Department of Anthropology & Archaeology
Anthropology 1593 The science of mankind in the widest sense, coined from Greek: anthropos “human being” + –logos “study of.”
This paper critically examines theories and issues of anthropology and development in the South Pacific. We consider how anthropology, as knowledge based on ethnographic and reflexive research, can inform the more material disciplines that have dominated development studies. Specific topics may include gender, representation, health, environmental issues, democracy, tradition and human rights and the politics and discourse of development. Participants will be strongly encouraged to develop their own research skills.
| Timetable/Fees | ANTH416 |
| EFTS | 0.15 EFTS |
| Points | 24 points |
| Teaching Period(s) | Full Year |
| Lecturer | Assoc Prof Jacqui Leckie |
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It is strongly recommended that students take ANTH 322 or ANTH 323 before commencing this course.
This is an advanced course in medical anthropology which explores what it might mean to be an embodied human in relation to a range of contemporary innovative medical technologies and from a variety of subject positions (including patients, scientists, doctors, paramedical workers, clients, customers, users of services, nonhuman animals assisting in the development of these technologies, and cyborgs). We will draw widely from the international literature on the anthropology of cosmopolitan medical practice to help define an anthropological account of the politics, ethics and embodied experiences of such contested practices.
| Timetable/Fees | ANTH423 |
| EFTS | 0.15 EFTS |
| Points | 24 points |
| Teaching Period(s) | Full Year |
| Lecturer | Dr Ruth Fitzgerald |
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This course provides a cross-cultural and historical investigation of beliefs and activities seen as manifestations of evil in the world. Drawing on ethnographic research, historical studies, and anthropological theory, this course explores and analyses the social construction of evil, symbolic violence, and the facilitation of organised human cruelty. As well as articulating an anthropological position in relation to the study of evil, this course considers conceptual and methodological approaches to the study of moral phenomena. The Anthropology of Evil begins by problematising the concept of evil and examining contemporary definitional debates surrounding the use of this term. The second part of the course explores recent representations of evil in the media and popular culture, before critically analysing four important figures of evil in Western history (Satan, vampires, monsters, and witches). This section also explores classic anthropological studies (and more recent ethnographic investigations) of evil in Africa, the Americas, and India. The last part of the course considers the social organisation of evil, narratives of surviving evil, memory and hope. This section begins by briefly examining genocide and state sanctioned violence, before exploring charisma and evil leadership. Finally, we consider tales of survival and memory, and future anthropological contributions to this field of study.
| Timetable/Fees | ANTH424 |
| EFTS | 0.15 EFTS |
| Points | 24 points |
| Teaching Period(s) | Full Year |
| Lecturer | Dr Cyril Schäfer |
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This paper addresses key theoretical issues in the study of transnationalism, using a variety of ethnographic case studies of migration and the diaspora of “persons and things” in contexts that cross the borders of Africa, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, North America, Asia and Oceania. It will explore the ways displaced and/or mobile populations ground their lives in two or more national fields through mobility, social relationships, media, communications and consumption. The course will examine migrant workers, refugees, supranationality, borders and boundaries, theories and approaches to citizenship, government policy, class, ethnicity and identity politics.
Prospective students are welcome to contact the course coordinator Dr Greg Rawlings for further information including a full course-outline.
| Timetable/Fees | ANTH425 |
| EFTS | 0.15 EFTS |
| Points | 24 points |
| Teaching Period(s) | First Semester |
| Lecturer | Dr Greg Rawlings |
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Individual research on an approved topic under the supervision of one or more members of staff, culminating in the submission of a dissertation of no more than 20,000 words (excluding footnotes, appendices and references). Submission date for dissertations is the last Friday of Semester two. Students intending to enrol for a dissertation are advised to begin discussions with a potential supervisor before the start of Semester one. Further information about the preparation and submission of dissertations is available from the Department’s Handbook for 4th Year Honours and Post Graduate Diploma.
| Fees | ANTH490 |
| EFTS | 0.15 EFTS |
| Points | 48 points |
| Teaching Period(s) | Full Year |
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