SANTH4020 – Academic Writing and Project Development, transitional course
Course content
This course takes as point of departure the relevance of fieldwork as a practice of anthropological knowledge making. The course includes reading discussions, methodological explorations, and writing work to study the ethics, politics, and practice of ethnographic fieldwork. This way, it aims at contributing to the development of each student’s individual research proposal for the MA fieldwork and thesis. ?
The key output of the course is twofold: a written individual research proposal Students’ field projects are bases for both.
The course includes teaching on:
- participant observation
- conducting interviews
- data management
- library and data research and resources
This enables students to formulate research questions, conduct literature review, and define the methodological aspects needed to conduct their own fieldwork. Students will learn to "deep read," develop their writing skills, and think critically to produce written proposals, in-class presentations, and a final creative project.
Learning outcome
Knowledge
- Advanced level overview of key methodological approaches in contemporary anthropology and their relevance for students’ own research.
- Appreciation of the ethical challenges raised by different methodological and theoretical approaches.
- Understanding of how ethnographic research can address the pressing questions of our age.
Skills
- Ability to design a qualitative research project based on the state of the art of a research field, with a relevant research question and an ethically feasible methodological design.
- Ability to assess the methodological merit and ethical soundness of qualitative research projects.
General competence
- Capacity for critically engaging with the methodological and ethical challenges of ethnographic research within contemporary social science.
- Capacity for intellectual cooperation and teamwork through group discussions and group presentations.
- Ability to cultivate ethics, responsibility, and respect in the production of knowledge.
Admission to the course
Students must be enrolled in the master’s programme in Social Anthropology.
This transitional course is available only to students enrolled in the master’s program in Social Anthropology prior to autumn 2025, and who have already completed ANTH4030, but not ANTH4020. Please contact the administration to apply: info-master@sai.uio.no
Formal prerequisite knowledge
It is a prerequisite that you have completed ANTH4030 – Advanced Anthropological Methods.
Teaching
Twelve 3-hour teaching blocks with a combination of lectures and seminars. You follow the teaching of ANTH4125 – Advanced Anthropological Methods and Project Development.
Compulsory activities:
- 2-page draft research proposal.
- 6-page draft research proposal with oral presentation.
Draft proposals and oral presentations will be assessed as Approved/Not approved. All compulsory activities must be approved in order to take the SANTH4020 exam.
In the event of illness or other valid reasons, you can apply for a valid absence or postponement of compulsory activity.?Apply for valid absence from or need for postponement of compulsory activity
Examination
- A final submission in Inspera of a 3500 words research proposal.
All compulsory activities must be approved, and the exam passed in the same semester.
Examination support material
All exam support materials are allowed during this exam. Generating all or part of the exam answer using AI tools such as Chat GPT or similar is not allowed.
Language of examination
You may submit your response in English, Norwegian, Swedish, or Danish.
Grading scale
Grades are awarded on a pass/fail scale. Read more about?the grading system.
Also see?Grading guidelines in social anthropology
More about examinations at UiO
- Use of sources and citations
- Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
- Withdrawal from an exam
- Illness at exams / postponed exams
- Explanation of grades and appeals
- Resitting an exam
- Cheating/attempted cheating
You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.