AANB05023U Introduction to Anthropology

Volume 2013/2014
Content
Anthropology is the study of social and cultural life. Whether looking at child soldiers in West Africa, business tycoons in New York or heroin pushers in Lisbon, anthropologists investigate how people understand and act in their social worlds. We illuminate the world from the inside and show how social formations are shaped and sustained, questioned and conflicted.

This course will introduce students to anthropology. The basic concepts of anthropology will be taught through immersion into specific case studies from around the world. It will illuminate the different approaches that anthropologists use in order to understand other cultures and societies, and dwell on the theoretical and analytical insights that the subject has yielded. Dealing qualitatively with issues such as globalisation, integration, youth, power, poverty and politics the course will provide students with knowledge of an increasingly important subject and supply them with novel perspectives on some of the key processes and pressing problems and dilemmas of the current world.
Learning Outcome

At the end of the course, the students are expected to be able to:

  • Show an understanding of the general anthropological perspective
  • Identify central themes in current anthropological research
  • Reflect upon the strengths and limitations of key concepts and perspectives
  • Describe and debate central arguments and concepts in anthropological research
  • Use anthropological concepts and perspectives to comment on social processes and problems
Literature
Books and course packs will be available at the campus book store akademisk boghandel.  The students are further expected to buy: Thomas Hylland Eriksen 2001 Small Places, Large Issues: An Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology London: Pluto Press.
Combination of lectures, seminar discussions, work in groups and student presentations.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Class Exercises
  • 8
  • Class Seminar
  • 48
  • Exam
  • 74
  • Exam Preparation
  • 24
  • Exercises
  • 28
  • Preparation
  • 224
  • Study Groups
  • 14
  • Total
  • 420
Credit
15 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written assignment, 14 days
The essay is a set assignment, where you have to address a question given to you by the lecturer. The length of the essay must be min. 22.500 - to max. 27.500 keystrokes, and it will be assessed according to the Danish grading scale.
Exam registration requirements
Students following the course "Introduction to Anthropology" must participate actively in the course. Active participation is defined by the following parameters: (1) You have to hand in 4 portfolios (papers where you reflect on a predefined topic), read the portfolios of other students and participate in at least 3 out of the 4 portfolio workshops, where you are required to give your feedback on the portfolios of your fellow students and participate in the discussion. (2) You have to make one oral presentation of an article in groups created by the lecturer. (3) You have to attend a minimum of 75 % of the classes during the semester.
Aid
All aids allowed
Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
No external censorship
Criteria for exam assesment
See descriptions of learning outcome. Formalities for Written Works must be fulfilled, read more: MSc Students/ BA students (in Danish)/ exchange, credit and Open University students