Module ANTH3371: Cognitive Anthropology

Department: Anthropology

ANTH3371: Cognitive Anthropology

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• To develop a broad understanding of methods and theories in the field of cognitive anthropology.
• To acquire a detailed knowledge of a specific area of cognitive anthropology.
• To explore the synergies and tensions between psychology and anthropology, and integrate knowledge and approaches from both fields.
• To gain 'hands-on' experience of designing and carrying out psychological experiments and hypothesis-driven ethnographic fieldwork.
• To develop research design skills.

Content

• The anthropological critique of psychology.
• The cognitive science critique of cultural relativism.
• The relationship between anthropology and the cognitive sciences.
• Universal and variable features of human cognition across cultures.
• The relationship between perception and cognition in humans and other animals.
• The role of environmental, developmental and phylogenetic factors in cognition.
• Emotions, symbolism, intelligence, memory, learning and personality.
• Cognitive science of religion.
• Cognition of time and space.
• Experimental and ethnographic research paradigms.

Learning Outcomes

• Factual Material: students will learn about the key findings and controversies arising from the use of experimental and ethnographic methods to study cognition and cultural variation in humans and other animals, such as cultural differences with regard to co-operation and group identity, personality, learning, and emotions, the role of language in mediating concepts and perception of the world, the psychological basis of religious concepts and representations of time and space.
• Gain a better understanding of universals and differences in human thought, and the factors that account for them.
• Become familiar with the key methods and concepts of cognitive anthropology.
• Gain an understanding of the potentialities and challenges of conducting experiments in western and non-western settings, and in non-human animals.
• Quantitative and hypothesis-driven ethnographic methods.

• Gain new research skills in practical sessions on experimental methods and quantitative field research techniques.
• Apply these skills to devise a research project on a topic in cognitive anthropology that incorporates your own experimental design.
• Use academic literature effectively to evaluate and integrate different approaches to studying cognitive processes in different  cultures and species.
• Synthesise psychological and anthropological theory and methods.
• Structure and communicate ideas effectively using visual, bibliographic and electronic sources.

• Writing effective proposals.
• Integrating knowledge from different fields.
• Use information technology and associated computer programmes (graphics, web-pages, search engines, databases, powerpoint etc).
• Plan work schedules and manage time.
• Presentation skills.

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

• Teaching is via lectures, seminars and practicals.
• Lectures will cover key issues, controversies and findings in selected topics in cognitive anthropology. They will be used for the primary delivery of material because they allow clear transmission of information in an active learning environment where students can question and seek clarification.
• Lectures will be supported by seminars focusing on recommended readings related to the lecture topics. The seminars allow students scope for exploring and discussing material presented in the lecture and, in doing so, achieve a deeper understanding of the topic.
• Together, the lectures and seminars will provide a broad overview of the field of cognitive anthropology, and the intellectual foundations for students' individual projects.
• Students will gain 'hands-on' experience of designing and running psychological experiments and structured fieldwork methods through a series of practicals run by the course tutors.
• The practicals will include sessions on general research skills and proposal writing, as well as specialised sessions focusing on specific experimental and ethnographic paradigms.
• For their summative assessment, students will be required to submit a 2,500 word essay demonstrating their understanding of a topic in cognitive anthropology and a 2,500 word research proposal (which will be on the same topic). The proposal will include a detailed and realistic experimental design and/or ethnographic research strategy to test a specific hypothesis or set of hypotheses.
• Formative assessment will be based on performance in seminars and practicals, a class presentation of the experiment and proposal and a written precis submitted in Epiphany Term.
• An additional medium for tutorial discussion is asynchronous e-mail through module e-mail-lists.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Formative assessment will be based on performance in seminars and practicals, a presentation of their research design and a written precis, plus clinics for discussion of their research design.

■ 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