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Course profile

Being Human: Cultural Diversity and Experience (ANTH1008)

Study period
Sem 2 2024
Location
St Lucia
Attendance mode
In Person

Course overview

Study period
Semester 2, 2024 (22/07/2024 - 18/11/2024)
Study level
Undergraduate
Location
St Lucia
Attendance mode
In Person
Units
2
Administrative campus
St Lucia
Coordinating unit
Social Science School

Anthropologists are experts in human diversity and anthropological insights into the infinite range of human experiences matter for understanding the world today. This course provides an introduction to anthropological approaches, focussing on questions of how humans make society and culture, and why this matters. Students are not only introduced to the diverse components of anthropology, they also get to do what anthropologists do: practicing our hallmark methods of fieldwork and participant observation, and learning how to analyse and write about the fieldwork data. Religion and kinship are explored by practising anthropology through interviews 'at home'.

This course provides an introduction to anthropology, focusing on how humans make society and why 'culture' matters. By taking this course, you will learn about underlying principles of anthropology which have informed the study of societies around the world, and look at case studies addressing the growing popularity of psychotherapy in China, the complexities of kinship in East Africa, the practice of ritual in India, the magic of capitalism in Switzerland, and the mysteries of translation in Hollywood, USA. Students will also learn how to apply the insights of anthropology in fields like medicine and health, Indigenous native title and cultural heritage protection, the social impacts of mining, and business development and human-centred design. ᅠ

The course involves a combination of weekly lectures and tutorials. Each week, there will be also be film, media content, and articles to read, as well as exercises in field research and writing practice in response to topical material.ᅠ

Research and academic writing skills specific to the discipline are taught in this course and assessment includes practical work in listening and observing real world situations, as well as reflecting on social and cultural worlds. Consult 'Learning Activities' for more information, and keep up-to-date during the semester by regularly monitoring email and Blackboard to get the most from this course.

Course requirements

Assumed background

An interest in the topics of the course is all that is needed.

Incompatible

You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:

ANTH7029, AY100, 101 + 102

Course contact

School enquiries

Student Enquiries School of Social Science

Course staff

Course coordinator

Timetable

The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.

Additional timetable information

The course will provide weekly lectures, and students may be asked to engage with film or other media content. The tutorials will be face-to-face on campus, providing an intensive workshopping of ideas and skills needed to complete the course. Consult 'Learning Activities' for more information, and keep up to date during semester by regularly monitoring email and Blackboard.

Please refer to My Timetable for the most up-to-date timetable information.

Aims and outcomes

Introduction to Anthropology (ANTH1008) aims to:

  • help you develop a basic understanding of the fundamentals of anthropology, its key concepts, its areas of substantive interests, its practice and outcomes;
  • help you develop an appreciation ofᅠhuman cultural and social diversityᅠthrough time and space and why such an understanding matters;
  • give you the ability to apply an anthropological perspective to the understanding of the cultural and social worlds humans live in, both locally and globally; and
  • help you to develop your critical thinking abilities and academic skills.

Our approach to the course places emphasis on you as an active learner rather than as a passive recipient of knowledge.ᅠ

Active involvement requires that you read assigned texts, reflect critically on what you have read,

Learning outcomes

After successfully completing this course you should be able to:

LO1.

Demonstrate a comprehensive and well-founded understanding of anthropology and how it relates to and differs from other disciplines

LO2.

Demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of how anthropology contributes to knowledge about the diversity of human worlds and why this matters

LO3.

Use anthropological approaches in critically analysing contemporary problems and proposing creative responses

LO4.

Collect, organise and analyse research material from the anthropological literature and as a result of your own work and convey these ideas clearly and fluently in both written and spoken forms

Assessment

Assessment summary

Category Assessment task Weight Due date
Paper/ Report/ Annotation Reading Anthropology 15%

9/08/2024 - 23/08/2024

Assessments are to be submitted at 2 pm. at the end of weeks 3 (9/8), 4 (16/8), 5(23/8).

Paper/ Report/ Annotation Writing Anthropology 30%

13/09/2024 2:00 pm

Essay/ Critique Doing Anthropology 45%

25/10/2024 2:00 pm

Participation/ Student contribution Participation in Tutorials 10%

1/08/2024 - 25/10/2024

Assessment details

Reading Anthropology

Mode
Written
Category
Paper/ Report/ Annotation
Weight
15%
Due date

9/08/2024 - 23/08/2024

Assessments are to be submitted at 2 pm. at the end of weeks 3 (9/8), 4 (16/8), 5(23/8).

Learning outcomes
L02, L03, L04

Task description

This assessment is made up of 3 smaller components worth 5% each, and is focused on helping you develop your academic reading comprehension and writing skills, including how to summarise research. During the tutorials and via Blackboard, you will be provided with detailed instructions and guidance on how to complete them. The components include 3 article summaries, to be submitted via TurnitIn:


Reading Anthropology article summary 1 of Hutchings (Hutchings, Suzi. 2020. Indigenous hip-hop speaking truth to power. Overland 240(Spring). Available at: https://overland.org.au/previous-issues/issue-240/feature-indigenous-hip-hop-speaking-truth-to-power/), due 9/8/2024, 2 pm. 


Reading Anthropology article summary 2 of Sutton (Sutton, D. 2018. Arrival: Anthropology in Hollywood. Anthropology Today 34(1): 7–10), due 16/8/2024, 2 p.m.


Reading Anthropology article summary 3 of Diogo (Diogo, Rui (2024, January 10). What Is “Natural” for Human Sexual Relationships?. Sapiens. https://www.sapiens.org/biology/human-mating-relationships/), due 23/08/2024, 2 p.m.


Summaries should be 200 words maximum and must discuss the following:

* What is the key question, aim, or argument of the article? (You can use a quote from the article for this.)

* What kind of research did the author do to answer the question/aim?

* How does the author engage with anthropological concepts or debates? 


Make sure you correctly reference the article in your summary using APA 7 style (UQ Library Guide ; APA 7 Quick Reference Guide).


All written assessment pieces must include a title, your full name, student number, page numbers, Times New Roman 12pt font, and double-line spacing. 


Marking criteria and/or marking rubrics are available in the ‘Assessment’ folder in Blackboard for this course.

AI Use: This assessment task evaluates student’s abilities, skills and knowledge without the aid of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Students are advised that the use of AI technologies to develop responses is strictly prohibited and may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct. 

Submission guidelines

You must submit your assignment electronically by the due time, on the due date.

Your assignment must be submitted via Turnitin on blackboard. To submit your assignment electronically log in to https://learn.uq.edu.au/ultra with your UQ username and password, then click on Course Code>>Assessment>>Assignments, and use the appropriate assignment submission link for each piece of assessment. No e-mailed submissions of assessments will be accepted.

Turnitin links will be configured to permit early submission of assessment items. Students will have the opportunity to submit draft assignments to Turnitin prior to submission of the final assignment in order to review similarity index content and to improve academic writing practice in accordance with UQ Academic Integrity policies.

By uploading your assignment via Turnitin, you are certifying that the work you submit is your own work except where correctly attributed to another source. Do not submit your assignment if it contains any work that is not your own. Please note that on the preview page, your assignment will be shown without formatting. Your assignment will retain formatting and your course coordinator/tutor will be able to see formatted assignments. Once you have submitted your assignment you are able to go back and view your submission with the correct formatting.

You are required to retain proof of submission of your assessment. Your Digital Receipt is available for download from your Assignment Dashboard. If you cannot see your submission and download your digital receipt, your assessment has not been successfully submitted; please submit again. If you are unable to submit your assignment by the due date, you will need to apply for an extension through your student portal on my.UQ.

If you are experiencing technical difficulties with Blackboard, please contact the ITS team via AskUs.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

An extension request without penalty will only be considered under exceptional circumstances as outlined on my.UQ. You must submit the extension request as soon as it becomes evident that an extension is needed, but no later than the assessment item submission due date.

A request for an extension to an assessment due date must be accompanied by supporting documentation corroborating the reason for the request. The student submitting the request is fully responsible for all supporting documentation that is provided with the request and should ensure all documents are authentic.

Extensions on the basis of an approved Student Access Plan (SAP) or an Extension Verification Letter (EVL) can be approved for a maximum period of 7 calendar days. Extensions exceeding this duration or subsequent extensions for a piece of assessment will require additional supporting documentation (e.g., a medical certificate or other supporting evidence listed on my.UQ).

When you submit an extension request in the student portal, it is received, read, and actioned by the Social Science Student Administration Team. It does not go to the course coordinator.

Late applications (requests received after the assessment item submission due date) must include evidence of the reasons for the late request, detailing why you were unable to apply for an extension by the due date.

In considering applications for extensions, students may be asked to supply the work they have completed to date on the assessment piece. This is to establish what efforts have already been made to complete the assessment, and whether the proposed work plan is feasible.

Late submissions of extension requests in your final semester of study could delay your graduation by up to one semester.

Work can NOT be accepted if it is more than one week (7 calendar days) late without prior approval.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

Writing Anthropology

Mode
Written
Category
Paper/ Report/ Annotation
Weight
30%
Due date

13/09/2024 2:00 pm

Learning outcomes
L01, L02, L03, L04

Task description

Written Observation Description (max 750 words) to be submitted via Turnitin.

This assessment asks you to spend an hour-and-a-half undertaking observation as a research method. This observation will be in a public place of your own choosing. Possible public places include: Botanic Gardens, food courts, South Bank, a Café, town square, or a bus stop. 

During the observation you must use your senses to take notes about visual, audio and olfactory (i.e. smell) aspects of your chosen fieldsite in order to describe the place in a way which transports your reader into the setting, in as few words as possible.

Secondly, you must also practice 'seeing' like an ethnographer and providing a narrative description based on your observations of human behaviour which makes reference to 1 relevant article of your choosing in anthropology. What are people doing in your setting? Spend your time writing as well as watching, trying to capture details such as snippets of conversation, details about people's dress or behaviour, and anything else that strikes you as interesting. You may wish to take a photograph of the general setting as well if you can, but make sure this is not a close-up or easily identifiable photo of any individual person. 

The 750 word Observation Description will not be your actual observation notes made during the observation. Rather, what you submit as a description will be an organised form of your notes, written up for a reader in a way which relates your observation to one article of your choosing from your reading in anthropology. It could be categorised under headings such as visual, audio, olfactory, or you can find another structure that works for your data. You must try to be as detailed and succinct as possible, asking yourself - what is the significant of social behaviour in this public place, and how does the article you have chosen help you make sense of what is happening?

We will prepare for the observation exercise during the tutorials, but potential questions to consider include:

 i.     Visual: How are people dressed? Do people with the same dress sit/walk/stand together? How many people form a group? For how long are they together? What are people doing? Do people interact? In what ways? Are groups composed of different genders? What does the physical environment look like? Does this influence social interaction?

ii.     Audio: What do you hear? What do these sounds do to the ‘feel’ of the place? Do these sounds impact the way people behave?

iii.     Olfactory (smell): What do you smell? Where do these smells come from? Do they impact the ‘feel’ of the place?

Your observation should include a title. You may also wish to include a photograph of the setting to illustrate your prose.

All written assessment pieces must include a title, your full name, student number.

Marking criteria and/or marking rubrics are available in the ‘Assessment’ folder in Blackboard for this course.

AI Use: This assessment task evaluates student’s abilities, skills and knowledge without the aid of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Students are advised that the use of AI technologies to develop responses is strictly prohibited and may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct. 

Submission guidelines

You must submit your assignment electronically by the due time, on the due date.

Your assignment must be submitted via Turnitin on blackboard. To submit your assignment electronically log in to https://learn.uq.edu.au/ultra with your UQ username and password, then click on Course Code>>Assessment>>Assignments, and use the appropriate assignment submission link for each piece of assessment. No e-mailed submissions of assessments will be accepted.

Turnitin links will be configured to permit early submission of assessment items. Students will have the opportunity to submit draft assignments to Turnitin prior to submission of the final assignment in order to review similarity index content and to improve academic writing practice in accordance with UQ Academic Integrity policies.

By uploading your assignment via Turnitin, you are certifying that the work you submit is your own work except where correctly attributed to another source. Do not submit your assignment if it contains any work that is not your own. Please note that on the preview page, your assignment will be shown without formatting. Your assignment will retain formatting and your course coordinator/tutor will be able to see formatted assignments. Once you have submitted your assignment you are able to go back and view your submission with the correct formatting.

You are required to retain proof of submission of your assessment. Your Digital Receipt is available for download from your Assignment Dashboard. If you cannot see your submission and download your digital receipt, your assessment has not been successfully submitted; please submit again. If you are unable to submit your assignment by the due date, you will need to apply for an extension through your student portal on my.UQ.

If you are experiencing technical difficulties with Blackboard, please contact the ITS team via AskUs.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

An extension request without penalty will only be considered under exceptional circumstances as outlined on my.UQ. You must submit the extension request as soon as it becomes evident that an extension is needed, but no later than the assessment item submission due date.

A request for an extension to an assessment due date must be accompanied by supporting documentation corroborating the reason for the request. The student submitting the request is fully responsible for all supporting documentation that is provided with the request and should ensure all documents are authentic.

Extensions on the basis of an approved Student Access Plan (SAP) or an Extension Verification Letter (EVL) can be approved for a maximum period of 7 calendar days. Extensions exceeding this duration or subsequent extensions for a piece of assessment will require additional supporting documentation (e.g., a medical certificate or other supporting evidence listed on my.UQ).

When you submit an extension request in the student portal, it is received, read, and actioned by the Social Science Student Administration Team. It does not go to the course coordinator.

Late applications (requests received after the assessment item submission due date) must include evidence of the reasons for the late request, detailing why you were unable to apply for an extension by the due date.

In considering applications for extensions, students may be asked to supply the work they have completed to date on the assessment piece. This is to establish what efforts have already been made to complete the assessment, and whether the proposed work plan is feasible.

Late submissions of extension requests in your final semester of study could delay your graduation by up to one semester.

Work can NOT be accepted if it is more than one week (7 calendar days) late without prior approval.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

Doing Anthropology

Mode
Written
Category
Essay/ Critique
Weight
45%
Due date

25/10/2024 2:00 pm

Learning outcomes
L01, L02, L03, L04

Task description

This assessment is focused on 'doing' anthropology. The assessment asks you to interview a friend or family member, take notes, analyse the notes by 'coding' them, engage in literature research, and write an essay.


Your essay should be a maximum of 1500 words (+/- 10%, excluding references) and is worth 45%


All essays must include a title, your name, student number, page numbers, and be in Times New Roman 12 pt font. Essays must be properly referenced in APA 7 style (UQ Library Guide ; APA 7 Quick Reference Guide), with at least 4 anthropology sources (they can be found on recognised electronic academic journals, but not news websites or crowd-sourced encyclopaedias such as Wikipedia).


Choose one of the two topics, or the alternative assessment below.


Topic 1: Religion

Interview a close friend or relative about religion, spirituality, everyday rituals and practices, important holy days or rites of passage, or any other aspect of religious life. Consider how this may reflect broader sociocultural and/or historical conditions or realities. Re-consider the lecture and reading material from week 10 to help you think of a line of questioning. Your essay must include a kinship diagram in which you ‘map’ any connections between members of the family to which your interviewee refers (for example, if you were interested how your interviewee got into the religious tradition they are part of, or an rite of passage like a weddings ceremony or a religious feast, where family members are involved). Your essay must also reference at least four academic anthropological sources such as journal articles, book chapters, or books. The essay must conclude with a question for further research and/or a tentative finding about the religious matters you investigated.


Topic 2: Economics

Interview a close friend or relative about trade, money, value, labour, or some other aspect of economic life and consider how this may reflect broader sociocultural and/or historical conditions or realities. Re-consider the lecture and reading material from week 7 to help you think of a line of questioning. Your essay must include a kinship diagram in which you 'map' any connections between members of the family to which your interviewee refers (for example, if you were interested in the lines of inheritance of material wealth, the values in a family business, or the labour choices among family members). Your essay must also reference at least four academic anthropological sources such as journal articles, book chapters, or books. The essay must conclude with a question or tentative finding about the economic matters you investigated. 


Alternative assessment - How does the anthropological study of politics and economics shed light on the concept of modern slavery?

If you are unable to undertake your own interview, you may draw on the interview about modern slavery discussed in lectures and tutorials. Your essay must consider how the concept of modern slavery relates to the experience of Pacifica labourers in Australia historically and today. You need to use additional academic literature to explain and frame this history. Moreover, using an interview conducted by somebody else has certain methodological implications that you need to reflect on in your essay. Does this change your understanding of anthropological methods, and, if so, how? Your essay must engage with the anthropological discussions of politics and economics in the lectures and tutorials in this course, and reference at least four academic anthropology sources. Further details will be provided via Blackboard.


Essay structure

Your essay must include all of the following (although not necessarily in this order): 

 

1. Essay title (be creative!)

2. Introduction

3. A description of the key findings from the interview. You may use literature here, but the emphasis should be on the description of main themes that arose from your conversation/interview.

4. Kinship diagram (however small or brief) of persons mentioned in the interview. Remember to give it a caption.

5. A literature review of anthropological material relevant to the topic – this will be anthropology of religion, economy, or political anthropology depending on the themes of the interview.

6. Discussion and Conclusion. Drawing together the previous sections, a discussion will outline how your data may be understood in relation to the anthropological literature. Take care to pose this as a question, or at least be careful of generalisations and causation (given the range of your research).

7. Reference list. Your essay needs to cite at least 4 academic anthropology sources using APA style. These need to be listed under a heading 'References Cited' at the end of your essay. Sources must be from (preferably peer-reviewed) academic publications.

8. APPENDIX: Coded notes (max 2 pages).The sample of Coded notes must be submitted at the same time as the essay and in the same document. Students receive training on how to code their notes (see online workshop 5) and guidance in tutorials. Coded notes MUST include references to relevant (anthropological) pieces of literature . Coded notes will be submitted via TurnitIn as an appendix to the essay in the same document.


Diagram Instructions

As noted, your essay must include a kinship diagram where you depict all members of the family you discuss mentioned in the essay. The names can be psuedonyms or first names only. Any individuals referred to within the essay should be clearly identifiable in the diagram, but this is not a 'family tree', rather you are using the diagram as an illustration of a key point in the essay. Using Microsoft Word (or other) drawing tools (or drawing by hand and photographing) Use standard anthropological symbols in the diagram as discussed in week 4 lecture and practiced the tutorials.


Identify EGO (your interviewee) in the diagram.

Use standard anthropological symbols as outlined in lectures and tutorials, these include:


-        triangle for male

-        circle for females

-        Square for third or unknown gender = for marriage/union

-        ≠ to represent divorce or separation.

-        \ or X through a deceased person dotted vertical line to represent adoption


Identify relatives with kinship terms from EGO’s perspective in whatever language is used within the family. E.g. ‘nan’, ‘pop’. Add these terms underneath the triangle/circle in the diagram.


Marking criteria and/or marking rubrics are available in the ‘Assessment’ folder in Blackboard for this course.

AI Use: This assessment task evaluates student’s abilities, skills and knowledge without the aid of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Students are advised that the use of AI technologies to develop responses is strictly prohibited and may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct. 

Submission guidelines

You must submit your assignment electronically by the due time, on the due date.

Your assignment must be submitted via Turnitin on blackboard. To submit your assignment electronically log in to https://learn.uq.edu.au/ultra with your UQ username and password, then click on Course Code>>Assessment>>Assignments, and use the appropriate assignment submission link for each piece of assessment. No e-mailed submissions of assessments will be accepted.

Turnitin links will be configured to permit early submission of assessment items. Students will have the opportunity to submit draft assignments to Turnitin prior to submission of the final assignment in order to review similarity index content and to improve academic writing practice in accordance with UQ Academic Integrity policies.

By uploading your assignment via Turnitin, you are certifying that the work you submit is your own work except where correctly attributed to another source. Do not submit your assignment if it contains any work that is not your own. Please note that on the preview page, your assignment will be shown without formatting. Your assignment will retain formatting and your course coordinator/tutor will be able to see formatted assignments. Once you have submitted your assignment you are able to go back and view your submission with the correct formatting.

You are required to retain proof of submission of your assessment. Your Digital Receipt is available for download from your Assignment Dashboard. If you cannot see your submission and download your digital receipt, your assessment has not been successfully submitted; please submit again. If you are unable to submit your assignment by the due date, you will need to apply for an extension through your student portal on my.UQ.

If you are experiencing technical difficulties with Blackboard, please contact the ITS team via AskUs.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

An extension request without penalty will only be considered under exceptional circumstances as outlined on my.UQ. You must submit the extension request as soon as it becomes evident that an extension is needed, but no later than the assessment item submission due date.

A request for an extension to an assessment due date must be accompanied by supporting documentation corroborating the reason for the request. The student submitting the request is fully responsible for all supporting documentation that is provided with the request and should ensure all documents are authentic.

Extensions on the basis of an approved Student Access Plan (SAP) or an Extension Verification Letter (EVL) can be approved for a maximum period of 7 calendar days. Extensions exceeding this duration or subsequent extensions for a piece of assessment will require additional supporting documentation (e.g., a medical certificate or other supporting evidence listed on my.UQ).

When you submit an extension request in the student portal, it is received, read, and actioned by the Social Science Student Administration Team. It does not go to the course coordinator.

Late applications (requests received after the assessment item submission due date) must include evidence of the reasons for the late request, detailing why you were unable to apply for an extension by the due date.

In considering applications for extensions, students may be asked to supply the work they have completed to date on the assessment piece. This is to establish what efforts have already been made to complete the assessment, and whether the proposed work plan is feasible.

Late submissions of extension requests in your final semester of study could delay your graduation by up to one semester.

Work can NOT be accepted if it is more than one week (7 calendar days) late without prior approval.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

Participation in Tutorials

Mode
Activity/ Performance
Category
Participation/ Student contribution
Weight
10%
Due date

1/08/2024 - 25/10/2024

Task description

Participation is a key aspect of assessment in this course and involves attending and contributing to discussion in the face to face tutorials as well as completing tasks during the tutorials. There are TWELVE TUTORIALS. Students are expected to attend these and contribute to topic discussions by referring to reading, lecture and topic materials of relevance. 


The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools will not be permitted. Any attempted use of AI may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.

Submission guidelines

Deferral or extension

You cannot defer or apply for an extension for this assessment.

In case of anticipated absence, please inform the course coordinator and/or your tutor before the start of the tutorial.

Course grading

Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.

Grade Cut off Percent Description
1 (Low Fail) 1 - 29

Absence of evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes.

2 (Fail) 30 - 44

Minimal evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes.

3 (Marginal Fail) 45 - 49

Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes

4 (Pass) 50 - 64

Demonstrated evidence of functional achievement of course learning outcomes.

5 (Credit) 65 - 74

Demonstrated evidence of proficient achievement of course learning outcomes.

6 (Distinction) 75 - 84

Demonstrated evidence of advanced achievement of course learning outcomes.

7 (High Distinction) 85 - 100

Demonstrated evidence of exceptional achievement of course learning outcomes.

Supplementary assessment

Supplementary assessment is available for this course.

Additional assessment information

Academic Integrity: All students must complete the Academic Integrity Modules https://www.uq.edu.au/integrity/

UQ Assignment Writing Guide: Steps for writing assignments - my.UQ - University of Queensland

Release of Marks: The marks and feedback for assessments will be released to students in a timely manner, prior to the due date of the next assessment piece for the course. This is with the exception of the final piece of assessment. The marks and feedback for the final assessment item will only be made available to the student on the Finalisation of Grades date at the end of semester.

Assessment Re-mark: For information on requesting an assessment re-mark, please view the following page on my.UQ: https://my.uq.edu.au/querying-result

Learning resources

You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.

Library resources

Find the required and recommended resources for this course on the UQ Library website.

Additional learning resources information

Further recommended readings will be added to Blackboard across the course of the semester. These recommended readings should be used to prepare your group tutorial presentation and will also be useful for researching your essay topics.

Learning activities

The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.

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Learning period Activity type Topic
Week 1

(22 Jul - 28 Jul)

Lecture

Introduction to anthropology

Welcome to anthropology! This week we will ask, what is anthropology? What do anthropologists do? And what do we mean when we talk about the 'culture' of a people?

Learning outcomes: L02, L03, L04

Week 2

(29 Jul - 04 Aug)

Lecture

The concept of culture and human diversity

This lecture focuses on the concept of 'culture'. What does it mean to have a culture? How do cultures change? How have anthropologists helped to describe human diversity through the concept of culture?

Learning outcomes: L02, L03, L04

Tutorial

Tutorial discussion and writing exercises

Introduction tutorial. Get to know your fellow students. The key elements of a good article summary will be discussed and the tutorial will provide further instruction on writing summaries to prepare for the first assessment (starting from Week 3), during the tutorial you will practice with writing a summary of Graeber & Wengrow's book excerpt (weekly reading).

Learning outcomes: L02, L03, L04

Week 3

(05 Aug - 11 Aug)

Lecture

Culture, Change, and Colonialism

This week we think about the challenge of understanding change. If everyone has a culture, how can cultures be differentiated, and how do they change?

Learning outcomes: L02, L03, L04

Tutorial

Tutorial discussion and writing exercises

Students should come to the tutorial having read the set readings. The tutorial will focus on discussion of cultural change, globalisation, colonialism, and de-colonisation. We will also discuss the article by Suzi Hutchings which you are required to critically summarise for your first assessment.

Learning outcomes: L02, L03, L04

Week 4

(12 Aug - 18 Aug)

Lecture

Culture, language, and interpretation

This week we start to think about language and its role in culture via a discussion of a Hollywood film, Arrival, and associated readings. Please watch the film in preparation for the lecture.

Learning outcomes: L02, L03, L04

Tutorial

Tutorial discussion and research exercises

This tutorial will include a discussion of the material from the lecture, including the article by David Sutton about Arrival, which is the second of your critical summaries for the Reading Anthropology Assessment. The tutorial will also include a short workshop on how to find, evaluate and reference academic literature.

Learning outcomes: L02, L03, L04

Week 5

(19 Aug - 25 Aug)

Lecture

Gender and the body

This lecture delves into the history of women anthropologists and the influence of feminism on anthropological method and theory. We ask how diversity of bodies, sexualities, and genders matter to our understanding of culture(s).

Learning outcomes: L02, L03, L04

Tutorial

Tutorial discussion

Please come to the tutorials prepared to discuss the readings. We will also discuss the article by Diogo which is the subject of your third and final critical summary for the Reading Anthropology assessment.

Learning outcomes: L02, L03, L04

Week 6

(26 Aug - 01 Sep)

Lecture

Writing anthropology and ethnographic methods

This week we look at how anthropologists write, and create 'field notes' and how to capture a sense of place in writing. This lecture contains tips for the Writing Anthropology assessment.

Learning outcomes: L02, L03, L04

Tutorial

Tutorial discussion and observation exercises

Students should come to the tutorial having read the set reading by Lassiter. The tutorial will include some observation activities to help you prepare for the Writing Anthropology assessment. You are also encouraged to find pieces of descriptive writing that convey a strong sense of place for discussion in class.

Learning outcomes: L02, L03, L04

Week 7

(02 Sep - 08 Sep)

Lecture

The Anthropology of Money and Value

This lecture asks what anthropologists mean when they talk about economics. We examine economic systems and the study of value, labour, gift-giving, and money.

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04

Tutorial

Tutorial discussion

Please come to the tutorial prepared to discuss the the readings.

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04

Week 8

(09 Sep - 15 Sep)

Lecture

The Anthropology of Power and Politics

This week looks at how anthropologists understand power in different settings around the world. We ask: are there commonalities in political systems across cultures? How do anthropologists understand resistance and other responses to the exercise of power? How might we understand a problem like modern slavery anthropologically?

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04

Tutorial

Tutorial discussion

In tutorials this week we will discuss the topic of 'modern slavery' from an anthropological perspective and examine its application in settings like Australia.

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04

Week 9

(16 Sep - 22 Sep)

Lecture

Kinship and Doing Research

We ask how anthropologists have sought to understand relationships across (and beyond) human societies. The second half of the lecture will describe anthropological approaches to interviewing for the Doing Anthropology assessment.

Learning outcomes: L02, L03, L04

Tutorial

Tutorial discussion and interview workshop

The tutorial discussions focus on the question 'what makes us kin?'. We will also workshop interview questions and approaches for the Doing Anthropology assessment.

Learning outcomes: L02, L03, L04

Week 10

(30 Sep - 06 Oct)

Lecture

Anthropologies of Religion, Magic, and Science

Anthropologists have long studied rituals, magic, myths and beliefs. In this lecture we consider how these categories can help us to understand everyday rituals and beliefs, and we ask if we can study science as cultural practice.

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04

Tutorial

Tutorial discussion and kinship diagram exercises

Tutorials will discuss anthropological approaches to religion, magic, and science. We also undertake exercises focused on developing anthropological skills to construct a kinship diagram.

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04

Week 11

(07 Oct - 13 Oct)

Lecture

Coding fieldnotes and doing anthropology

To make sense of their data, anthropologists 'code' their fieldnotes. Coding can be as simple as using different coloured highlighters to underline relevant quotations in a fieldbook, or transferring references into a table. This week's lecture will discuss different approaches to coding, and provide guidance for the Doing Anthropology assessment.

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04

Tutorial

Tutorial discussion and coding exercises

Students should complete their fieldnotes for the doing anthropology assessment prior to this tutorial and bring their notes to class for a coding exercise.

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04

Week 12

(14 Oct - 20 Oct)

Lecture

Things and Technologies

Week 12 - This week we look at what anthropologists contribute to industry and corporations. We will focus on the material culture of technology and how people adopt, adapt, and co-opt technologies for their own cultural purposes. What can anthropologists contribute to understanding 'culture' in business?

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04

Tutorial

Tutorial workshop on technology

This week - weather permitting! - we will venture out of the classroom to undertake a practical exercise in applied anthropology to understand the culture of technology.

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04

Week 13

(21 Oct - 27 Oct)

Lecture

Where do we take anthropology?

In this wrap-up lecture, we consider what anthropologists contribute to contemporary society  by examining the different context in which anthropologists work. We also explore opportunities for further study in anthropology at UQ. 

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04

Tutorial

Tutorial discussion

In our final tutorial, we will discuss some of the questions raised in the course, including: what is culture? how is culture relevant in everyday life today? what does anthropology offer in thinking through some of the big questions in society today? There will also be opportunity do discuss your drafted final essay with your peers and tutor.

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04

Policies and procedures

University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:

Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.