Description
Module Content
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Social Anthropology is the comparative study of human society and culture. It focuses on investigating the everyday complexities of social life across diverse contexts at local, national, and global scales. This module introduces students to some of the methods, theories, and approaches used by social anthropologists in making sense of human socio-cultural diversity across the world. The course provides students with an introduction to a range of core concepts and ideas underpinning anthropological studies of socio-cultural life, and examines how ethnographic accounts enable anthropologists to make theoretical claims about the social and cultural world. Throughout the term, we will cover topics of central importance to Social Anthropology including the ethnographic method; comparison, reflexivity, and positionality; the culture concept; history, colonialism, and decolonization; kinship and social organisation; individual and society; personhood, gender, and embodiment, nature, culture, and environment; and anthropology in the Anthropocene. Ìý
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Indicative Topics
Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý ÌýThe module will cover the following topics, which may be subject to change depending on teaching staff, their academic research and the interests of the course.
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The ethnographic methodÌý
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Comparison, reflexivity, and positionalityÌý
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The culture conceptÌý
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Kinship and social organisationÌý
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Individual and societyÌý
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Personhood, gender, and embodiment
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Nature, culture, and environmentÌý
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Anthropology in the AnthropoceneÌý
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Economy and exchangeÌý
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Power, politics, and identityÌý
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History, colonialism, and decolonizationÌý
Learning Outcomes
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Students will gain a knowledge of the underlying concepts and principles associated with social anthropology, and an ability to evaluate and interpret these within the context of the field;ÌýÌýÌý
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Students will attain an understandingÌýof the ethnographic method and the ways in which ethnographic evidence is marshalled to produce and support anthropological arguments;ÌýÌýÌý
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Students will developmentÌýan ability to present, evaluate and interpret anthropological materials (both empirical and theoretical) in order to develop lines of argument and make sound judgments in accordance with basic theories and concepts in the field of social anthropology;ÌýÌý
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Transferable skill – to approach learning as an active agent, working with initiative and minimal supervision;ÌýÌýÌý
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Transferable skill – to think critically and consider claims made against the evidence available in orderÌýto develop one’s own view independently;ÌýÌý
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Transferable skill – to communicate in written text in an appropriate style with a clear narrative flow.Ìý
Teaching Delivery
Teaching for this module consists of a two-hour lecture and a one-hour tutorial per week. Tutorials are based on a discussion of set literature correlating with the lecture topic.Ìý
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Module deliveries for 2024/25 academic year
Last updated
This module description was last updated on 19th August 2024.
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