Undergraduate Programme and Module Handbook 2021-2022 (archived)
Module ANTH3937: Anthropology Art and Experience
Department: Anthropology
ANTH3937: Anthropology Art and Experience
Type | Open | Level | 3 | Credits | 10 | Availability | Available in 2021/22 | Module Cap | None. | Location | Durham |
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Prerequisites
- ANTH2051 Politics and Economics OR ANTH2161 Kinship and Religion
Corequisites
- None
Excluded Combination of Modules
- None
Aims
- To introduce students to classic and contemporary anthropological debates around art and material culture
- To develop an understanding of concepts such as aesthetics, agency and style from the perspective of social anthropology.
- To understand how anthropological approaches to art and material culture can further our understanding of social processes, notions of the person and of time.
- To provide students with analytical tools to study anthropologically material and visual cultures.
Content
- The module deals with the social anthropology of art and material culture with a particular attention to ethnographic approaches that foreground how everyday social interactions are mediated, produced and transformed by systems of objects and images.
- The module will cover a range of subjects such as: primitivism and modernism, art as a category for experience, the agency of art objects, anthropological approaches to aesthetics and style, art and notions of time.
Learning Outcomes
Subject-specific Knowledge:
- At the end of the module, students will be able to:
- Demonstrate advanced levels of current knowledge and intensive understanding in social anthropology research.
- Deploy analytical skills specific to social anthropological understandings of art and material culture.
- Be competent in accessing and assimilating specialised research literature of an advanced nature.
Subject-specific Skills:
- In depth knowledge of the social anthropology of art and material culture, with emphasis on interpretation and comprehensive understanding of primary or secondary data.
Key Skills:
- Preparation and effective communication of research methods, data, interpretation and arguments in written form.
Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module
- Classes will integrate lecture, tutorial and practical components.
- Lecture elements will provide students with an outline of key knowledge and debates in the topic area, discuss the literature that students should explore, and provide relevant examples and cases studies.
- Tutorial elements will develop topics introduced in lectures and required reading to analyse aspects or case studies in greater depth and to prepare students for their summative assignment.
- Practical components will provide students with hands-on experience of the research.
- Student preparation and reading time will allow engagement with specific references in advance of tutorials and general and particular reading related to the assessment, which will be a written assignment (such as an essay or report).
- Summative assessment will be a 2500-word written piece where students will apply concepts and perspectives in social anthropology to relevant ethnographic and/or media materials related to art and material culture societies.
Teaching Methods and Learning Hours
Activity | Number | Frequency | Duration | Total/Hours | |
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Classes | 15 | Specified in module handbook | 1 | 15 | |
Preparation and Reading | 85 | ||||
Total | 100 |
Summative Assessment
Component: Coursework | Component Weighting: 100% | ||
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Element | Length / duration | Element Weighting | Resit Opportunity |
Assignment | 2500 words | 100% |
Formative Assessment:
500 word assignment
■ 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