Undergraduate Module Descriptor

ANT1009: Theories and Approaches in Anthropology

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

Module Aims

The aims of this module are to provide you with a foundation for anthropological analysis, to provide a theoretical structure and to introduce conceptual tools. It aims to give you the tools needed to approach critically a broad range of social and cultural phenomena, by asking different types of questions, such as: in whose interest is it, is there a group benefiting from this arrangement/ argument / representation? What is the perspective of the actors involved?

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 critical knowledge and reflection upon the development of anthropological theory and approaches;
2. show familiarity with a range of theoretical approaches and how they relate to each other and to other disciplines.
Discipline-Specific Skills3. show a developing capacity to recognise, describe and evaluate anthropological theory and its integral relation to fieldwork contexts, practices and data;
4. demonstrate familiarity with a variety of anthropological and related literature.
Personal and Key Skills5. devise and sustain an original argument based on close interpretation of texts;
6. communicate effectively in written and verbal form.

Indicative Reading List

This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.

Kuper, A. 1996. Anthropology and Anthropologists: The Modern British School (3rd edition). London and New York: Routledge.

Ortner, S.B., 1984, Theory in Anthropology Since the Sixties, Comparative Studies in Society and History 26: 126-166.

Barnard, A., 2000. History and theory in anthropology. Cambridge University Press.

Layton, R., 1997. An introduction to theory in anthropology. Cambridge University Press.

Geertz, C., 1973. The interpretation of cultures: Selected essays (Vol. 5019). Basic books.

Kuper, A., 2009. Culture: The anthropologists' account. Harvard University Press.

Bourdieu, P.,1993. Structures, Habitus, Power: Basis for a Theory of Symbolic Power, in Dirks, N.B., Eley, G. and Ortner, S.B., 1994. Culture/power/history: A reader in contemporary social theory. Princeton University Press.