Anthropology

In this module, you’ll get to grips with the diversity of India as a nation. You will explore politics, society, economy and culture. You will consider the fascinating history of India, shifting imaginaries of the country over time, and its changing relationship with the global context today. You will use a strong engagement with ethnographic material to understand the everyday lives of India’s citizens and wider diaspora through explorations of work, labour, migration, religion, politics and sociality.

At the interpersonal level, you will gain a deep understanding surrounding questions of:

• intimacy
• gender
• sexuality
• ethnicity
• caste
• class
• identity.

• cultural practices
• religious influences
• capitalist development
• political change
• neoliberalism
• postcolonialism
• forms of protest or conflict.

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.

On this module, you will build skills that are attractive to employers. You will gain an understanding and awareness of work and your future employability.

You will be supported to participate in work, community and extra curricular settings. You will develop and engage with self-directed learning and structure reflection. Learning from your experience and personal advancement, you will gain insight and direction for possible future professional roles.

In this module, you’ll look at gender and its central role in society. You’ll explore the social processes that affect the lives and roles of people in society. You’ll consider the centrality of gender in everyday life, and how society reflects and reproduces gender relations.

Why do we exclude some ethnic groups from society? In this module, you’ll explore race, ethnicity and racism through:

• employment
• education
• housing
• migration
• policing
• the impact of anti-discrimination legislation.

You’ll engage with pressing debates on race, ethnicity and racism. You’ll explore the experiences of minority ethnic groups and you’ll explore the factors which exclude them from mainstream society. You’ll focus on the UK, but also consider ethnic minorities in other cultures. You'll highlight the complexities of social constructions of race and other social inequalities.

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
• molecular biology
• evolutionary history.

You’ll discover what marks us as human against other species. You’ll gain a detailed knowledge of other species as you trace our inheritance and explore the reasons for our unique characteristics.

In this module, you’ll explore heritage landscapes and their identity as places of cultural or community value. You’ll study some of the world’s most magnificent heritage as you consider how heritage landscapes have evolved over time. You’ll look at their conservation and management, and the physical and human impact upon them. You’ll get to grips with the core concepts and themes of environmental conservation, heritage management and sustainable development. You’ll understand the rules and regulations, as well as the roles of advisors, in how we protect sites. You’ll also build up knowledge of different ecosystems, their origins and how human interactions impact their development.

Sea levels are rising; glaciers are melting; Arctic sea ice is thinning and weather events are becoming more extreme. We are in the grip of global warming. But how do these changes compare with the environmental changes that have occurred in the past? What does the past teach us about how natural and human factors may interact to change our climate and environment in the future? 

In this module you’ll examine changes to the physical environment throughout the Quaternary: the last 2.6 million years of geological history and time during which humans have evolved and spread across the earth. You’ll examine the causes of climatic and environmental change over different timescales and the complex interactions between human impacts and natural processes, gaining perspective on current environmental and climatic concerns.

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

This module offers the opportunity to study abroad, experience a new culture, and apply your skills in different contexts to enhance your employability. It will help you develop self-management, cross-cultural communication, and interpersonal skills.

You’ll receive support to secure a place at a partner institution abroad, where you can choose modules related to your degree or explore new areas that complement your studies.

Studying at an international university will help you enhance your interpersonal skills through cross-cultural communication with students and tutors, allowing you to build lasting relationships. You'll also improve your study skills by focusing on your chosen areas of interest, gaining valuable international experience that will strengthen your CV.

This year abroad module lasts for one academic year and is taken after the conclusion of your second year of study, once you’ve completed all your level 5 studies. Your year abroad is not credit-bearing.

In this module, you’ll gain a strong grounding in international development (the idea that different countries have different levels of development). You'll explore the changing relationship between anthropology and 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
• environment
• 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. You'll also disrupt the lines we draw between North and South, developed and underdeveloped, or advanced and emerging economies and societies.

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'll also draw on:

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

How do our brains make us care for children, the elderly and the vulnerable? How do different cultures encourage people to nurture others? In this module, you’ll look at the evolutionary and ecological reasons for care, nurturance and social support. You’ll dive into the care practices of other cultures, as you look at how they approach:

• religion
• healing
• child care
• elder care.

You’ll also look at how we care for non-human living things and the planet as a whole. You’ll gain key analytical knowledge as you apply what you learn to yourself, your community and pressing social issues.

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.

In this module, you’ll explore key themes in African cultures - from the colonial era to today. You’ll reflect on core economic arguments, asking how far theories of modernisation can shed light on African social and economic transformation. You’ll dig into detailed, ethnographic (the study of people and their cultures) 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. You’ll discuss what anthropology can tell us about global impoverishment, as well as how men and women navigate fragile livelihoods in shaky economies.

This module closely examines the complex history, contested present and potential futures of one of the most important and consequential geographic devices in today’s world: borders. You'll trace the historical development of territorial and sovereign practices that have led to the concept of borders as we know them today. You'll address debates about the continuing relevance of borders in today’s world, and you'll look ahead to the future of borders as they intersect with pressing concerns such as climate change, migration and identitarian movements.

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 forensic anthropology can help us understand different populations.

As humans, we’ve lived closely with other animals since the dawn of time and 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.

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, from 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.

In this module, you’ll develop fantastic transferable skills for work, and gain the research skills to succeed in your degree. You’ll develop the knowledge and expertise to become an independent researcher. Within our internationally acclaimed department, you’ll enjoy access to the current research our staff are working on.