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Drugs Across Cultures
Undergraduate | MAQ-ANTX1006 | 2021
Previously MAQ-ANTX106
Course information for 2021 intake
Sort through social and cultural issues surrounding legal and illegal drugs. Visit the front line of the war on drugs. Look at the physical, social and psychological features of addiction. Consider the economics of the pharmaceutical drug industry.
- Study method
- 100% online
- Assessments
- 100% online
- Entry requirements
- Prior study needed
- Duration
- 18 weeks
HECS-HELP and FEE-HELP available
Drugs Across Cultures
About this subject
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Demonstrate a basic understanding of the pharmacology of recreational drugs.
- Describe the physical, psychological and social aspects of addiction..
- Show familiarity with anthropological and ethnographic approaches to drug use, including the ritual and symbolic aspects of drug use.
- Describe the impact of broad social, political, and economic forces on drug use and on social perceptions of drugs, including how social perceptions of drugs are influenced by gender, class, and ethnicity.
- Identify the influence of local, regional, and global factors on drug production and distribution.
- Apply anthropological knowledge to real world issues and clarify your own position on drugs to be able to make informed decisions about drug policy.
- A week-by-week guide to the topics you will explore in this subject will be provided in your study materials.
Using anthropological and ethnographic studies, this unit focuses mainly on the social and cultural contexts of drug use, both legal and illegal. Topics include: the international traffic in opium/heroin and cocaine in the Golden Triangle of mainland South-East Asia and in South America and the way this traffic inter-meshes with regional politics and local tribal, peasant and commercial systems of production and exchange; the social history of drugs in the USA, UK and Australia; youth culture and drugs in the West; AIDS and intravenous drug use; addiction and treatment; drugs and the law; the global political economy of pharmaceuticals, particularly contraceptives, erectile dysfunction drugs, and antiretrovirals in the age of AIDS; and the placebo effect. Students will learn to appreciate the complex ways that drug use is shaped by cultural, historical, economic, and political factors on a global scale. This unit also examines psychological theories of addiction and the neurology of drug use. All enrolment queries should be directed to Open Universities Australia (OUA): see www.open.edu.au
- Mid-semester quiz (20%)
- Final Exam (40%)
- Weekly Quizzes (40%)
For textbook details check your university's handbook, website or learning management system (LMS).
This research-intensive university in north-western Sydney offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. With over 44,000 current students, Macquarie has a strong reputation for welcoming international students and embracing flexible and convenient study options, including its partnership with Open Universities Australia.
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- QS Ranking 2024:
- 10
- Times Higher Education Ranking 2024:
- 10
Entry requirements
Equivalent subjects
You should not enrol in this subject if you have successfully completed any of the following subject(s) because they are considered academically equivalent:
MAQ-ANT110 (Not currently available)
MAQ-ANTX106 (Not currently available)
Others
NCCW (pre-2020 units): ANT110, ANTH106, ANTX106
NCCW (2020 and onwards): ANTH1006 Drugs Across Cultures
Additional requirements
- Other requirements -
Students who have an Academic Standing of Suspension or Exclusion under Macquarie University's Academic Progression Policy are not permitted to enrol in OUA units offered by Macquarie University. Students with an Academic Standing of Suspension or Exclusion who have enrolled in units through OUA will be withdrawn.
Study load
- 0.125 EFTSL
- This is in the range of 10 to 12 hours of study each week.
Equivalent full time study load (EFTSL) is one way to calculate your study load. One (1.0) EFTSL is equivalent to a full-time study load for one year.
Find out more information on Commonwealth Loans to understand what this means to your eligibility for financial support.
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