This course surveys the variety of approaches to the description and analysis of social life in social/cultural anthropology through seminars and the close examination of selected texts. It does so by tracing the development of anthropological theory through the twentieth century, and with reference to its intellectual origins. The course begins by locating anthropology in its contemporary post-colonial context with an examination of critical perspectives on the history of the discipline, and explores the challenge of reading the past from the perspective of the present. It then moves from a consideration of the emergence of 'society' and'the social' as objects of study, outlines and assesses key aspects of functionalist, structural-functionalist, and structuralist approaches, explores the influence of Marxism and practice theory, examines key aspects of interpretive and symbolic anthropology, and ends with an examination of the implications of globalisation and the post-representational turn for the doing and writing of ethnography.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
Upon
Successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
- Demonstrate extended acquisition of a systematic and coherent body of knowledge of anthropological theory, its underlying principles and concepts;
- Critically apply theoretical concepts to anthropological theory;
- Apply extended knowledge acquired in their own written work as well as in class discussion; and
- Demonstrate the development of a foundation for self-directed learning.
Indicative Assessment
Participation (10%) [Learning outcomes 1, 2]Presentation, 20 minutes (10%) [Learning outcomes 3, 4]
Short Essay, 2000 words (30%) [Learning outcomes 1-4]
Long Essay, 6000 words (50%) [Learning outcomes 1-4]
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Workload
Semester-length delivery:260 hours of total student learning time made up from:
a) 48 hours of contact over 12 weeks: 24 hours of lectures and 24 hours of seminars; and
b) 212 hours of independent student research, reading and writing.
Intensive delivery:
260 hours of total student learning time made up from:
a) 48 hours of contact: lectures and seminars delivered intensively over 6 weeks; and
b) 212 hours of independent student research, reading and writing.
Requisite and Incompatibility
Prescribed Texts
Will be published on the course Wattle site.Preliminary Reading
Eriksen, T. H., and Nielsen, F.S. A History of Anthropology London: Pluto Press, 2001.
Bohannan, P and Glazer, M., (eds) High Points in Anthropology, New York: Knopf, 1973.
Assumed Knowledge
Completion of a cognate major.
Specialisations
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 1
- Unit value:
- 12 units
If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees. Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 12.00 | 0.25000 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2019 | $6000 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2019 | $9120 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
Autumn Session
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5571 | 15 Apr 2019 | 22 Apr 2019 | 03 May 2019 | 14 Jun 2019 | In Person | N/A |