Undergraduate Course: Social Anthropology 1B: Anthropology Matters (SCAN08012)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 8 (Year 1 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | What does anthropology have to say about some of the most important issues facing us today? Anthropologists don't just engage with small-scale exotic societies but have always contributed to public debates about global issues that affect us all. In this course we examine how concepts and ideas that have driven anthropology help us shed new light on debates that are at the heart of contemporary questions about how our societies work. Each week will include two sessions exploring a single issue and anthropological contributions to surrounding debates relating to that issue. The issues explored will vary from year-to-year, examples include: climate change, hunger, well-being, body modification, and human rights. |
| Course description |
What does anthropology have to say about some of the most important issues facing us today? Anthropologists don¿t just engage with small-scale exotic societies but have always contributed to public debates about global issues that affect us all. In this course we examine how concepts and ideas that have driven anthropology help us shed new light on debates that are at the heart of contemporary questions about how our societies work. Each week will include two sessions exploring a single issue and anthropological contributions to surrounding debates relating to that issue. The issues explored will vary from year-to-year, examples include: climate change, hunger, well-being, body modification, and human rights.
Sample readings:
* Prosperity.
* Schooling.
* Drugs.
* Sleep.
* Love.
* Gender.
* Euthanasia.
* Organ Transplantation.
* Circumcision.
* Cosmetic Surgery.
* Ethical Consumption.
* Choice.
* Violence and War.
* Peace and Reconciliation.
* Globalization and Development.
* Development and Applied Anthropology.
* Race and Ethnicity.
* Human Rights.
- Checker, Melissa (2009) ¿Anthropology in the public sphere, 2008: emerging trends and significant impacts.¿ American Anthropologist 111(2):162¿169
- Fassin, Didier (2013) ¿Why ethnography matters: on anthropology and its publics.¿ Cultural Anthropology 28,4:621-646
- MacClancy, Jeremy (2013) Anthropology in the Public Arena: Historical and Contemporary Contexts. Chichester, UK: Wiley
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2017/18, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 357 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 9,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
165 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
60 %,
Coursework
40 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Students will be required to complete one assessed essay of around 1500-2000 words (40% of the overall mark) and a degree examination consisting of one 2-hour paper (60% of the overall mark). You MUST pass the exam to pass the course. |
| Feedback |
Feedback on short essay; class discussion of essay plans. |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
|
| Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May) | Social Anthropology 1B: Anthropology Matters | 2:00 | | | Resit Exam Diet (August) | Social Anthropology 1B: Anthropology Matters | 2:00 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Through critical debate and analysis, students will gain a clear understanding of the relevance of social anthropology and its findings to the resolution of important social and cultural issues worldwide.
- They will enrich their appreciation of social and cultural commonalities and differences both within and between nations.
- Students will also strengthen their own cultural self-awareness.
- Students will develop the ability to apply moral and practical reasoning in culturally sensitive ways to current affairs
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
¿ apply different theories to the interpretation and explanation of human conduct and patterns of behaviour;
¿ recognise and account for the use of such theories by others;
¿ judge the value and relevance of empirical evidence and theoretical argument and interpretation in social science;
¿ identify and design ways of solving problems with a social and cultural dimension;
¿ question cultural assumptions;
¿ be able to sustain intellectual interest by remaining receptive to both new and old ideas, methods, and ways of thinking
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| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Lucy Lowe
Tel: (0131 6)50 4286
Email: |
Course secretary | Mr Ewen Miller
Tel: (0131 6)50 3925
Email: |
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