Redefining Nature

Subject 671-355 (2009)

Note: This is an archived Handbook entry from 2009. Search for this in the current handbook

Credit Points: 12.50
Level: 3 (Undergraduate)
Dates & Locations:

This subject is not offered in 2009.
Time Commitment: Contact Hours: A 2-hour lecture per week and a 1-hour tutorial in weeks 2 to 11
Total Time Commitment: 3 contact hours/week, 5.5 additional hours/week. Total of 8.5 hours per week.
Prerequisites: Usually 50 points of first year subjects.
Corequisites: None
Recommended Background Knowledge: None
Non Allowed Subjects: None
Core Participation Requirements:

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

Contact

Dr Monica Minnegal

mmam@unimelb.edu.au

Subject Overview: This subject will address anthropological issues raised by the discourse of environmentalism, exploring the diverse ways in which individuals and societies perceive and interact with their environments. Students will explore constructions of nature and culture, how people place themselves in space and in time, and how they place the things of the world in relation to themselves. Students will also address uses and limitations of 'traditional ecological knowledge', patterns of land tenure and issues of land management. Students should become familiar with the different ways people interpret their roles and responsibilities in relation to the natural world, and with the ways understandings of nature both reflect and affect how people see themselves and their society.
Objectives:
  • have a knowledge of the range of ways people construct understandings of and organise themselves in relation to their environments;
  • be aware of approaches within anthropology to documenting, analysing and theorising this variation;
  • be able to critically discuss issues raised by the confrontation between different systems of environmental knowledge and practice.
Assessment: Two 500 word tutorial papers 17.5% each (due during the semester), an essay outline 5% (due in week 11) and a 3000-word essay 60% (due at the end of the semester). This subject has a hurdle requirement of attendance at a minimum of 8 tutorials (ie. 80% of tutorials).
Prescribed Texts: A subject reader will be available from the University Bookshop at the beginning of semester. Set readings will also be available online, through LMS.
Breadth Options:

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

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.

Fees Information: Subject EFTSL, Level, Discipline & Census Date
Generic Skills:
  • have practice in conducting research and speaking articulately;
  • have practice in writing clearly in a variety of formats and reading with attention to detail;
  • have experience of systematically evaluating a body of empirical data and identifying its theoretical context;
  • have experience of methods of critical inquiry and argument leading to improved analytical skills;
  • have acquired awareness of issues relating to cross-cultural communication.
Notes: This subject will be offered in alternate years.
Related Majors/Minors/Specialisations: Anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology & Social Theory

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