Social Anthropology: Participant Observation

Course Times & Enrolment

Wednesday 6th December 2023, (Code SO117-101) Wednesday 6th December 2023, 11:10am - 4:00pm • (One-day course) LG48 Paterson's Land, Holyrood Campus • Tutor: Morna Finnegan BA PhD

This course is now closed for enrolments

Course Summary

Social anthropology is the study of what it means to be human. As a discipline, it offers invaluable practical tools for developing insight into and empathy for diverse cultural practices and beliefs. This course will provide an interactive introduction to participant observation, the main research method of anthropology, enabling participants to develop their own questions and participate in group exercises. ‘Reflexivity’, the main ingredient in participant observation, will be explored as a vital life skill.

There will be a break between 13:00 and 14:00.

Course Details

Pre-requisites for enrolment

None.

Content of Course

Anthropological research creates intimate portraits of the lives of others. The anthropological skills which facilitate this travel well into a variety of other contexts, and the course will apply a step-by-step approach to introduce some of these skills. Firstly, we will look at basic tools and concepts, including participant observation and reflexivity. We will then review relevant ethnographic examples, which have changed our understanding of human culture. Finally, in a series of tutorial activities, we will explore ‘doing’ participant observation, and discuss how these insights can be usefully applied.

Teaching method(s)

Each session of the course will be led by a presentation with practical activities designed to allow students to engage with the material. Space will be provided for sharing relevant experiences and for smaller group discussions. Lecture notes and visuals along with additional optional reading will be provided at the end of the course.

Learning outcomes

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

demonstrate an awareness of some of the main methods and concepts used in social anthropology, in particular participant observation and reflexivity;
identify and apply basic anthropological skills to a variety of contexts;
work collaboratively with others to develop relevant anthropological questions.

Sources

Core Readings

There is no essential reading. Titles which may be of interest in preparing for or following up on the course are listed below. A more comprehensive optional reading list will be provided at the end of the course.

Brown, N., Mcilwraith, T., and Tubelle de Gonzalez, L., 2020. Perspectives: An Open Invitation to Cultural Anthropology [online]. Available at: <http://perspectives.americananthro.org>
Eriksen, T., 2015. Small Places, Large Issues: An Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology. London: Pluto Press.

Queries

If you have questions regarding the course or enrolment, please contact COL Reception at Paterson's Land by email COL@ed.ac.uk or by phone 0131 650 4400.

Student support

If you have a disability, learning difficulty or health condition which may affect your studies, please let us know by ticking the 'specific support needs' box on your course application form. This will allow us to make appropriate adjustments in advance and in accordance with your rights under the Equality Act 2010. For more information please visit the Student Support section of our website.