The Australian agricultural sector has undergone substantial change in recent decades. This is likely to continue apace. Family farms are restructuring, there is a greater use of technology and stronger vertical integration up and down the supply chain. Alongside this, consumers are becoming more attune to the environmental and social impacts of production processes, requiring industry to respond and demonstrate their sustainability credentials. More broadly, the regulatory and policy context for agriculture is becoming more complex as global, national and local political institutions overlap. This is further complicated by the increasing number of advocacy groups operating in the agri-food sector, and the impact of social media on the pace of media and political cycles.
This course provides a survey of these trends for those engaged in the agri-food sector and for the newcomer alike. The aim is to provide an understanding of Australian developments set against international trends, and informed by international research across relevant social science disciplines. The course will have a strong practical focus, with topics explored through case studies.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- Recognise the key trends in agricultural policy, politics and society from various perspectives.
- Independently apply relevant aspects of theories and methods/techniques to identify and investigate empirical contexts.
- Critically assess and evaluate the utility of relevant theories and methods.
- Produce written analytical material on a research topic.
- Present, discuss and critique their own work and those of others constructively.
Indicative Assessment
- Paper proposal (750 words) (20) [LO 1,2,3,4]
- Final Research paper (3000 words) (50) [LO 1,2,3,4]
- Literature review (750 words) (20) [LO 1,2,3,4]
- Workshop participation (10) [LO 5]
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
The expected workload will consist of approximately 130 hours throughout the semester including:
- Face-to face component which consist of 36 hours of contact over 12 weeks: combination of lecture, workshops and seminars and;
- Approximately 94 hours of self-study which will include preparation for lectures, presentations and other assessment tasks.
Students are expected to actively participate and contribute towards discussions.
Inherent Requirements
To be determined
Prescribed Texts
Reading list will be published onto Wattle.
Preliminary Reading
Students will be assigned published papers, reviews or directed to online resources as background to seminars, tutorials and workshops.
Assumed Knowledge
Graduate-level analytical, writing and communication skills
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 1
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2022 | $4440 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2022 | $6000 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
First Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3951 | 20 Feb 2023 | 27 Feb 2023 | 31 Mar 2023 | 26 May 2023 | In Person | N/A |
