BASS Philosophy and Criminology / Course details

This course will examine and critically interrogate complex dynamic of globalisation and discourses surrounding its multiple and uneasy interfaces of homogeneity and heterogeneity, difference and commonality, representation and meaning as well as culture, economy and environment. Drawing from an array of ethnographic   examples we shall explore social processes by which global interact with local, what connections and disconnections, fusions and separations are generated by the globalising processes, what exchanges, interchanges and flows determine global present, how ideas, images, technologies and material travel across various locales and what social and cultural responses they generate, what analytical attempts have been made by anthropologists and other social scientists to understand dynamics and discourses of globalisation. Topics discussed include global issues surrounding post-colonial change, mobility and migration, gift economies, the rise of digital technologies and current socio-economic processes affected by the latest environmental transformations associated with climate change.

This course aims to provide an introduction to questions of the relations of culture and economy primarily from a social anthropological perspective.

On successful completion of this course, students should be able to:

* demonstrate knowledge of some of the key concepts that social anthropologists employ to understand economy and society,
* demonstrate knowledge of a range of relevant empirical examples of the embedding of economy in society,

* demonstrate the ability to use these concepts and examples from the course through independent critical thinking and portfolio tasks.

Lectures, Tutorials, Film

100% - 1.5 hour examination - Semester 2 [or suitable online alternative]

Non assessed tutorial tasks

There are several routes towards feedback on your learning for this course unit.

The most important forum for feedback is provided in the tutorials—this is the place where you can try out ideas and get feedback on them; where you can clarify those aspects of the readings of lecture materials that are unclear; and where you can hone your skills of critical reading, note-taking and summarising arguments.

The second mechanism for receiving detailed, individual feedback on your work is through the formative writing exercise. This is not compulsory, and not assessed for credit. If you choose to do the formative writing exercise you pick one from a list of questions that are similar in scope and range to the kind that make up the second half of the exam (list to be put on Blackboard early on in the semester). You do not receive a mark for this essay, but you will receive written feedback from your tutor. The essay should be handed in to your tutor in week 9 and will be returned to you two weeks later, by tutorial F. Details will be announced in due course.

The third feedback mechanism are drop-in office hours, where you can individually address any issues that you have not been able to deal with in the tutorials. Your tutor's office hours will be announced during the first tutorial. The lecturer's office hours are Mondays 15:00-16:00 and Tuesdays 12:30-13:30, every week except reading week. There is no need to make an appointment.

Eriksen, Thomas H. 2007 Globalization: Oxford and New York: Berg
Hendry, Joy 1999 An Introduction to Social Anthropology: Other People's Worlds, Basingstoke: Macmillan
Inda, Jonathan and Renato Rosaldo (eds) 2002 The Anthropology of Globalization, Oxford: Blackwell

Graeber, David . 2011 Debt: The First 5000 years. New York:  Millhouse

In addition, students should develop some personal familiarity with the money, work, home and business sections of major newspapers of their choice, for example, The Guardian, The Economist, The Financial Times each present different perspectives on key concepts used in contemporary society and economy.
 

Information
Length of course: 12 weeks