Students

ANTH224 – Mad, Bad, Sad: Cross Cultural Perspectives

2019 – S1 Day

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor
Kevin Groark
Tutor
Siobhan Irving
Tutor
Emma Balkin
Anna-Karina Hermkens
Credit points Credit points
3
Prerequisites Prerequisites
(12cp at 100 level or above) or ANTH106 or ANTH150 or admission to GDipArts
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description
How do cultures in different parts of the world determine and understand who is mad, bad or sad? Madness, deviance and other forms of social difference are cultural constructs that vary considerably across both historical period and cultural context. Moreover, these ideas have profound moral implications that become dramatically entwined with people's lived experience, as well as broader socio-political structures. In this unit, we examine the cultural and social construction of normality, with a focus on what happens when people find themselves outside these bounds. Working from both a comparative perspective and an analytic position moving between social structures and individual experience and meaning, examining themes such as 'sanity', mental illness and culture, melancholy and depression, emotions, sexuality, gender norms, and their transgressions. Throughout, we will focus on the social processes of labeling, representation, medicalisation, and stigmatisation associated with these experiences. Ultimately, students will come to understand understand how difference is constructed and embodied, and become aware of how deviance is surveilled, managed, and constrained in a variety of cultural contexts.

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:

  • To understand and reflect on how normality, abnormality, and difference are constructed and managed within particular social, cultural, political, and environmental contexts.
  • To analyse a selection of comparative ethnographic perspectives on themes related to culture and madness, disorder, deviance, addictions, and mental health.
  • To identify the social and cultural factors that make madness a powerful metaphor and site of surveillance within societies.
  • To apply critical analytic skills to discover the ways in which desire and deviance transcend individual bodies and are incited, monitored and regulated within the social body and the body politic.
  • To understand the significance and impact of medicalization, labelling and stigmatization.
  • To understand the cultural and socio-political dynamics present within sorcery and witchcraft practices and related accusations of socially deviant behaviour.
  • Critically evaluate our assumptions about other cultures and cultural differences and what is considered ‘natural’ or ‘normal’ human experience.
  • Analyse the cultural construction of abnormality and difference within media representations of culture, madness and deviance.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Participation 20% No Weekly
Midterm Exam 25% No See Unit Handbook
Essay 30% No See Unit Handbook
Final Exam 25% No See Unit Handbook

Participation

Due: Weekly
Weighting: 20%

Each student is expected to actively participate in the tutorial discussion.  Tutorial participation is mandatory.  Participation in lectures and tutorials involves more than just showing up.  Students are expected to be active participants in class and demonstrate that they have read and engaged with the readings.  Participation also means contributing to a general atmosphere of scholarly enquiry, showing respect for the opinions of others.  Thus talking too much and not allowing other students adequate time to contribute could count against you.

Failure to attend tutes without approved ‘Special Consideration’ (see Student Handbook) will lower your mark.  Each week, you are encouraged to fill out a Discussion Preparation Guide and bring it to your tutorial.  It is essential that you also attend or listen to the lectures, since all lectures will contain valuable information that will be used in the tutorials, all assignments and, particularly, the essay exam.  You will not be able to successfully complete this unit if you miss multiple lectures. 

During the tutorial, points will be awarded for any of the following:

-initiating discussion

-giving information

-asking for information

-raising questions

-restating another’s contribution

-asking for clarification

-giving salient examples

-encouraging others

-relieving group tension

 

Points will be subtracted for any of the following:

-expression of unsupported opinions

-attempts to dominate discussion

-mocking others

In your verbal contributions to discussions, I will be looking for remarks that engage thoughtfully with the readings.  It is also important that you engage respectfully with your peers.  Do not mock anyone’s contributions.  If you don’t understand or agree with something someone says, ask them to clarify, or explain respectfully why you disagree.  Everyone should feel free to speak up.  Please do not drown out quieter voices.  If you are having trouble speaking up in class discussion, please come to speak with the course convenor privately and together we can strategise ways to facilitate your contribution.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • To understand and reflect on how normality, abnormality, and difference are constructed and managed within particular social, cultural, political, and environmental contexts.
  • To analyse a selection of comparative ethnographic perspectives on themes related to culture and madness, disorder, deviance, addictions, and mental health.
  • To apply critical analytic skills to discover the ways in which desire and deviance transcend individual bodies and are incited, monitored and regulated within the social body and the body politic.
  • To understand the significance and impact of medicalization, labelling and stigmatization.
  • To understand the cultural and socio-political dynamics present within sorcery and witchcraft practices and related accusations of socially deviant behaviour.
  • Analyse the cultural construction of abnormality and difference within media representations of culture, madness and deviance.

Midterm Exam

Due: See Unit Handbook
Weighting: 25%

A midterm exam (multiple choice and/or short answer) that will be completed on-line. The exam will be administered via iLearn, and will cover the first six weeks of course material.  It will be "open book," but bear in mind that I will not be testing your knowledge of simple facts.  Rather, I will be asking questions that evaluate your mastery of the conceptual material presented in the course (e.g., ideas, theories, conceptual models, etc.).  


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • To understand and reflect on how normality, abnormality, and difference are constructed and managed within particular social, cultural, political, and environmental contexts.
  • To analyse a selection of comparative ethnographic perspectives on themes related to culture and madness, disorder, deviance, addictions, and mental health.
  • To identify the social and cultural factors that make madness a powerful metaphor and site of surveillance within societies.
  • To apply critical analytic skills to discover the ways in which desire and deviance transcend individual bodies and are incited, monitored and regulated within the social body and the body politic.
  • To understand the significance and impact of medicalization, labelling and stigmatization.
  • Critically evaluate our assumptions about other cultures and cultural differences and what is considered ‘natural’ or ‘normal’ human experience.

Essay

Due: See Unit Handbook
Weighting: 30%

One essay of no more than 1,200 words (exact word count to be provided in Essay Prompt) presenting and analyzing the experience of deviance within an online community.  The essay will integrate primary data derived from online communities with ideas from the course.  See Unit Handbook for more details.​​


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • To understand and reflect on how normality, abnormality, and difference are constructed and managed within particular social, cultural, political, and environmental contexts.
  • To apply critical analytic skills to discover the ways in which desire and deviance transcend individual bodies and are incited, monitored and regulated within the social body and the body politic.
  • To understand the significance and impact of medicalization, labelling and stigmatization.
  • Critically evaluate our assumptions about other cultures and cultural differences and what is considered ‘natural’ or ‘normal’ human experience.
  • Analyse the cultural construction of abnormality and difference within media representations of culture, madness and deviance.

Final Exam

Due: See Unit Handbook
Weighting: 25%

A final exam (multiple choice and/or short answer) that will be completed on-line. The exam will be administered via iLearn, and will cover the final six weeks of course material.  It will be "open book," but bear in mind that I will not be testing your knowledge of simple facts.  Rather, I will be asking questions that evaluate your mastery of the conceptual material presented in the course (e.g., ideas, theories, conceptual models, etc.).  


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • To understand and reflect on how normality, abnormality, and difference are constructed and managed within particular social, cultural, political, and environmental contexts.
  • To analyse a selection of comparative ethnographic perspectives on themes related to culture and madness, disorder, deviance, addictions, and mental health.
  • To identify the social and cultural factors that make madness a powerful metaphor and site of surveillance within societies.
  • To apply critical analytic skills to discover the ways in which desire and deviance transcend individual bodies and are incited, monitored and regulated within the social body and the body politic.
  • To understand the significance and impact of medicalization, labelling and stigmatization.
  • To understand the cultural and socio-political dynamics present within sorcery and witchcraft practices and related accusations of socially deviant behaviour.
  • Critically evaluate our assumptions about other cultures and cultural differences and what is considered ‘natural’ or ‘normal’ human experience.

Delivery and Resources

The unit guide that is available in iLearn will be the final and best version. Do not rely on this unit guide.

For lecture and tutorial times and classrooms please consult the MQ Timetable website: http://www.timetables.mq.edu.au.  This website will display up-to-date information on your classes and classroom locations.  Tutorial locations sometimes change in the weeks before class. Be sure to check. Tutorials start on week 2. 

Tutorial attendance is mandatory. The lectures will be one of your primary sources of material for this unit. I bring together a range of concepts from a variety of sources, present the central theories and ideas, model anthropological thinking, adapt the material to your background, integrate contemporary events, and provide a framework to help make sense of the readings. It is unlikely that you will pass this class if you focus on the readings and tutorials alone.

Physical attendance is not required in lecture. While the ECHO system records most lectures, I strongly encourage everyone to attend the lectures in person. ECHO has been known to fail and I have a tenuous (at best) relationship with the system. I will not offer notes or repeat lectures due to a system failure. The best approach is to attend lecture in person. Use the ECHO system only when unavoidable circumstances arise. I attempt to make lectures as dynamic as possible and interact with students. You will also have the opportunity to share experiences and ask questions during and after the lecture. Attending in person is a unique and engaging experience. Moreover, honestly, the lectures are much more engaging for everyone if people are actually present.

 

Unit Schedule

 

Learning and Teaching Activities

1

Lecture Attendance and Participation

2

Tutorial Attendance and Participation

3

Fieldwork Experiences

4

Essay Writing

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Undergraduate students seeking more policy resources can visit the Student Policy Gateway (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/student-policy-gateway). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

If you would like to see all the policies relevant to Learning and Teaching visit Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/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/study/getting-started/student-conduct​

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) 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 or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@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

If you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@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:

Assessment task

  • Participation

Learning and teaching activity

  • Tutorial Attendance and Participation
  • Fieldwork Experiences

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 outcomes

  • To analyse a selection of comparative ethnographic perspectives on themes related to culture and madness, disorder, deviance, addictions, and mental health.
  • To understand the significance and impact of medicalization, labelling and stigmatization.
  • Critically evaluate our assumptions about other cultures and cultural differences and what is considered ‘natural’ or ‘normal’ human experience.
  • Analyse the cultural construction of abnormality and difference within media representations of culture, madness and deviance.

Assessment task

  • Participation

Learning and teaching activity

  • Fieldwork Experiences

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 and teaching activities

  • Lecture Attendance and Participation
  • Fieldwork Experiences

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

  • To understand and reflect on how normality, abnormality, and difference are constructed and managed within particular social, cultural, political, and environmental contexts.
  • To identify the social and cultural factors that make madness a powerful metaphor and site of surveillance within societies.
  • To apply critical analytic skills to discover the ways in which desire and deviance transcend individual bodies and are incited, monitored and regulated within the social body and the body politic.
  • To understand the significance and impact of medicalization, labelling and stigmatization.
  • To understand the cultural and socio-political dynamics present within sorcery and witchcraft practices and related accusations of socially deviant behaviour.
  • Critically evaluate our assumptions about other cultures and cultural differences and what is considered ‘natural’ or ‘normal’ human experience.
  • Analyse the cultural construction of abnormality and difference within media representations of culture, madness and deviance.

Assessment tasks

  • Participation
  • Midterm Exam
  • Essay
  • Final Exam

Learning and teaching activities

  • Lecture Attendance and Participation
  • Tutorial Attendance and Participation
  • Essay Writing

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

  • To understand and reflect on how normality, abnormality, and difference are constructed and managed within particular social, cultural, political, and environmental contexts.
  • To analyse a selection of comparative ethnographic perspectives on themes related to culture and madness, disorder, deviance, addictions, and mental health.
  • To identify the social and cultural factors that make madness a powerful metaphor and site of surveillance within societies.
  • To apply critical analytic skills to discover the ways in which desire and deviance transcend individual bodies and are incited, monitored and regulated within the social body and the body politic.
  • To understand the significance and impact of medicalization, labelling and stigmatization.
  • To understand the cultural and socio-political dynamics present within sorcery and witchcraft practices and related accusations of socially deviant behaviour.
  • Critically evaluate our assumptions about other cultures and cultural differences and what is considered ‘natural’ or ‘normal’ human experience.
  • Analyse the cultural construction of abnormality and difference within media representations of culture, madness and deviance.

Assessment tasks

  • Participation
  • Midterm Exam
  • Essay
  • Final Exam

Learning and teaching activities

  • Lecture Attendance and Participation
  • Tutorial Attendance and Participation
  • Fieldwork Experiences
  • Essay Writing

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

  • To analyse a selection of comparative ethnographic perspectives on themes related to culture and madness, disorder, deviance, addictions, and mental health.
  • To identify the social and cultural factors that make madness a powerful metaphor and site of surveillance within societies.
  • To apply critical analytic skills to discover the ways in which desire and deviance transcend individual bodies and are incited, monitored and regulated within the social body and the body politic.
  • Analyse the cultural construction of abnormality and difference within media representations of culture, madness and deviance.

Assessment tasks

  • Midterm Exam
  • Essay

Learning and teaching activities

  • Tutorial Attendance and Participation
  • Fieldwork Experiences
  • Essay Writing

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 outcome

  • Analyse the cultural construction of abnormality and difference within media representations of culture, madness and deviance.

Assessment tasks

  • Participation
  • Essay

Learning and teaching activities

  • Tutorial Attendance and Participation
  • Fieldwork Experiences

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 outcomes

  • To understand and reflect on how normality, abnormality, and difference are constructed and managed within particular social, cultural, political, and environmental contexts.
  • To identify the social and cultural factors that make madness a powerful metaphor and site of surveillance within societies.
  • To apply critical analytic skills to discover the ways in which desire and deviance transcend individual bodies and are incited, monitored and regulated within the social body and the body politic.
  • To understand the significance and impact of medicalization, labelling and stigmatization.
  • Critically evaluate our assumptions about other cultures and cultural differences and what is considered ‘natural’ or ‘normal’ human experience.
  • Analyse the cultural construction of abnormality and difference within media representations of culture, madness and deviance.

Assessment tasks

  • Participation
  • Midterm Exam
  • Essay
  • Final Exam

Learning and teaching activities

  • Lecture Attendance and Participation
  • Tutorial Attendance and Participation
  • Essay Writing

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

  • To understand and reflect on how normality, abnormality, and difference are constructed and managed within particular social, cultural, political, and environmental contexts.
  • To analyse a selection of comparative ethnographic perspectives on themes related to culture and madness, disorder, deviance, addictions, and mental health.
  • To identify the social and cultural factors that make madness a powerful metaphor and site of surveillance within societies.
  • To apply critical analytic skills to discover the ways in which desire and deviance transcend individual bodies and are incited, monitored and regulated within the social body and the body politic.
  • To understand the significance and impact of medicalization, labelling and stigmatization.
  • Critically evaluate our assumptions about other cultures and cultural differences and what is considered ‘natural’ or ‘normal’ human experience.
  • Analyse the cultural construction of abnormality and difference within media representations of culture, madness and deviance.

Assessment task

  • Essay

Learning and teaching activity

  • Lecture Attendance and Participation
  • Tutorial Attendance and Participation
  • Fieldwork Experiences
  • Essay Writing