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 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. The first part of the module, which runs throughout Term One, introduces students to some key principles in Social Anthropology, including the ethnographic method; comparison, reflexivity, and positionality; the culture concept; kinship and social organisation; the individual and society; personhood, gender, and the body; nature, culture, and environment; history, colonialism, and decolonization; and anthropology in the Anthropocene. In Term Two, the module turns to focus on defining thematic forms of social anthropological inquiry, including religion and ritual; kinship and family; economy and exchange; and power, politics, and identity. 

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 
	
	
	Individual and society 
	
	
	Personhood, gender, and the body 
	
	
	Nature, culture, and environment 
	
	
	Anthropology in the Anthropocene 
	

	Religion and ritual 
	
	
	Economy and exchange 
	
	
	Power, politics, and identity 
	
	
	History, colonialism, and decolonization 
	
Learning Outcomes

 


	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;   
	
	
	Knowledge of the ethnographic method and the ways in which ethnographic evidence is marshalled to produce and support anthropological arguments;   
	

	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 basic theories and concepts of social anthropology;  
	
	
	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 text 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. 
 