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Thu May 25 16:42:33 EST 2000
Auth: S Steele, ITS Web and Internet Facilities
Copyright © Monash University 1999 - All Rights Reserved - Caution
The School of Political and Social Inquiry is made up of the disciplines of
anthropology, sociology and politics. It also includes the National Centre for
Australian Studies and the Centre for Women's Studies and Gender Research. The
school offers undergraduate and graduate courses, and honours and higher-degree
supervision in all three disciplines and in the interdisciplinary field of
women's studies. It also offers interdisciplinary graduate courses and
supervision in international relations, applied social research,
communications, publishing and tourism.
The core disciplines traverse social and political theory, and also address
issues of national and international identity along with the formation of
particular cultural groups and networks. The field of women's studies covers
the history and representation of women and sexual difference and the complex
construction of gender relations in the past, present and future. Students
acquire the ability to undertake a wide range of political and social research,
including ethnographic studies and questionnaire design.
Students completing an undergraduate degree in anthropology, sociology,
politics or women's studies acquire analytical and writing skills that enable
them to seek employment in both the public and the private sector. Career
options include positions in the mass media, in market research organisations
and working for political parties or welfare groups. Graduates are regularly
placed with key federal government departments, including foreign affairs and
communications.
Anthropology
is the discipline concerned with the study of culture in general and of
specific cultures and their social organisation in particular. The specific
cultures may be the cultures of other societies, minority cultures within our
own country, or the cultures of our own past. All anthropology staff have deep
and intensive research experience in other societies and their cultures and
bring to the subjects we offer, whether they be about others or ourselves, a
distinctly anthropological perspective and an understanding of, and respect
for, cultural difference. The ethnographic expertise of the discipline extends
through South and Southeast Asia and Melanesia to the study of minority
communities and their cultures in Australia, incorporating a range of
theoretical perspectives. Anthropology staff provide students with access to
subjects which are crosscultural and comparative. Anthropology is offered only
on the Clayton campus.
An honours year is available in anthropology as well as an MQual and an MA by
coursework and research, which allows for specialist interests in anthropology,
comparative societies, gender and feminism, as well as postgraduate research
degrees.
A major sequence consists of ANY1010 and ANY1020 or a first-semester, first-year politics or sociology subject, and ANY1020, 16 points of ANY subjects at second-year level and 24 points of ANY subjects at third-year level. Note that ANY1020 is also a 'free' subject which can be taken on its own with no prerequisites for those not wishing to proceed to minor or major sequences in anthropology.
A minor sequence in anthropology may consist of a first-year sequence plus appropriate subjects at second-year level worth 16 points.
Students who started from 1996 and beyond may wish to do a major or minor sequence in anthropology and may enrol at second-year level. Students who have not completed a first-year sequence in ANY or ANY and PLT or SCY subjects should consult the school about what are considered appropriate alternative first-year sequences for entry to second-year level.
Coordinator:
Helen Johnson
See the entry for Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree for details regarding
standard entry requirements, course structure, combined honours and
disciplines. Mid-year entry is not offered in anthropology.
Although no specific second or third-year subjects are prerequisites for
honours, prospective honours students may be advised to take additional
subjects in second and/or third year, and certain subjects may be particularly
recommended.
The due date for the submission of final coursework and the thesis by students
is the last day of the final semester of the honours program (Friday 2June in
first semester 2000, Friday 20 October in second semester 2000).
Students may take combined honours in anthropology and either comparative societies or sociology. They will select a combination of subjects and a thesis topic covering both disciplines. In all cases, the choice must be approved by the head of the school.
Prerequisite: A first year ANY sequence or SCY1010 and ANY1020
Prerequisite: Second-year COS and/or ANY subjects to a total of at least 16 points or permission of head of school.
To
gain an honours degree in anthropology, a student is required to complete
successfully ANY4380 (Thesis in anthropology), ANY4300 (Theorising culture) and
an additional subject at fourth-year level from among those offered by the
disciplines.
A student who is granted permission to complete fourth-year honours over two
years will take ANY4300 (Theorising culture) and an additional subject at
fourth-year level from among those offered by the disciplines in the first
year, and ANY4380 (Thesis in anthropology) in the second.
One of the following:
The
study of our own country is central to an appreciation of Australia's place in
the world. As the centenary of federation approaches, there is a growing
interest in both the past and the future of our society. By undertaking an
integrated program of Australian studies, students will gain the knowledge and
skills which will equip them to understand and interpret the culture we
inhabit.
Within the Faculty of Arts, there is a wide range of courses in both humanities
and social science areas which contain material on Australia. Students enrolled
in the BA can pursue an interest in Australian studies by choosing subjects
with an Australian focus or content.
Students may also undertake two summer school courses: AUS1010S (Out of empire)
and AUS1020S (Democracy and nation).
For postgraduate courses, refer to the entry under National Centre for
Australian Studies in the graduate handbook.
Subjects with specific Australian focus offered within the faculty are listed below. Full details can be found under the entries for the relevant schools. Some listings are subject to change and not offered every year. Students should consult the school offering the subject.
The
comparative cultures course replaces the former comparative societies course.
Comparative cultures is an interdisciplinary course focusing on processes of
social development, comparing ways of life found in societies of all kinds:
modern and pre-modern, agrarian and industrial, capitalist and socialist,
Eastern and Western. The course draws on the comparative and theoretical
aspects of the school's disciplines - anthropology, politics and sociology -
bringing together subjects which, while focusing on a comparative understanding
of cultures and societies, see a critical appraisal of relevant social,
cultural and political theory as central to such a comparative perspective.
Comparative cultures subjects are at the analytical edge of historical and
comparative studies, self-conscious about method, constantly attempting to move
beyond established 'truth'. Given its overtly comparative, theoretical and
interdisciplinary perspective, comparative cultures also encourages involvement
in subjects outside the school as students engage with the many debates in this
area which cut across not only anthropology, politics and sociology but also
literary theory, history, philosophy and psychology.
Comparative cultures begins its specialisation at second year. Students
normally use two first-year subjects in anthropology (see separate entry),
politics (see separate entry) and/or sociology (see separate entry) as the
basis for a minor or major in comparative cultures, but other subjects from
cognate areas may be allowed.
Second-year subjects deal with the rise of capitalist societies, with the study
of culture, with the current complexities of international politics, with
understanding prejudice and discrimination in its many guises, and with the
impact of scientific rationality on our view of the world and our place in
it.
In the third year, students can choose from among a very wide range of options
dealing with topics such as ethnicity, nationalism, globalisation and identity,
media, gender and sexuality; the cultural construction of disabilities;
Marxist, critical, structuralist and post-structuralist theories of society,
culture and politics.
An honours program is also available for students wishing to specialise further
and who may want to proceed to postgraduate research. The school offers an
MQual and an MA by coursework and research within which specialised subjects
are available in social, cultural and political theory, globalism, gender and
feminism, and south and southeast Asian politics and society.
A major sequence consists of a first-year sequence in either ANY, PLT or SCY, plus appropriate (ie selected from those listed below) second-year ANY, PLT or SCY subjects totalling a minimum of 16 points and appropriate third-year ANY, PLT or SCY subjects totalling a minimum of 24 points.
A minor sequence in comparative cultures may consist of either (i) appropriate subjects at first-year level worth 12 points plus appropriate ANY, PLT or SCY subjects at second-year level worth 16 points, or (ii) appropriate sequences of ANY, PLT or SCY subjects at second-year level worth 16 points plus appropriate sequences of ANY, PLT or SCY subjects at third-year level worth a minimum of 12 points.
Coordinator:
Helen Johnson
An honours degree in comparative cultures may be taken by any candidate who has
completed a pass degree in comparative cultures, anthropology, politics,
sociology or, with the permission of the head of school, a cognate discipline,
with grades of the standard required by the faculty for entrance to an honours
degree. See the entry for Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree for details
regarding standard entry requirements, course structure, combined honours and
disciplines. Mid-year entry is not offered in comparative societies.
The due date for the submission of final coursework and the thesis by students
is the last day of the final semester of the honours program (Friday 2 June in
first semester 2000 and Friday 20 October in second semester 2000).
Prerequisite: Two subjects from ANY1010, ANY1020, PLT1020, PLT1040, PLT1050, PLT1070, PLT1120, SCY1010 or SCY1020, or one of these plus a subject from a cognate discipline.
Prerequisite: Second-year level COS, or appropriate ANY or SCY subjects carrying a total of at least 16 points.
Students are required to take:
plus two subjects selected from the following list:
The
Politics section teaches courses on the Caulfield and Clayton campuses,
specialising in four broad areas: Australian politics, international relations
and global politics, culture and identity politics, and social and political
theory. Students may specialise in one or more of these areas, but are
encouraged to choose their subjects so as to explore the different approaches
to political studies.
Politics is a very broad discipline which tends to overlap continually with all
the other major humanities and social science subjects. It is, therefore, an
excellent subject for learning about the interrelationships which exist in the
human world, and for acquiring a diverse range of interpretive, analytic and
synthetic (especially conceptual) skills. The discipline is not just concerned
with the study of government, policy or political institutions; it also studies
resource allocation, decision making, social behaviour and political action,
the management or resolution of conflict, power struggles, the struggle for
political freedom, ideologies and political movements, the nature of the state
and relations between states. It is especially concerned with the nature of
power and authority, with 'practical understanding', with the relations between
theory and practice and with the series of arguments which are created by the
continual struggle by human beings to maintain their social existence and to
devise more desirable and more satisfactory forms of human community.
Politics at Monash aims to offer students up-to-date coverage and explanation
of many aspects of the contemporary world, developed and underdeveloped,
coupled with a solid intellectual grounding in the key debates, texts and
traditions of inquiry which one finds in the humanities and social sciences.
A student who wishes to proceed to politics in second year on the Clayton campus must complete a first-year sequence in politics. This comprises any two of the options available in first and second semesters. On the Caulfield campus, a first-year sequence consists of PLT1531 and PLT1031. A minor sequence in politics comprises the first-year sequence of 12 points and 16 points of second-year politics. A major sequence requires an additional 24 points of politics at the third-year level.
A
fourth or honours year is available on the Clayton campus only, offering an
opportunity for more specialised or advanced work in politics and leading to
the degree of BA(Hons). The Arts faculty honours entry requirements is seen
very much as minimum requirements only and intending honours students
complete a further eight points of work in politics at either second or
third-year level. Further advice for honours students is included with the
course outlines at second and third years and in the Politics section's honours
booklet.
Fourth-year honours students take 24 points of coursework in politics, and
write a thesis. They may do fewer politics seminars if they are taking a
combined honours degree. All are strongly advised to begin thesis work during
the long vacation preceding their entry into the fourth year. Mid-year entry is
not normally offered.
On the Clayton campus in 2000, the Politics section will offer five first-year subjects, three in first semester (PLT1020, PLT1070 and PLT1120) and two in second semester (PLT1040, PLT1050). All students who wish to proceed to politics in second year must complete any two of these subjects. No previous knowledge of politics is assumed.
On the Caulfield campus, the Politics section offers two first-year subjects (PLT1031 and PLT1531). No previous knowledge of politics is assumed. All politics students from this campus who wish to proceed to politics in second year must complete both of the first-year subjects offered.
The prerequisite is successful completion of an approved first-year politics sequence at any Monash campus.
The following subjects are offered on the Clayton campus.
The following subject is offered on the Caulfield campus.
The following subjects are offered on the Clayton campus:
The following subjects are offered on the Caulfield campus:
The normal prerequisite for a third-year-level subject is successful completion of an approved first-year politics sequence and any two second-year-level subjects at any Monash campus.
As well as fulfilling the requirements for the honours degree laid down by the Faculty of Arts, intending honours students in politics are expected to take extra work in politics (see the introduction to the politics entry).
The following subjects are offered on the Clayton campus:
The following subject is offered on the Caulfield campus:
The following subjects are offered on the Clayton campus:
The following subjects are offered on the Caulfield campus:
Fourth
year comprises work to the value of 48 points made up as follows:
1. the honours thesis, PLT4049 (20 points), written under supervision
(this must be shown on all enrolment forms)
2. two of the 12-point seminar subjects chosen from the list of subjects
below.
The deadline for the submission of final coursework is the last day of the
final semester of the honours program. The deadline for the submission of the
thesis to the Politics section is the last teaching day of the second semester.
The following subjects are offered on the Clayton campus only:
Full-time honours students are required to take the thesis
in both semesters, and are advised to take one 12-point seminar course in each
semester.
Part-time honours students are required to take one seminar course in each
semester of their first year, and the thesis and the 'Approaches to politics'
seminar in their second year.
The
focus of sociology (SCY subjects) teaching is on the study of industrial and
post-industrial societies. It involves the investigation of human groups,
communities, institutions and organisations, and the networks of meaning and
association which link individuals and groups to the broader social structures
of such societies. The wide range of subjects available is designed to provide
opportunities to explore broad theoretical and methodological issues, to
acquire research skills, and to develop an understanding of the institutions
and processes of industrial and post-industrial society. Emphasis is placed on
the research process (the careful description of human social order, the
development of theories and research strategies designed to test and apply
theories) as the means by which sociology as a discipline advances. Many of the
substantive subjects give students an understanding of Australian society in
its global context.
The introductory year sets the pattern for later years. It illustrates some of
the perspectives and methods of the discipline by examining their relevance to
some of the more important substantive areas of society, including the study of
socialisation, deviance, the family, Australian identity, popular culture,
class and social inequality. The second year seeks to deepen this approach.
Theories and methods are examined in greater detail. In the third year, a wide
range of options covering theory, methods and a variety of substantive areas
are offered from which students may choose.
An honours year is available in sociology and the school also offers an MQual
and an MA by coursework and research which allow for specialisation in a
variety of areas, as well as postgraduate research degrees.
Minor and major sequences in sociology are offered at Clayton, Caulfield and Gippsland campuses. While there is some variation in the nature and content of subjects offered, the essential structure of the program, the intellectual orientation and the skills acquired are the same on each campus.
A first-year sequence consists of 12 points of first-year sociology subjects.
A minor sequence in sociology normally consists of a first-year sequence in sociology and a minimum of 16 points. It is possible to take eight points of some comparative societies second-year subjects (COS subjects) as part of a sociology minor sequence.
A major sequence in sociology consists of a first-year sequence in sociology, 16 points at second-year level, followed by 24 points at third-year level. It is a requirement that students take a theory subject (see List A) and a research methods subject (see List B). Students are encouraged to take these in second year, but they may also be taken as third year subjects. Some second and third-year subjects are dual-listed to add to the range of student choice. Students may, with the permission of the third-year coordinator, take the options required for a major from the cross-listed COS third-year subjects.
All second and third-year subjects are eight-point subjects. Students can take options on any of the campuses.
Coordinator:
Ulla Svensson
Honours subjects are taught only at the Clayton campus. Details of the honours
course are set out under 'Fourth-year level'.
Honours is usually taken on a full-time basis but students may apply to enrol
part-time. Mid-year entry is offered, subject to places being available.
Full-time students normally complete their two seminar subjects in the first
semester, whereas part-time students take one seminar in each semester of the
first year and work on their thesis in the second year. Full-time students are
expected to work on their thesis throughout the year under the supervision of
an academic staff member.
The honours coordinator will run compulsory workshops on such issues as library
search on thesis topic, application for ethics clearance, development of a
research proposal, and thesis writing. In addition, students will be required
to present work-in-progress at various stages of the research process. The due
date for the submission of the thesis is the third week of October, or the
first week of June if mid-year entry into honours.
The honours year consists of two seminar subjects (12 points each) and a thesis (worth 24 points). The thesis (SCY4580) should be approximately 15,000 to 18,000 words. All students are expected to complete SCY4540 (Theory and practice of sociology) and another subject selected from the SCY4500 list (first-semester subjects) or the SCY4520 list (second-semester subjects). Subject lists are available from the school.
The following subject is offered on both Caulfield and Clayton campuses:
The following subject is offered on both Caulfield and Clayton campuses:
The following subjects are offered on the Clayton campus:
The following subjects are offered on the Caulfield campus:
The following subjects are offered on the Clayton campus:
The following subjects are offered on the Caulfield campus:
The following subjects are offered on the Clayton campus:
The following subjects are offered on the Caulfield campus:
The following subjects are offered on the Clayton campus:
The following subjects are offered on the Caulfield campus:
Subjects listed under this heading are offered by the Centre for Women's Studies and Gender Research. The centre is located in the south wing, 6th floor, Menzies building, telephone (03) 9905 2996, fax (03) 9905 1454.
Students wishing to focus on the study of women and gender in their selection of courses for the BA degree may do so in one of three ways:
A major sequence comprises subjects totalling 40 points over second and third-year levels. The prerequisite for the major sequence is usually a first-year sequence comprising WMN1010 (Sex, gender and knowledge) and any other first-year arts subject. The major sequence consists of the following: the three core women's studies subjects WMN2240/WMN3240 (Introduction to contemporary feminist theory), WMN2110 (Representations of women and gender in Australian society) or WMN2030/WMN3030 (Women, media, consumption), WMN3020 (Issues in feminist research), plus two additional eight-point subjects selected from centre subjects or the cross-listed options within the faculty. WMN2260/WMN3260 (Sexing the text) and WMN 2040/3040 (Debating difference) are recommended subjects within this sequence.
A minor sequence comprises subjects totalling a minimum of 30 points at first, second and third-year levels. The minor sequence consists of the following: WMN1010 (Sex, gender and knowledge) and the core women's studies subjects WMN2240/WMN3240 (Introduction to contemporary feminist theory), WMN2110 (Representations of women and gender in Australian society) or WMN2030 (Women, media, consumption), and WMN3020 (Issues in feminist research) or another third-year-level women's studies subject.
Students may take individual subjects dealing with issues of women and gender that are offered either within women's studies or within other discipline sequences. Students wishing to vary the components of their minor or major sequences should consult with the director of the centre.
The honours program in women's studies will provide candidates with an intellectually rigorous and detailed approach to contemporary feminist theories about the body, sexuality, sexual difference, female subjectivity and power. It will also offer an opportunity to engage in supervised research within specific subject and research interests. Subject to approval, students may be permitted to enrol in combined honours in women's studies and another discipline within the faculty.
WMN1010 (Sex, gender and knowledge: introduction to women's studies) in combination with any other first-year arts subject.
For full details of these subjects, including their availability this year, consult the relevant discipline area.
For full details of these subjects, including their availability this year, consult the relevant discipline entry.
Honours students in women's studies must complete the following:
One
year full-time. To undertake the course part-time, students will be required to
complete the two coursework components of the program in year one and the
dissertation in year two. There will be no mid-year intake into the honours
course.
For each coursework subject, the work requirement is 24 hours per week.
The dissertation will require one half-hour supervision session per week and no
more than 48 hours per week allowed for reading, research and writing.
Successful completion of the Bachelor of Arts with a major in women's studies. An average grade of distinction or equivalent in the core undergraduate women's studies subjects is also required:
Combined honours may be taken in women's studies and another discipline provided that all honours requirements have been met in both disciplines and subject to the approval of both honours coordinators.
wwwdev@monash.edu.au
Thu May 25 16:42:33 EST 2000