ANTH4010 – Advanced Anthropological Theory

Course content

This course gives you a broad and advanced grounding in the major theoretical approaches in Social Anthropology whilst positioning Anthropology in a developing and changing intellectual and social context. The aim is to enable you to understand the unique perspectives on social life facilitated by anthropological theoretical perspectives, and in so doing, to encourage you to use these insights as the basis for the development of your own research projects.

The course covers a number of key concepts and debates in classical and contemporary anthropological theory. It invites you to develop an understanding of what anthropological theory can add to our understanding of contemporary global social issues as a part of your preparation for your own research contribution to this field. Topics covered include:

  • The nature of anthropological theory
  • Understanding systems and structures
  • Anthropological approaches to materialism and symbolism
  • Anthropological approaches to gender
  • The role