Anthropology

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Robert Wishart and Alex King

Pre-requisites

N/A

Co-requisites

Compulsory for students taking MSc. in Materialising the Past

Notes

Overview

This core course for the Anthropology and Archaeology M.Sc. is tailored around individual student interest in working with research materials. A plan will be developed between the course coordinators and each student to gain access to a research activity such as an excavation, a laboratory, or a museum/archive. After spending at least 20 hours at this activity, the student will write an assessed 3000 word report outlining what they did, the outcomes of the practicum and its application to anthropology and archaeology.

Structure

20 hours practicum, 3 hours supervision.

Assessment

100% coursework. 3000 word report

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Robert Wishart and Alex King

Pre-requisites

N/A

Notes

Overview

This core course for the Materialising the Past M.Sc. will be structured around several themes that introduce subjects of common interest to anthropology and archaeology while also providing a space to explore the dialogue between these sibling disciplines over their interpretation, usefulness and how, or even if, the disciplines should engage with them.

Lecture themes include the history of anthropology and archaeology as sibling disciplines; anthropological and archaeological notions of time and progress; socio-cultural evolution and its present day applications; ecology and adaptation; culture change and colonialism; material culture and enskillment; museums and public engagement; museums and the politics of collections (repatriation); socio-linguistics, orality and unpreserved forms of sociality; anthropology and archaeology in indigenous contexts; rescue archaeology and cultural resource management; the politics of the archaeological record.

Each one hour lecture will be followed by a one hour student lead seminar where the students can develop their interests and receive instant feedback from their cohort and the course coordinators on their research ideas.

Structure

1 hour lecture, 1 hour student interest driven seminar per week

Assessment

100% coursework, student will be assessed on one 6000 word essay on a subject that they will choose and develop with guidance over the duration of the course.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Alexander King

Pre-requisites

N/A

Notes

Overview

The anthropology of myth highlights the social and cultural contexts of myths as sacred narratives. This course draws upon a wide range of cultures, from ancient Greeks, Mesopotamia and China to contemporary Africa, Asia, and the indigenous peoples of the Americas. Boasian approaches to Native American myths as oral literature and windows into cultural values can be contrasted with the functionalist theories of Tylor and Malinowski. This course emphasizes the performative qualities of myth, drawing upon the work by Dell Hymes, Albert Lord, Dennis Tedlock, Claude Lévi-Strauss, Edmund Leach, Ruth Finnegan, Peter Gow and others. The course concludes with a discussion of the relevance of myth in contemporary society, such as found in the fiction by Tolkien or novels by Native American writers like Alexie, Silko, or Welch.

Structure

1 hour lecture, 1 hour tutorial per week

Assessment

100% One 6000 word essay

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr Robert Wishart

Pre-requisites

N/A

Notes

Overview

This study of the Anthropology of the North will take advantage of lectures already being taught in the anthropology department at the 4th year level, but it will contain separate advanced seminars for the MSc students.
Each one hour lecture will be followed by a one hour student lead seminar where the students can develop their interests and receive instant feedback from their cohort and the course coordinators on their ideas.

Structure

1 hour lecture, 1 hour seminar per week

Assessment

100% coursework - One 6,000 essay

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Johan Rasanayagam

Pre-requisites

N/A

Notes

Overview

This course examines how Muslims engage with Islam as a system of morality and belief. It discusses the debates within Muslim societies about what constitutes ‘real’ Islam and how Muslims should conduct themselves. How does belief in Islam as a unitary, transcendent Truth, which is universal to all humanity, relate to the diverse manner in which Islam in actually lived in practice throughout the world? An important issue which will be explored in the course is that of subjectivity and selfhood within a Muslim context, and how we might approach the topic of belief itself.

Structure

One 1 hour lecture and one 1 hour seminar per week

Assessment

100% in-course assessment - 6,000 word essay

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr Jo Vergunst/Prof Tim Ingold

Pre-requisites

N/A

Co-requisites

Concepts and Approaches in Design Anthropology

Notes

Overview

This course will explore the connections between anthropology, archaeology, art and architecture, conceived as alternative approaches to understanding and shaping how people perceive and relate to their surroundings, in currents of space, time, and movement. We will focus on issues of perception, design and construction, on the generation and reproduction of form in natural and 'built' environments, on the relation between bodily movements and live time/space, on the significance of craft and skill, on activities, of depiction and description, and on impacts of old and new technologies. We will explore these issues through readings, practical exercises and site visits.

Structure

2 hour lecture, 1 hour individual supervision

Assessment

100% coursework

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr Maggie Bolton

Pre-requisites

N/A

Co-requisites

Concepts and Approaches in Design Anthropology

Notes

Overview

This course will explore some of the history, meanings, and uses of 'Intellectual Property', a concept of increasing importance in anthropology and beyond. The series of lectures and seminars will provide students with theoretical tools to approach contemporary issues of innovation, ownership, and the value placed upon knowledge. We ask, 'How is knowledge produced?; What are the connections people make between it and other items that can be owned?; How do precedents from one realm of production and ownership appear relevant in another?' The lectures will cover literature from Classical Political Economy, Political Philosophy, Economic Anthropology, and international precedents for attributing authorship and cultural rights to persons and groups. Part of the course will be dedicated to literature within Science and Technology Studies, and studies of Biodivesity, and Genetics, and of software production. The underlying theme is to expose some of the consequences of liberal individualism for the structure and politics on contemporary social realities.

Structure

1 hour lecture and 1 hour individual supervision per week.

Assessment

100% coursework

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr Maggie Bolton

Pre-requisites

N/A

Co-requisites

Concepts and Approaches in Design Anthropology

Overview

The theoretical focus of this course is on technology and uses of materials and the way that these intersect with questions of political power. Theoretical concerns are addressed by introducing the anthropology of the Andean region - with the rationale that approaches to working with materials in this region differed markedly from those of Europe until (and also beyond) the Spanish conquest of the 16th century. Different areas of technology and material culture are addressed through examining both historical material and contemporary ethnographic studies - from pre-Hispanic metallurgy to contemporary agricultural development and the role of scientifically trained experts in bringing about changes in practices. Four main technological areas are addressed in the course: mining and metallurgy; fibres and Andean textuality; medicine and the body and working the land.

Structure

1 hour lecture and 1 hour individual supervision per week.

Assessment

100% coursework

Credit Points

Course Coordinator

Johan Rasanayagam

Pre-requisites

N/A

Notes

Overview

Students will critically investigate the concepts of religion and belief, and the articulation of religion and power.

Students will interrogate the concept of religion, explore contrasting theories of religion and ritual, discuss the interface of religion, power and violence, and critically explore the concept of belief. This course will take a seminar form, led by students and facilitated by a member of staff.

Structure

One 2 hour seminar per week

Assessment

5000 word essay (100% in-course assessment)

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Alex King and Nancy Wachowich

Pre-requisites

N/A

Notes

Overview

From charter myths and epics to reminiscences and eyewitiness accounts, stories are an integral part of talk and the sociality of everyday life. Oral traditions have a social life situated in the nexus of relationships among persons. The anthropology of oral traditions focuses on historical oral narratives and the interplay between orality and textuality in contemporary social life. Analysis proceeds from the assumption that form and content are intertwined in the production of meaning and that an attention to performance and medium is important to understanding the message. This course will be of interest to anthropology students, as well as to students in linguistics and history.

Structure

1 one hour lecture and 1 one hour tutorial per week.

Assessment

100% coursework - 6000 word essay

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Andrew Whitehouse

Pre-requisites

N/A

Notes

Overview

At the end of the course, students should be able to:
• demonstrate understanding of major theoretical approaches to landscape in anthropology.
• produce coherent and reasoned arguments in written work and class discussions about topics related to the landscape in anthropology.
• demonstrate a critical understanding of empirical research related to the ethnography of landscape.
• show an understanding of the importance of a comparative and critical approach to studying landscape.
• effectively use the library and other information sources to research relevant theoretical and empirical material.
• prepare material for leading and participating in seminar discussions.
• work with fellow students in organising seminars and in commenting on each other’s work.
• engage in self-directed learning, assisted by some formal guidance.
• use a reflexive approach in their own work, involving balanced self-criticism and intellectual progression.

The aim of the course is to address the relevance of landscape to method and theory in anthropology. It will allow students to draw upon analytical skills and knowledge gained in previous courses, and develop an anthropological approach to landscape in ethnography and human-environment relations. The course will creatively explore the tensions and overlaps between landscape as physical landform, as scenery, and as the site of human activities and journeys. Developing advanced themes in environmental anthropology, we will discuss the central place of landscape in ethnography. Topics covered include movement, memory and time, phenomenology and aesthetics. The course will draw on a wide range of materials including recent ethnographic and theoretical work in anthropology, and also texts from geography, environmental history and nature writing. Students will also be encouraged to consider art and photography that deals with landscape.

Structure

1 one-hour lecture and 1 one-hour tutorial per week, to be arranged.

Assessment

In-course assessment 100%.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr Johan Rasanayagam

Pre-requisites

Available to students in level 5 only.

Notes

Overview

This course will interrogate the utility of the category of “religion” and will look at the broadest politics of the category of “religion” and how it becomes distinguished from the “secular”. How have these categories emerged through the history of ideas and political institutions?

Structure

One 2-hour seminar every 2 weeks.

Assessment

One 3,000 word essay.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Andrew Whitehouse

Pre-requisites

N/A

Co-requisites

Compulsory course for students taking the MSc People and Environment

Notes

Overview

This core course for the MSc in People and Environment will be structured around four sections. The first section will provide an introduction to ecological and environmental anthropology, exploring key issues, theories and debates in the history of the field. The remaining three sections will focus on three broad sub-themes: environmental perception, human-animal relations and anthropology and conservation. These are areas of particular research strength at Aberdeen but between them they also draw on a wide range of approaches and themes, including phenomenology, political ecology, indigenous rights, applied anthropology and aesthetics.

Structure

One hour seminar and one hour student-led tutorial per week; occasional short field trips within northeast Scotland (sites will be selected to be accessible to students with disabilities, if necessary).

Assessment

100% - Three 2000 word essays

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Tatiana Argounova-Low

Pre-requisites

Admission to postgraduate degree in the College of Arts and Social Sciences

Notes

Overview

This course explores the phenomenon of roads and focuses on the relationship between roads and other anthropological concepts, such as landscape, environment, narrative, knowledge and memory, gradually building up towards theoretical conceptualization of roads. The course will deal with the themes of mobility and migration, topical issues in contemporary world. The course will mainly rely on ethnographic material from the North, including Scotland.

Structure

One hour lecture and one hour tutorial per week.

Assessment

Continuous assessment: one 6000 word essay.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Alison Brown

Pre-requisites

N/A

Notes

Overview

The interplay between cultural representation and the construction of identity has long been of interest to anthropologists and cultural historians. The Native peoples of the Plains region of North America have arguably been subjected to more cultural stereotyping than any other indigenous group; popular representations include warriors and princesses, the ‘stoic Indian’, and the ‘ecological Indian’. Through a study of contemporary issues, the lectures and seminars will consider how the tensions created by these imaginaries are negotiated by Native peoples on the Plains today as well as how they feed into broader anthropological concerns relating to the politics of representation. Themes to be covered include the impact of stereotypes; sovereignty; the social and political implications of defining ‘Indianness’; new economic developments and cultural tourism.

Structure

1 one-hour lecture and 1 one-hour tutorial per week, to be arranged.

Assessment

100% continuous assessment - an essay of 6000 words.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr Jo Vergunst

Pre-requisites

Only available to registered postgraduate students.

Notes

Overview

This course introduces key issues of philosophy, theory and method raised by research in the related fields of social anthropology, ethnology and cultural history,

Structure

This course will allow students to become familiar with the approach to anthropology and allied disciplines taken by staff at Aberdeen.

Assessment

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Neil Curtis

Pre-requisites

N/A

Overview

This core course for the MLitt in Museum Studies will be structured in two blocks. The first block will focus on the history and philosophy of museums and collecting, while the second block will relate these theoretical positions to contemporary museum practice, drawing on fieldwork undertaken in galleries and museums. Many taught sessions will be held in the University’s museums, including display areas, conservation workshop and reserve collections. A field trip (to e.g. Dundee or Edinburgh) will include an opportunity to evaluate another museum and meet with other professional museum staff. Each two-hour seminar will be followed by a one hour student lead seminar where the students can develop their interests.

Structure

1 x 2 hour seminar per week; 1 x 1 hour student interest driven seminar per week; 1 x one-day field trip (6 hours).

Assessment

100% coursework. One 4,000 word essay (60%), one 20-minute oral presentation (10%) and one 2,000 word critical review of a museum (30%).

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr Arnar Arnason

Pre-requisites

N/A

Overview

This course explores theoretical issues and key debates in contemporary anthropology. We begin by establishing a broad overview of theoretical developments in anthropology. We will then review how the central concepts of culture and society were rethought in anthropology during the 1980s. Following on from this, we ask the questions that underlie the discussions during the course: how can anthropology proceed if the targets of its investigation can no longer be understood as objective entities? How can anthropology proceed if the anthropologist themeselves is inevitably implicated in and part of those very targets? To look for possible answers, the course examines current anthropological interest in power and history, political economy and phenomenology, experience, embodiment and practice. While the intent is theoretical these issues and debates will be explored largely through ethnographic writing on such subjects as emotions and the body, genetics and reproduction, personhood and politics, death, memory and forgetting. Emphasis will be placed on encouraging students to apply theoretical insights from anthropology to their everyday lives and the world around them.

Structure

1 hour lecture and 1 hour small groups per week.

Assessment

100% coursework.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr Jo Vergunst

Pre-requisites

Only available to registered postgraduate students.

Overview

The course comprises a programme of readings that will be devised in advance through consultation between student and supervisor, in light of the student’s intended research interests.

Structure

Personal supervision, averaging 2 hours per week throughout all teaching weeks of one half-session.

Assessment

One essay of 3,000 words.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr Andrew Whitehouse

Pre-requisites

N/A

Overview

The course is focussed on relations between humans and nonhumans, particularly animals and plants. A range of disciplinary approaches will be explored, including history, cultural geography, natural science and science and technology studies, as well as anthropology. The course will involve advanced themes in environmental anthropology and will examine research that has emerged during the recent ‘more-than-human’ trend in the social sciences and humanities. Topics covered will include the role of the more-than-human in the development of social theory, hunting and its rituals, science and the politics and ethics of the nonhuman, nonhumans in art and the media, how humans perceive nonhumans and the wider implications of a more-than-human anthropology.

Structure

One one-hour lecture and one one-hour tutorial for MSc students per week.

Assessment

Continuous assessment: two 3000-word essays, each weighted 30%, and one 4000-word project, weighted 40%.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Mr Neil Curtis

Pre-requisites

Available only to registered postgraduate students

Overview

This course will afford students the opportunity to work with Aberdeen's extensive museum collections and rare book collections to design and execute an exhibition with both a physical and virtual presence.

Structure

Assessment

One design brief (30%); one group exhibition (30%); one individual portfolio, including a 3,500 word reflexive essay (40%).

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr Jo Vergunst

Pre-requisites

N/A

Co-requisites

Compulsory for students taking MSc People and Environment

Notes

Overview

The course will be based around students reading approximately six contemporary environmental ethnographies. Texts will be selected to cover a range of issues, styles and approaches and students will read each successively as the course progresses. A seminar will be held every fortnight to allow students to discuss each work in depth together with a tutor. Students will be assessed through a comparative essay that discusses a number of the texts featured in the course.

Structure

Six two-hour seminars to take place fortnightly during the twelve-week semester.

Assessment

100% coursework: Two 2000 word essays (50% each)

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Martin Mills

Pre-requisites

N/A

Notes

Overview

Though a series of seminars, students will learn how to identify a suitable question for their dissertation, and identify and review the relevant literature in libraries and through on-line databases. The course will discuss how dissertations might be structured, how conceptual frames or theory might relate to ethnography, as well as conventions for footnoting, referencing and bibliographies

Structure

Six 2 hour tutorials over the 12 week semester, one every two weeks.

Assessment

100% continual assessment:

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr Jo Vergunst

Pre-requisites

AT5013 Understanding People and Environment.

Overview

This course consists of a six-week full-time work placement or a twelve-week part-time placement in a working context related to the field of environmental anthropology. Partner organisations will be based in northeast Scotland. Possible organisations include the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the Forestry Commission, Scottish Natural Heritage, the John Muir Trust, Aberdeen City Council and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. Work projects for students will be negotiated with these organisations. Students will meet regularly with a supervisor within the Department of Anthropology to discuss their placement and will write a report, which will form the basis of assessment.

Structure

No formal classes are required for the course, but students will have regular meetings with a supervisor in the Department of Anthropology both before and after the work placement. At these meetings a decision will be made on the most appropriate placement for the student and the student will also be given guidance on writing their report.

Assessment

5000-word report (100%).

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr Maggie Bolton

Pre-requisites

N/A

Overview

This course provides a more in-depth coverage of issues of culture and society in Latin America than the MSc core course Themes in Latin American Studies, although the course will also be available for students of other MSc and MRes programmes, pending approval of the course coordinator. The course will cover a range of topics from the anthropology of indigenous and non-indigenous societies to colonial and modern history and contemporary literature and film. This will also introduce students to a wide range of approaches to Latin American Studies, especially those of anthropology, of history, and of literary and cultural studies.

Structure

1 two-hour seminar per week

Assessment

Continuous assessment: 100%: 2 x 3,000 word essays (50% each)

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr Johan Rasanayagam

Pre-requisites

Only available to registered postgraduate students.

Notes

Overview

This course introduces key issues of philosophy, theory and method raised by research in the related fields of social anthropology, ethnology and cultural history.

Structure

This course will allow students to become familiar with the approach to anthropology and allied disciplines taken by staff at Aberdeen.

Assessment

Credit Points

60

Course Coordinator

Dr Jo Vergunst

Pre-requisites

N/A

Overview

The dissertation is a substantial piece of independent research and writing. In it, students will demonstrate the extent to which they have achieved the critical learning outcomes from their year of research training.

Structure

Assessment

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr Robert Wishart

Pre-requisites

N/A

Overview

The course interrogates the distinction between society and nature by examining several topics including wildlife management, protected places, ritual regulation, climate change, energy, and animal rights. Each topic will be examined to provide a historical examination of anthropology’s engagement with it as well as the challenges it presents today.

Structure

1 hour lecture and 1 hour tutorial per week.

Assessment

Continuous assessment (100%): 2 essays of 2500 words.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr Jo Vergunst

Pre-requisites

Only available to registered postgraduate students.

Overview

The course comprises a programme of readings that will be devised in advance through consultation between student and supervisor, in light of the student’s intended research interests.

Structure

Personal supervision, averaging 2 hours per week throughout all teaching weeks of one half-session.

Assessment

One essay of 3,000 words.

Credit Points

60

Course Coordinator

Dr Jo Vergunst

Pre-requisites

N/A

Co-requisites

Compulsory for students on MSc People and Environment

Notes

Overview

Independent research leading to a 10-12,000 word dissertation

Structure

Independent research project
The students will be prepared for this in a separate course entitled ‘Dissertation project seminar’. Supervision will also be provided by an appropriate member of staff.

Assessment

100% coursework – 12,000 word thesis.

Credit Points

60

Course Coordinator

Dr Maggie Bolton

Pre-requisites

Available only to students registered on the MSc in Latin American Studies

Overview

Students who meet the necessary requirements proceed to the 12-15,000 word dissertation, which is a compulsory part of the MSc in Latin American Studies. It enables students to pursue in-depth knowledge and original research on a topic of the culture, society, politics or international relations of Latin America, subject to approval of the teaching staff. The dissertation is designed to allow students to extend an interest in some aspect of the degree and to have experience in formulating, designing and conducting their own research investigation. Students will be prepared for this by the core and elective courses of the MSc programme, by one 2-hour seminar of dissertation-writing training, and by individual supervision.

Structure

One two-hour workshop in second half-session, followed by independent research under individual supervision.

Assessment

Dissertation, 12-15,000 words: 100%

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

To be confirmed

Pre-requisites

Only available to students taking the MRes in Social Anthropology, Ethnology and Cultural History.

Overview

Students will take part in a series of lectures, seminars and workshops related to anthropological methods and disciplinary practice. Specific topics will vary from year to year but may include participant observation, fieldnotes, documentary research and the ethics and politics of anthropological research.

Structure

One full time working week, from Monday to Friday.

Assessment

Full participation at the STAR event, including presentation of group work. Assessment will be marked on a pass/fail basis.

Credit Points

60

Course Coordinator

Johan Rasanayagam

Pre-requisites

N/A

Notes

Overview

Students will make use of the knowledge and critical understanding gained through participation in the MSc Anthropology of Religion to identify a research topic for the dissertation, conduct library based research, and produce an analysis in the form of a 10-12,000 word dissertation.

Independent research leading to a 10-12,000 word dissertation

Structure

Independent research project
The students will be prepared for this in a separate course entitled ‘Dissertation project seminar’.

Assessment

10-12,000 word dissertation

Credit Points

60

Course Coordinator

Neil Curtis

Pre-requisites

N/A

Overview

This course builds on the skills and knowledge acquired in taught courses in the MLitt Museums Studies programme. In completing their dissertation, students will be expected to demonstrate that they can conduct advanced library research, prepare extensive literature reviews situating their research question in its wider academic and professional context and write and edit large pieces of work. In addition, they will be required to prepare abstracts and bibliographies and assess the ethical issues involved in original research. All students will receive staff supervision in identifying a suitable topic and in completing an original research project.

Structure

6 x 1 hour one-to-one tutorials plus other support as appropriate.

Assessment

12,000 word dissertation (100%).

Credit Points

60

Course Coordinator

Neil Curtis

Pre-requisites

N/A

Overview

This course builds on the skills and knowledge acquired in taught courses in the MLitt Museums Studies programme. In completing their project, students will be expected successfully complete a minimum 20 day placement in a relevant museum or art gallery (to be approved in advance by the course co-ordinator) and identify a topic for study during their placement. The written project will demonstrate that they can conduct advanced library research, prepare literature reviews situating their project in its wider academic and professional context and write and edit large pieces of work. In addition, they will be required to assess the ethical issues involved in original research and working with the public. All students will receive staff supervision in identifying a suitable topic and in completing a project.

Structure

4 x 1 hour one-to-one tutorials plus other support as appropriate.

Assessment

8,000 word project (100%), following a successful approved placement of at least 20 days in a museum or art gallery.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr Jo Vergunst

Pre-requisites

N/A

Overview

This course introduces students to the principles of research design in the social sciences. What constitutes valid and reliable research at the postgraduate and post-doctoral level? How do we: choose a research topic; focus it down into something that will make a serious contribution to the field; identify the substantive, theoretical and methodological possibilities for carrying out our research; and turn these into practical methods that will answer our questions ethically, effectively and efficiently? Students will address these questions a step-by-step process, working on a project chosen in discussion with course co-ordinator.

Structure

One 2-hour session per week.

Assessment

Completion of a research design workbook, usually 3000 words.