Family, Community and Development

This subject is not offered in 2013.

120 hours

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

This subject examines the way that family and community are understood and approached in Development Studies theory and practice. As the primary nexus of social, political and economic reproduction, the study of family and kinship is a particularly important context from which to explore the relationship between individual and community development; the policies and strategies of major agencies; and more broadly the relationship between global, transnational and local networks of responsibility and care. Understanding the global through the prism of the familiar, local and communal we examine critical ‘values’ and mores of societies such as ‘honour’ and ‘shame’, dowry, marriage, women and the place of children.

Students who successfully complete this subject will:

• Be familiar with the main theories and approaches to family and community development
• Understand and critically assess the policies and approaches to family and reproduction programs by development agencies and non-government organisations
• Be able to appreciate how development studies and practice engages with different cultures, values and identities
• Develop an understanding of social, political, economic and cultural contexts of development practice

• Gain an awareness of what is involved in designing and managing projects relating to family and community

Project on Scope of Research Study of 1,500 words, including a class presentation (40%) due in mid-semester.

Report of 3500 words (60%) due during the examination period.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

Students who successfully complete this subject will:

• Develop research and analytic skills necessary to the study of family and community
• Refinement of skills in written and oral communication of research findings for both scholarly and professional audience
• Gain skills in independent and team-based research project undertakings

• Engage with development professionals and contribute knowledge gained in class to their existing projects and programs relating to family and/ or community