• Offered by School of Archaeology and Anthropology
  • ANU College ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences
  • Course subject Anthropology
  • Academic career PGRD
  • Course convener
    • Dr Philip Taylor
  • Mode of delivery In Person
  • Offered in Autumn Session 2014
    See Future Offerings

This Seminar-based course aims to provide commencing HDR students in Athropology across CASS and CAP with an important foundation in both classic and contemporary anthropological thought, enhancing students' abilities to grasp and critique materials from a wide range of perspectives. Students are encouraged to appreciate not only the distinctiveness of the anthropology theoretical "voice", but also the crucial role of theory in animating anthropological (especially ethnographic) practice. The overall intention is to help students to think about, and conceptualise, their own individual ethnographic projects with respect to the central theoretical issues and debates within the discipline, and for students to do this prior to undertaking their fieldwork.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

Students are encouraged to step outside of a narrow focus on their particular research question and ethnographic area, and to focus instead on wider theoretical questions of particular interest to anthropologists. Students should be able to speak to any set of readings, as they all address central debates.

By the end of the course students will be expected to have:

  • developed a firm grounding in advanced anthropological theory and method, particularly in the application of theory to ethnographic representation;
  • advanced their skills in critical analysis and reflection, enabling students to closely examine their own ethnographical projects with respect to the central theoretical issues and debates in contemporary anthropology;
  • developed the ability to critically engage in meaningful discussions about the strengths and problems of ethnographic representations;
  • further developed the ability to present their work from reading and research orally to peers in a seminar format.

Indicative Assessment

The course will be assesses as pass/fail. Students must obtain a pass grade for each component of the assessment.

  • Attendance at the 12 weekly seminars and participation in the weekly discussions of reading material and the presentation: 10%
  • Leading class discussion for one week with submission of a 1000 word summary of readings for that week. 10%
  • Production of a thesis and fieldwork plan – 3000 words: 20%
  • Preparation of a 6000 word research proposal in which the theoretical literature relevant to the thesis research is identified and reviewed. This to be presented as a one hour seminar, followed by discussion, at the Friday afternoon postgraduate seminar: 60%

The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.

Workload

12 weekly seminars of 2 hours each plus reading and preparation.

Requisite and Incompatibility

You will need to contact the School of Archaeology and Anthropology to request a permission code to enrol in this course.

Fees

Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.  

If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Students continuing in their current program of study will have their tuition fees indexed annually from the year in which you commenced your program. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.

Student Contribution Band:
1
Unit value:
12 units

If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.  Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.

Units EFTSL
12.00 0.25000
Domestic fee paying students
Year Fee Description
1994-2003 $3084
2014 $4956
2013 $4944
2012 $4944
2011 $4848
2010 $4716
2009 $4572
2008 $4572
2007 $4572
2006 $4572
2005 $4572
2004 $3852
International fee paying students
Year Fee
1994-2003 $7236
2014 $7524
2013 $7512
2012 $7512
2011 $7512
2010 $7500
2009 $7236
2008 $7236
2007 $7236
2006 $7236
2005 $7236
2004 $7236
Note: Please note that fee information is for current year only.

Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links

ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.

The list of offerings for future years is indicative only.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.

Autumn Session

Class number Class start date Last day to enrol Census date Class end date Mode Of Delivery Class Summary
4003 01 Apr 2014 18 Apr 2014 18 Apr 2014 30 Jun 2014 In Person N/A

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