Within the Department of Anthropology and Sociology, students may study sociology (subjects coded SCY), comparative societies (subjects coded COS) and anthropology (subjects coded ANY). Minor and major sequences are available in each of these three areas and students may take more than one major sequence in this department. All subjects are listed in a separate section in the handbook.
SCY subjects are offered on the Clayton, Caulfield and Peninsula campuses. ANY and COS subjects are taught only at Clayton. In accordance with Regulation 9.3, students may choose subjects taught by the department up to the value of two majors. For details of major and minor sequences in anthropology, sociology and comparative societies, see below. Students may also compose a general major in anthropology and sociology by choosing subjects restricted only by the prerequisites and corequisites stipulated for particular subjects; this is especially useful for students who wish to concentrate their studies in such areas as Asian societies, women and gender studies, social theory, or cultural studies.
Students wishing to do a double major in any two of the following: anthropology, sociology, comparative societies or a general major in the Department of Anthropology and Sociology should ensure that they complete an adequate number of subjects in the relevant areas. No subject can be counted twice for the acquisition of points or completion of any other requirement. Students who may be considering a double major must take first-year sequences in both ANY and SCY.
1 To provide the opportunity for students to develop a theoretically informed critical understanding of human societies of all kinds (present and past, Western and non-Western) and of the social organisation of the modern world through a disciplinary-based program of study in anthropology and/or sociology, and to develop an understanding of the different schools of thought and related approaches to knowledge used by these disciplines.
2 To provide students with a range of pedagogical experiences - including team taught and individually taught subjects, some more discursive, some more didactic, some more technical - using different teaching and learning methods, with a developmental logic from lectures and tutorial combinations in earlier years through to seminars.
3 To provide subjects, from first year to fourth year, which build on students' interests in their society and other societies and give students the opportunity to pursue this interest to different levels and in different ways within a structured program of study.
3.1 To provide through a structured sequence of two, three or four years of study programs which enable students both to acquire more knowledge and to develop progressively more critical and complex levels of understanding of theoretical and empirical material regarding their own and other societies, and to understand the roles of social research and researchers in the production of knowledge.
3.2 To provide students taking a major sequence or honours with an opportunity to pursue their own interests in choosing particular topics and areas for study and to take some responsibility for their own intellectual development with guidance and support from staff.
4 To provide courses organised in such a way that all students come to an understanding of the central theoretical concepts and issues and main bodies of substantive knowledge in anthropology and/or sociology through a balance of core and optional subjects which allows both staff and students a considerable degree of choice in the subjects they study.
5 To encourage students both within the department (through a third stream called comparative societies) and more generally in the faculty (through centres) to pursue interdisciplinary studies in particular areas (such as cultural studies, women's studies, critical and social theory, Asian studies, Australian studies, development studies, studies of religion) alongside their discipline-specific subjects.
6 To assist students to attain (to varying degrees) certain key skills and capacities that are of value in themselves and useful for employment, including capacities to handle abstract ideas and theoretical arguments; select appropriate information for the investigation of a topic; analyse, interpret and evaluate data; develop a reasoned argument and evaluate evidence for a proposition; conduct quantitative and qualitative research; prepare and present oral and written material.
7 The objective of a major sequence in anthropology, sociology or comparative societies is to provide knowledge of the concepts, theories and research methods relevant to each discipline and an opportunity for students to reach an appropriate level of understanding of the structure, culture and social practices of those societies they have chosen to study.
For postgraduate courses offered by the department, please refer to the Arts graduate handbook for 1998.
Anthropology is the discipline within the university which is 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, an understanding of, and respect for, cultural difference. The ethnographic expertise of the department ranges 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 throughout the department with access to subjects which are crosscultural and comparative. Anthropology is offered only on the Clayton campus.
An honours year is available in anthropology and the department also offers 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.
For students who commenced anthropology prior to 1996 a major sequence consists of one of ANY1010 or SCY1010 in the first semester, plus ANY1020 in the second semester and appropriate sequences of second-year ANY subjects totalling a minimum of sixteen points and appropriate sequences of third-year ANY subjects totalling sixteen points with an additional anthropology (ANY) subject of eight points at either second or third-year level.
For students commencing from 1996 and beyond, a major sequence will consist of one of ANY1010 or SCY1010 in the first semester, plus ANY1020 in the second semester, with sixteen points of ANY subjects at second-year level and appropriate sequences of third-year ANY subjects totalling a minimum of twenty-four points. It should be noted 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 either appropriate subjects at the first-year level worth twelve points plus appropriate subjects at the second-year level worth sixteen points, or appropriate sequences in anthropology at the second-year level worth sixteen points plus appropriate sequences at the third-year level worth a minimum of twelve points.
Students who started from 1996 and beyond may wish to do an honours or 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 SCY subjects should consult the department about what are considered appropriate alternative first-year sequences for entry to second-year level.
Coordinator: Dawn Ryan
Combined honours may be taken in anthropology and another discipline provided that all honours requirements have been met in both disciplines and subject to the approval of the heads of both departments/centres.
Honours is usually taken on a full-time basis but students may apply to enrol part-time. 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 by the department.
Prerequisite: A first year ANY sequence or SCY1010 and ANY1020
Prerequisite: Second-year COS and/or ANY subjects to a total of at least sixteen points or permission of head of department.
To gain an honours degree in anthropology a student is required to complete successfully ANY4380 (Thesis in anthropology), ANY4440 (Asia and the West) and an additional subject at fourth-year level from among those offered by the department.
A student who is granted permission to complete fourth-year honours over two years will take ANY4440 (Asia and the West) and an additional subject at fourth-year level from among those offered by the department in the first year, and ANY4380 (Thesis in anthropology) in the second.
One of the following: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 department.
Comparative societies (COS) subjects examine not just contemporary industrial societies but the very varied ways in which human beings have organised their lives together, now and in the past. COS subjects are crosscultural and historical, focusing on processes of social development and comparing the ways of life found in societies of all kinds: modern and premodern, agrarian and industrial, capitalist and socialist, Eastern and Western. Interdisciplinary perspectives are encouraged, and debates in this area cut across literary theory, history, philosophy, psychology, anthropology and sociology.
Comparative societies begins its specialisation at second year. Students normally use two first-year subjects in anthropology (see separate entry) and/or sociology (see separate entry) as the basis for a minor or major in COS but other subjects may be allowed. Second-year subjects deal with the rise of capitalist societies, with the study of culture, 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 among options including the sociology of literature; the consumer society; bodily representations; media, gender and sexuality; nationalism; the sociology of disabilities; Japanese society; Marxist, critical, structuralist and post structuralist theories.
An honours program is also available for students wishing to specialise further and who may want to proceed to postgraduate research. The department offers an MQual and an MA by coursework and research within which specialised subjects are available in social theory, comparative societies, gender and feminism, and anthropology; postgraduate research degrees are also available.
For students who commenced their studies prior to 1996 a major sequence in comparative societies (COS) consists of a first-year sequence in either anthropology (ANY) or sociology (SCY), an appropriate sequence of second-year COS, ANY or SCY subjects totalling a minimum of sixteen points and an appropriate sequence of third-year COS or appropriate ANY or SCY subjects totalling sixteen points with an additional COS, ANY or SCY subject of eight points at either second or third-year level.
For students commencing from 1996 and beyond, a major sequence will consist of a first-year sequence in either ANY or SCY, plus second-year COS or appropriate ANY or SCY subjects totalling a minimum of sixteen points and appropriate sequences of third-year COS, ANY or SCY subjects totalling a minimum of twenty-four points.
A minor sequence in comparative societies may consist of either (i) appropriate subjects at the first-year level worth twelve points plus appropriate COS, ANY or SCY subjects at the second-year level worth sixteen points or (ii) appropriate sequences of COS, ANY or SCY subjects at the second-year level worth sixteen points plus appropriate sequences of COS, ANY or SCY subjects at the third-year level worth a minimum of twelve points.
Coordinator: Dawn Ryan
Details of the fourth year 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 not offered in comparative societies.
Combined honours may be taken in comparative societies and another discipline, provided that all honours requirements have been met in both disciplines and subject to approval of the heads of both departments/centres.
Prerequisite: Two subjects from ANY1010, ANY1020, 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 sixteen points.
Students are required to take:
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 social inequality, gender, the family, deviance, power, the state and globalisation. 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 department 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 on all Monash 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 twelve points of first-year sociology subjects. They are labelled according to the code format SCY1XXX.
A minor sequence in sociology normally consists of a first-year sequence in sociology and a minimum of sixteen points of second level sociology subjects. Second-level sociology subjects are labelled SCY2XXX. It is possible to take eight points of some comparative societies second-year subjects (labelled COS2XXX) as part of a sociology minor sequence.
For students who commenced sociology prior to 1996 a major sequence consists of SCY1010 and SCY1020, with sixteen points of second-year SCY subjects, plus sixteen points of third-year SCY subjects with an additional SCY subject of eight points at either second or third-year level.
From 1996 a major sequence in sociology consists of the following features: a first-year sequence in sociology, with sixteen points at second-year level, followed by twenty-four 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) in second or third-year. Some second and third-year subjects are dual-listed to add to the range of student choice. There are no dual-listed subjects at Peninsula but all second and third-year subjects at Caulfield are dual-listed. 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.
Coordinators: Ulla Svensson and Peter Hiller
Honours subjects are taught only at the Clayton campus but supervision of honours research theses is available on each 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 by this department in sociology only.
Combined honours may be taken in sociology and another discipline provided that all honours requirements have been met in both disciplines and subject to the approval of the heads of both departments/centres.
Prerequisite: A first-year SCY sequence.
Prerequisite: Second-year COS and/or SCY subjects carrying a total of at least sixteen points.
The honours year consists of two seminar subjects (twelve points each) and a thesis (worth twenty-four points). The thesis (SCY4580) should be approximately 15,000- 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). 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 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. An extension of time may be granted up to the last day of the examination period of the semester in which the work is due. Applications for extensions beyond this date must be made to the Faculty of Arts Committee for Undergraduate Studies.