SEMESTER 1
AN651 Social Thought (10 credits) (Compulsory Module for all MA students)
This module provides an advanced foundation to key social theories, especially from the European Enlightenment tradition but also including the work of recent post-structural and postcolonial figures. Social and cultural anthropology draws influences from social theory, and advanced students of anthropology are expected to become familiar with key contributions to understanding what constitutes the human, the range of human diversity, the nature of “nature”, the power of social categories, that the capacity in societies to change or develop alternatives. This module introduces key figures such as Hobbes and Rousseau, together with Marx, Foucault, and contemporary postcolonial writers. Students will be challenged to grapple with different theories, comparing and contrasting theories before developing their own analysis.
AN653 Writing Cultures (10 credits) (Compulsory Module for all MA students)
Ethnography most commonly describes a core methodological tool in anthropology, but it is also an epistemological tool that anthropologists employ in positioning ourselves and others in the ‘field’ of research. In this module, we will explore changing attitudes to research methods in anthropology and use key examples to foreshadow preparations for student research proposals. We will read some classic ethnographic texts while considering a range of methodological problems: entry to the ‘field’, data collection, inter-subjective dimensions of fieldwork experience. Moreover, students will be encouraged to think more broadly about new territories of ethnographic endeavour such as ethnography in corporate encounters, sensory ethnography and current approaches to gathering, writing and disseminating knowledge.
AN646 Foundations of Linguistic Anthropology (5 credits) (Compulsory for Linguistic Students; Optional for all other MA Students)
This module offers an advanced introduction to Linguistic Anthropology, focusing on classic theory and its recent extensions. The module features:
A concise introduction to linguistic form and structure;
A survey of historical theories and methodologies for the study of language in use (interactional sociolinguistics, Conversation Analysis, the ethnography of speaking);
The development of conceptual tools for the semiotic analysis of language and related cultural forms;
Analysis of language style, processes of social, gender and ethnic identification, and communities of practice;
Introduction to the anthropology of poetic speech, performance, and literary texts;
Methodologies for the study of social life of language from face-to-face interaction to the formation of large-scale publics;
Exploration of new cultural and linguistic forms emerging in electronically-mediated communication.
AN647 Foundations of Medical Anthropology (5 credits) (Optional for all MA students)
This module offers an advance introduction to the broad field of Medical Anthropology, focusing on the classical anthropological contributions to this important subfield, from the work of Klienman and Goode to current debates about Global health, health care systems; care more generally, and social suffering, medically and psychologically. Students will refer to key work in the area, such as studies of ethno-medicine, critiques of bio-medicine, healing and health care. Students will explore ethnographic work on patient-physician relationships, the social and community contexts of care provision, and the impact of bio-medicine on Western and non-Western populations.
AN648 Foundations of Material Culture & Design (5 credits) (Optional for all MA students)
This module represents an introduction to material culture theory, particularly through the lens of creativity in cross-cultural perspective. We will consider diverse histories and definitions of design.
AN649 Foundations of Anthropology & Development (5 credits) (Compulsory for Development students; Optional for all other MA students)
This foundational module begins by situating the long process of the making of the contemporary Global South at the intersection of world historical and political economic flows. We will embark on a close reading of key texts in the field of historical anthropology in order to trace the emergence of mass poverty, inequality and conflict in our world today. We will then introduce students to current anthropological perspectives on, and engagements with, issues of international development. This may take the form of a discussion of recent anthropological literature – from 'post-development' critiques that reject development interventions outright, to anthropological practitioner critiques from inside the development apparatus, to current scholarship on the fluidity of such categories as aid donors, aid recipients, and ‘emerging donors’. Or it may take the form of an in-depth consideration of some of the most intractable dilemmas of our time, such as the continued prevalence of genocidal conflict.
SEMESTER 2
AN652 Key Concepts in Anthropology (10 credits) (Compulsory for all MA students)
What is culture, and what is society? This module discusses ‘big concepts’ in the early history of modern anthropology and from there traces lines through social and cultural anthropology stopping along the way to discuss, inter alia, varieties of evolutionism, functionalism, structuralism, materialism; symbolic and interpretive anthropology, feminism, post-structuralism and post-colonialism. However, this module is not devoted to intellectual histories in different schools of thought; rather the module looks at and evaluates key concepts, from function and exchange to fetish and assemblage. The module focuses on ethnographic deployments of key concepts.
AN862 Ethnography Winter School (5 credits) (Optional for all MA students)
This module is a comprehensive introduction to ethnography. ‘Ethnography’ is more than a ‘method’: it comprises a whole style of thought encompassing forms of observation, analysis, and writing. The module therefore emphasizes analysis and theory in addition to the research practices (interviewing, participant observation, note-taking) conventionally associated with qualitative research methodology. Themes covered include: culture and difference, contexts and cases (working in NGOs, clinics, corporations), styles of representation and the politics of knowledge, research ethics and ethnographic engagement. The module is also structured as a workshop, so that ethnographers at various stages of their careers -- from students planning proposals, to dissertation writers analyzing previously collected material, to research professionals who may not be based in academia -- will be able to produce work within the module that relates to their respective career stages, locations, and goals. This work, such as a proposal draft or a stretch of ethnographic writing, forms the basis for module assessment.
AN630 Creole Culture (5 credits) (Compulsory for Creole Students; Optional for all other MA students)
To introduce students to anthropological work on diversity, cosmopolitanism and mixing by drawing on European scholarship.This is an intensive course taught in collaboration with visiting staff from the Creole consortium. Content will vary and will be determined by the lecturer.
AN666 Topics in Linguistic Anthropology (5 credits ) (Compulsory for Linguistic Students; Optional for all other MA Students)
This course consists of structured, supervised field exercises involving the ethnographic study and analysis of specific occasions of language use in context. Students are encouraged to select and develop methods of analysis directed at their specific research interests and needs pertaining to their MA Thesis topic.
AN667 Topics in Medical Anthropology (5 credits) (Optional for all MA students)
To ground students ongoing research on Medical Anthropology with directed readings and small group discussion.
AN668 Topics in Material Culture & Design (5 credits) (Optional for all MA students)
Taking diverse examples (e.g. art works, archaeological artefacts, museum pieces or designed goods) students will consider the ways objects and architectures lie at the heart of popular conceptions of art, design, heritage and history, and rebound on notions of human creativity and authenticity. Through a comparative and inter-disciplinary perspective we will interrogate the place of material culture in social roles and practices. We will similarly focus on the things themselves and question how the aesthetics of surface qualities such as materiality, shininess and brilliance have been integral to the constitution of value across space and time. Finally we will track the routes that biographical objects undergo and follow objects in motion, for example through the so-called ‘circular economy’ in which questions of materiality - recycling, up-cycling, swapping and sustaining - are central.
AN669 Topics in Anthropology & Development (5 credits) (Compulsory for Development students; Optional for all other MA students)
In the second semester, we will focus on one or more key areas of concern for anthropologists writing in or about the Global South, such as gender, global health, the environment, and so on. Depending on the topics chosen, this module will provide a rich introduction to the relevant anthropological approaches. Thus, a gender focus will involve detailed discussion of the themes and debates within feminist anthropology. A global health focus will examine and critique an influential argument about the relationship between perduring systems of domination (such as poverty, racism, and sexism) and disease. It will also examine the ways in which this knowledge and its attendant morality mobilizes global concern and types of intervention. In seeking solutions to problems of global health and human suffering, it is necessary to attend to the hierarchies, and the unforeseen consequences, that can emerge when powerful global institutions seek to improve the lives of the putatively powerless. A focus on the environment will involve an introduction to important writings in the field of ecological anthropology. Since this module will coincide with the commencement of work on individual MA student research projects, it is envisaged that these cross-cutting themes will inform and deepen the analysis presented in the final thesis.
AN634T Thesis (30 credits) (Compulsory for All MA students)
Production of Masters Thesis through original research and regular contact with an advisor.
AN801 Theory and Practice for Anthropologists (Team-taught)
This course is built on the close reading of recent ethnographies, stressing theoretical, ethical and methodological issues, with practical focus on the craft of research in the discipline. The objective is to refine students' understanding of cutting edge anthropological theory and to assist students to operationalise their thesis proposal into ethnographic practice.
Prerequisites: AN601-604 or AN641-644 or equivalent
Assessment: participation + 5000-word equivalent continuous assessment
AN831 Directed Readings in Anthropology (Self-directed with mentor)
This module involves independent study facilitated by a staff mentor; the mentor may be the student's supervisor or it may be another member of the Anthropology staff. The role of the mentor is to provide specialist guidance in an area of disciplinary literature that the student wishes to explore. The module's objective is to provide a structured context in which an advanced postgraduate student can critically engage with areas of literature needed for the PhD thesis. It will enhance the student's preparedness for carrying out thesis research and/or writing the thesis. Students can only register for this module by prior arrangement with the mentor.
Prerequisites: Departmental permission only, arrangement with mentor
Assessment: A literature review essay of 5000 words
AN832-835 Research Tools in Anthropology (Self-directed with mentor)
Occasionally students pursue an anthropological research project that demands very specialised skills, from learning an exotic language to mastering advanced statistical methods. Students with such needs should discuss this with the Director of Postgraduate Studies to see if a specialised module can be designed for the student.
Prerequisites: Departmental permission only, arrangement with mentor
Assessment: 5000-word equivalent continuous assessment
AN841 Anthropology Writing-Up Seminar (Team-taught and cohort-led)
This module provides a rigorous but supportive environment for students to write up their thesis in a timely fashion. It is primarily self-directed, with staff supervision, by the cohort of students in the department who are currently in the process of writing. Seminar discussions will focus on the craft of ethnographic writing, especially focused on descriptively integrating primary data into an academic argument. Possible topics include learning writing through reading; ethnographic genres; audiences; ethnographic authority and issues of representation. Students will exchange draft chapters and read/critique one another's writing.
Prerequisites: Post-fieldwork and departmental permission
Assessment: 5000-word excerpt from the thesis-in-progress, marked by student's supervisor; engaged participation in critiquing the writing of others
AN842 Conference Participation (Self-directed with mentor)
This module involves independent study facilitated by a staff mentor; the mentor may be the student's supervisor or it may be another member of the Anthropology staff. The role of the mentor is to provide support as the student independently goes through the process of preparing to participate in a professional academic conference. The student's participation may range from presenting a paper to organizing a conference panel. The module's objective is to provide advanced postgraduate students with the experience of participating in a professional conference; it will advance their professional development by providing a structured context to facilitate the stages of the process.
Prerequisites: Departmental permission only, arrangement with mentor
Assessment: Text of conference paper and evidence of conference participation, or the panel abstract and preparatory notes for moderating the panel, along with a short essay reflecting on what the student learned from the experience
AN843 Writing for Peer-Reviewed Publication (Self-directed with mentor)
This module involves independent study facilitated by a staff mentor; the mentor may be the student's supervisor or it may be another member of the Anthropology staff. The role of the mentor is to facilitate the student's understanding of how academic publishing works, and to provide support as the student independently goes through the process of preparing a manuscript of an article for submission to a peer-reviewed academic journal. The module's objective is to provide advanced postgraduate students a structured understanding of academic publishing as well as the experience of preparing an article and submitting it to an academic journal for peer review. It will advance their professional development by providing a structured context to facilitate the stages of the process, from selecting a journal to drafting and submitting an article, through to receiving the reviewer feedback.
Prerequisites: Departmental permission only, arrangement with mentor
Assessment: Text of the article; evidence of submission to a peer-reviewed journal; short essay reflecting on what the student learned from the experience
AN851 The Use of Linguistic Data in Social Scientific Research (Dr. Steve Coleman)
This module will benefit anyone who uses linguistic data in social scientific research, whether it takes the form of interviews, questionnaires, the collection of oral narratives, life histories or folkloric material. Social scientists typically use linguistic data without taking into account the way that the social relations of research, and the discursive forms employed, constrain or even determine the nature and quality of the data collected. We will critically examine the use of verbal and textual data in previous research, investigating the discursive and generic forms these data take, and exploring their bases in the social relations between researchers and informants. We will survey a range of methodologies for the collection and interpretation of oral and textual materials, with the object of enriching the depth and range of fieldwork interaction as well as that of the resulting data.
Prerequisites: permission of the Lecturer
Assessment: TBD
AN854 Knowledge, Power and Institutions (Dr. Jamie Saris)
The purpose of this module is three-fold. The first is to introduce the student to some of the ideas in the writings of Michel Foucault, who is practically impossible to ignore in any discussion of power and knowledge. The second is to introduce several ideas concerning how institutions have been theorized that echo one another to an extent, but that also diverge in crucial ways. The third is to look at some current work clearly influenced by these sources.
Prerequisites: permission of instructor
Assessment: participation + 5000-word equivalent continuous assessment
AN862 Ethnography Winter School (Dr. Thomas Strong)
Offered January 2020
This module is a comprehensive introduction to ethnography. The course is delivered in a burst-format over several days, and features the collaborative teaching of practicing ethnographers, including both academics and professional researchers, on the island of Ireland. ‘Ethnography’ is more than a ‘method’: it comprises a whole style of thought encompassing forms of observation, analysis, and writing.
Prerequisites: BA 2.1 or permission based on other consideration (e.g. experience in the field)
Assessment: Negotiated portfolio of student's own work relevant to career stage
