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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2017/2018

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Social and Political Science : Social Anthropology

Postgraduate Course: Indigenous Peoples of Lowland South America (SCAN11010)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Social and Political Science CollegeCollege of Humanities and Social Science
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryThis course will introduce you to the land, people and history of Amazonia. It draws on specific ethnographies of the region to explore key anthropological themes such as the relationship between ¿nature¿ and ¿culture¿, gender relations, violence, anthropological ethics and the impacts of colonialism and globalization.

The course will give particular emphasis to indigenous thought and the ways in which Amazonian peoples today organize themselves politically in response to various threats to their environment and way of life. The course is organized by weekly topics with corresponding required and further readings to be read before class.
Course description Outline Content:

1 Amazonia: land, ecology, people
2 Colonialism and Amazonian History
3 Between Nature and Society
4 Making Kin, Becoming People
5 Violence
6 Is Anthropology Ethical in Amazonia?
7 Gender
8 Indigenous Identity and Inter-ethnic Relations
9 Development, Environmentalism and Globalization
10 'Other' Amazonians

Student Learning Experience:

The course is organized by weekly topics with corresponding required and further readings to be read before class.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

Demonstrate their knowledge of the cultural diversity of Lowland South America.

Critically evaluate the development of ethnography of lowland South America and its relevance to anthropology as a discipline.

Recognize the complexity of relations between indigenous peoples and nation-states and think critically about key contemporary issues in Lowland South America.

Demonstrate the relevance of indigenous thought to the critical evaluation of European epistemologies.

Reflect on their own cultural assumptions in terms of the experiences of Amazonian peoples.

Participate in weekly class discussions regarding specific anthropological themes.

Read and evaluate ethnography - as well as write about it.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesNone
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Not being delivered
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Analyse broad regional similarities in indigenous ways of life and modes of thought.
  2. Analyse differences and particularities in ways of life and modes of thought within the region.
  3. Recognize the complexity of relations between indigenous peoples and nation-states
  4. Critically evaluate the development of ethnography of lowland South America and its relevance to the development of anthropology as a discipline.
  5. Demonstrate the relevance of indigenous thought to the critical evaluation of European epistemologies
Reading List
None
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
KeywordsNot entered
Contacts
Course organiserDr Casey High
Tel:
Email:
Course secretaryMiss Morag Wilson
Tel: (0131 6)51 5122
Email:
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