Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Convenor, Lecturer, Tutor
Eve Vincent
Contact via Email
W6A
Wednesday 12-1pm
Lecturer
Sophie Chao
Lecturer
Paul Keil
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Credit points |
Credit points
3
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
39cp or admission to GDipArts
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
We live in a geological epoch increasingly referred to as the 'Anthropocene' - a term that references the profound impact industrialised human society has had on the environment. The central concern of this unit is to consider the complex 'entanglements' that characterise life in the Anthropocene. How might we think about the range of relationships that humans have with other species, be they animal or plant, as well as human relationships with entities such as minerals, forests and rivers? We will explore theoretical concerns such as interspecies relations, toxic 'externalities' and non-human agency, as well as learning about specific case studies that deal with resource extraction, hunting and poaching, deforestation and others.
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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:
Name | Weighting | Due |
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Tutorial Participation | 15% | Weekly |
Critical Summary | 15% | Friday August 19 |
Encountering Another Species | 30% | Monday October 10 |
Research Essay | 40% | Monday November 14 |
Due: Weekly
Weighting: 15%
You are required to attend a minimum of 80 per cent of our tutorials. Please email your tutor directly if you need to miss a tutorial for unavoidable reasons. Active engagement in our class discussions is vital: please come to class having done the required reading, willing to contribute your ideas, and ready to listen to others' contributions.
Due: Friday August 19
Weighting: 15%
You are required to submit a 500 word summary of a reading. Details for this assessment task will be available in Week 1, and will be discussed in class in Week 2.
Due: Monday October 10
Weighting: 30%
For this assignment, you are required to write an ethnographic account of an encounter with another species or with the elements or a natural form (think pets, plants, pests, the sun, wind or even a river). A full description of this task will be released in Week 5. Your Week 7 lecture deals with methodological questions and is designed to help you with this assessment item. Furthermore, in Week 8 we will workshop drafts of this assignment together in class.
Due: Monday November 14
Weighting: 40%
Your final essay is due on Monday November 14. Questions and criteria will be released in Week 9.
All required readings for this unit are available via the library site for this unit or via iLearn. A list of readings is included as part of the Unit Schedule
Week 1 (Wednesday August 3). Unit introduction
Lecturer: Dr Eve Vincent
Please select one of the following readings for the first week. There are no tutorials this week; tutorials begin in Week 2.
Readings
Week 2 (Wednesday August 10) Nature and Culture in Anthropology
Lecturer: Sophie Chao
Required Reading
Week 3 (Wednesday August 17) Wild or Domestic, Native or Alien? Revisiting Dichotomies
Lecturer: Sophie Chao
Required Reading
Further Reading
Week 4 (Wednesday August 24) Resource Frontiers and Extractive Economies
Lecturer: Dr Eve Vincent
Required Reading
Week 5: Extractive Colonialism and Indigeneity in Contemporary Australia
Lecturer: Dr Eve Vincent
Required Reading
Further Reading
Week 6 (Wednesday September 7) Lecture title and readings TBA
Associate Professor Juan Salazar from Western Sydney University will be coming to talk to us about his research in Antarctica.
Week 7 (Wednesday September 14) Flora, Fauna and Fieldwork: Interviewing Plants and Other Methodological Challenges
Lecturer: Sophie Chao
Mid-semester break: Monday September 19-Sunday October 2
Week 8 (Wednesday October 5): NO LECTURES.
We will be workshopping our 'Encountering Another Species' assignments in class. Please attend tutorials as per normal, brining with you a draft of this assessment task.
Week 9 (Wednesday October 12) Hunting re-visited: Cross-cultural and ecological perspectives
Lecturer: Dr Catie Gressier
Required Reading
Further Reading
Week 10 (Wednesday October 19) Conservation: The politics of living with and protecting ‘natural’ ecologies
Lecturer: Paul Keil
Required Reading
Further Reading
Week 11 (Wednesday October 26) Mutual ecologies: How humans and other animals give shape to, and are given shape by their environment
Lecturer: Paul Keil
Required Reading
Further Reading
Week 12 (Wednesday November 2) Climate change, social change, and the role of anthropology in the Anthropocene
Lecturer: Paul Keil
Required Reading
Further Reading
Week 13 (Wednesday November 9) Endpoints: Waste and Toxic Excess
Lecturer: Dr Eve Vincent
Required Reading
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html
New Assessment Policy in effect from Session 2 2016 http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy_2016.html. For more information visit http://students.mq.edu.au/events/2016/07/19/new_assessment_policy_in_place_from_session_2/
Assessment Policy prior to Session 2 2016 http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy.html
Grading Policy prior to Session 2 2016 http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grading/policy.html
Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html
Complaint Management Procedure for Students and Members of the Public http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/complaint_management/procedure.html
Disruption to Studies Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html The Disruption to Studies Policy is effective from March 3 2014 and replaces the Special Consideration Policy.
In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/
Results shown in iLearn, 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.
Please note: ALL ASSESSMENT ITEMS MUST BE ATTEMPTED IN ORDER TO PASS THIS UNIT
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
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.
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:
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:
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This graduate capability is supported by:
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This graduate capability is supported by:
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This graduate capability is supported by:
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This graduate capability is supported by:
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This graduate capability is supported by:
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:
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: