledge of prior lectures and the required lecture readings. The quiz will focus on the readings and course content for weeks 3, 4 and 5. It will include, however, some questions from the midterm. Don't  stress - this is a good thing! They wont be difficult questions - ill use questions that you have already seen from the midterm - and it means a few easy marks for you.

You will have approximately 35 minutes to complete the quiz.

The quiz will only be available online. The online quiz may be taken anytime from 9:00am to 11.24pm on the specified day, and accessed through iLearn. (The link will appear the day of the quiz.) The quiz is available all that day to accommodate multiple work schedules, but note: once you begin the quiz you have only 35 minutes to finish it, so make sure that you have 35 minutes uninterrupted and that you are at a computer with a reliable internet connection.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • acquire a basic understanding of the pharmacology of legal and illicit drugs and the physical, psychological and social aspects of addiction;
  • gain familiarity with ethnographic approaches to drug use i.e., drug use in small group / community settings, including the ritual and symbolic aspects of drug use;
  • understand the impact of broad social, political and economic forces on drug use and on social perceptions of drugs, including the influence of gender, class and race on public images of drugs and on legislation as well as the influence of local, regional and global factors on drug production and distribution;
  • computer skills through the unit's extensive use of on-line resources;
  • enhance organisational and time management skills.

Delivery and Resources

All required and recommended readings are available on eReserve. Attendance at the university is not required in this unit. All lectures will be recorded on Echo (previously iLecture) and can be accessed via iLearn ilearn.mq.edu.au. Listen to the recordings and study the associated lecture slides.

ESSENTIAL: REGULAR INTERNET ACCESS IS ESSENTIAL TO COMPLETE THIS COURSE!

It is YOUR responsibility to procure a reliable and accessible Internet connection throughout the semester. This will be essential for you to complete quizzes, submit assignments and obtain your readings. Lack of Internet access or an unreliable Internet connection will not be a valid excuse for incomplete assessments. The Unit Homepage can be accessed through iLearn. The iLearn page for this unit should be your first source of information about this unit. It is ESSENTIAL that you regularly check the iLearn page, forums and announcements, as these will be the main means of communication between you and your convener.

Lectures Where: Online (on ilearn)

Convener: Dr Guy Threlfo

Email: guy.threlfo@mq.edu.au

Phone: 0481 511 687

Unit Schedule

WEEK ONE

Drugs, Pharmaceuticals, and Anthropology

Dr. Lisa Wynn

This is an introduction to the unit, the topics and lecturers, and the unit requirements.  The introductory lecture begins with a review of the major categories of drugs and their effects and covers a brief history of drug use and drug policy.

Required Reading:

Robson (1999). Forbidden Drugs, second edition, chapter 2: “Consequences of Drug Use"

Additional References:

Davenport-Hines (2004). “Prologue,” The Pursuit of Oblivion.

Davenport-Hines (2004). “Early History.” The Pursuit of Oblivion.

P. Robson (1999). Forbidden Drugs, second edition, chapter 1: “Why Use Drugs?”

 

Drug Symbolism

Dr Lisa Wynn

This lecture outlines theories of drug use in context, with emphasis on the way rituals and social sanctions operate in drug sub-cultures and the contribution of ethnography to understanding these processes.  There will be some discussion of the symbolic analysis of drugs in relation to ‘drug problems’.  

Required Readings:

Manderson (1995).  'Metamorphoses: Clashing Symbols in the Social Construction of Drugs.’ Journal of Drug Issues 25(4): 799-816.

Manderson, D. 2005.  Possessed: Drug policy, witchcraft and belief.   Cultural Studies 19(1)

Additional references:

Marshall, M, Ames, G M, and Bennett, L. A (2001) ‘Anthropological perspectives on alcohol and drugs at the turn of the new millenium’. Social Science Medicine 53(2):153-64

 

Hallucinogens

Dr. Lisa Wynn

The hallucinogens lecture begins with a consideration of the religious and ritual context of the use of hallucinogens among indigenous peoples of North and South America, with particular reference to shamanism. Among the specific issues discussed will be: the characteristics of shamanic trance-states, trance-states and psychotherapy, the social functions of trance-states (e.g. diagnosis of illness). Then follows a discussion of hallucinogens in the West. During the 1940s and 1950s and increasing number of Westerners, including prominent intellectuals such as Aldous Huxley, began experimenting with hallucinogens by using them personally. Later, psychologists and scientists, such as Dr Timothy Leary, began extensive studies of the hallucinogenic experience. The qualities of the drug were so powerful, revealing what seemed an alternative reality, that their use quickly became a feature of the counterculture and alternative society of the 1960s and 1970s. However, connections between hallucinogens and mental illness were also proposed and the dangers of hallucinogenic experiences led to a rapid decline in their popularity. These issues are explored in the film DMT: The Spirit Molecule.

 

FILM: DMT, the Spirit Molecule

Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtT6Xkk-kzkThe Spirit Molecule investigates dimethyltryptamine (DMT), an endogenous psychoactive compound, which exists in humans and numerous species of plants and animals. The documentary traces Dr. Rick Strassman's government-sanctioned, human DMT research and its many trials, tribulations, and inconceivable realizations. A closer examination of DMT's effects through the lens of two traditionally opposed concepts, science and spirituality, The Spirit Molecule explores the connections between cutting-edge neuroscience, quantum physics, and human spirituality. Strassman's research, and the experiences of the human test subjects before, during, and after the intense clinical trials, raises many intriguing questions. A variety of experts voice their unique thoughts and experiences with DMT within their respective fields. As Strassman's story unfolds, the contributors weigh in on his remarkable theories, including the synthesis of DMT in our brain's pineal gland, and its link to near-death experiences.

Required Reading:

Weil, A (1973) ‘Clues from the Amazon’.  In The Nature of Mind, Jonathon Cape, London, pp. 98-115.

Additional references:

Huxley, A (1972) ‘The Doors of Perception’.  In The Doors of Perception and Heaven & Hell.  London: Chatto & Windus, pp. 5-20.)

Siskind (1973).  “Visions and Cures among the Sharanahua.”

P.T. Furst (1972) Flesh of the Gods: the Ritual Use of Hallucinogens, Illinois, Waveland Press (Chapters 1,4 & 5)

M.J. Harner ed. (1973) Hallucinogens and Shamanism, London/NY, Oxford University Press (Chapters 1,3,7,9, & 10).

M.D. de Rios (1972) Visionary Vine: Hallucinogenic Healing in the Peruvian Amazon, Prospect Heights, Waveland Press.

T. Leary (1990) The Politics of Ecstasy, Berkeley, Ronin Publishers.

M.A. Lee (1992) Acid Dreams: the Complete Social History of LSD, NY, Grove Weidenfeld. 

 

Cannabis

Dr. Lisa Wynn

This lecture will explore the history of cannabis in Asia and the West – from its use for religious and medical purposes to its appropriation by literary and artistic circles – and examine the reasons for the shifting image of marijuana in Western countries, including the “gateway hypothesis.”  Finally, debates over decriminalisation and legalisation will be examined.

Required Readings:

Himmelstein, J.L. (1983) ‘From Killer Weed to Drop Out Drug’, Contemporary Crises, 7(1): 13-38.

W. Hall & M. Lynskey (2005) ‘Is Cannabis a Gateway drug? Testing Hypotheses About the Relationship Between Cannabis Use and the use of other Illicit Drugs’, Drug and Alcohol Review 24:39-48 

Additional references:

C.A. de Launey (2001) What Drug problem? Cannabis and Heroin in an Alternative Community, PhD thesis, Southern Cross University.

Health and Psychological Consequences of Cannabis Use (1994), National Drug Strategy, Monograph No.25, Canberra, Australian Government Publishing Service.

Patterns of Cannabis Use in Australia (1994), National Drug Strategy, Monograph No.27, Canberra, Australian Government Publishing Service

D. Solomon ed. (1969) The Marijuana Papers: An Examination of Marijuana in Society, History and Literature, UK, Panther.

 

WEEK TWO

From Tears to Hope, A Family Perspective on Drugs

Tony Trimingham 

The founder of Family Drug Support will provide a powerful personal account of drug addiction from the perspective of the family members of drug users.  He will also talk about addiction treatment and drug policy.

FILM: Ben: Diary of a Heroin Addict

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=7thZbHTvZIQ

Raised in a quiet, picturesque village Ben was a Boy Scout, loved cricket, played in the school orchestra and looked forward to the annual family holiday. But despite his privileged start in life Ben found himself on the road to ruin, injecting heroin up to four times a day. During his last months, Ben kept a video diary of his drug use and desperate attempts to come off heroin.

NO REQUIRED READING FOR THIS LECTURE. 

 

Drug Pharmacology and Addiction; Neuropharmacology 

Niree Kraushaar

Niree Kraushaar of Macquarie’s Psychology Department will lecture on the pharmacology and neurobiology of drugs.  She will examine how psychoactive drugs exert their effects on the central nervous system and discuss the neurotransmitters (or brain chemicals) including dopamine, serotonin, acetylcholine and GABA. She will also explore the difference between substance abuse and substance dependence (or addiction) and examine what properties of the drug determine its harm potential and whether there are any individual differences that make it more likely that a person will become addicted. 

Required Reading:

Parrott et al. (2004). Excerpt from “Principles of Drug Action.”

William A. McKim, 2007.  “Dependence, Addiction, and the Self-Administration of Drugs.”  Chapter 5 of Drugs and Behavior: An Introduction to Behavioral Pharmacology, sixth edition.  New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, pp.92-127

Additional references:

Philip Robson, 1999.   “The consequences of drug use,” Chapter 2 in Forbidden Drugs, second edition.  Oxford University Press, pp.19-32

Charles Levinthal, 2010.  “Physical and Psychological Dependence” and “Psychiatric Definitions,” in Drugs, Behavior, and Modern Society, 6th edition (Pearson International).  Boston: Allyn and Bacon, pp.40-44

William A. McKim, 2007.  “Neurophysiology, Neurotransmitters, and the Nervous System” and “Dependence, Addiction, and the Self-Administration of Drugs.”  Chapter 4 of Drugs and Behavior: An Introduction to Behavioral Pharmacology, sixth edition.  New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, pp.57-90.

 

Drug Law Reform

Dr. Alex Wodak: 

This lecture reviews international drug policy and the legislative options available for dealing with illicit drugs.  Following a consideration of current legislation regarding illicit drugs and some of their harms, the lecture considers the importance of a harm minimisation approach and what it entails.  Our guest lecturer, Dr Alex Wodak, is one of the most prominent academics in drug research and policy in Australia.

Required Reading:

Mather, LE, Rauwendaal, ER, Moxham-Hall, VL and Wodak, AD (2013) (Re)introducing medicinal cannabis. Medical Journal of Australia 199(11):759-762

Additional References:

Wodak, A (2000) ‘Developing more effective responses’.  In G Stokes, P Chalk & K Gillen (eds), Drugs and Democracy, Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, pp. 183-200.

Wodak, A (2014). 'The abject failure of drug prohibition.' Australia and New Zealand Journal of Criminology. Access at http://idhdp.com/media/362648/anj524424_rev2-wodak.pdf.

Wodak, A (2014) New Zealand’s regulation of new psychoactive substances. British Medical Journal 348 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.g1534 (Published 13 February 2014)

Wodak & McLeod (2004). “The role of harm reduction in controlling HIV...”

D.R. Bewley-Taylor (1999) The United States and International Drug Control, 1909-1997, London & New York.

D. Manderson (1993) From Mr Sin to Mr Big: A History of Australian Drug Laws, Melbourne, Oxford University Press.

 

Cocaine

Dr. Lisa Wynn

This lecture will discuss coca and cocaine in the Silver Triangle (Bolivia, Colombia, Peru) of South America.  The lecture examines the traditional uses of coca and then examines the contemporary situation in which peasant production of coca has become enmeshed in a global economy. 

FILM: Coca Mama

Full film available through the MQ Library online access.  Log into the library website (library.mq.edu.au), search for "Coca Mama," then click on the link that has a "View online" option, or go directly to http://search.alexanderstreet.com/view/work/1641542 (but note: the direct link provided above may require that you be logged in to the library website).

Required Reading:

Leons, M. B. & H Sanabria (1997) ‘Coca and Cocaine in Bolivia: Reality and Policy Illusion’.  In MB Leons & H Sanabria (eds), Coca, Cocaine, and the Bolivian Reality.  New York: State University of New York Press, pp. 2-46.

Wilson, S & M Zambrano (1997) ‘Cocaine, Commodity Chains and Drug Politics: a Transnational Approach’. In Commodity Chains and Global Capitalism. Westport, CT: Praeger, pp. 297-315.

Additional references:

Hellin (2001). “Coca Eradication in the Andes, Lessons from Bolivia.”

P. Gootenberg ed. (1999) Cocaine: Global Histories, London & N.Y., Routledge.

M.B. Leons and H. Sanabria eds (1997) Coca, Cocaine and the Bolivian Reality, N.Y., State University of New York Press.

Recommended viewing:  Cocaine (DVD): "This compelling three-part series from filmmaker Angus Macqueen is a chilling journey from the coca fields, impoverished farmers and cocaine-makers of the Peruvian Andes to drug gangs in the favelas of Rio, and also to the law officials who are powerless to stop this illicit trade. Macqueen spent 18 months filming this extraordinary series in Latin America and it reveals different insight into the much-maligned world of cocaine production. From the dirt-poor valleys of Peru and the shanty towns of Rio, Macqueen talks to people behind the production of cocaine, to explore the effect on the lives of the West's 'war on drugs'. He comes to the contentious and surprising conclusion that legalisation of the drug would solve the biggest of the current problems which are mostly due to the huge demand for it, ironically, from the West” --SBS website.

 

WEEK THREE

The War On Drugs

Dr Lisa Wynn

Dr Lisa Wynn takes a critical look at the U.S.-led 'War on Drugs', examining first supply-side strategies and the reasons for the failure of these strategies, and then looking at the demand-reduction programs of the U.S. and international agencies that include crop replacement and "community participation" approaches to drug control. 

Required Reading:

Farrell, G (1998) ‘A Global Empirical View of Drug Crop Eradication and the United Nation’s Substitution and Alternative Development Strategies’, Journal of Drug Issues, 28(2): 395-436. 

Additional References:

Jelsma (2003). “Drugs in the UN System: the Unwritten History.”

M. Barrett and M.de Palo (1999). 'Community-based intervention to reduce demand for drugs in northern Thailand', Substance Use and Misuse, 13(13):1837-1879.

E.Bertram, M.Blachman, K.Sharpe & P.Andreas (1996). Drug War Politics: The Price of Denial, University of California Press.

R.Gebert and C.Kesmanee 'Issues in highland drug abuse: the genesis and current situation', in D.McCaskill and K.Kemp eds (1997) Development or Domestication? Indigenous Peoples of Southeast Asia, Chiang Mai, Silkworm Press, pp.358-397.

D.Whynes (1991). ‘Illicit drug production and supply-side drugs policy in Asia and South America’, Development and Change, 22,(3):475-494.

Labrousse (1990). ‘Dependence on drugs: unemployment, migration and an alternative path to development in Bolivia.’ International Labour Review, 29(3):33-348.

 

A Law Enforcement View on Drugs

Jason Smith

Detective Inspector Jason R. Smith will speak about law enforcement and how drugs are policed in NSW with a brief personal account of his history of working on the NSW Drug Squad and a review of law enforcement challenges in policing drugs. 

NO READINGS FOR THIS LECTURE

 

Drugs on the Digital Frontier

Dr. James Martin

This lecture examines the new generation of online illicit marketplaces, or cyptomarkets, that are increasingly facilitating the sale and distribution of illicit drugs. These websites have proliferated rapidly in recent years, with the most well known, Silk Road, closing under dramatic circumstances in late 2012. Questions we will be addressing in the lecture include: how does the sale and distribution of illicit drugs occur on the digital frontier? Are drugs distributed through cryptomarkets more of less harmful than those that reach consumers through conventional distribution networks?

Required Reading:

Martin, J. (2013) ‘Lost on the Silk Road: Online drug distribution and the ‘cryptomarket’. Criminology and Criminal Justice, Online. pp.1-17, http://crj.sagepub.com/content/early/2013/10/06/1748895813505234 

 

Ethnographies of Drug Use

Dr. Lisa Wynn

In this lecture, Lisa Wynn examines how anthropologists have studied drug use.  The lecture focuses on ethnographies of drugs use and highlights their value, particularly in relation to understanding the meaning of drug use in context. This lecture defines 'ethnography' and outlines ethnographic methods. Then follows an analysis of ethnographies of illicit drug use, such as those by Philippe Bourgois. This analysis highlights the value of drug use ethnographies, in particular the understanding of the meaning of drug use in context. The lecture also examines the contribution of ethnographies to an understanding of drug rituals and symbolism and drug subcultures. 

Required Reading:

Zinberg, N.E. (1984) ‘Historical Perspectives on Controlled Drug Use’.  In Drug, Set and Setting: the Basis for Controlled Intoxicant Use. Yale University Press, pp. 1-10. 

Additional References:

Moore (1993). “Beyond Zinberg’s ‘Social Setting’.”

Grund, Kaplan & de Vries (1994). “Rituals of Regulation”

Philippe Bourgois (1995). In Search of Respect: Selling Crack in El Barrio.

Sudhir Venkatesh (2008).  Gang Leader for a Day.

Burr (1987). “Chasing the Dragon.”

M.H. Agar (1977) ‘Into that whole ritual thing: ritualist drug use among urban American heroin addicts’, in B.M. Du Toit ed. Drugs, Rituals and Altered States of Consciousness, Rotterdam, Balkema, pp. 137-148.

W.M. Harding & N.E. Zinberg (1977) ‘The effectiveness of the sub-culture in developing rituals and social sanctions for controlled drug use’ in Du Toit ed. op. cit. pp. 111-133. 

 

WEEK FOUR

Political Economy of Opiates

Associate Professor Paul Cohen

Guest lecturer Dr Paul Cohen examines the political economy of opiates in Asia, where he has conducted original ethnographic research.  Professor Cohen outlines the history of opium in Asia with emphasis on the factors contributing to the growth of the Golden Triangle and Golden Crescent regions as the major sources of illicit opium production. The post World War II politics of opium in these regions will be analysed as well as the way in which local opium production and trade is linked to a global market in heroin.

Paul Cohen will also talk about his own fieldwork in the Golden Triangle, discussing the social context of opium production, consumption by ‘hill-tribe’ and peasant growers, and how local anti-opium smoking campaigns in Thailand have resulted in stigmatisation of users, new ways of thinking about addicts, and, ironically, increased heroin use.

Film: Raw Opium

Available at: http://vimeo.com/channels/mikefuller508033/64118843

“Raw Opium is a feature length documentary (and two-part TV series) about a commodity that has tremendous power – both to ease pain and to destroy lives. The opium poppy is the raw material for heroin, fueling a vast criminal trade larger than the economies of many countries.

Raw Opium is a journey around the world and through time, where conflicting forces do battle over the narcotic sap of the opium poppy. From an opium master in southeast Asia to a UN drug enforcement officer on the border of Afghanistan hunting down the smugglers of central Asia; from a former Indian government Drug Czar and opium farmer to a crusading Vancouver doctor and Portuguese street worker who daily confront the realities of drug addiction.

We see how this flower has played, and continues to play, a pivotal role – not just in the lives of people who grow, manufacture and use it – but also in the increasingly tense sphere of international relations. In the process, our assumptions about addiction and the War on Drugs are challenged.”-- Raw Opium Website <rawopium.com>

Required Reading:

Cohen, PT (2013) Symbolic dimensions of the anti-opium campaign in Laos, TAJA 24:177-192

Trocki, C. A. (1999) ‘All the Drowsy Syrups of the World’.  In Opium Empire and the Global Political Economy: A Study of Asian Opium Trade, 1750-1950. London: Routledge, pp. 13-32. 

Additional references:

Cohen, PT & C Lyttleton (2002) Opium-Reduction Programmes, Discourses of Addiction and Gender in Northwest Laos, Sojourn, 17(1): 1-23.

Brown (1999). “Burma: The Political Economy of Violence.”      

Hoffman (1990). “Historical Shifts in the Perception of Opiates.”          

Labrousse (2005). “Drugs: The Major Obstacle to Afghan reconstruction?”   

Jelsma (2005). “Burma in the Global Drug Market.” (Labrousse and Jelsma articles found In M. Jelsma, T. Kramer & P. Vervest (eds) Trouble in the Triangle: Opium and Conflict in Burma, Silkworm Press, Chiang Mai.)

B. Lintner (1993) The Politics of the Drug Trade in Burma, Indian Ocean Centre for Peace Studies, University of Western Australia.

A.W. McCoy (1972) The Politics of Heroin in Southeast Asia, NY, Harper & Row.

A.W.M Coy (2003) The Politics of Heroin: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade, Chicago, Lawrence Hill Books.

C.A. Trocki (1999) Opium, Empire and the Global Political EconomyA Study of the Asian Opium Trade 1750-1950, London, Routledge.

Yawnghwe, Chao-Tzang (1993) ‘The Political Economy of the Opium Trade: Implications for Shan State’, Journal of Contemporary Asia, 23(3): 306-326.

 

The Political Economy of Tobacco

Dr. Ross Mackenzie

This lecture is about the broad health implications of smoking and the role of media in health policy and advocacy.  Dr. MacKenzie will discuss his research on global trade liberalisation and the tobacco industry, primarily in SE Asia, looking at the growth of the globalisation of Western brands and consequences for lower- to middle income countries, consolidation of the tobacco industry, and smuggling.

Film: Tobacco Wars

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=iplzsMazQz4

Tobacco Wars is a comprehensive history of the cigarette, providing an in-depth, balanced, and often shocking look at the tobacco industry. The series' three one-hour episodes are organized chronologically, from the advent of the cigarette through its ascension to one of the most profitable consumer products the world has ever seen. Via first person accounts and insider documentation, Tobacco Wars vividly portrays what the companies really knew about the link between smoking and disease, explains how mankind became seduced by such a dangerous product, provides a status report on Big Tobacco today, and looks towards the future of this most controversial of industries. 

Required Readings

Lee, S., Ling, P. M. and Glantz, S. A (2012). ‘The vector of the tobacco epidemic: tobacco industry practices in low and middle-income countries’. Cancer Causes Control 23:117-129

Yach D and Bettcher D, 2000.  ‘Globalisation of tobacco industry influence and new global responses.’ Tobacco Control 9: 206-216

Additional references:

Bell, K & H Keane, 2013. “Nicotine control: E-cigarettes, smoking and addiction.” International Journal of Drug Policy

Chapman S, Freeman B., 2008. ‘Markers of the denormalisation of smoking and the tobacco industry.’  Tobacco Control 17:25-31.

Novotny, TE and Carlin, D., 2005. ‘Ethical and legal aspects of global tobacco control.’ Tobacco Control 14:ii26-ii30.

Ballard (2001). “The Politics of Tobacco Control in Australia.”

Mackay (2001). “The Tobacco Epidemic: Some Future Scenarios.”

Goodman, J (1998) ‘Webs of Drug Dependence: Toward a Political History of Tobacco’.  In S Lock, L Reynolds & E Tansey (eds), Ashes to Ashes: the History of Smoking and Health. Amsterdam & Atlanta: Rodopi, pp. 5-29.

K. Blum et al. (1996) ‘Reward deficiency syndrome’, American Scientist, Mar-Apr.

Tyrrell (1999) Tobacco Control in Colonial Australia, ch.1 of Deadly Enemies: Tobacco and its Opponents in Australia, University of New South Wales Press, pp.3–18.

M. Wolfson (2001) The Fight Against Big Tobacco: The Movement, the State, and the Public’s Health, New York, Aldine De Gruyter.

 

Tobacco and Shamanism

Dr. Lisa Wynn

Tobacco and Shamanism: Lisa Wynn will look at the pharmacology of the tobacco plant and the biochemistry of nicotine addiction. The biogeography of tobacco varieties in the New World reveals something of its earliest domestication and diffusion throughout the Americas, not as a drug of pleasure but as a sacred medicine, the use of which enable humans to visit and influence the Gods via a hallucinated ‘bridge of smoke’.  Only fifty years after Columbus’ first voyage, tobacco was being smoked in the Portuguese royal court, and fifty years after that it was being traded and smoked around the world.

Required Reading:

Wilbert, J (1987) ‘Tobacco and Shamanistic Ecstasy Among the Warao Indians’.  In P Furst (ed), Flesh of the Gods: the Ritual Use of Hallucinogens.  New York: Praeger, pp. 55-83.

Additional References:

J. Wilbert (1987) Tobacco and Shamanism in South America, New Haven, Yale University Press. 

 

Steroids

Guest lecturers Professor Greg Downey and Ms Edwina James will talk about performance-enhancing drugs, their use in sports, the way they have constructed new aesthetic ideals for masculine bodies, and how blurry and subjective the line can be between ‘performance-enhancing drugs’ and the concept of ‘restoring normal masculinity’ that underpins the prescription of male testosterone replacement therapy.

Required Reading:

Hoberman, J. (1995). Listening to Steroids. The Wilson Quarterly Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. 35-44

 

WEEK FIVE

 

Erectile Dysfunction Drugs

Lisa Wynn

Lisa Wynn will look at the history of the development of the erectile dysfunction drug sildenafil (Viagra) and how it is consumed cross culturally, with a comparison of the different ways that Viagra is imagined and used in Egypt, China, and the U.S. and the ways it has shaped popular understandings of masculinity and sexuality.

Required Reading:

Fishman (2007). “Making Viagra: From Impotence to Erectile Dysfunction.”

 

Additional references:

Everett Yuehong Zhang (2007).  “The birth of nanke (men’s medicine) in China: The making of the subject of desire.”  American Ethnologist 34(3):491-508.

Everett Yuehong Zhang (2005).  “Rethinking Sexual Repression in Maoist China: Ideology, Structure and the Ownership of the Body.”  Body and Society 11(3):1-25.

Meika Loe (2004).  The Rise of Viagra: How the Little Blue Pill Changed Sex in America.  New York: NYU Press.

Jay Baglia (2005).  The Viagra AdVenture: Masculinity, Media, and the Performance of Sexual Health. New York: Peter Lang.

 

Emergency Contraception

Dr. Lisa Wynn

Dr Wynn will discuss her research on debates over access to emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs) in the United States and Australia.  Though ECPs are not mind-altering drugs (they are just a higher dose of the same hormones found in regular oral contraceptive pills), it is striking how the American discourse surrounding them has tended to focus on many of the same concerns – one might say paranoias – that surround discourses about illegal drug use.  Is it the association between these pills and sex that leads this pharmaceutical product to be imagined in the same way as mood-altering illegal drugs?

Required Reading:

Wynn & Trussell (2006). “Images of American Sexuality in Debates Over Nondescription Access to Emergency Contraceptive Pills” Obstetrical Gynecology 108(5):1272-6

Desmond Manderson (2011).  “Possessed: The unconscious law of drugs.”  In S Fraser and D Moore, eds., The Drug Effect: Health, Crime and Society.  Melbourne: Cambridge University Press, pp.225-239.

Additional references:

Wynn & Trussell (2006). “The Social Life of Emergency Contraception in the United States: Disciplining pharmaceutical use, disciplining sexuality and constructing zygotic bodies” Medical Anthropology Quarterly 20(3):297-320.

 

Ethics and Health Research / Drug Trials

Lisa Wynn

Lisa Wynn will talk about the history and ethics of international drug trials, from the Nazis and the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment to more recent research in antiretroviral therapy drugs for HIV, and ask whether the international political economy of pharmaceutical experiments is creating a new global class of experimental ‘guinea pigs.’

Recommended Reading:

Lisa Wynn, Paul Mason, and Kristina Everett, 2009. "Human Research Ethics for the Social Sciences and Humanities: Online Training Module."  Available at http://www.mq.edu.au/ethics_training/

 

The Placebo Effect

Lisa Wynn

Dr. Lisa Wynn will describe how anthropologists, neurologists, and psychologists have studied the placebo effect. Numerous medical studies have illustrated how powerful placebos are. Placebos can cure a headache, ameliorate depression, and even induce a powerful high in drug addicts. Yet placebos are, by their very definition, inert. Therefore, it's not the placebo that's doing all these things. It's the meaning that we attribute to the placebo, and that is a complex blend of psychology and culture acting on physiology.  Lisa will explore Moerman and Jonas's theory that the placebo effect is actually a meaning effect and we will test the correlative theory, namely that sensory perception is determined by expectations, with a class experiment involving a blind wine tasting.  

Required Reading:

Daniel Moerman and Wayne Jonas, 2002.  “Deconstructing the Placebo Effect and Finding the Meaning Response.”  Annals of Internal Medicine 136 (6):471-476.

Additional reference:

Daniel Moerman, 2002.  Meaning, Medicine and the ‘Placebo Effect.’  Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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_2016.html

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

Complaint Management Procedure for Students and Members of the Public http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/complaint_management/procedure.html​

Disruption to Studies Policy (in effect until Dec 4th, 2017): http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html

Special Consideration Policy (in effect from Dec 4th, 2017): https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/special-consideration

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/

Results

Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

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

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/

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

Graduate Capabilities

Creative and Innovative

Our graduates will also be capable of creative thinking and of creating knowledge. They will be imaginative and open to experience and capable of innovation at work and in the community. We want them to be engaged in applying their critical, creative thinking.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcome

  • research skills through active reading, analysis, and contextualisation of scholarly materials;

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.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcome

  • enhance organisational and time management skills.

Commitment to Continuous Learning

Our graduates will have enquiring minds and a literate curiosity which will lead them to pursue knowledge for its own sake. They will continue to pursue learning in their careers and as they participate in the world. They will be capable of reflecting on their experiences and relationships with others and the environment, learning from them, and growing - personally, professionally and socially.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcome

  • essay-writing skills, enabling you to organise points and arguments in a scholarly writing manner with appropriate citation;

Discipline Specific Knowledge and Skills

Our graduates will take with them the intellectual development, depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content in their chosen fields to make them competent and confident in their subject or profession. They will be able to demonstrate, where relevant, professional technical competence and meet professional standards. They will be able to articulate the structure of knowledge of their discipline, be able to adapt discipline-specific knowledge to novel situations, and be able to contribute from their discipline to inter-disciplinary solutions to problems.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • acquire a basic understanding of the pharmacology of legal and illicit drugs and the physical, psychological and social aspects of addiction;
  • gain familiarity with ethnographic approaches to drug use i.e., drug use in small group / community settings, including the ritual and symbolic aspects of drug use;
  • understand the impact of broad social, political and economic forces on drug use and on social perceptions of drugs, including the influence of gender, class and race on public images of drugs and on legislation as well as the influence of local, regional and global factors on drug production and distribution;
  • apply and adapt anthropological knowledge to real world issues
  • essay-writing skills, enabling you to organise points and arguments in a scholarly writing manner with appropriate citation;

Assessment tasks

  • Midterm Exam
  • Research Essay
  • Final Exam

Critical, Analytical and Integrative Thinking

We want our graduates to be capable of reasoning, questioning and analysing, and to integrate and synthesise learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments; to be able to critique constraints, assumptions and limitations; to be able to think independently and systemically in relation to scholarly activity, in the workplace, and in the world. We want them to have a level of scientific and information technology literacy.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • gain familiarity with ethnographic approaches to drug use i.e., drug use in small group / community settings, including the ritual and symbolic aspects of drug use;
  • understand the impact of broad social, political and economic forces on drug use and on social perceptions of drugs, including the influence of gender, class and race on public images of drugs and on legislation as well as the influence of local, regional and global factors on drug production and distribution;
  • clarify your own position on drugs and to make informed and responsible decisions about social policies and strategies relating to drug use;
  • research skills through active reading, analysis, and contextualisation of scholarly materials;
  • essay-writing skills, enabling you to organise points and arguments in a scholarly writing manner with appropriate citation;
  • critical analysis and creative thinking skills through the research assignment;

Assessment task

  • Research Essay

Problem Solving and Research Capability

Our graduates should be capable of researching; of analysing, and interpreting and assessing data and information in various forms; of drawing connections across fields of knowledge; and they should be able to relate their knowledge to complex situations at work or in the world, in order to diagnose and solve problems. We want them to have the confidence to take the initiative in doing so, within an awareness of their own limitations.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • gain familiarity with ethnographic approaches to drug use i.e., drug use in small group / community settings, including the ritual and symbolic aspects of drug use;
  • understand the impact of broad social, political and economic forces on drug use and on social perceptions of drugs, including the influence of gender, class and race on public images of drugs and on legislation as well as the influence of local, regional and global factors on drug production and distribution;
  • clarify your own position on drugs and to make informed and responsible decisions about social policies and strategies relating to drug use;
  • research skills through active reading, analysis, and contextualisation of scholarly materials;
  • essay-writing skills, enabling you to organise points and arguments in a scholarly writing manner with appropriate citation;

Assessment task

  • Research Essay

Effective Communication

We want to develop in our students the ability to communicate and convey their views in forms effective with different audiences. We want our graduates to take with them the capability to read, listen, question, gather and evaluate information resources in a variety of formats, assess, write clearly, speak effectively, and to use visual communication and communication technologies as appropriate.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • clarify your own position on drugs and to make informed and responsible decisions about social policies and strategies relating to drug use;
  • research skills through active reading, analysis, and contextualisation of scholarly materials;
  • essay-writing skills, enabling you to organise points and arguments in a scholarly writing manner with appropriate citation;
  • critical analysis and creative thinking skills through the research assignment;
  • computer skills through the unit's extensive use of on-line resources;

Assessment task

  • Research Essay

Engaged and Ethical Local and Global citizens

As local citizens our graduates will be aware of indigenous perspectives and of the nation's historical context. They will be engaged with the challenges of contemporary society and with knowledge and ideas. We want our graduates to have respect for diversity, to be open-minded, sensitive to others and inclusive, and to be open to other cultures and perspectives: they should have a level of cultural literacy. Our graduates should be aware of disadvantage and social justice, and be willing to participate to help create a wiser and better society.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcome

  • apply and adapt anthropological knowledge to real world issues

Socially and Environmentally Active and Responsible

We want our graduates to be aware of and have respect for self and others; to be able to work with others as a leader and a team player; to have a sense of connectedness with others and country; and to have a sense of mutual obligation. Our graduates should be informed and active participants in moving society towards sustainability.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • understand the impact of broad social, political and economic forces on drug use and on social perceptions of drugs, including the influence of gender, class and race on public images of drugs and on legislation as well as the influence of local, regional and global factors on drug production and distribution;
  • clarify your own position on drugs and to make informed and responsible decisions about social policies and strategies relating to drug use;
  • apply and adapt anthropological knowledge to real world issues

Changes since First Published

Date Description
28/11/2017 Hi Lisa, I have made the changes. Cheers