Introduction to Social Anthropology (10 credit points)

1.  “Exotic No More”: What is Social Anthropology?

We briefly explore social anthropology’s origin and development, and what social anthropologists study. We discuss why an anthropological perspective can enrich our understanding of the contemporary world, including the understanding of our own society.

2.   Ethnography: Fieldwork and “Writing Culture”?

We look more closely at the fieldwork process with its emphasis on participant observation as well as the production of anthropological knowledge in a historical perspective. We critically engage with the representation of people in anthropological writing and discuss arising issues.

3. “Humans are social animals”: Becoming a Person

Are all humans born a person? We explore what makes someone a person through cross-culturally varying processes and focus in particular on rites of passage, also known as life crisis or life cycle rituals.

4.  “The birds and the bees”: Sex, Gender, and Reproduction

We question the apparent physical difference between women and men by exploring culturally varying understandings of such difference, frequently referred to as either sex or gender. We investigate what gender is, how it is culturally produced, and whether it can easily be categorized into two distinct and stable types.

5.   Kinship: “Blood is thicker than water?”

We all have families and they matter to us but why are they of anthropological interest? We investigate why kinship was the mainstay of social anthropology when studying stateless societies, and explore why it remains central in contemporary anthropological inquiry of state societies.

6.   Classifications of Food: “Yummy, Disgusting or Taboo?”

The consumption of food and drink is universally essential to sustain people, but what we eat and drink, in what context, with whom and how varies cross-culturally. We explore what these practices can reveal about social relations.

7. “Love OR money?”: The Exchange of ‘Commodities’ and ‘Gifts’

Much of our social interactions revolve around the exchange of ‘things’. We investigate one of the oldest and still relevant anthropological concerns, the distinction between ‘commodities’ and ‘gifts’.

8.   Belief: “Is man a rational animal?”

We explore the relationship between rationality and belief and how people make sense of their world through belief systems such as witchcraft.

9.   Religious experience: “Collective effervescence”

We examine whether religious everyday life can be reduced to ‘belief’ by investigating ritual practices and the material and emotive manifestations of religious experience. 

10.   Anthropology of Politics: Who is a citizen?

Everyone is a foreigner somewhere, but is everyone also a citizen in some place? We tackle what citizenship is by exploring the everyday processes and practices of inclusion and exclusion that create different types of citizens.

On completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate awareness of key anthropological concepts and concerns.
2. Employ critical, analytical and reflective skills in understanding the values of one’s own culture and those of peoples with different value systems.
3. Demonstrate awareness of how an anthropological approach can be beneficial to an informed and critical understanding of the contemporary world.

Critically assess ethnographic evidence.

A handbook with a detailed course outline (readings per week) will be provided at the start of the course.

Lecture slides will be available through LEARN.