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 including the ethnographic method; comparison, reflexivity, and positionality; the culture concept; history, colonialism, and decolonization; kinship and social organisation; the individual and society; personhood, gender, and the body; 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 developments in academic research and the interests of the class:

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

Systematic knowledge of the underlying concepts and principles associated with Social Anthropology;
	Knowledge of the ethnographic method and the ways in which ethnographic evidence is marshalled to produce and support anthropological arguments;
	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; 
	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 and to develop one’s own view independently
	Transferable skill – to communicate in writing in an appropriate style with a clear narrative flow.
Teaching Delivery

A two-hour weekly lecture
	A one-hour weekly tutorial involving prior reading of required anthropological texts combined with discussion of themes correlating to the lecture topic.