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Unit outline_

ANTH2653: Economy and Culture

Semester 1, 2020 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Economic anthropology teaches that there are different kinds of economy, grounded in different forms of value (gift, commodity) and on different rationalities (kinship, chiefly, market). The nature of these differences is explored through ethnographic studies, as are the conflicts that arise from their articulation within a global system. Characterisations of economic practice are as corrupt, irrational, informal, black, profit as the work of the devil, money as bitter are treated as signs of such systemic conflict.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit Anthropology
Credit points 6
Prerequisites
? 
12 credit points at 1000 level in Anthropology
Corequisites
? 
None
Prohibitions
? 
None
Assumed knowledge
? 

None

Available to study abroad and exchange students

No

Teaching staff

Coordinator Luis Angosto Ferrandez, luis.angosto-ferrandez@sydney.edu.au
Type Description Weight Due Length
Presentation hurdle task group assignment Group presentation
Group Oral presentation
20% - 12 minutes, 500 words (equivalent)
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO9 LO8 LO7 LO6 LO5 LO4 LO3 LO2
Participation hurdle task Class participation
Participation
15% - n/a
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO9 LO8 LO7 LO6 LO5 LO4 LO3 LO2
Assignment hurdle task Short written reflection
Short written reflection
25% Week 07
Due date: 09 Apr 2020 at 23:00
1500 words
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6 LO7 LO8 LO9
Assignment hurdle task Research proposal
Essay
40% Week 13
Due date: 29 May 2020 at 17:00
2500 words
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6 LO7 LO8 LO9
hurdle task = hurdle task ?
group assignment = group assignment ?

Assessment summary

Please note that completion of all assessment items is required to pass the unit of study, regardless of marks attained for any particular item of assessment. Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name

Mark range

Description

High distinction

85 - 100

 

Distinction

75 - 84

 

Credit

65 - 74

 

Pass

50 - 64

 

Fail

0 - 49

When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

  • Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
  • After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

WK Topic Learning activity Learning outcomes
Week 01 Introduction: on the relevance of economic anthropology Lecture (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4
Week 02 Materialism, idealism and the search for causalities (I) Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6 LO7 LO8
Week 03 Materialism, idealism and the search for causalities (II) Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6 LO7 LO8 LO9
Week 04 Materialism, idealism and the search for causalities (III) Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6 LO7 LO8 LO9
Week 05 Materialism, idealism and the search for causalities (IV) Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6 LO7 LO8 LO9
Week 06 Materialism, idealism and the search for causalities (V) Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6 LO7 LO8 LO9
Week 07 The question of value (I) Tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6 LO7 LO8 LO9
Week 08 The question of value (II) Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6 LO7 LO8 LO9
Week 09 The question of value (III) Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6 LO8 LO9
Week 10 The question of value (IV) Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6 LO7 LO8 LO9
Week 11 Making economic anthropology relevant (I) Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6 LO8 LO9
Week 12 Making economic anthropology relevant (II) Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6 LO7 LO8 LO9
Week 13 Making economic anthropology relevant (III) Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6 LO7 LO8 LO9

Attendance and class requirements

  • Attendance: According to Faculty Board Resolutions, students in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences are expected to attend 90% of their classes. If you attend less than 50% of classes, regardless of the reasons, you may be referred to the Examiner’s Board. The Examiner’s Board will decide whether you should pass or fail the unit of study if your attendance falls below this threshold. If a unit of study has a participation mark, your attendance may influence this mark.
  • Lecture recordings: Most lectures (in recording-equipped venues) will be recorded and may be made available to students on Canvas. However, you should not rely on lecture recording to substitute your classroom learning experience.
  • Preparation: Students should commit to spend approximately three hours preparation time (reading, studying, homework, essays, etc.) for every hour of scheduled instruction.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

All readings for this Unit will be available on the Library eReserve link (on Canvas).

Here is the list of the readings set for each week:

Week

Topic

Readings

1

Introduction:  on the relevance of economic anthropology

*  Gregory, C. 2009. Whatever Happened to Economic Anthropology? The Australian Journal of Anthropology, 20: 285–300.  

2

Materialism, idealism and the search for causalities (I)

* Douglas, Mary (2002) "The abominations of Leviticus". Chapter 3 of Purity and Danger:  An Analysis of Concepts of Pollution and Taboo. London: Routledge, pp. 42-58.

* Harris, Marvin (2012): "The abominable pig". In  Carole Counihan, Penny Van Esterik,
and Carole M. Counihan (eds) Food and Culture: a Reader. London: Routledge, pp. 59-71 (Chapter 6)

3

Materialism, idealism and the search for causalities (II)

* Okely, Judith (1983): The Traveller-Gypsies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [read chapter 6, ‘Symbolic boundaries’, pp. 77-104]

4

Materialism, idealism and the search for causalities (III)

* Bourgois, Philippe (1988): ‘Conjugated Oppression: Class and Ethnicity among Guaymí Banana Workers’. American Ethnologist, 15(2): 328-348.

* Scott, Helen C. (2002): ‘Was there a time before race? Capitalist Modernity and the Origins of Racism’. In Crystal Bartolovich and Neil Lazarus (eds.) Marxism, Modernity and Postcolonial Studies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press: 167-182.

5

Materialism, idealism and the search for causalities (IV)

* Taussig, Michael (1980): "The Devil and commodity fetishism". Chapter 2 in book "The Devil and Commodity Fetishism in South America". Chapel Hill: University of South Carolina Press, pp. 13-38.

6

Materialism, idealism and the search for causalities (V)

* Mintz, Sidney (1986). Sweetness and Power: the place of sugar in modern history. New York: Penguin. [Introduction, pp. xv-xxx].

* Wolf, Eric (1990 [1982]): Europe and the people without history. Berkeley: University of California Press. [Introduction]

7

The question of value (I)

Turner, T. (2008) "Marxian value theory". Anthropological Theory, 8(1): 43-56.

8

The question of value (II)

Angosto-Ferrandez, Luis (2016): "The Value of Everything and the Price of Nothingness". In Luis Angosto-Ferrández (ed.) Anthropologies of Value: Cultures of Accumulation Across the Global North and South. London: Pluto, pp.  1-28.

9

The question of value (III)

* Yanagisako, Sylvia (2018): Reconfiguring labour value and the capital/labour relation in Italian global fashion. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 24(S1): 47-60.

10

The question of value (IV)

*  Foster, R. J. (2007). The work of the new economy: Consumers, brands, and value creation. Cultural Anthropology, 22(4): 707-731.

11

Making economic anthropology relevant (I)

* Narotzky, S. (2016) "Between inequality and injustice: Dignity as a motive for mobilization during the crisis". History and anthropology, 27(1), 74-92

12

Making economic anthropology relevant (II)

* Palomera, J. (2014) Reciprocity, commodification, and poverty in the era of financialization. Current Anthropology, 55(S9): 105-115.

* Sabaté, I. (2016). The Spanish mortgage crisis and the re-emergence of moral economies in uncertain times. History and anthropology, 27(1), 107-120.

13

Making economic anthropology relevant (III) - revisiting The Gift

* Mauss, Marcel (1990[1925]) The Gift. Verso Books. https://libcom.org/files/Mauss%20-%20The%20Gift.pdf

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. understand the key debates that have characterised economic anthropology
  • LO2. understand the nature of the relationship between economy and culture and the debates between economics and anthropology
  • LO3. read and comprehend ethnographic and theoretical scholarship in economic anthropology and understand its greater relevance to the field of anthropology
  • LO4. understand and appreciate the complexity and challenges of incorporating the economic dimensions of social and cultural life into ethnographic research
  • LO5. articulate one's ideas and interpretations constructively in a dialogue and toward collaborative work in a group
  • LO6. identify and use the forms of rhetoric used in proposing research and advocating for the impact of research
  • LO7. formulate a problem or question for research based on personal interests and curiosity
  • LO8. identify and critique assumptions about contemporary social and economic life
  • LO9. argue for connections between critical cross-cultural studies of economic practice and practical applications of knowledge

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1 Depth of disciplinary expertise

Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.

GQ2 Critical thinking and problem solving

Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.

GQ3 Oral and written communication

Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.

GQ4 Information and digital literacy

Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.

GQ5 Inventiveness

Generating novel ideas and solutions.

GQ6 Cultural competence

Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.

GQ7 Interdisciplinary effectiveness

Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.

GQ8 Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity

An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.

GQ9 Influence

Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes Graduate qualities
GQ1 GQ2 GQ3 GQ4 GQ5 GQ6 GQ7 GQ8 GQ9

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

No changes have been made since this unit was last offered.

Disclaimer

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