Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Chris Vasantkumar
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Credit points |
Credit points
10
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
130cp at 1000 level or above
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
Why are some countries rich and others poor? Why do billions live on less than $5 a day while the 26 richest billionaires together own as much wealth as the poorest 50 percent of the planet’s people? What, if anything, should we do about this? This unit tackles these questions anthropologically, focusing on international aid as a key means of closing the gap between rich and poor. We will focus on a number of key topics. Specifically, we will explore the history of global poverty and economic inequality, the emergence of human rights as a key vocabulary for staking claims to economic equality, and the complexity of the relationship between culture and development, examining in some detail the ways in which culture can both impede and aid development projects. Finally, we will pay some critical attention to why programs designed to help people in the developing world have sometimes fallen short of their intended goals. |
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:
Late Submission Policy
Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a mark of ‘0’ (zero) will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical issue. This late penalty will apply to non-timed sensitive assessment (incl essays, reports, posters, portfolios, journals, recordings etc). Late submission of time sensitive tasks (such as tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, scheduled practical assessments/labs etc) will only be addressed by the unit convenor in a Special consideration application. Special Consideration outcome may result in a new question or topic.
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
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Essay 1 | 15% | No | 26/03/2023 |
Essay 2 | 30% | No | 14/05/2023 |
Take-home exam | 30% | No | 04/06/2023 |
Participation | 15% | No | Weekly, beginning in Week 2 |
Quizzes | 10% | No | Weekly beginning in Week 2 |
Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: 26/03/2023
Weighting: 15%
500-700 word short essay on a designated topic.
Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: 14/05/2023
Weighting: 30%
1500 word essay on a designated topic
Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: 04/06/2023
Weighting: 30%
This assessment entails two short essays based on assigned questions.
Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 12 hours
Due: Weekly, beginning in Week 2
Weighting: 15%
Weekly participation comprises writing a 250-word discussion on each weekly readings (for external students).
Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: Weekly beginning in Week 2
Weighting: 10%
Quizzes based on lecture content
1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:
2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation
In person lectures and tutes on Wednesdays. Unit information will be available on iLearn. Readings made accessible via Leganto.
Unit Schedule
Week |
Date |
Lecture Topic (Weds) |
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Assessments Due (note weekly quizzes and tutes/forums commence in week 2) |
1 |
22 Feb |
Introduction to the Unit |
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2 |
1 Mar |
Global Inequality I: Histories of Uneven Interconnection: From Empire to a World of Nation-States. From Three Worlds to One. |
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3 |
8 Mar |
Global Inequality II: Defining Wealth and Poverty |
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4 |
15 Mar |
Global Inequality III: When Cultural Relativism is Inappropriate: Consumerism, Neoliberalism and The Global Shop Floor | ||
5 |
22 Mar | Development and Aid I: Development History and Periodization |
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Essay 1 Due 26 March by 23:55 via turnitin |
6 |
29 Mar |
Development and Aid II: Development Institutions: IMF, WB, WTF? |
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7 |
5 Apr |
Development and Aid III: Development Goals, Development Measurements, Development Metrics |
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* Mid-semester Recess 10 Apr-21 Apr
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8 |
26 Apr |
Human Rights I: What is the Human? What are Rights? What are Human Rights? |
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9 |
3 May |
Human Rights II: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Historical and Comparative Persepective | ||
10 | 10 May | Human Rights III: Are Human Rights Univeral or Culturally Particular? |
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Essay 2 Due 14 May by 23:55 via turnitin |
11 | 17 May | Putting It All Together I: Lost in Translation: Why Well-Intentioned Projects Fail |
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12 |
24 May |
Putting It All Together II: Can One Person Change the World? Fair Trade, Voluntourism and Other Forms of Individual Action |
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13 |
31 May |
Putting It All Together III: The End of Development? Alternatives To (And Within) Development | ||
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Take Home Exam Due 4 June by 23:55 via turnitin | |||
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Unit information based on version 2023.01R of the Handbook