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AT4547: THE POLITICAL ANTHROPOLOGY OF INDIGENOUS RIGHTS (2020-2021)

Last modified: 05 Aug 2021 13:04


Course Overview

Indigeneity is one of the more controversial relations created by globalisation. Widely criticised for being ‘essentialist’ and ‘anti-liberal’, it is one of the more quickly growing identities recognized by the United Nations and defended in the constitutions of many nation-states. Using anthropological insight, this course survey the history of the term, study its expansion from the ‘salt-water colonies’ and ‘settler states’ to the heartland of Europe, and explore some of the challenges and advantages of the term. The seminar will explore how the term has come to be used in different post-colonial situations from the classic “heartlands” if indigeneity in North America, Latin America, and Northern Fennoscandia, to new contexts in China, India, Africa. The course will also explore how the politics of aboriginal rights has become closely linked to struggles for recognition, environmentalism, and collective struggles against neo-liberalism. The course is run in a seminar format with students encouraged to weigh and evaluate the results of their reading.

Course Details

Study Type Undergraduate Level 4
Session Second Sub Session Credit Points 30 credits (15 ECTS credits)
Campus Aberdeen Sustained Study No
Co-ordinators
  • Professor David G. Anderson

What courses & programmes must have been taken before this course?

  • Any Undergraduate Programme
  • Programme Level 4
  • One of Anthropology (AT) or International Relations (IR) or Politics (PI)

What other courses must be taken with this course?

None.

What courses cannot be taken with this course?

Are there a limited number of places available?

No

Course Description

Indigeneity is one of the more controversial relations created by globalisation. Widely criticised for being ‘essentialist’ and ‘anti-liberal’, it is one of the more quickly growing identities recognized by the United Nations and defended in the constitutions of many nation-states. Using anthropological insight, this course survey the history of the term, study its expansion from the ‘salt-water colonies’ and ‘settler states’ to the heartland of Europe, and explore some of the challenges and advantages of the term. The seminar will explore how the term has come to be used in different post-colonial situations from the classic “heartlands” if indigeneity in North America, Latin America, and Northern Fennoscandia, to new contexts in China, India, Africa. The course will also explore how the politics of aboriginal rights has become closely linked to struggles for recognition, environmentalism, and collective struggles against neo-liberalism. The course is run in a seminar format with students encouraged to weigh and evaluate the results of their reading.


Contact Teaching Time

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

Teaching Breakdown

More Information about Week Numbers


Details, including assessments, may be subject to change until 31 August 2023 for 1st half-session courses and 22 December 2023 for 2nd half-session courses.

Summative Assessments

Essay topic plan (10%)
4x group annotations (20%)
3000-word essay (30%)
Take-home exam (35%)

 

Resit (for students taking the course in AY20/21)

Resubmit plan 10%
Resubmit essay 30%
Take-home exam 65%

Formative Assessment

There are no assessments for this course.

Course Learning Outcomes

Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualUnderstandThis course encourages critical reflection on the history of colonisation.
ProceduralAnalyseThe course gives you an opportunity to work with each other in preparing seminar presentations.
ReflectionEvaluateThe course encourages you to reflect critically on the quality of your own work, to direct your own learning, and to manage your time effectively.
ReflectionEvaluateThe course shows how anthropological ideas can be applied to specific areas of enquiry; to raise central issues about the nature of the evidence we present for our claims about the world.
ConceptualCreateThe course shows the value of comparative analysis.
FactualCreateThis course will improve your ability to obtain and evaluate relevant information and to write concise and clear analytical essays that draw upon advanced anthropological sources.
ProceduralRememberThe course encourages you to present structured and reasoned points to a small group.
ProceduralApplyThe course teaches you to revise large amounts of material and be able to select from that body of knowledge what is relevant to a very specific question under the pressure of time constraints.
FactualApplyThe current assessment in the course encourages the complex use of library materials.

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