Structure and Agency in Everyday Life

Subject ANTH90005 (2014)

Note: This is an archived Handbook entry from 2014.

Credit Points: 6.25
Level: 9 (Graduate/Postgraduate)
Dates & Locations:

This subject is not offered in 2014.

Time Commitment: Contact Hours: Intensive, 3 hours x 4, total 12 hours
Total Time Commitment:

60 hours

Prerequisites: None
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

Associate Prof John Fitzgerald

jlfitz@unimelb.edu.au

Subject Overview:

One of the most important battles in social science theory has been that between “sociocentrism” and “methodological individualism.” Do people act as they do because they are highly motivated individuals, or is the old excuse that “society made me do it” a catch-all explanation? Anthropologists and others in the social sciences have, over the past two decades, moved towards a “militant middle ground” in which the key concept is “practice”. These questions are important for our daily lives as well as for the development of anthropology and other social sciences; we will explore the concepts of practice, agency, function, and structure, and examine how these terms have been used and what kinds of advances and limitations they represent. In addition to “classic” anthropological texts, we will read some ethnographic illustrations of the key issues, using materials from many parts of the world (including Europe, Southeast Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa) and from a variety of intellectual traditions. We will ask why particular theoretical “takes” may have achieved scholarly popularity at specific times – in other words, how current political ideas affect the development of social theory. This subject will thus tackle some of the most fundamental issues in social theory, doing so from a specifically anthropological standpoint, and with a view to illuminating possible approaches to contemporary social problems.

Learning Outcomes:

To provide advanced intensive instruction in a topic or area of scholarship in the humanities, social sciences or creative arts. A student who completes this subject should have:

  • enhanced knowledge of the topic or area of scholarship taught in the module,
  • an ability to reflect upon their own research work in relation to the content of the module, and
  • enhanced engagement with leading-edge research in Arts today.
Assessment:
  • One 500-word essay proposal, due during the teaching period, 20%
  • One 2000-word essay, due within four weeks of completion of teaching, 80%
Prescribed Texts: None
Breadth Options:

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

Fees Information: Subject EFTSL, Level, Discipline & Census Date
Related Course(s): Ph.D.- Arts

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