Module ANTH3181: REGIONAL STUDIES

Department: Anthropology

ANTH3181: REGIONAL STUDIES

Prerequisites

• Political & Economic Organization (ANTH2051) OR Kinship & Belief Systems (ANTH2041).

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• This module develops student's interest in and understanding of the cultures of one or more selected regions: Latin America, Mediterranean, Middle East, Northern Europe, Pacific, South Asia, Caribbean, South East Asia, or other regions as reflect staff specialisation.
• It explores major theoretical issues raised by anthropologists studying the region.
• A regionally-based approach that seeks to complement the thematic knowledge gained in other modules.

Content

• The anthropological study of regions explores several key themes, methods and concepts drawn from the following: ethno-history and impacts of colonialisation, migration etc.
• ethno-linguistics.
• cultural concepts (religion, myths, time, space, aesthetics, property, etc.).
• social structures (kinship, domestic, leadership, social ranking, class, ethnicity, nationalism, etc).
• material culture (indigenous, tourist arts, archaeology, etc.).
• ecology (cultural, social, and biological adaptations).
• contributions to anthropological practice (theory, methodology, comparative, etc.).
• The module will cover classic ethnographies and current research.

Learning Outcomes

• Factual Material: Apply relevant anthropological concepts to specific regional material.
• Have acquired an overview of a wide range of societies, cultural influences and historical processes within selected regions.
• Gained a critical knowledge of a selection of ethnographic monographs in relation to relevant anthropological theory.

• Knowledge of a region of the world which is unfamiliar to most students.
• Gain an anthropological perspective and understanding of some of the many important issues which effect specific regions.
• Retrieve, sift and select information from a nuanced reading of regional literature.
• Plan, undertake and report a bibliographically-based regionally focussed assignment.
• Apply key anthropological theories and concepts to the analysis of other cultures.

• Structure and communicate ideas effectively from oral, visual and written sources.
• Plan work schedules and management of time.
• Participate constructively in group discussions.
• Work independently and be self-reliant.
• Find information by using bibliographical, visual and electronic sources.
• Assess the relevance and importance of the ideas of others.

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

• Teaching is via lectures and seminars.
• Lectures provide a traditional method of communicating not only fact but clear understandings of process and the relationship between issues.
• They are used for the primary delivery of material in regional studies, along with videos and discussions and associated seminar topics.
• The formal components of the module use a range of teaching modes and methods, within an integrated framework to contribute to the intended learning outcomes as listed above.
• The module benefits from a balance between lectures and seminars, geared to the specific needs of the material.
• The lectures and seminars are carefully integrated.
• Audio-visual aids (videos, slides, summaries and diagrams on overhead projection sheets etc.) are used where appropriate.
• The informal components of the module utilise a variety of methods, including posting course documents and information on DUO, seminar presentations and associated oral discussions.
• Lectures will cover topics relevant for providing students with an understanding of theories currently available for the study of regions.
• Lectures provide a traditional method of communicating not only fact but clear understandings of process and the relationship between issues.
• They are used for the primary delivery of material in regional studies because they allow clear transmission of information in an active learning environment where students can question and seek clarification.
• Lectures introduce students to issues, structure the subject matter and provide a grounding in principal issues so they can progress to further learning and study.
• Lectures provide the framework for analysis and relevant background, theoretical and/or historical information, and are used to assist in the assimilation of technically demanding or conceptually difficult material.
• Seminars provide an opportunity for students to discuss a series of topics and to make oral presentations.
• Difficult, sensitive and unresolved issues can all be approached successfully through discussion in seminars.
• Seminars will cover topics relevant to the content of the module.
• Seminars imply a higher degree of student involvement and teach subject-specific and generic skills.
• For anthropology students this medium cannot simply be replaced by texts or websites, though both are important adjuncts.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

X2 Essay Outlines with feedback.

■ 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