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Module Content

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.

Indicative Topics

The 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 method
• Comparison, reflexivity, and positionality
• The culture concept
• Kinship and social organisation
• The individual and society
• Personhood, gender, and embodiment
• Nature, culture, and environment
• Anthropology in the Anthropocene
• Economy and exchange
• Power, politics, and identity
• History, colonialism, and decolonization
• Nature, culture, and environment
• Anthropology in the Anthropocene

Learning Outcomes

• Students will gain a systematic 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;
• Students will attain an understanding of the ethnographic method and the ways in which ethnographic evidence is marshalled to produce and support anthropological arguments;
• Students will develop an 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 a range of theories and concepts in the field of social anthropology;ÌýÌý
• Students will gain a conceptual understanding that enables critical evaluation and interpretation of theoretical approaches and ethnographic debates at the forefront of the discipline, together with an ability to think critically about major disciplinary contributions;Ìý
• Transferable skill: to approach learning as an active agent, working with initiative and minimal supervision;
• Transferable skill: to think critically and consider claims made against the evidence available in order to develop one’s own view independently;
• Transferable skill: to communicate in written text in an appropriate style with a clear narrative flow.

Indicative 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.