African Studies and Social Anthropology second year modules
Research in Practice
This module prepares students for a final year dissertation and independent study in the Department of African Studies and Anthropology. It provides all students with a thorough grounding in research methodologies relevant to Anthropology and its cognate disciplines within African Studies (for instance history, literature, development). Students will gain knowledge of research design and implementation, research ethics, and independent study skills, and will also practise a selection of methodologies for assessment. At the end of the module, students will have prepared a suitable research proposal that could form the basis of their final year DASA dissertation.
Theory and Ethnography
Ethnography and Theory covers essential elements of social theory for Anthropology, and anthropological theory for the Social Sciences and Humanities. It provides training in theories and theorists who have influenced anthropological thought and ethnographic research; and in the historical development of anthropological schools of thought, including those grounded in different national contexts, from the nineteenth century to the present day.
Examples of Second year optional modules (can alternately be taken in third year)
20 credits each
- Kinship, Gender and Sexuality
- Anthropology of Islam
- African Popular Culture
- Ethnographies of the Marginalised
- Urban Anthropology
- Political Anthropology
- Religion & Ritual
- Social Life of the Economy
- Atlantic Slavery: West Africa and the Caribbean
- Anthropology of Migration
- Anthropology of Tomorrow
- Anticolonial, Postcolonial, Decolonial
- Development in Africa
- From Colony to Nation: Ghana 1987-1966
- Future Skills Modules - available second year only
Please note these are examples of Futures Skills Modules that might be on offer:
Humanities in the Classroom
For this placement module you will be placed in schools to observe or shadow teachers in their own disciplines or in adjacent disciplines, and where possible and appropriate to deliver enrichment activities yourself or to act as mentor in those schools. You will also attend a series of lectures and workshops from visiting speakers focussing on pedagogy and curricula in their subjects, on careers and training for teachers, and on outreach and engagement activities at Universities. You will be supported within your department in small group seminars during which you will reflect on your own learning and plan for the assessment. Students can also explore education more widely, outside school settings, for example by researching educational facilities and resources in local museums, heritage sites or other cultural institutions and by participating in or observing outreach activities within their departments.
Media in Practice
This module gives you the chance to produce your own original content, learn skills and techniques that will improve what you create, and think rigorously about how media shapes our world. With lectures from a range of academic disciplines, the module asks big questions, like “How does news consumption affect voting behaviour?” and shares practical know-how, like how to conduct an interview or put in a Freedom of Information request. Through peer workshops, guided by academic leads, it also helps you to develop your own ideas and projects, from the first spark to the finished article. This module is designed to open media to all, so no prior experience is necessary.
Sustainable development Climate, Culture, Society and Policy
This is an interdisciplinary module that allows you to examine sustainability through the lens of several disciplines that fall broadly within arts, humanities and law. Examples of the topics you will examine are: sustainability and interdisciplinary research; the concept of sustainable development; climate change; sustainability and environmental justice. In examining these topics, students will also look into particular polices/initiatives to understand how sustainability is implemented in practice. The module will be delivered by academics from different disciplines which will allow you to engage in an interdisciplinary discussion with some of the mentioned topics. You will also have an opportunity to learn about sustainability initiatives at the UoB campus.
- Professional Skills Module
This is a work placement module involving a minimum of 10 days in a work environment in the type of organisation or business sector to which students might apply following successful completion of their undergraduate programme. The module will provide students with an opportunity to develop transferable skills, including team working, problem-solving and communication skills, as well as allowing the development of the ability to self-reflect on activity undertaken.
Further information on the Professional skills module