Anthropology of Policy in Development

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2012:

This subject will introduce approaches to the construction and analysis of policy in the developing world. We will begin with an analysis of colonial policies of enumerating, categorising and describing colonised populations, and then discuss approaches to contemporary development policy problems. The dominant, linear approach to policy as a sequence of ‘design, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation’ will be critiqued for its failure to recognise the socio-cultural contexts, values and ideologies within which policies are embedded. We will explore the worldviews and assumptions of policy makers and policy ‘subjects’, and the ways in which gender, race, ethnicity and religion contribute to the success or failure of policies. Case studies using ethnographic and interpretive approaches will be used to throw light on the nature of policy-making and programmes in key development issues: for e.g., the meanings, measurement and experience of poverty; the construction of ‘indigenous’ peoples and of the ‘household’; the role of ‘local knowledge’ in health policies and in sustainable development.

Students who successfully complete this subject should be able to:

• Demonstrate familiarity with key terms and concepts used in the analysis of policy in the developing world
• Analyse assumptions, norms, ideologies and values that frame policies within particular historical and cultural contexts
• Critically assess policies in the developing world and discuss how ethnographic approaches and methods can contribute to the construction of policy

A tutorial presentation and 800 word paper (20%) due during the semester, a 1200-word assignment (30%) due mid-semester, and an essay of 2,000 words (50%) due during the examination period.

Hurdle Requirement: This subject has a minimum hurdle requirement of 75% tutorial attendance. Regular participation in tutorials is required. Assessment submitted late without an approved extension will be penalised at 10% per day. In-class tasks missed without approval will not be marked. All pieces of written work must be submitted to pass this subject.

Reading material will be available online via the subject's LMS site

This subject potentially can be taken as a breadth subject component for the following courses:

• Bachelor of Biomedicine
• Bachelor of Commerce
• Bachelor of Environments
• Bachelor of Music
• Bachelor of Science
• Bachelor of Engineering

You should visit learn more about breadth subjects and read the breadth requirements for your degree, and should discuss your choice with your student adviser, before deciding on your subjects.

Students who successfully complete this subject should:

• have practice in speaking and writing clearly and reading carefully
• have experience of methods of critical inquiry and argument leading to improved analytical skills
• have acquired awareness of different analytical perspectives on policy in developing countries