Social Anthropology MRes

Compulsory

• SA56xB - Ethnographic Research

  To introduce students to the methods employed by anthropologists when undertaking ethnographic research and to prepare students for the field research on which their dissertations will be based.

• SA5629 - Ethnographic Dissertation

  To bring perspectives derived from the taught modules to bear upon an issue of research interest to the student in the domain of the programme title: i.e. the dissertation should reflect a specifically ethnographic approach to research and analysis. Primary research data are to be derived primarily from participant observer study in a field site chosen by the student, supplemented by other research methods such as interviews, ethnographic tasks etc. The object of the dissertation is twofold: (i) to analyse an issue or problem that arises out of the data gathered during fieldwork; and (ii) to show how this analysis is warranted by the field data and how it relates to relevant literature in (and to other research in) this area.

Optional

• SA5xxD - Culture, Education and Learning

  To provide students with a broad appreciation of the key issues in cross-cultural perspectives on education and learning, an understanding, ethnographically and theoretically, of how culture shapes and informs the educational and learning process and how, in turn, education and learning impact upon social and cultural practices and an understanding of the relevance of cross-cultural studies of education and learning for different theoretical approaches within the social and human sciences in general and professional practice in particular.

• SA5638 - Global Development: Critical Perspectives

  To acquire a theoretical and historical overview of the changing relationship between the critical social sciences and global development, to understand the multiple ways in which social science research can enhance our understanding of contemporary policies and practices in global development and to critically evaluate, from a social science perspective, various theoretical approaches to global development.

• SA5XXH - Global Health: Critical Perspectives

  This module aims to provide a theoretical introduction to the anthropological study of global health. It will provide students with a detailed insight into the ways in which medical anthropology can contribute towards the critique of existing interventions in the field of global health and with a detailed insight into the construction of global; health problems such as plagues and epidemics Finally, it will assess a range of ethnography and theory bearing on issues pertaining to global health, enabling students to bring a comparative perspective to familiar problems.

• SA5631 - Global South Asia
• SA5598 - Guided Study Module
• SA5599 - Guided Study Module
• SA5540 - Kinship, Sex and Gender
  An introduction to some of the key social anthropological literature on kinship, gender and sexuality including universalities and particularities in the construction of gender roles and different theoretical paradigms on gender and sexuality.
• SA5602 - Medical Anthropology in Clinical and Community Settings
  Delve into the contemporary texts that have contributed to the development of medical anthropology as you consider its innovations and how the application of anthropological research in the subject can contribute to improving medical practices.
• SA5639 - Migration, Citizenship and Identity

  This module introduces students to a range of key concepts and theories in the anthropology of ethnicity, culture, nationhood and identity. These classical anthropological themes will be examined through the lens of high-profile contemporary social issues, including migration, citizenship, transnationalism and globalisation, xenophobia and deportation. Drawing on ethnographic case studies from settings across the world, we will explore how categories of identity and belonging are constructed, deployed and contested, and the ways in which they are embedded in broader social, political, legal and economic contexts.

• SA5641 - South Asia: Cultures, Societies and Development

  This module examines the region of South Asia, assessing whether the geographical region can usefully be considered as a cultural area, and going on to examine the key issues for the different parts of the region. The module covers topics including colonial histories, caste and class, gender, kinship, globalisation, and South Asian diasporas. It draws, in particular, on the disciplines of anthropology and history and on the field of development studies.

• SA5623 - Understanding Childhood and Youth
  This module will introduce you to the study of childhood and youth as they are constructed and practiced in different social, cultural and economic settings. The first section focuses on children, looking first at how ideas of childhood are constructed by adults, the second section is devoted to young people.
• SA5624 - War and Humanitarian Assistance
  In this subject you will analyse the social and economic consequences of contemporary warfare and the rebuilding war-torn societies from an anthropological perspective and by doing so, understand the different ways anthropological research can enhance the understanding of contemporary warfare.