Power, Ideology and Inequality (ANTH30005)

Undergraduate level 3Points: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)

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Overview

Availability
Semester 1
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What sorts of inequalities are intensifying in the contemporary world? What dynamics are producing those intensifications? And how have anthropologists historically conceptualized the inequalities with which they gain firsthand experience through long-term fieldwork? Growing numbers of political and economic anthropologists are committed to exploring the ideological and material means by which systems of inequality are created, sustained, misrecognized, and challenged. Drawing principally on Marxist anthropology, post-structuralism and post-colonialism, this subject looks cross-culturally to explore the interrelationships between diverse forms and sources of power, the roles of colonialism and corporate globalization in configuring and sustaining local relations of inequality, and the rise of resistance movements that explicitly challenge exclusions based on class, gender, and ethnicity. Special attention will be paid to the effects of multinational corporations on local power relations and patterns of inequality throughout the world via brand marketing, legal reform, and corporate social responsibility. Case studies will be drawn from Latin America, North America, Africa, Australia, and Southeast Asia.

Intended learning outcomes

On completion of this subject students should:

  • Have a thorough understanding of the way in which anthropologists have approached the study of political organisation in a range of cultural contexts;
  • Have critically and comparatively examined anthropological theories about the persistence of inequality in communities throughout the world from Latin America to Africa;
  • Have acquired knowledge of the interplay between domination and resistance in the context of colonial and post-colonial states;
  • Have an appreciation of the ways in which the practices of multinational corporations are shifting local power relations and reconfiguring patterns of domination in the contemporary world;
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the diverse contexts in which political anthropologists have developed their theories of power, difference, and inequality;
  • Be able to communicate in a variety of written and oral formats and to collaborate effectively in groups with people whose disciplinary and cultural backgrounds may differ from their own.

Last updated: 14 March 2025

Eligibility and requirements

Prerequisites

None

Corequisites

None

Non-allowed subjects

None

Recommended background knowledge

Knowledge gained in completing one of the following subjects is recommended but not essential.

Code Name Teaching period Credit Points
ANTH10001 Anthropology: Studying Self and Other
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
ANTH20001 Keeping the Body in Mind
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
ANTH20007 Working with Value
Not available in 2023
 12.5
ANTH20011 Ethnic Nationalism and the Modern World
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
ANTH20012 Self, Culture and Society
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
ANTH20008 Anthropology of Gender and Sexuality
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
SOTH20002 Classical Sociological Theory
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5

Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)

The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.

Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home

Last updated: 14 March 2025

Assessment

DescriptionTimingPercentage

An essay

  • 1500 words
Mid semester40%

A research essay

  • 2500 words
During the examination period60%
Hurdle requirement: Students must attend a minimum of 75% of tutorials in order to pass this subject. All pieces of written work must be submitted to pass this subject. Regular participation in tutorials is required.Throughout the teaching periodN/A

Additional details

Note: Assessment submitted late without an approved extension will be penalised at 10 marks per working day. In-class tasks missed without approval will not be marked.

Last updated: 14 March 2025

Dates & times

  • Semester 1
    Principal coordinatorRebekah Plueckhahn
    Mode of deliveryOn Campus (Parkville)
    Contact hours1x 1.5 hour lecture and 1x 1 hour tutorial per week for 12 weeks.
    Total time commitment170 hours
    Teaching period27 February 2023 to 28 May 2023
    Last self-enrol date10 March 2023
    Census date31 March 2023
    Last date to withdraw without fail 5 May 2023
    Assessment period ends23 June 2023

    Semester 1 contact information

    rebekah.plueckhahn@unimelb.edu.au

Time commitment details

170 hours

What do these dates mean

Visit this webpage to find out about these key dates, including how they impact on:

  • Your tuition fees, academic transcript and statements.
  • And for Commonwealth Supported students, your:
       -  Student Learning Entitlement. This applies to all students enrolled in a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP).
     

    Subjects withdrawn after the census date (including up to the ‘last day to withdraw without fail’) count toward the Student Learning Entitlement.

Last updated: 14 March 2025

Further information

Last updated: 14 March 2025