Overview
Being human, and humane, in a world where worlds collide. An introduction to cultural studies of globalisation, multiculturalism, tourism, media.
This paper introduces students to the study of human life from the global and local perspectives of socio-cultural anthropology. Using New Zealand and international studies, we explore together the distinctive characteristics of our field with its focus on tolerance, its celebration of human difference, its attention to the necessity for decolonisation and defamiliarisation of our taken for granted worlds, and our use of empirical fieldwork to create contemporary theories of power, values, identities, societies and cultures. We explore a human and humane response to the following questions:
- How do/how should we live with globalisation?
- What would a fully globalised world look like?
- How does one account for enduring cultural diversities?
- What are the relationships between, on the one hand, the mental/spiritual/cultural and, on the other, the physical/material/fiscal components of human realities?
About this paper
| Paper title | Global and Local Cultures |
|---|---|
| Subject | Anthropology |
| EFTS | 0.15 |
| Points | 18 points |
| Teaching period | Semester 2 (On campus) |
| Domestic Tuition Fees ( NZD ) | $1,040.70 |
| International Tuition Fees | Tuition Fees for international students are elsewhere on this website. |
- Schedule C
- Arts and Music
- Contact
- More information link
Please visit the Programme of Social Anthropology
- Teaching staff
Co-ordinator: Professor Ruth Fitzgerald
- Paper Structure
Our lectures are active learning environments, and so we request all of our students to arrive in class having read their allotted required reading prior to the lecture.
- Teaching Arrangements
Two 1-hour lectures per week, plus one tutorial per week.
In this course we value your engagement, your ideas and your collegiality.
- Textbooks
There is no textbook for the paper. Students will access their required readings prior to classes through the eReserve system on Blackboard.
Your readings are carefully selected, contemporary, peer-reviewed articles from popular social anthropology journals.
All key materials are available via library e-reserve and/or Blackboard.
Lecture outlines/notes are provided in advance of class and lectures are recorded and available via Blackboard.- Course outline
Copies are available through Blackboard via the course outline tab. Before the semester starts if you would like to see the previous year’s course outline to assess the course, you are welcome to email anthropology@otago.ac.nz to ask for a copy.
- Graduate Attributes Emphasised
- Global perspective, Interdisciplinary perspective, Lifelong learning, Scholarship, Communication, Critical thinking, Cultural understanding, Ethics, Research, Self-motivation.
View more information about Otago's graduate attributes. - Learning Outcomes
Students who successfully complete this paper will gain:
- An understanding of how cultural diversity and homogeneity, respectively, are being produced in our 'global' world
- An understanding of how human beings impact this new diversity and homogeneity and are, in turn, impacted by it
- Exposure to some of the key theoretical, ethical and philosophical debates in the human sciences in order to prepare students for higher-level specialist anthropology papers, methods papers and as a useful adjunct paper to all degrees across the Divisions (anthropology being the most scientific of the arts and the most humanistic of the sciences)
- An appreciation for the importance of self-reflection in social scientific and humanistic inquiry
- Assessment details
This course is 100% internally assessed. The assessments are two research essays, an interactive weekly key lecture point quiz question, tutorial participation evaluation mark and a one page article summary of an interesting course reading.