Self and Other

Subject MULT10002 (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 2, 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 1-hour lectures and one 1-hour tutorial per week.
Total Time Commitment: 3 contact hours per week , 5 additional hours per week. Total of 8 hours per week.
Prerequisites: none
Corequisites: none
Recommended Background Knowledge: none
Non Allowed Subjects: none
Core Participation Requirements: For the purposes of considering requests for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this course are articulated in the Course Description, Course Objectives and Generic Skills 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

Prof Andrew Dawson

Contact

Andrew Dawson

dawsona@unimelb.edu.au

Subject Overview:

One knows who one is by knowing who one is not. This subject is concerned with questions of identity. In particular, it considers how the senses of self and 'other' that we hold are always culturally constructed and maintained in relation to one another. Throughout the subject a range of identity forms - from individual to gender to ethnicity - is examined in relation to the following. Firstly, we consider the myriad cultural devices that are utilised in constructing our senses of self and other. These include, language, leisure, musical, and even culinary practices, and beliefs about animals, the body and cleanliness, to name but a few. Secondly, through systematic exploration of identity and culture in a range of contexts, from pre-Enlightenment Europe to contemporary Australia, we consider how both the senses of self and other that people hold, and the ways in which they construct and maintain them vary across cultures. Finally, we consider how these processes of self and othering are translated into material practices of inclusion, exclusion, discrimination and criminalisation.
Objectives:

Students who complete this subject should:

  • have a foundational knowledge of concept and approaches to the study of culture and identity.
  • appreciate both disciplinary and multi-disciplinary approaches to the investigation and understanding of culture and identity.
  • appreciate cross-cultural and cross-epochal approaches to understanding culture and identity.
Assessment: An essay of 800 words 20%; an essay of 1200 words 30%; and two-hour examination 50% in the examination period.
Prescribed Texts: A subject reader will be available.
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:
  • Be able to think critically, and organize knowledge from a consideration of lecture, tutorial and reading material.
  • Have developed analytic skills through participation in lecture, tutorial and other assignments.
  • Have improved skills in written and verbal communication.
  • Have developed a knowledge of the skills required to enable cross-cultural comparison.
Related Majors/Minors/Specialisations: Cross Cultural Communication
Interdisciplinary Foundation Subjects

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