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I nformati on about the uni t

Wel come to: MCC386 Peopl e and Gl obal i sati on

Uni t descri pti on

This unit is part of the Media and Communication Degree at Murdoch University and is
available through Open University Australia. It is a recommended elective for students in
Development Studies and International Aid.

The unit provides students with an opportunity to apply theory from their programme of study
to important global issues. Students will rely on the latest information from government,
heath services, and NGO websites. Students are encouraged to bring computers and other
mobile devises to tutorials to access these sites. The unit provides the opportunity to apply
theory from their programme of study to important global issues.

This unit provides students with a global perspective. It explores the impacts of globalisation
practices on cultural and gender politics. The growth of international capitalism and,
especially since the early 1980s, its expansion beyond national boundaries has created a
greater degree of integration and interdependency between nations and national economies
than has ever been the case. We live in a global village, we have an international division of
labour, and the global consumer economy leaves few untouched. Global economic issues
have positive and negative impacts on cultures, poverty, health and the environment.
The unit thus addresses issues of cultural difference and culture clash, of cultural specificity,
cultural resistance and cultural transformation in response to globalisation. These issues are
explored through a series of topical examples, such as sex trafficking, HIV/AIDS, the
economic effects of transnational corporations, which foreground the connections between
gendered impacts and cultural politics. It also examines Gross National Happiness,
government policy of Bhutan, and now a U.N. millennium goal.


Prerequi si tes

You need to have completed the part one units of your degree. This unit is best studied in
your third year, as it requires established theoretical knowledge, research and writing skills.

Ai ms of the uni t

The broad aims of the unit are to:
1. Develop your understanding of the nature, impacts and implications of globalisation in
respect to gender and cultural relations.
2. Inform students of the life experiences and expectations of those we assume are
other to ourselves. In doing this, to recognise that we are all economically,
environmentally, socially bound together. It provides an opportunity to explore the
Murdoch Uni versi ty 5
assumptions, which underwrite our sense of the rest of the world and of other
people.
3. Provide students with the opportunity to apply the theory gained from their
programme of study to a range of contemporary global issues.
4. Understand the role of the media, in its many forms, for disseminating and retrieving
relevant information.
5. This unit serves to meet the Graduate Attribute for a Global Perspective, and
provides the opportunity to undertake and experience self-directed and self-managed
research.

Learni ng outcomes for the uni t

On successful completion of the unit you should be able to:

1. Understand the concept of globalisation and its unequal/gendered impacts and
implications for peoples lives.
2. Be more knowledgeable about a selection of issues confronting women, men and
children around the world, as international capitalism structures more and more of our
lives.
3. Have gained experience in the interpretation and use of statistical information, and its
integration with qualitative and ethnographic data.
4. Access the latest available online data from reliable government, NGO, health
websites and through library research.

Graduate attri butes devel oped i n the uni t

This unit will contribute to the development of the following Graduate Attributes.

1. Critical and creative thinking: The ability to collect, analyse, evaluate information, and
solve problems by thinking clearly, critically and creatively.
2. Independent and lifelong learning: A capacity to be a self directed learner and thinker,
and work independently.
3. Social justice: An acknowledgement of and respect for equal opportunity, individual
and civic responsibility, other cultures and times, and an appreciation of cultural
diversity.
4. Global perspective: An awareness of and respect for the social, biological, cultural
and economic interdependence of global life.
5. Interdisciplinarity: A capacity to acquire knowledge and understanding of fields of
study beyond a single discipline.