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ANTH47030: Understanding Society and Culture

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Type	Open
Level	4
Credits	30
Availability	Not available in 2024/2025
Module Cap	None.
Location	Durham
Department	Anthropology

Prerequisites

None.

Corequisites

None.

Excluded Combinations of Modules

None.

Aims

To explore the history and some of the recent developments in the theory of socio-cultural anthropology
To enable students to assay critically theoretical debates in socio-cultural anthropology and to engage with them in their research
To enable students to understand how anthropological fieldwork is influenced by the researcher's theoretical orientation

Content

Selected issues in the theory of socio-cultural anthropology

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge:

Broad knowledge of selected issues in the theory of socio-cultural anthropology
Broad knowledge of the history of socio-cultural anthropology
An understanding of how anthropological fieldwork is influenced by the researcher's theoretical orientation

Subject-specific Skills:

To develop ability to formulate theoretically informed research aims
To develop ability to present an effective argument (both orally and in writing) that demonstrates an awareness of the complexity of selected theoretical issues

Key Skills:

Communication: students will be taught how to communicate clearly (both orally and in writing) their understanding of the material they have read
Improving their own learning and performance: students will learn to use a variety of web tools for searching the primary and secondary literature

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

Lectures: to introduce and provide an overview of each topic and associated literature.
Seminars: student-led discussions, facilitated by the tutor, based on weekly readings on anthropological theory.
Summative assessment: 5000-word critical review of history/debates within anthropological theory and its relationship with fieldwork.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Activity	Number	Frequency	Duration	Total
Seminars	9	4-5 per term	2 hours	18
Lectures	9	4-5 per term	1 hour	9
Preparation and Reading				273
Total				300

Summative Assessment

Component: Coursework		Component Weighting: 100%
Element	Length / Duration	Element Weighting	Resit Opportunity
Essay	2500 words	50
Essay	2500 words	50

Formative Assessment

Two 500 word essay plan (one in Michaelmas and one in Epiphany), outlining the key argument of the summative essay with indicative bibliography.

More information

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