Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Chris Houston
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Credit points |
Credit points
4
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
Admission to MRes
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
The core unit in the Master of Research specialisation in anthropology provides a grounding in theoretical, methodological and interpretive issues that are currently being debated by anthropologists. These issues will vary from year to year according to contemporary developments in anthropology and the interests of the course convenor. Others may be more enduring, such as the theoretical issues related to kinship, to politics and power, the "writing culture" debate, "Orientalism" the problem of the "other," cultural relativism, and and the relationship between individual and society. This year the ANTH 701 seminar will focus on the last of these ‘enduring’ issues. The works of Bourdieu, Jackson, Castoriadis and Rapport focus on different aspects of this relationship: on social reproduction and domination; on the creation of subjectivity through intercultural encounter; on the self-institution of society; and on the individual as creator of their world beyond their conditioning by pre-existing cultural frameworks.
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Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
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Major Essay | 70% | No | Friday, July 26th. |
Seminar Participation | 10% | No | July 26 |
Minor Essay | 10% | No | 29 April |
Literature review | 10% | No | 17May |
Due: Friday, July 26th.
Weighting: 70%
This essay counts for 100% of your grade and is required to be approximately 5,000 words in length. The essay should relate, compare and critically assess the work of two or more of the authors to the major themes of the unit – cultural creativity, agency (agents), and world-making. In your essay, critically focus on where the authors identify sources of creativity or change, and how the texts articulate society and the individual – or in what terms. This essay is due on Friday, July 26th. Two typed copies must be submitted on this date.
Due: July 26
Weighting: 10%
Over the duration of the seminar, each student will give one or two brief introductions to the week’s reading(s), drawing out its main themes and selecting a number of questions or puzzles for the seminar to discuss. These introductory remarks are intended merely to get the seminar rolling – students might wish to focus on something interesting, maddening or confusing about the reading for example.
Due: 29 April
Weighting: 10%
Students will write a draft of their major essay
Due: 17May
Weighting: 10%
Students will write a small review of their thesis literature
Lecture/meeting: Wednesday Afternoons, in Building W6A, Room 708
There will be a required list of reading and recommended resources that will be made
available in iLearn
The ANTH 701 Convenor in 2013 is Christopher Houston, Room 605. I am available on extension 8471 and the email address is chris.houston@mq.edu.au. Please contact me about problems of any nature that affects your studies this year.
ANTH 701 class seminars will run from the second week of the first semester until mid-June. The seminar will be devoted to a discussion of course readings, but we will consider essay and thesis research strategies as well. Students are expected to follow the set readings and to participate in discussion. Over the duration of the seminar, each student will give one or two brief introductions to the week’s reading(s), drawing out its main themes and selecting a number of questions or puzzles for the seminar to discuss. These introductory remarks are intended merely to get the seminar rolling – students might wish to focus on something interesting, maddening or confusing about the reading for example. The seminar is designed to provide a supportive environment in which students can assist each other in conceptualising their essay and thesis, and in planning their study.
SEMINAR SCHEDULE & CONTENT
Session One,
Reading: ‘Agent and Agency’; ‘Classification’ ‘Individuality’, ‘Interpretation’; in N. Rapport and J. Overing (2000) Social and Cultural Anthropology: The Key Concepts.
Session Two,
Reading: Bourdieu, P. (1962) The Algerians
Session Three,
Reading: Bourdieu, P. (2001) Masculine Domination
Session Four,
Reading: Bourdieu, P. (1972) Outline of a Theory of Practice, Chapters One and Two
Session Five,
Reading: Bourdieu, P. (1972) Outline of a Theory of Practice, Chapters Three and Four.
Session Six,
Reading: de Certeau, M. (1984) ‘Part Two: Theories of the Art of Practice’, in Practice of Everyday Life.
Alexander, G. (1995) ‘The Reality of Reduction: the Failed Synthesis of Pierre Bourdieu’ in Fin de Siecle Social Theory.
Reed-Danahay, D. (1995) ‘The Kabyle and the French: Occidentalism in Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice,’ in J. Carrier (ed) Occidentalism: Images of the West.
Dosse, F. (1997) ‘Durkheim gets a Second Wind: Pierre Bourdieu’ & ‘A Middle Path: The Habitus’, in History of Structuralism, Volume 2: The Sign Sets, 1967-Present.
Bourdieu, P. (2000) ‘Making the Economic Habitus: Algerian Workers Revisited’, in Ethnography
Session Seven,
Reading: Jackson, M. (1996) ‘Introduction’, in Things As They Are: New Directions in Phenomenological Anthropology.
Session Eight,
Jackson, M. (1998) ‘Preamble’, ‘Returns’ & ‘Here/Now’, in Minima Ethnographica: Intersubjectivity and the Anthropological Project.
Session Nine,
Reading
Jackson, M. (1996) Antipodes (Poems)
Session Ten,
Reading: Castoriadis, C. (1991) ‘Power, Politics and Autonomy’, in Philosophy, Politics, Autonomy.
(1997) ‘The Imaginary: Creation in the Social-Historical Domain’, in World in Fragments: Writings on Politics, Society, Pyschoanalysis and the Imagination.
Session Eleven,
Reading: Castoriadis, C. (1997) ‘Institution of Society and Religion’, in World in Fragments: Writings on Politics, Society, Pyschoanalysis and the Imagination.
Castoriadis, C. (1997) ‘Phusis and Autonomy’, in World in Fragments: Writings on Politics, Society, Pyschoanalysis and the Imagination.
Session Twelve,
Reading:Rapport, N. (1997) ‘Manifesto’ & Chapters One-Five, in Transcendent Individual: Towards a Literary and Liberal Anthropology.
Session Thirteen,
Reading: Rapport, N. (2001) ‘Random Mind: Towards an Appreciation of Openess in Individual, Society and Anthropology’, plus Replies and Response by Friedman, Gray, Kapfarer, Samuual, Sokefeld, Toren and Rapport, in Australian Journal of Anthropology, 12: 2.
Rapport, N. (2003) ‘Nihilistic and Democratic Violence’ in I am Dynamite: An Alternative Anthropology of Power .
See also Rapport, N. (2008) ‘Gratiotusness: Notes Towards an Anthropology of Interiority’, in The Australian Journal of Anthropology 19, 3.
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Assessment Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy_2016.html
Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html
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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
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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.
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