Students

ANTH1060 – Weird Australia

2026 – Session 2, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor, lecturer
Eve Vincent
eve.vincent@mq.edu.au
Contact via Email
25WW, B220
By appointment
Convenor, lecturer, tutor
Greg Downey
greg.downey@mq.edu.au
Contact via Email
25WW, B212
By appointment
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

What are the origins of the Democracy Sausage and the Halal Snack Pack? Why are there so many roundabouts in Canberra? When did we start taking tents to the beach? This unit focuses on both the utterly ordinary and the unexpectedly surprising aspects of everyday life in contemporary Australia. Anthropology seeks to make the familiar strange and the strange familiar.  This unique approach yields important and surprising insights into both the human condition and its local Australian variants, allowing us to better understand our shared humanity and to critically assess unexamined aspects of our quotidian lives from a reflexive perspective. Applying this approach to contemporary Australia, this unit covers topics such as beach etiquette, Anzac Day rituals, and the State of Origin rugby league rivalry. Students will examine their everyday lives with new eyes and learn about anthropology’s distinctive methodologies and theoretical approaches. 

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: Demonstrate an awareness of their own social and cultural perspectives to enable self-analysis and openness to diverse perspectives on Australia
  • ULO2: Apply anthropological theories to the analysis of their own and others’ social, cultural and political practices in a range of contemporary Australian contexts. 
  • ULO3: Articulate an understanding of the significance of cultural differences in shaping people's actions, using everyday ethnographic examples.
  • ULO4: Outline and describe broader historical and political contexts that have contributed to the development of varied and [extra]ordinary everyday lives in Australia.

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 written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical issue.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due Groupwork/Individual Short Extension AI Approach
Ethnographic essay 30% No 30/08/2026 Individual Yes Open
Report 50% No 11/10/2026 Individual Yes Open
Reflective video 20% No 08/11/2026 Individual Yes Open

Ethnographic essay

Assessment Type 1: Reflection task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 25 hours
Due: 30/08/2026
Weighting: 30%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: Yes
AI Approach: Open

A creative/ethnographic exercise where students defamiliarise themselves with a familiar aspect of everyday life, in the vein of a classic anthropological parody.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate an awareness of their own social and cultural perspectives to enable self-analysis and openness to diverse perspectives on Australia
  • Apply anthropological theories to the analysis of their own and others’ social, cultural and political practices in a range of contemporary Australian contexts. 

Report

Assessment Type 1: Written Submission
Indicative Time on Task 2: 40 hours
Due: 11/10/2026
Weighting: 50%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: Yes
AI Approach: Open

A 1500-word anthropological report that analyses select features of Australian life
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate an awareness of their own social and cultural perspectives to enable self-analysis and openness to diverse perspectives on Australia
  • Apply anthropological theories to the analysis of their own and others’ social, cultural and political practices in a range of contemporary Australian contexts. 
  • Articulate an understanding of the significance of cultural differences in shaping people's actions, using everyday ethnographic examples.
  • Outline and describe broader historical and political contexts that have contributed to the development of varied and [extra]ordinary everyday lives in Australia.

Reflective video

Assessment Type 1: Reflection task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 25 hours
Due: 08/11/2026
Weighting: 20%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: Yes
AI Approach: Open

Student film themselves responding to reflective prompts about the learning experience in the unit. Each video will be approx. 5 mins.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate an awareness of their own social and cultural perspectives to enable self-analysis and openness to diverse perspectives on Australia
  • Articulate an understanding of the significance of cultural differences in shaping people's actions, using everyday ethnographic examples.

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
  • Academic Success 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.

3 An automatic short extension is available for some assessments. Apply through the Service Connect Portal.

Delivery and Resources

All readings are available via the Leganto library and the iLearn site for this unit.

Unit Schedule

Week 1

Making the familiar…. weird.

Week 2

Food

Week 3

Gender and sport

Week 4

Sound

Week 5

The sun

Week 6

Weird Canberra

Week 7

More-than-human

Week 8

Religion

Week 9

Gambling

Week 10

Drugs

Week 11

The Pacific in Australia

Week 12

Mining

Week 13

Fair go?

 

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/

Academic Success

Academic Success 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 https://students.mq.edu.au/support/technology/service-desk. 

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 2026.03 of the Handbook