Undergraduate Module Descriptor

SOC3107: Culture and Wellbeing

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

How this Module is Assessed

In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.

Formative Assessment

A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.

Form of assessmentSize of the assessment (eg length / duration)ILOs assessedFeedback method
Individual Seminar Presentation10 minutes1, 3-6Oral (in class), additional feedback on request in office hours

Summative Assessment

A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.

CourseworkWritten examsPractical exams
50500

...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.

Form of assessment% of creditSize of the assessment (eg length / duration)ILOs assessedFeedback method
Essay501500 words1-6Written feedback
Examination501.5 hours1-6Written feedback

Re-assessment

Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.

Original form of assessmentForm of re-assessmentILOs re-assessedTimescale for re-assessment
EssayEssay (1500 words)1-6August/September re-assessment period
ExaminationExamination (1.5 hours)1-6August/September re-assessment period

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.

Corsín Jiménez, Alberto, ed. 2008. Culture and well-being: Anthropological approaches to freedom and political ethics. London: Pluto.

Ahmed, Sara. 2010. The promise of happiness. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.

Diener, Edward, and Eunkook M. Suh. 2000. Culture and subjective well-being. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Fischer, Edward F. 2015. The Good Life: Aspiration, Dignity, and the Anthropology of Wellbeing. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

Jackson, Michael. 2011. Life within limits: Well-being in a world of want. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.

Robbins, Joel. 2013. “Beyond the suffering subject: Toward an anthropology of the good.” Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute (N.S.) 19 (3): 447–62.

Skidelsky, Robert, and Edward Skidelsky. 2012. How much is enough? The love of money and the case for the good life. London: Penguin.

Suh, Eunkook M., and Shigehiro, Oishi. 2004. “Culture and subjective well-being: Introduction to the special issue.” Journal of Happiness Studies 5 (3): 219–22.

Thelen, T., 2015. Care as social organization: Creating, maintaining and dissolving significant relations. Anthropological Theory

Hallam, Elizabeth and Tim Ingold (eds.). 2007. Creativity and Cultural Improvisation. Oxford: BERG

Kavedzija, Iza and Harry Walker. 2016. Values of Happiness: Towards an Anthropology of Meaning in Life. HAU Books, University of Chicago Press.