Module ANT1009 for 2022/3
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
ANT1009: Theories and Approaches in Anthropology
This module descriptor refers to the 2022/3 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?
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
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Module-Specific Skills | 1. 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 Skills | 3. 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 Skills | 5. devise and sustain an original argument based on close interpretation of texts; 6. communicate effectively in written and verbal form. |
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
Whilst the module’s precise content will vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some of the following:
A critical history of anthropological theory: from functionalism to postmodernism. This might include some of the following themes:
- Precursors: Marx and Durkheim
- Functionalism and structural functionalism
- Process and conflict
- Structuralism
- Practice
- Power and resistance
- Interpretivism and cultural hermeneutics
- Postmodernism
- Critique of culture/ the literary turn
- Postcolonial theory
- Feminism
The module will also include theoretical approaches to key substantive areas and might include topics such as:
- race,
- kinship,
- class,
- place, identity and belonging
The module will also ask students to reflect on how to theorise contemporary socio-political events such as the national and global implications of Brexit and the global covid-19 pandemic.
Learning and Teaching
This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
---|---|---|
22 | 128 | 0 |
...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:
Category | Hours of study time | Description |
---|---|---|
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activity | 11 | 11 x weekly 1 hour lectures |
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activity | 11 | 11 x weekly 1 hour tutorials |
Guided Independent Study | 33 | Reading of the set texts for weekly lectures and the tutorials |
Guided Independent Study | 30 | Additional reading under the guidance of the lecturer |
Guided Independent Study | 35 | Preparation and writing of the essays |
Guided Independent Study | 30 | Recapitulation of reading done throughout the term; preparation of essay plans; portfolio revision, etc. |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
ARD - Anthropology Review Database
Internet Anthropologist
Anthrobase
SOSIG: Social Science Information Gateway
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.