Monash University Handbook 2011 Undergraduate - Unit

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

Synopsis

This unit takes an anthropological approach to critiquing international development and understanding the notion of the 'third world'. It explores how ethnography can improve our understanding of the development process, relationships between the 'north' and 'south' and the place of the 'third world' in contemporary globalisation. The unit examines the ways anthropologists theorise social and economic patterns of change; how development policy is imagined, produced, and received (or resisted) across multiple cultural contexts; and how development (and therefore the third world) is imagined and defined through specific case studies of approaches, institutions and practitioners in the field.

Objectives

Students can expect to develop:

1. An understanding of global inequalities and how these impact on different groups of people;
2. A thorough grounding in theories and models explaining the historical context of global inequalities;
3. A comprehension of dominant discourses and trends in development;
4. An awareness of the culture of organisations, institutions and practitioners of development;
5. An understanding of how development has affected particular cultures and places;
6. The analytical skills to evaluate approaches to development from an anthropological perspective;
7. An awareness of problems and issues in utilising development strategies and theories;
8. An appreciation of the history, philosophy and practice of qualitative social research;
9. An understanding of a range of methods used in qualitative social research;
10. An awareness of some of the key issues, debates and controversies associated with conducting qualitative research, and an appreciation of the complexity of conducting such research;
11. An appreciation of the meaning and role of both ethics and reflexivity in qualitative social research; and
12. The ability to practically undertake some kinds of qualitative social research.

Assessment

Written work (3500 Words): 80%
Seminar participation/presentations: 20%

Chief examiner(s)

Max Richter

Contact hours

2 hours (1 x 2 hour seminar) per week

This unit applies to the following area(s) of study

International studies
Anthropology

Prerequisites

Appropriate first-year ANY sequence or by permission