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Issue No. 154 | 27 September 2002 |
War On The Collective
Interview: Still Flying International: President Gas Politics: Australia: A Rogue State? Unions: Welfare Max Bad Boss: Welcome to Telstra! Health: Fat Albert: The Grim Reaper Satire: Iraq Pre-empts Pre-emptive Strike Poetry: A Man From the East And A Man From The West Review: The Sum Of All Fears
Murray�s Millions Dwarfs Workers Wages Rogue MP Faces Grassroots Backlash Harry Bridges Speaks from the Grave Councils Deny Multi-Lingual Workers Ansett Ticket Levy Not Reaching Workers International Shame for Aussie IR Sydney Trade Talks Face Backlash
Legends The Locker Room Bosswatch Awards Week in review Activists
Weapons of Destruction Tears From Tom Good Hearts
Labor Council of NSW |
News Activists Notebook
CONSUMERISM AND COUNTER-CONSUMERISM Wednesday 9 October, 6-9pm University of Technology Sydney, Broadway Campus, Building 3 (Bon Marche, cnr of Harris + Broadway), Floor 5, Room 510 Disabled Access. Refreshments available. Entry by donation ($10/$5). Enquiries: James Goodman, 95142714. Panel: Tim Connor (NikeWatch), Peter Lewis (BossWatch), Julia Murray (FairWear), Vicki Sentas (Midnight Star Social Centre), chair, David McKnight (Research initiative on International Activism) Thomas Frank is the author of 'One Market under God: Extreme Capitalism, Market Populism, and the End of Economic Democracy' and 'The Conquest of Cool: Business Culture, Counterculture, and the Rise of Hip Consumerism'. He is a founding editor of 'The Baffler', a magazine of cultural criticism (thebaffler.com). Hosted by the Research Initiative in International Activism (international.activism.uts.edu.au) and the Transforming Cultures Research Group (transforming.cultures.uts.edu.au) with the support of the Australian Centre for Public Communication (acpc.uts.edu.au), Australian Centre for Independent Journalism (acij.uts.edu.au), and the Sydney Social Forum (www.sydneysocialforum.org) ****************] UTS Social Inquiry Graduate Program Launch Friday 11 October 2002, 5.00-6.00pm Panel Discussion - 'Ideas in Social Change' Tom Morton - ABC Background Briefing, Broadcaster and Author Lynette Thorstensen - NSW Government Premiers Department, Director, Social Development and the Environment Program Damien Spry - Amnesty International, Media and Public Relations Coordinator Leah Godfrey - Western Sydney Community Forum, Executive Officer UTS Gallery - Building 6, Level 4 Harris Street, UTS City Campus Refreshments provided. Disabled access. RSVP Essential by 8 October 2002 Ph: 02 9514 2729 or email: [email protected] The launch will be immediately followed by the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Postgraduate Information Evening 6.00pm, Building 1 (Tower), Room 406. -------------------- Social Sciences As Never Before, by Colin Menzies 09/26/2002, Sydney Morning Herald, Copyright of John Fairfax Group Pty Ltd
With a plethora of postgraduate courses available at Australian universities it's hard to find one that's truly innovative. The University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), claims to have implemented a unique social-science curriculum with its social-inquiry courses. This year saw the introduction of a graduate certificate in social inquiry, which combines practical social research training with theoretical bases centring on sociology, politics, cultural studies and political economy. In 2003, UTS plans to introduce a postgraduate diploma and master of arts in social inquiry. The MA can be undertaken as coursework or a research degree. Dr James Goodman, a UTS lecturer and course co-ordinator for social inquiry, says the bulk of current graduate certificate students are seeking social-research skills. "It's not just teaching people concepts and theories, but actually there's a big practice component," he says. "At least half of the courses are practice-centred." The courses are also unusual in the extent of their interdisciplinarity which, he says, differs from what other universities do in this area. Goodman says many of the inquiries UTS has received for next year's masters degree by coursework have come from people who don't feel confident enough to do a masters by research. "They want to strengthen their research skills through the course as a stepping stone to further research," he says. One person considering the move to a masters degree is Teri Calder, who's now in the second semester of a part-time graduate certificate in social action and globalisation at UTS. She was accepted into the course on the strength of her years of experience in social action, as well as a previously gained diploma of journalism. Calder worked for Greenpeace for six years and now works part-time for Jubilee Australia, a non-government organisation (NGO) campaigning to cancel the debts of the world's 52 poorest countries. Calder says many NGOs aren't handling globalisation effectively. "One of the reasons I wanted to do the course was to get a better understanding of how global governance conditions work and be able to critique them in an intelligent way," she says. Calder sees the UTS course as an effective way to arm people for the challenges of a rapidly changing world. "I think that global deregulation, privatisation and the so-called free-trade corporate agenda are concentrating power and wealth into fewer and fewer hands. There's a need to critique and revise that structure." A postgraduate information day will be held at the Gallery at UTS's city campus on October 11 during which the new courses will be launched. More information on 9514 2300 -------------------- Rally For Truth A rally to draw attention to the truth about refugees and the threatened war on Iraq will be held Saturday 26 October. The Rally will commence at 12pm from Town Hall, in Sydney. Unionists are encouraged to attend the event which has already been endorsed by NSW Labor Council, the FSU, the AWMU, the CFMEU, Labor for Refugees, Children Out of Detention, Jews for Ethnic Tolerance, Refugee Action Committee, Free the Refugees Campaign and the Palm Sunday Committee.
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