Module ANTH40130: SPECIAL FIELD IN ANTHROPOLOGY AND REGIONAL ANTHROPOLOGY

Department: Anthropology

ANTH40130: SPECIAL FIELD IN ANTHROPOLOGY AND REGIONAL ANTHROPOLOGY

Prerequisites

• None.

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• The aim of the module is to introduce students to the principal regions and specialisms in which staff are working. To study sociality and consciousness, gender and sexuality, ethnic conflict and Applied Anthropology and indigenous rights. To study the regions of Oceania, Africa, South Asia, continental Europe and the UK.

Content

• The module covers the principal regions of the world in which the department's staff are working, with reference to the department's research specialisms: Oceania, Africa, South Asia, continental Europe and the UK. It covers topics such as sociality and consciousness, gender and sexuality, ethnic conflict, applied anthropology and indigenous rights within the regions and provides comparisons.

Learning Outcomes

• By the end of the module students will have learned about the variety of academic debates and approaches in anthropology.
• The student will gain close acquaintance with studies on a specific ethnographic region, will learn and practise anthropology's comparative method in the context of closely related societies and cultures and examine theories and critiques of theory in particular.
• It will also provide students with knowledge of relevant areas of social and cultural theory pertaining to a special field of anthropolgical investigation.

• Advanced ability to test theories through their application to particular regions and current issues in anthropological research
• Advanced ability to relate a number of case studies in anthropological research to a wider field and critically to assess their contributions to that field
• Ability to relate the student's own research plans to recent work in the field
• Advanced appreciation of the distinction between understanding and explanation in anthropological analysis

• Advanced essay writing, using critical ability, to construct arguments that are logical and critically aware
• Advanced debate of complex issues in theory and method
• Advanced awareness of ethical issues in the application of theory and methods to the practical needs and the legal or moral rights of study communities

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Through a systematic course of directed reading, covering the main themes and major figures.
• Through seminars providing critical overviews of key sub-fields.
• Through the provision of regular opportunities to summarise and debate the themes in the context of seminars.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Special Field: Written seminar presentation with bibliography. You will receive formative feedback from your tutor at the seminar. Regional Focus: Written seminar presentation with bibliography. You will receive formative feedback from your tutor at the seminar.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University