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%
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Workload
130 hours of total student learning time made up from:a) 36 hours of contact over 12 weeks: 24 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorials and tutorial-like activities; and
b) 94 hours of independent student research, reading, and writing.
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.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you 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). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 14
- Unit value:
- 12 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found 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 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2023 | $7920 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2023 | $11640 |
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3003 | 01 Apr 2023 | 21 Apr 2023 | 21 Apr 2023 | 30 Jun 2023 | In Person | N/A |