Course syllabus
Subject and Catalogue Number: Course Name
SEMESTER 2, 2018
15 points
Course Convenor:
Susanna Tnka
Teacher:
Alex Pavlotski
Course delivery format:
As outlined on SSO.
Course Overview:
Anthropology Today will introduce you to some of the key contemporary issues and debates that anthropologists are engaged in. This subject will contextualise the discipline of anthropology in the wider world, connecting anthropological practice to technological, political and ethical realities of contemporary life. In this course, through the use of case study and anthropological theory, we will look at digital technologies, working in the city, organizational ethnographies and the role in of the anthropologist in the public sphere. By nature of the discipline, anthropologists are constantly in contact with the world around them. We take our experiences home and use them as data, but our relationships with the world is always more complex than objective observation. Our work extends beyond the academy into public and political life. This subject will consider some of the ways in which ethnographers deal with the multitude of loyalties that our fieldwork engenders in the world today.
The Objectives of this course are:
- To provide students with an understanding of the way anthropological ideas can be applied to issues in the contemporary world.
- To introduce students to the various disciplinary ideas around digital ethnographies and spaces, urban, organizational and design applications and ethnical and practical views on public engagement.
- To develop a more reflexive anthropological position on these issues for future study, research and workplace use.
- To be able to communicate anthropological ideas in a professional and public setting.
Assessment Summary:
1. Communications pitch and concept report (15% of final grade): 500 – 800 word report focused on a case study analysed through anthropological theoretical framing. A visual mind-map is also required from stage 3 students.
2. Communications plan (15% of final grade) 500 – 800 word comms plan outlining a digital method of communication for anthropological content to a popular audience. Stage 3 students must provide a 300 – 500 word distributions plan and promotional content.
3. Multimedia Content piece (30% of final grade) 1000 – 1500 word or equivalent multimedia piece communicating an academic anthropological idea to the general public. Stage three students must provide 300 – 500 word iteration report.
4. Critical essay (40% of total grade) 3000 word academic paper critically assessing a key concept explored in the course. Questions will be set in tutorials.
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Workload and deadlines for submission of coursework:
The University of Auckland's expectation is that students spend 10 hours per week on a 15-point course, including time in class and personal study. Students should manage their academic workload and other commitments accordingly. Deadlines for coursework are set by course convenors and will be advertised in course material. You should submit your work on time. In extreme circumstances, such as illness, you may seek an extension but you may be required to provide supporting information before the assignment is due. Late assignments without a pre-approved extension may be penalised by loss of marks – check course information for details.
Course summary:
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