Postgraduate Module Descriptor

ANTM101: Animals, Health and Healing

This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.

Module Aims

The aims of this module are:

  • to enable students to explore a wide range of anthrozoological interactions which relate to the health and well being of humans and/or nonhuman animals;
  • to engage in analytical cross-cultural comparison of the various ways in which humans think about and utilise nonhumans in biomedical and therapeutic contexts;
  • to engage in analytical cross-cultural comparison of the ways in which humans understand and treat the health and wellbeing of the nonhumans in their care;
  • to consider the process of self-medication (zoopharmacognosy) in human and nonhuman animals; and
  • to provide students with an opportunity to conduct their own empirical research and analysis.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here - you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills1. demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of key themes and issues relating to the utilisation of nonhuman animals in biomedical and therapeutic contexts;
2. demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of key themes and issues relating to the preventative, palliative and curative care of nonhuman animals in a range of cultural contexts;
3. demonstrate a critical awareness of the implications (benefits and limitations) of utilising nonhuman animals in biomedical and therapeutic contexts;
4. demonstrate a critical awareness of the implications of zoonotic disease in relation to the anthrozoological understandings of human-nonhuman relations, as well as the ethical implications of human-nonhuman coexistences;
5. demonstrate a critical awareness of the processes and implications of zoopharmacognosy in a range of nonhuman species;
Discipline-Specific Skills6. demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the potential and actual role of anthrozoology in helping to promote the welfare of human and nonhuman subjects;
7. demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of, and ability to critically assess a selection of key theoretical debates from anthropology and cognate disciplines surrounding human interactions with nonhumans in medical and therapeutic contexts;
8. apply a range of relevant theoretical models effectively in the critical analysis of case studies and/or empirical data;
Personal and Key Skills9. identify a coherent research question and conduct independent research to answer that question;
10. effectively communicate complex ideas in a clear, accessible and academic manner;
11. synthesise and critically analyse material from a wide range of sources;
12. present theoretically engaged and critically analytical research in accordance with the requirements of a peer-reviewed academic journal.