Anthropology

Ritual and Society

What are rituals, and why do we perform them? In this module, you’ll explore the key role of rituals in society. You’ll look at various human communities as you consider the origins of ritual, and its different definitions. You’ll gain valuable critical skills as you explore key anthropological concepts, including:

• rites of passage
• liminality
• anti-structure
• communities

The Study of European Societies

The relevance of an anthropological approach to the study of European societies with reference to both urban and rural sectors.

Africa: Social and Economic Transformations

In this module, you’ll explore key themes in African cultures - from the colonial era to today. You’ll explore how anthropology can shed light on experiences of social and economic transformation across the continent. You’ll dig into detailed accounts of people’s everyday lives, reflecting on: 

• the shifting nature of kinship
• gender issues 
• intergenerational tensions 
• economic morality 

Through these intimate stories, you’ll explore broader issues of vulnerability and marginalisation. We’ll discuss what anthropology can tell us about global impoverishment. And we’ll discuss how men and women navigate fragile livelihoods in shaky economies. 

The Study of Personhood, Gender and the Body in Contemporary Japan

From tattooed gangsters and drag queens to salarymen and hostesses, how does gender and the body affect Japanese society? In this module, you’ll question your assumptions about femininity and masculinity, and gain core critical skills as you explore topics such as: 

• LGBTQ+ rights
• the ethics of organ donation
• abortion
• end of life care
• martial arts
• religious practice.

You’ll explore the topics that fascinate you in greater depth, through:

• student-led seminars
• group work
• a research essay

Culture and Care

Why is care so fundamental to human survival and adaptation? In this module, you’ll focus on care as an alternative to anthropological accounts of conflict, competition, and violence.

You will begin by debating 

• the evolutionary basis for care
• the evidence of care in prehistoric times
• notions of empathy, sympathy, and altruism. 

You’ll also examine how different cultures care for children, the disabled and the elderly. You’ll look critically at whether current social institutions deliver care, as well as cure. You will look at how we care for non-human life and the planet. And you’ll gain core research skills for your future career, as you investigate care in the world around you through fieldwork assignments and contribute to the class blog to share your work with the world.

The study of Primate Adaptation and Evolution

Are humans any different from other primates? In this module, you’ll dig into the relationship between humans and other primates. You’ll investigate:

• structure
• physiology
• evolutionary history

The Study of Human Ecology

How do humans interact with their environments, past and present? In this module, you’ll explore two key themes - nutrition and disease - and what these can tell us about humans and their biological and social surroundings. You’ll gain a strong grounding in the principles of human ecology. And you’ll gain key critical skills as you explore humans and their evolution.

Anthropology in Action

In this module, you’ll kick-start your career, as you explore the wide range of career options open to Anthropology graduates. You’ll put anthropology into practice, using the skills you’ve gained in your degree to explore how anthropology contributes to: 

• business
• conservation and development
• human health and wellbeing
• forensic investigations.

Development and Humanitarianism

In this module, you’ll explore the changing relationship between anthropology, and international development (the idea that different countries have different levels of development). You’ll gain a strong grounding in international development. You’ll gain key analytical skills as you dive into debates on the relationship between anthropology and development. You’ll explore key issues for anthropologists working in international development, including:

• gender relations
• environmental issues
• health
• youth
• Religion.

You’ll compare ideas and practices in international development. You’ll look at approaches to social policy, inequality and well-being in the UK. And you disrupt the lines we draw between North and South, developed and underdeveloped, or advanced and emerging economies and societies.

Minorities and Marginality in Contemporary Japan

We often assume that only the Japanese live in Japan. In this module, you’ll meet Japan’s ethnic minorities and marginalised groups. You’ll understand their experiences - both historically and today. You’ll gain key analytical skills as you relate minorities in Japan to broader concerns with:

• ethnic and cultural identity and conflict
• class structure 
• nationality 
• hybridity in cultures
• diaspora (people living outside their original homeland)

Palaeopathology

In this module, you’ll analyse human bones from archaeological sites. You’ll get to know the ancient diseases that we can understand through human and animal bones. You’ll gain key practical skills through lab-based sessions and through researching primary material. You’ll also learn how palaeopathology can help us understand different populations.

Dawn of Civilisation

How did humans change from nomadic hunter-gatherers to the pioneers of enormous changes in technology, subsistence and organisation? In this module, you’ll look at human history from 10,000 until 1,000 BC that led to an avalanche of development. You’ll gain key critical skills as you review:

• archeological data
• geography
• the environmental record
• mythology from the world’s first civilisations.

Subjectivities and Social Transformation

In this module you will explore the relationship between material change, forms of social transformation and shifts in individual/communal subjectivities of people themselves. In exploring these intersections you will have the opportunity to think about, for example, the role of industrial capitalism, urbanization, neoliberalism, migration and shifting understanding of time and temporality.

People and Other Animals

As humans, we’ve lived closely with other animals since the dawn of time. We have a long history of interacting with each other. In this module, you’ll examine the complex and contradictory elements in people-animal relations, including:

• animals as food
• companion animals
• animals as nature.

Cognitive Evolution

In this module, you’ll dive into human intelligence and its evolution. You’ll gain fantastic research skills as you evaluate the evidence for the development of cognitive traits such as:

• language
• Culture
• tool use
• symbolism.

You’ll uncover fossil and archeological records for evidence of human intelligence and its development. You also draw on:

• evolutionary psychology
• cognitive science
• philosophy
• linguistics
• primatology (the study of intelligent mammals)

Anthropology Independent Study

This module gives you the chance to do research on a question or issue that fascinates you. You can home in on any topic in social or biological anthropology, with the support of expert tutors. You’ll enhance the key skills needed for a research project, gaining vital experience for the world of work:

• planning
• explaining a problem in depth
• carrying out primary research
• collecting and analysing data
• structuring and presenting a major piece of work.

Reading Contemporary Ethnography

In this module, you’ll get to grips with reading and writing ethnographic monographs. These are written accounts of a society or culture. You’ll explore ethnography: the method that social anthropologists use to analyse cultures, and the style and concepts behind it. You’ll:

• explore how authors connect arguments and evidence 
• debate the ethical issues of writing about other cultures
• the effectiveness of different aesthetic styles. 

You’ll also explore the range of styles in ethnography today that addresses current topics of concern.

Primate Conservation

From forest loss to climate change, living primates (including humans) are facing huge threats to their environment and conservation. In this module, you’ll get to know the impact of humans on non-human primates, including hunting for trade to the issues of co-existence.You’ll discover why our non-human primate relatives are at greater risk of extinction now than ever before. You’ll understand the major challenges facing primates, how international legislation protects them, and how we can help the world’s most threatened species.