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Unit of study_

DVST6901: Development: Civil Society and Wellbeing

Semester 1, 2023 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

The post-1949 era of 'development' has seen a philosophical and policy shift from nation-building projects of 'modernisation' to the local responsiveness of market forces and civil society. An anthropological emphasis on cultural and local difference and a sociological understanding of state and civil society provide a critical perspective on both this history and current debates. Case studies raise questions of health, gender and childhood, project success or failure, and of the hopes and skepticism development evokes.

Unit details and rules

Unit code DVST6901
Academic unit Anthropology
Credit points 6
Prohibitions
? 
SSCP6900
Prerequisites
? 
None
Corequisites
? 
None
Assumed knowledge
? 

None

Available to study abroad and exchange students

Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator Ryan Schram, ryan.schram@sydney.edu.au
Type Description Weight Due Length
Small continuous assessment Seminar leadership roles
Assigned types of contribution to a productive seminar discussion
20% Multiple weeks 300 words equivalent total
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO5 LO4 LO3 LO2
Assignment First essay: Human emancipation in “actually existing democracies”
An essay arguing for an interpretation of an empirical case
30% Week 07
Due date: 16 Apr 2023 at 23:59
1500 words
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5
Assignment Second essay: Topic and scope tba
An essay involving independent reading on a topic of students' choice
30% Week 13
Due date: 26 May 2023 at 23:59
1500 words
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5
Online task Weekly writing assignments
Weekly writing on open questions about the class and assigned readings
20% Weekly 12 x 200 words
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO5 LO4 LO3 LO2

Assessment summary

See the class Canvas site for the full details of each of the assignments.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a High distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a Distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name

Mark range

Description

High distinction

85 - 100

 

Distinction

75 - 84

 

Credit

65 - 74

 

Pass

50 - 64

 

Fail

0 - 49

When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

 

For more information see sydney.edu.au/students/guide-to-grades.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

  • Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
  • After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

Work will be accepted late, but will lose points for every day that it is late without either a formal extension from the central student administration, or an informal extension from Ryan. Please keep in touch with Ryan throughout the semester about your work in the class.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website  provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.  

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

You may only use artificial intelligence and writing assistance tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator, and if you do use them, you must also acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section.

Studiosity is permitted for postgraduate units unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission.

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

WK Topic Learning activity Learning outcomes
Week 01 What makes this democracy?: Main reading: Wolin (2016). Seminar (2 hr) LO2 LO3
Week 02 What does emancipation mean?: Marx ([1843] 1978) Seminar (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3
Week 03 The cultural roots of Western liberal politics: Habermas ([1962] 1992); Fraser (1992); Ryan (1992); Peiss (1991); Warner (2002) Seminar (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO5
Week 04 Subaltern counterpublics: Main reading: Yeh (2012); Leonardo (2012). Other reading: Bonilla and Rosa (2015). Seminar (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5
Week 05 The dialectic of civility and community: Elyachar (2010) Seminar (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5
Week 06 Colonial subjects and national citizens: Ekeh (1975); Mamdani (2001); Cohn (1987) Seminar (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO5
Week 07 The others of citizenship: Chatterjee (1998); Chatterjee (2004); Chatterjee (2012); Chatterjee (2011) Seminar (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO5
Week 08 The limits of liberation: Main reading: Cohen (1997); Spence (2019). Seminar (2 hr) LO3 LO4 LO5
Week 09 The paradox of representation in an unequal society: Main reading: Forrest (2013); Forrest (2019). Seminar (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5
Week 10 Abolition deferred: Main reading: Shange (2019). Seminar (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5
Week 11 Collective autonomy in a multicultural state: Main reading: Asher (2017); Asher (2020). Other reading: Asher and Wainwright (2019). Seminar (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5
Week 12 New kinds of sovereignty, alternatives to citizenship: Main reading: Goodyear-Ka‘ōpua and Kuwada (2018); Goodyear-Ka‘ōpua (2017). Other reading: Davis (2021). Seminar (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5
Week 13 Is liberalism worth saving?: Main reading: Brown (2019). Seminar (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5

Attendance and class requirements

  • Attendance: According to Faculty Board Resolutions, students in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences are expected to attend 90% of their classes. If you attend less than 50% of classes, regardless of the reasons, you may be referred to the Examiner’s Board. The Examiner’s Board will decide whether you should pass or fail the unit of study if your attendance falls below this threshold.

  • Lecture recording: Most lectures (in recording-equipped venues) will be recorded and may be made available to students on the LMS. However, you should not rely on lecture recording to substitute your classroom learning experience.

  • Preparation: Students should commit to spend approximately three hours’ preparation time (reading, studying, homework, essays, etc.) for every hour of scheduled instruction.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

Asher, Kiran. 2017. “From Afro-Colombians to Afro-Descendants: The Trajectory of Black Social Movements in Colombia, 1990–2010.” In Beyond Civil Society: Activism, Participation, and Protest in Latin America, 199–218. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9780822373353-013.
———. 2020. “Fragmented Forests, Fractured Lives: Ethno-Territorial Struggles and Development in the Pacific Lowlands of Colombia.” Antipode 52 (4): 949–70. https://doi.org/10.1111/anti.12470.
Asher, Kiran, and Joel Wainwright. 2019. “After Post-Development: On Capitalism, Difference, and Representation.” Antipode 51 (1): 25–44. https://doi.org/10.1111/anti.12430.
Bonilla, Yarimar, and Jonathan Rosa. 2015. “#Ferguson: Digital Protest, Hashtag Ethnography, and the Racial Politics of Social Media in the United States.” American Ethnologist 42 (1): 4–17. https://doi.org/10.1111/amet.12112.
Brown, Wendy. 2019. In the Ruins of Neoliberalism: The Rise of Antidemocratic Politics in the West. New York: Columbia University Press. https://doi.org/10.7312/brow19384.
Chatterjee, Partha. 1998. “Community in the East.” Economic and Political Weekly 33 (6): 277–82. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4406377.
———. 2004. “Populations and Political Society.” In The Politics of the Governed: Reflections on Popular Politics in Most of the World, 27–51. New York: Columbia University Press.
———. 2011. “Lineages of Political Society.” In Lineages of Political Society: Studies in Postcolonial Democracy, 1–26. Columbia University Press.
———. 2012. “The Debate over Political Society.” In Re-Framing Democracy and Agency in India, edited by Ajay Gudavarthy, 305–22. London: Anthem Press. https://doi.org/10.7135/UPO9780857289469.015.
Cohen, Cathy J. 1997. “Punks, Bulldaggers, and Welfare Queens.” GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian & Gay Studies 3 (4): 437. https://doi.org/10.1215/10642684-3-4-437.
Cohn, Bernard S. 1987. “The census, social structure, and objectification in South Asia.” In An anthropologist among the historians and other essays, 224–54. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Davis, Sasha. 2021. “Beyond Obstruction: Blockades as Productive Reorientations.” Antipode, March, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1111/anti.12722.
Ekeh, Peter P. 1975. “Colonialism and the Two Publics in Africa: A Theoretical Statement.” Comparative Studies in Society and History 17 (1): 91–112. https://www.jstor.org/stable/178372.
Elyachar, Julia. 2010. “Phatic Labor, Infrastructure, and the Question of Empowerment in Cairo.” American Ethnologist 37 (3): 452–64. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1548-1425.2010.01265.x.
Forrest, M. David. 2013. “Consensus and Crisis: Representing the Poor in the Post-Civil Rights Era.” New Political Science 35 (1): 19–43. https://doi.org/10.1080/07393148.2012.754667.
———. 2019. “Legitimacy Without Mobilization? How Social Justice Organizations Defend Their Democratic Credentials.” Qualitative Sociology 42 (1): 71–92. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11133-018-9405-z.
Fraser, Nancy. 1992. “Rethinking the Public Sphere: A Contribution to the Critique of Actually Existing Democracy.” In Habermas and the Public Sphere, edited by Craig Calhoun, 109–42. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.
Goodyear-Ka‘ōpua, Noelani. 2017. “Protectors of the Future, Not Protestors of the Past: Indigenous Pacific Activism and Mauna a Wākea.” South Atlantic Quarterly 116 (1): 184–94. https://doi.org/10.1215/00382876-3749603.
Goodyear-Ka‘ōpua, Noelani, and Bryan Kamaoli Kuwada. 2018. “Making ’Aha: Independent Hawaiian Pasts, Presents & Futures.” Daedalus 147 (2): 49–59. https://doi.org/10.1162/DAED_a_00489.
Habermas, Jürgen. (1962) 1992. “The Public Sphere in the World of Letters in Relation to the Public Sphere in the Political Realm.” In The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere: An Inquiry Into a Category of Bourgeois Society, edited by Thomas McCarthy, translated by Thomas Burger, 51–57. London: Polity Press.
Leonardo, Micaela Di. 2012. “Grown Folks Radio: U.S. Election Politics and a ‘Hidden’ Black Counterpublic.” American Ethnologist 39 (4): 661–72. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1548-1425.2012.01386.x.
Mamdani, Mahmood. 2001. “Beyond Settler and Native as Political Identities: Overcoming the Political Legacy of Colonialism.” Comparative Studies in Society and History 43 (04): 651–64.
Marx, Karl. (1843) 1978. “On the Jewish question.” In The Marx-Engels reader, edited by Robert C. Tucker, 26–52. New York: Norton. http://archive.org/details/marxengelsreader00tuck.
Peiss, Kathy. 1991. “Going Public: Women in Nineteenth-Century Cultural History.” American Literary History 3 (4): 817–28. https://www.jstor.org/stable/489891.
Ryan, Mary. 1992. “Gender and Public Access: Women’s Politics in Nineteenth-Century America.” In Habermas and the Public Sphere, edited by Craig J. Calhoun, 259–88. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.
Shange, Savannah. 2019. Progressive dystopia: abolition, anthropology, and race in the new San Francisco. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press. https://doi.org/10.1215/9781478007401.
Spence, Lester K. 2019. “Live and Let Die: Rethinking Secondary Marginalization in the 21st Century.” Souls 21 (2-3): 192–206. https://doi.org/10.1080/10999949.2019.1697152.
Warner, Michael. 2002. “Publics and Counterpublics.” Public Culture 14 (1): 49–90.
Wolin, Sheldon S. 2016. “Fugitive Democracy.” In Fugitive Democracy: And Other Essays, 100–114. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1q1xt0b.9.
Yeh, Rihan. 2012. “Two Publics in a Mexican Border City.” Cultural Anthropology 27 (4): 713–34. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23360323.

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. Understand the main issues and debates within the study of citizenship, civil society, and the public sphere.
  • LO2. Understand the difference between and be able to identify normative claims and empirical claims, and the respective roles of each as part of rigorous inquiry into a topic.
  • LO3. Be able to take a position on an open question, either normative or empirical, and to draw on several types of scholarly inquiry to develop an argument for one's position.
  • LO4. Be able to bridge divides among disciplinary paradigms and modes of inquiry to apply the results of empirical research to a critique of theory.
  • LO5. Understand and take a position on the role of normative inquiry and empirical research in the critique of dominant ideologies in the wider society

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1 Depth of disciplinary expertise

Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.

GQ2 Critical thinking and problem solving

Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.

GQ3 Oral and written communication

Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.

GQ4 Information and digital literacy

Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.

GQ5 Inventiveness

Generating novel ideas and solutions.

GQ6 Cultural competence

Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.

GQ7 Interdisciplinary effectiveness

Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.

GQ8 Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity

An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.

GQ9 Influence

Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes Graduate qualities
GQ1 GQ2 GQ3 GQ4 GQ5 GQ6 GQ7 GQ8 GQ9

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

This unit has been redesigned to address new topics as part of the Masters of Social Justice program.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.