Students

ANTH1050 – Cultures and Societies: Introduction to Anthropology

2026 – Session 1, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Chris Vasantkumar
chris.vasantkumar@mq.edu.au
SCSC General Information Contact Persons
scsc.ops@mq.edu.au
Payel Ray
payel.ray@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit introduces students to social and cultural anthropology, which seeks to explore and understand human diversity from a holistic and relativistic perspective. The unit introduces and highlights important contributions anthropologists have made to the understanding of human cultures and societies. Topics to be examined include: the history and development of the concept of culture; cultural difference and diversity; race and ethnicity; sexuality and gender; magic, ritual, and religion; kinship and the family; economic systems; key controversies and transformations in the field; and tourism, mobility and globalisation. The unit also pays special attention to anthropological fieldwork methods and ethics, closely examining how anthropologists both conduct long term field research and write about their findings in anthropology's characteristic written output, the ethnography. Students will also learn to apply anthropological thinking to their personal lives and careers. 

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: Describe the central concepts and themes in cultural anthropology in contemporary and historical settings.
  • ULO2: Demonstrate familiarity with the history, techniques and ethical issues related to ethnographic research and writing.
  • ULO3: Provide a holistic and relativistic description of ‘familiar’ and ‘distant’ cultural practices.
  • ULO4: Evaluate assumptions about other cultures and cultural differences.
  • ULO5: Apply anthropological perspectives and knowledge to issues in their own academic, professional, and personal lives.
  • ULO6: Question commonly held and taken for granted assumptions about what are ‘natural’ or ‘normal’ human experiences.

General Assessment Information

Late Assessment Submission Penalty  

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. 

 

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due Groupwork/Individual Short Extension AI Approach
Presentation 30% No 15/05/2026 Individual No Open
Reflective journals 40% No 05/06/2026 Individual No Open
Fieldwork essay 30% No 24/04/2026 Individual No Open

Presentation

Assessment Type 1: Presentation task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 28 hours
Due: 15/05/2026
Weighting: 30%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach: Open

Record a 5-7 minute presentation discussing your fieldwork experiences. 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate familiarity with the history, techniques and ethical issues related to ethnographic research and writing.
  • Evaluate assumptions about other cultures and cultural differences.

Reflective journals

Assessment Type 1: Reflection task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 40 hours
Due: 05/06/2026
Weighting: 40%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach: Open

3 handwritten reflective journal entries (400-600 words each)
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Describe the central concepts and themes in cultural anthropology in contemporary and historical settings.
  • Demonstrate familiarity with the history, techniques and ethical issues related to ethnographic research and writing.
  • Provide a holistic and relativistic description of ‘familiar’ and ‘distant’ cultural practices.
  • Apply anthropological perspectives and knowledge to issues in their own academic, professional, and personal lives.

Fieldwork essay

Assessment Type 1: Experiential task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 28 hours
Due: 24/04/2026
Weighting: 30%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach: Open

Essay of 1200-1500 words (plus fieldnotes), based on 3-4 hours of fieldwork.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate familiarity with the history, techniques and ethical issues related to ethnographic research and writing.
  • Provide a holistic and relativistic description of ‘familiar’ and ‘distant’ cultural practices.
  • Question commonly held and taken for granted assumptions about what are ‘natural’ or ‘normal’ human experiences.

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

Many readings will be drawn from the free online anthropology textbook by Michael Wesch,The Art of Being Human, available at anth101.com. Other readings will also be available online.

Unit Schedule

Week

Date

Lecture (Tue)

Tute (Wed, Thu, Fri) Dates

Tutorial Topics

1

25 Feb

What is Anthropology, Anyway?

25, 26, 27 Feb

 Nacirema and Nialartsua

2

 4 Mar

The Concept of Culture

4, 5, 6 Mar

The Columbian Exchange

3

 11 Mar

Off The Verandah: Anthropological Fieldwork in Focus

11, 12, 13 Mar

WTF, FTW
4

18 Mar

Fieldwork Controversies

 18, 19, 20 Mar Situated Knowledges

5

 25 Mar

Kinship, Family and Relatedness

25, 26, 27 Mar

 Family Trees

6

1 Apr

 Sex and Gender

1, 2, 3 Apr

 XX/XY

 

 

 Mid-semester Recess 6-19 Apr

 

 
7

22 Apr

Race, Belonging and Exclusion

Fieldwork Essay Due 11:55 PM, Friday April 24, 2026

22, 23, 24 Apr

The Chicken Curtain

 

8

29 Apr

Magic, Science, Religion

 29, 30 Apr, 1 May

 Australian Rituals 
9

6 May

 Turbulent Times: Anthropology in the Contemporary World 6, 7, 8 May Cancel Anthropology?

10

 13 May Globalization I: Culture

 13, 14, 15 May

 Authentic Culture?
    Reflective Video Due 11:55PM, Friday, May 15, 2026  

 

11

20 May

 Globalization II: Human Economic Systems

20, 21, 22 May

Stuff Happens

12

27 May

 Globalization III: Borders, Inequality, Migration  27, 28, 29 May How Strong is Your Passport?

13

3 Jun

The Case for Anthropology

 3, 4, 5 Jun

Taking Stock

 

 

Reflective Journals due 11:55PM, Friday, 5 June, 2026

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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.

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Unit information based on version 2026.05 of the Handbook