Famine in the Modern World

Subject GEOG10001 (2010)

Note: This is an archived Handbook entry from 2010.

Credit Points:

12.50

Level:

1 (Undergraduate)

Dates & Locations:

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2010:

Semester 1, Parkville - Taught on campus.

Pre-teaching Period Start	not applicable
Teaching Period	not applicable
Assessment Period End	not applicable
Last date to Self-Enrol	not applicable
Census Date	not applicable
Last date to Withdraw without fail	not applicable

Timetable can be viewed here. For information about these dates, click here.

Time Commitment:

Contact Hours: Two lectures and a 2-hour laboratory or practical class per week
Total Time Commitment: 4 contact hours/week , 4 additional hours/week. Total of 8 hours per week.

Prerequisites:

N/A

Corequisites:

N/A

Recommended Background Knowledge:

N/A

Non Allowed Subjects:

N/A

Core Participation Requirements:

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements of this entry. The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison Unit website: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

Coordinator

Mr Grant Walton

Contact

gwwalton@unimelb.edu.au

Subject Overview:	This subject is an introduction to geography and development studies. It examines the problems of hunger, famine, poverty and population growth, and as it does so it introduces key issues, concepts and theories central to geography and development studies. The subject is structured around an examination of two contrasting theories of hunger and famine. The 'Malthusian' theory argues that famine is a matter of the balance of population and environmental resources. Evidence is drawn together from demography, environmental change and degradation, and the environmental impact of the green revolution. The 'political economy' theory argues that famine is a matter of the distribution of food. Evidence is drawn together to explain differences in access to food within and between societies, including the implications of agribusiness and the global food trade and the effect of war on food supply. The subject also considers the ways in which aid, food, and development policies are informed by these theories. Students who complete the subject should be familiar with these theories and the causes, extent, and possible solutions to famine and food problems.
Objectives:	understand variations in the availability of food, and the reasons for these; understand relations between population, environmental change and food supply; comprehend the key ways in which food supply failures (hunger and famine) are the result of social processes; understand how solutions to hunger are designed on the basis of particular theories about the causes of hunger; have developed skills in empirical and theoretical evaluation of theories of hunger and famine.
Assessment:	A 2-hour examination (worth 40%, in examination period), a 1000-word paper (worth 15%, due mid-semester), a second 1000-word paper (worth 15%, due at the end of semester) and practical/ tutorial exercises (worth 30%).
Prescribed Texts:	A subject reader will be available from the University Bookshop at the beginning of semester.
Breadth Options:	This subject potentially can be taken as a breadth subject component for the following courses: Bachelor of Biomedicine Bachelor of Commerce Bachelor of Music 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:	be capable of thinking critically; be capable of testing of theories with evidence; be capable of demographic analysis; be capable of writing logical essays following standard formats; be capable of working in groups.
Notes:	Students enrolled in the BSc (both pre-2008 degree and new degree), or a combined BSc course (except for the BA/BSc) will receive science credit for the completion of this subject.
Related Course(s):	Bachelor of Science
Related Majors/Minors/Specialisations:	Anthropology and Development Anthropology and Development Development Studies Development Studies Major Environmental Geographies, Politics and Cultures Environmental Studies Environmental Studies Major Geography Geography Major

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