Students

ANTH3021 – Globalisation, Conflict, and Religion

2024 – Session 1, Online-flexible

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Chris Houston
chris.houston@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
130cp at 1000 level or above
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

Mass communications, technological advances, and the transnational mobility of individuals are powerful forces for cultural change in the contemporary world. For anthropology, the globalisation thesis raises important questions about culture, religion and about the question of how violence and its control has changed in a global world. How are we to understand cultures, religious movements and ideologies, previously understood as bounded entities? How might we theorise the relationship between local and global events, such as conflicts, terrorism and violence? This course will introduce students to the field of anthropology and its sub-disciplines through the discussion of these questions that anthropologists investigate in contemporary and past societies. Some of the issues explored in this course include; religion and worldview, religion in relation to globalisation, power and inequality, violence and conflict, and the formation of new religious movements. We will look at the 'speeding-up' of the world in terms of our experience of time and space, and we will consider the possibility of alternative or parallel modernities.

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:

  • ULO1: Critically analyse and debate complex social-political issues.
  • ULO2: Conduct comparative research on the role of social settings and norms in shaping culture and politics in a globalised context.
  • ULO3: Actively reflect on debates about anthropology of religion and globalisation.
  • ULO4: Investigate from an anthropological viewpoint the complex dynamics that affect religious conflicts and violence within global contexts.
  • ULO5: Improve writing and critical reading skills.

General Assessment Information

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 non-timed written assessments (incl essays, reports, posters, portfolios, journals, recordings etc) is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical issue. Late submission of time sensitive tasks (such as tests/exams/quizzes, 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.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Participation 20% No Continuous
Essay Plan 10% No Friday April 12th, Week 8
Final Essay 40% No Friday May 10th, Week 10
Take-home exam 30% No Friday 31st May, Week 13

Participation

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: Continuous
Weighting: 20%

 

Student’s participation in discussions

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Critically analyse and debate complex social-political issues.
  • Actively reflect on debates about anthropology of religion and globalisation.
  • Improve writing and critical reading skills.

Essay Plan

Assessment Type 1: Plan
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: Friday April 12th, Week 8
Weighting: 10%

 

Essay plan sketching out the themes of the Final essay

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Investigate from an anthropological viewpoint the complex dynamics that affect religious conflicts and violence within global contexts.
  • Improve writing and critical reading skills.

Final Essay

Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 25 hours
Due: Friday May 10th, Week 10
Weighting: 40%

 

Students will write an essay of approximately 2000 words on a self-select topic.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Critically analyse and debate complex social-political issues.
  • Conduct comparative research on the role of social settings and norms in shaping culture and politics in a globalised context.
  • Actively reflect on debates about anthropology of religion and globalisation.
  • Investigate from an anthropological viewpoint the complex dynamics that affect religious conflicts and violence within global contexts.
  • Improve writing and critical reading skills.

Take-home exam

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Friday 31st May, Week 13
Weighting: 30%

 

Take-home exam testing understanding of the unit material. Students will be given 4-6 questions and asked to provide 200-250 word responses to each question.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Conduct comparative research on the role of social settings and norms in shaping culture and politics in a globalised context.
  • Investigate from an anthropological viewpoint the complex dynamics that affect religious conflicts and violence within global contexts.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

For students enrolled in the internal mode, the unit consists of a face-to-face weekly two hour seminar-lecture and a one hour tutorial.

Students enrolled in the external mode are expected to listen to the lectures, and to complete all scheduled tutorial reading and to comment upon it weekly on the unit's on-line tutorial forum.

All tutorial material is posted on the course i-Learn website.

Unit Schedule

Religion is central to the social and political dynamism of many contemporary pressing issues. Indeed, religion is so powerful a force in the world today that without knowledge of religion we scarcely can understand the daily news. How are we to understand cultures, religious movements and ideologies, previously understood as bounded entities? How might we theorise the relationship between local and global events, such as conflicts, terrorism and violence? For anthropology, the globalization of social media and the transnational mobility of individuals raises important questions about culture, religion and about the question of how violence and its control has changed in a global world. 

In this unit we study a number of central issues to do with religion, including definitions of religion and worldviews and the formation of new religious movements (Weeks 1-3), religion in relation to globalisation, power and inequality, violence and conflict (Weeks 4-10), and questions concerning secularism and ethics including the question of conscience (Weeks 11-13). 

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

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

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/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 connect.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

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

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via the Service Connect Portal, or contact Service Connect.

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.

Unit information based on version 2024.01 of the Handbook