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School of Sociology · ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences
This interdisciplinary course will introduce students to contemporary understandings of addiction and drug and alcohol use, from a socio-cultural perspective. It addresses the question of why addiction and drug use have such prominence as medical and social problems in contemporary Western cultures and provides a range of concepts and tools for understanding their significance. The course examines alcohol and drug use as socio-cultural practices which occur within specific social contexts. The course will also investigate the continued debates about 'what' addiction is and what these debates reveal about medical science and conceptions of health. The significance of gender, race, age and class in structuring patterns and experiences of drug use will be explored.
Written Paper 1, 2000 words
Learning outcomes 2, 3
Written Paper 2, 2000 words
Learning outcomes 1, 4
Class participation
Learning outcomes 5
130 hours of total student learning time made up from: a) 36 hours of contact over 12 weeks (recorded lecture, reading workshop and tutorial) b) 94 hours of independent student research, reading and writing. Other Information Co-taught with GEND2036
The prescribed reading for this course will be available on canvas. It will include texts from the disciplines of sociology, anthropology, history, critical public health, social medicine and gender studies.