Outline

Overview

This unit introduces students to contemporary issues in anthropology and the world. Students will learn approaches to climate change, illness and well-being, human-animal relations, life in cities, new forms of media, work and welfare, inequality, poverty and development, the social life of new digital technologies, the changing character of the family, emergent forms of violence and domination and the new forms of protest and resistance that are occurring in the world today. The unit will provide students informed and practical approaches to contemporary social problems and an appreciation of the different cultural lenses through which they are understood.

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	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Luis Angosto Ferrandez, luis.angosto-ferrandez@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s)	Luis Angosto Ferrandez, luis.angosto-ferrandez@sydney.edu.au

Assessment

The census date for this unit availability is 2 April 2024

Details
Criteria

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Presentation	Group presentation Group work on a topic chosen by students (weeks 6/7/8)	20%	Multiple weeks	1000 words
Outcomes assessed:
Online task	Participation Demonstrated continuous engagement with lecture and tutorial activities	10%	Ongoing	N/A
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Short written reflection Response to pre-selected question (related to contents from first 5 weeks)	25%	Week 05 Due date: 21 Mar 2024 at 23:59	1000 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Essay Written essay on pre-selected topic	45%	Week 13 Due date: 23 May 2024 at 23:59	2500 words
Outcomes assessed:
= group assignment ?

Assessment summary

The complete instructions for each of the assignments in this class is posted on the class Canvas site. The procedures for submission and what to do if you fall behind and need an extension on your work are posted there as well.

Assessment criteria

See assessment criteria and descriptors on our Canvas site

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.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

Students have to submit all of the assignments in order to pass the class. Any missing assignments will result in an AF. The university policy for accepting late work, including late penalties, will be applied to students’ work. It is very important for students to keep in regular contact with their tutor about their progress in the class.

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.

Learning support

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.

Support for students

The Support for Students Policy 2023 reflects the University’s commitment to supporting students in their academic journey and making the University safe for students. It is important that you read and understand this policy so that you are familiar with the range of support services available to you and understand how to engage with them.

The University uses email as its primary source of communication with students who need support under the Support for Students Policy 2023. Make sure you check your University email regularly and respond to any communications received from the University.

Learning resources and detailed information about weekly assessment and learning activities can be accessed via Canvas. It is essential that you visit your unit of study Canvas site to ensure you are up to date with all of your tasks.

If you are having difficulties completing your studies, or are feeling unsure about your progress, we are here to help. You can access the support services offered by the University at any time:

Support and Services (including health and wellbeing services, financial support and learning support)
Course planning and administration
Meet with an Academic Adviser

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Theory in anthropology: where to find it, and why it matters (I). Cultural difference	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 02	Theory in anthropology: where to find it, and why it matters (II) Ethnicity	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 03	Theory in anthropology: where to find it, and why it matters (III) Ideas and actions in times of “economic” crises	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 04	Why do people do what they do? Anthropologists looking at people in and around sporting activities (I)	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 05	Why do people do what they do? Anthropologists looking at people in and around sporting activities (II)	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 06	Where is the key divergence? (I) On materialisms	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 07	Where is the key divergence? (II) On Infrastructure	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 08	Where is the key divergence? (III) On perspectivism	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 09	Where is the key divergence? (IV) On property	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 10	Politics: what is it, and what drives it? (I)	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 11	Politics: what is it, and what drives it? (II)	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 12	Politics: what is it, and what drives it? (III)	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 13	Politics: what is it, and what drives it? (IV)	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

According to university policies, attendance is required in lectures and tutorials whether they are online or on campus.

More importantly, though, your instructors and tutors want to get to know you as an individual and to help you and every student develop his or her own individual perspective on the field of anthropology. For that reason, we want to see you in class on a regular basis and to have regular (weekly) contact with each student to see how their thinking is developing.

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

See our "Reading List" on Canvas.

In the "Modules" section of our Canvas site, you'll also get to see readings set for each of our weekly meetings.

Week	Topic	Readings
1	Theory in anthropology: where to find it, and why it matters (I). Cultural difference	* Abu‐Lughod, L. (2002). Do Muslim women really need saving? Anthropological reflections on cultural relativism and its others. American anthropologist, 104(3), 783-790. * Hutchinson, S. E., & Pendle, N. R. (2015). Violence, legitimacy, and prophecy: Nuer struggles with uncertainty in South Sudan. American Ethnologist, 42(3), 415-430.
2	Theory in anthropology: where to find it, and why it matters (II) Ethnicity	* Brubaker, R., Loveman, M., & Stamatov, P. (2004). Ethnicity as cognition. Theory and society, 33(1), 31-64. * Hutchinson, S. E. (2000). Nuer ethnicity militarized. Anthropology Today, 16(3), 6-13.
3	Theory in anthropology: where to find it, and why it matters (III) Ideas and actions in times of “economic” crises	* Dirks, Roberts (1980). Social responses during severe food shortages and famine. Current Anthropology, 21(1), 21-44. * Sabaté, I. (2016). The Spanish mortgage crisis and the re-emergence of moral economies in uncertain times. History and anthropology, 27(1), 107-120.
4	Why do people do what they do? Anthropologists looking at people in and around sporting activities (I)	* Gmelch, G. (1971). Baseball magic. Transaction, 8(8), 39-41. * Ilaria Pitti (2019) Being women in a male preserve: an ethnography of female football ultras, Journal of Gender Studies, 28(3): 318-329.
5	Why do people do what they do? Anthropologists looking at people in and around sporting activities (II)	* Michael Crawley (2022) ‘We Are Burning Ourselves Up': Ethiopian Runners and Energetic Subjectivities, Ethnos, DOI: 10.1080/00141844.2022.2120516 * Vaczi, M. (2014). Death in the Cathedral: mortuary practices in sport stadiums. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 20(4), 635-652.
6	Where is the key divergence? (I) On materialisms	* Ingold, T. (2012). Toward an ecology of materials. Annual review of anthropology, 41, 427-442. * Howard, P. M. (2018). The anthropology of human-environment relations, Focaal, 2018(82), 64-79.
7	Where is the key divergence? (II) On Infrastructure	* Peters, Robbie (2022). Improvised infrastructure and redistributive rights: Informal public transport in an Indonesian city. Mobilities, 17(5): 661-675. * Buier, N. (2023). The anthropology of infrastructure, Focaal, 95: 46-60.
8	Where is the key divergence? (III) On perspectivism	* De Castro, E. V. (1998). Cosmological deixis and Amerindian perspectivism. Journal of the Royal anthropological Institute, 469-488. * Ramos, A. R. (2012). The politics of perspectivism. Annual Review of Anthropology, 41, 481-494
9	Where is the key divergence? (IV) On property	* Di Giminiani, P. (2015). The becoming of ancestral land: Place and property in Mapuche land claims. American Ethnologist, 42(3), 490-503. * Angosto-Ferrández, L. F. (2022). Cultural labor and the defetishization of environments: connecting ethnographies of tourism in Venezuela and Chile. Dialectical Anthropology, 46(1), 55-72.
10	Politics: what is it, and what drives it? (I)	* McNeish, Andrew (2013): “Extraction, protest and indigeneity in Bolivia: the TIPNIS effect. Latin American and Caribbean Ethnic Studies, 8(2): 221-242. * Nash, June (1992): “Interpreting social movements: Bolivian resistance to economic conditions imposed by the international Monetary Fund”. American Ethnologist, 19(2): 275-293.
11	Politics: what is it, and what drives it? (II)	* Narotzky, S., & Smith, G. (2002). “Being político” in Spain: An Ethnographic Account of Memories, Silences and Public Politics. History & Memory, 14(1-2), 189-228. * Collins, J. (2012). Theorizing Wisconsin's 2011 protests: Community‐based unionism confronts accumulation by dispossession. American Ethnologist, 39(1), 6-20.
12	Politics: what is it, and what drives it? (III)	* Martin Holbraad (2014) Revolución o muerte: Self-Sacrifice and the Ontology of Cuban Revolution, Ethnos, 79:3, 365-387. * Angosto‐Ferrández, L. F. (2016). The afterlives of Hugo Chávez as political symbol. Anthropology Today, 32(5), 8-12.
13	Politics: what is it, and what drives it? (IV)	* Espinosa Arango, M. L. (2021). Missing the political: A southern critique of political ontology. Anthropological Theory, 21(4), 411–436

Learning outcomes

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.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

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

LO1. understand how anthropological arguments are constructed through analysis of relevant evidence and theory.
LO2. identify differing methodologies used in ethnographic research and understand how they can enable analytical insight and theoretical innovation.
LO3. demonstrate proficiency in the use of anthropological databases and scholarly literature relevant to research in the discipline.
LO4. use anthropological knowledge to inform and critique social theories
LO5. understand the potential of anthropological knowledge to generate societal impact

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
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

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

This is a new class that has been developed as a requirement for anthropology majors to give them a firm foundation in the field.

Additional information

Please see the class Canvas site for a comprehensive guide to the class, including a guide to each week’s topic, required readings, and full instructions for each assignment.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Support for students

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

ANTH2700: Key Debates in Anthropology

Semester 1, 2024 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Support for students

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect