ETHN101 Cultural Traditions of Asia

10 cp
Prerequisites Nil
Teaching Organisation 3 hours per week for 12 weeks or equivalent of lectures, tutorials and document workshops.

This unit introduces students to the fundamental and religious issues important for studies of Asia. The unit examines the main central forms of Asia before Western impact. Students will investigate various usages of the term “Asia” and the diversity of Asia’s principal regional physiographical, climatic and land use patterns. In at least two of the three regions, the students will examine the development and impact of major religious forces such as Animism, ancestor worship, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism and Jainism; major social constructions such as gender, family, village, caste and tribe; major philosophical forces such as Confucianism and Taoism, and major cultural developments such as the rise of the pan–Indian civilisation.
Note: Choice of cultural forces and social structures must be appropriate to the regions selected for study.

 

ETHN105 Social Transformations in Asian Societies since 1850

10 cp
Prerequisites Nil
Teaching Organisation 3 hours per week for 12 weeks or equivalent of lectures, tutorials and document workshops.

In at least two of the following three regions (South, Southeast and East Asia), students will briefly survey the pre–colonial political and economic organisation of selected states. The processes of industrialisation, urbanisation and ‘modernisation’ will be examined as catalysts leading to movements of social and cultural change. Case studies of social and cultural change will be selected from the following: peasant militancy, religious reform movements, women’s movements, class formation, growth of national identities, ‘transmigration’, movements amongst or against minorities and indigenous peoples, the rise of the middle classes and consumerism.

 

ETHN106 Discovering Australia

10 cp
Prerequisites Nil
Teaching Organisation 3 hours per week for 12 weeks or equivalent.
This unit will encourage students to respond with sensitivity, flexibility and responsibility to their changing environment. Issues include the evolution of the Australian continent, Aboriginal relationship to the land, European exploration and exploitation of resources, pests, the environmental impact of urbanisation and industrialisation, literary and artistic portrayals of the landscape, ecotourism, the spirit of place and Australian cultural and social identities.

 

ETHN107 Australian Society

10 cp
Prerequisites Nil
Teaching Organisation 3 hours per week for 12 weeks or equivalent of lectures, workshops and tutorials.

This unit is designed to enable the student to gain greater knowledge, appreciation and awareness of the structure, social origins and diversity of Australian society and to develop analytical and interpretive skills in understanding contemporary Australia. It includes topics such as: demography, class, ethnicity, gender and family, crime and deviance, health, schooling, beliefs, technology and leisure.

 

ETHN108 Indigenous Lifestyles Past and Present

10 cp
Prerequisites Nil
Teaching Organisation This unit is taught in the distance education mode and is presented in two parts. Part one consists of 12 topics presented over 12 weeks. There will be a new module (topic) every week. Each module consists of required reading, outcomes, key terms, summary or required reading and an assessment item. Part two consists of residential school sessions.

This unit explores the main elements common to traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, whilst not losing sight of the variety amongst and dynamic change within those cultures. Towards the end of this unit topics concerning 'contact and settlement' will be introduced to enable the smooth transition into the next compulsory Cultural Studies unit ETHN219 Post Contact Indigenous History.

 

ETHN201 Asian Literatures of Social Comment

10 cp
Prerequisites 1 Asian Studies unit at introductory 100-level
Teaching Organisation 3 hours per week for 12 weeks or equivalent.

This unit complements the cultural sections of the course Screen Studies in Asian Cultures and The Arts in Asian Cultures. The unit builds upon the broad outline of cultural studies begun in the introductory units. Students are introduced to modern Asian literatures in translation within a number of selected national case studies, (eg India, Japan, China). Through the examination of a number of different genres, including those forms distinctive to Asia, the unit will elucidate the social importance and social significance of literature and major literary trends. Having a contemporary focus, the unit will also provide a historical base to reveal the transformation in style and social concern during recent history.

 

ETHN202 Australia and Asia

10 cp
Prerequisites Asian Studies major/minor: 1 Asian Studies unit at introductory 100-level
Australian Studies major/minor: 1 Australian Studies unit at introductory 100-level.
Teaching Organisation 3 hours per week for 12 weeks or equivalent of lectures and workshops.
Contemporary issues in Australian–Asian relations are examined via selected case studies. The context in which these case studies are immersed will be established by an initial brief geographic survey of the region and by a subsequent examination of the recent impact of industrialisation, globalisation and westernisation on the established social and cultural mores of some Asian societies.

 

ETHN203 Australian Domestic Architecture

10 cp
Prerequisites 1 Australian Studies unit at introductory 100-level
Teaching Organisation 3 hours per week for 12 weeks or equivalent of lectures, seminars and inspections of buildings associated with distinct architectural styles.

The built environment represents icons of society. To interpret this landscape we must comprehend the underpinning values of the then contemporary society. Architectural styles and the images they incorporate can be interpreted to provide a better understanding of the built environment of the past. This unit, in addition to examining the features of architectural stylism from 1789 to modernism, attempts to interpret the meanings conveyed by those styles. In essence, architecture reflects the spirit of the age. It is a mirror of society’s value systems and attitudes.

 

ETHN205 Gender in Asian Cultures

10 cp
Prerequisites Asian Studies major/minor: 1 Asian Studies unit at introductory 100-level
Gender Studies minor: 1 Gender Studies unit at introductory 100-level
Teaching Organisation 3 hours per week for 12 weeks or equivalent.

This unit builds upon the foundation of the introductory units with the aim of providing specific knowledge about the construction of gender in a variety of Asian cultures. An interdisciplinary approach is adopted.

 

ETHN206 Indonesian Society and Culture

10 cp
Prerequisites 1 Asian Studies unit at introductory 100-level
Teaching Organisation 3 hours per week for 12 weeks or equivalent of lectures, tutorials, workshops and seminars.

This unit explores a range of concepts which organise social life in Indonesia today. The historical origins in relation to concepts of hierarchy, status, power and duty will be explored.

 

ETHN207 International Developments in Contemporary Asia

10 cp
Prerequisites 1 Asian Studies unit at introductory 100-level
Teaching Organisation 3 hours per week for 12 weeks or equivalent of lectures, tutorials and document workshops.

This unit is an exploration of international relations with an Asian focus. The unit examines issues of contemporary concern to the nations of Asia with regard to security and economic development and social affairs.

 

ETHN208 Migration in the Asia–Pacific Region

10 cp
Prerequisites Asian Studies major/minor: 1 Asian Studies unit at introductory 100-level
Sociology major: SOCI102 and SOCI103 Introduction to Sociology A and B
Teaching Organisation 3 hours per week for 12 weeks or equivalent.

A case study approach is used wherever possible to enable students to inquire into and develop knowledge of the following content areas: Types of population movements and causes; implications and consequences for nation states, and theoretical perspectives of social conflict and inequality in receiving nations, eg the formation of ethnic minorities; contract labour as an unprotected and unorganised form of employment; and the marginalisation, subordination and exploitation of immigrants.

 

ETHN209 Northeast Asian Societies and Change

10 cp
Prerequisites 1 Asian Studies unit at introductory 100-level
Teaching Organisation 3 hours per week for 12 weeks or equivalent.

This unit provides the contemporary focus for a specific Northeast Asian case. It will build upon the broad knowledge of Asia from the introductory units by providing an interdisciplinary-based focus on issues of relevance to a number of contemporary Northeast Asian nations. Topics studied include: modernisation and development; health and life–style; education planning; industrial relations; environmental planning; notions of modernity across cultures; challenges of socialism.

 

ETHN211 Screen Studies in Asian Cultures

10 cp
Prerequisites 1 Asian Studies unit at introductory 100-level
Teaching Organisation 3 hours per week for 12 weeks or equivalent.

Through a number of selected national case studies, students examine: history of film–making; financing and political intervention; culture of ‘film–going’; participation in the global film industry; television as a producer of meaning; technology and satellites: Western invasion; performance and theatrical technique.

 

ETHN212 Southeast Asian Societies and Change

10 cp
Prerequisites 1 Asian Studies unit at introductory 100-level
Teaching Organisation 3 hours per week for 12 weeks or equivalent.

This unit provides the contemporary focus for a specific Southeast Asian case. The unit will build upon the broad knowledge of Asia from the introductory units by providing an interdisciplinary, based focus on issues of relevance to a number of contemporary Southeast Asian nations. Topics studied include: modernisation and capitalist development; health and life–style; education planning; industrial relations, environmental planning; notions of modernity across cultures.

 

ETHN213 The Arts in Asian Cultures

10 cp
Prerequisites 1 Asian Studies unit at introductory 100-level
Teaching Organisation 3 hours per week for 12 weeks or equivalent of lectures, tutorials and document workshops.
A brief study of the Arts in a selected Asian cultural context, past and present. It is primarily investigative, requiring some research skills, but it does not necessarily require Fine Arts, Musicological, Dance or Drama skills of a high order.

 

ETHN215 Japanese Society and Cultures

10 cp
Prerequisites 1 Asian Studies unit at introductory 100-level
Teaching Organisation 3 hours per week for 12 weeks or equivalent.

This unit provides an introduction to the historical and socio–cultural sources of modern Japanese culture and society. The unit will trace the development of Japan from pre–modern to modern times.

 

ETHN217 Economic Development in Asia

10 cp
Prerequisites 1 Asian Studies unit at introductory 100-level
Teaching Organisation 3 hours per week for 12 weeks or equivalent.

Students are introduced to the main features of capitalist transformation and development in the Asian region. The unit will examine the problems and prospects for further regional growth through the manipulation of basic economic and political data and the examination of detailed national case studies.

 

ETHN218 Asian Studies – Independent Study

10 cp
Prerequisites 1 Asian Studies unit at introductory 100-level
Teaching Organisation 3 hours per week for 12 weeks or equivalent of workshops and seminars.

This unit will be offered on the advice of Head of School. It aims to develop a student’s research and writing skills in Asian Studies.

 

ETHN219 Post Contact Indigenous History

10 cp
Prerequisites ETHN108 Indigenous Lifestyles Past and Present
Teaching Organisation This unit is taught in the distance education mode and is presented in two parts. Part one consists of 12 topics presented over 12 weeks. There will be a new module (topic) every week. Each module consists of required reading, outcomes, key terms, summary or required reading and an assessment item. Part two consists of residential school sessions.

This unit is concerned with the history of Indigenous peoples from 1788 to the present, (concentrating on how Indigenous communities have responded to invasion and settlement and adapted their cultures), and an exploration of contemporary issues.
This unit will also focus on developing students’ research skills in conjunction with the following objectives:

1. knowledge of the impact of colonisation on traditional cultures; and
2. understanding of changes to cultures and lives of Indigenous people under various government policies and contemporary issues and aspirations.

 

ETHN301 Australian Studies: Independent Study (3rd year only)

10 cp
Prerequisites 1 Australian Studies unit at introductory 100-level
Teaching Organisation Independent study under the guidance of a supervisor.

This unit allows students, who are majoring in Australian Studies, an opportunity to pursue a particular interest within Australian Studies and to study it in considerable depth. Historical, comparative, and sociological perspectives will provide the methodology for investigation. Only students in their final year will be considered for this unit.