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# Around the world in 13 weeks #

## Around the world in 13 weeks ##

Ryan Schram

October 31, 2018

ryan.schram@sydney.edu.au

Social Sciences Building 410 (A02)

Available at http://anthro.rschram.org/1002/13.2


## Global forces and cultural differences

* Capitalism
* Colonialism
* Global religions, e.g. Christianity and Islam
* transcultural discourses of conservation and sustainability
* global warming and its effects on local environments

## Capitalism is a culture

* Capitalism is a culture, not a space of "freedom."
* In a capitalist system, people must play the role of the individual.
* Capitalism creates illusions, e.g. commodity fetishism.

## The conjuncture of cultures

* No society exists in isolation; everyone lives in an intersection of
  two or more systems.
* Contemporary societies are all different, but we can understand them
  all as variations on the encounter of reciprocity and
  commodification.
	  - Efflorescence
	  - Tension, conflict, segregation
	  - Transformation
* Global forces are context for local cultural systems, and vice
  versa.
* This is not just true about global capitalism; we can apply the same
  perspective to any global movement, even climate change.
	  - Climate migration
	  - "Gone the bull of winter"
	  - The fantasy that indigenous people are wise prophets of sustainability


## The snake and the mongoose ##

Once upon a time there was a snake and a mongoose...

{{:snake.mongoose.jpg|}}

Many opposites - values, ideas, institutions - are not binary,
either-or. They are contradictions and they exist in an ambiguous
tension which is both a source of conflict but also creativity.


## Snake and mongoose ##

That is, contemporary life is defined by its contradictions. There are
co-present forces in tension, leading to conflict and also unexpected
side-effects.

* Globalization involves change in societies.
* Globalization allows people to recreate a coherent cultural order
  with new materials.

## Everything is mixed ##

Categories are not dichotomous; Many opposites are actually co-present.

* Tradition / modernity
* Developed / undeveloped
* Custom / rationality
* Gift / commodity
* Love / money

Each society, big or small, is also a microcosm of the whole world. 

## Majoring in anthropology 

### If you started in 2018

A major consists of 48 credit points (eight units) at three levels. The requirements for a major in anthropology are: 

* ANTH 1001 and 1002 (ANTH 1001 is also offered in the summer)
* Two 2000-level units (e.g. culture and development, medical anthropology, gender, religion) 
* Four 3000-level units (e.g. Indigenous Australians Today, The Social Production of Space)

### If you started before 2018

A major consists of 36 "senior" (2000-level and 3000-level units). These should include: 

* One senior unit from each of three types: regional (Southeast Asia, Indigenous Australia), thematic (medical anthropology, religion), and theoretical-methodological
* One 3000-level unit, typically either ANTH 3601 (contemporary theories) or ANTH 3602 (reading ethnography) 


## Honours in anthropology: Independent thinking and research 

Doing an honours year in anthropology is an opportunity to carry out an original project, working one on one with a supervisor. To qualify for honours entry, you need: 

* a credit average of 70 or better
* across 42 senior credit points of anthropology
* including ANTH3601 and ANTH3602
* (if you began your course in 2018) two majors 
* you need to be keen and have an idea for a project! (Discuss with the honours coordinator and potential supervisors!)

Now, for a special message about our world-renowned honours program in anthropology, here's the 2019 honours coordinator, Yasmine Musharbash! 

{{ :1002:anth_honours.pptx |Honours in anthropology, a guide for 2019}}


## References ##

Lacock, Hennie. 2013. Cobra and Mongoose. Caters New Agency. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/photo/2013-10/29/132841640_11n.jpg.

## A guide to the unit ##

{{page>1002guide}}