Anthropologists acquire their information through a distinctive method termed participant observation. This means that they spend many months or even years living among the people with whom they are researching, sharing their experiences as far as possible, and hence attempting to gain a well-rounded understanding of that society and of the activities and opinions of its members. Within this broad general framework, individual anthropologists do of course bring their own particular interests and emphases to bear: they may, for example, be interested in local families and domestic processes; in religious ideas and activities; in the production, consumption, and reproduction of cultural knowledge or material wealth; or in the practical problems of health or social development.

Why study Social Anthropology at Edinburgh?The University of Edinburgh has the oldest and largest Social Anthropology academic unit in Scotland. The most distinctive feature of the degree is that in the second semester of the third year and the following summer vacation, honours students have the unique opportunity to engage in original anthropological research, which may be library-based, but for most students involves fieldwork either in Britain or overseas.

Many students find this the most rewarding aspect of their degree, and the skills acquired are invaluable assets when they look for employment after graduation. In addition, in the most recent Research Assessment Exercise, 25% of our research in Anthropology was rated 4* (world leading), with a further 35% rated 3* (internationally excellent).

What can I study Social Anthropology with?Most students do the Single Honours degree in Social Anthropology, but there are also Combined Honours degrees in Social Anthropology together with Arabic, Archaeology, Geography, Linguistics, Persian, Politics, Social History, Social Policy, or Sociology. In addition, Social Anthropology can be combined with Law in an LLB Honours degree. Besides combined degrees there are also with degrees, which allow students to study a range of courses from different subject areas on some common theme, such as Development, Social History or South Asian Studies, while studying Social Anthropology as their principal subject. All these degrees take four years.

What does the degree involve?In the first year students do the equivalent of three courses, including the two half-courses Social Anthropology 1A and 1B. They select two other courses in consultation with their Personal Tutor from the wide range available in social sciences (e.g. politics, social policy, sociology, geography, psychology), the humanities (various history courses, languages, philosophy etc.), religious studies, music and law.

Second year students do study Social Anthropology 2 and Ethnography: Theory and Practice. They also choose a further outside course, usually a continuation of another first year subject (e.g. Psychology 2), although there are courses available only at second year level (e.g. South Asian Studies 2, Technology and Society 2), which can be substituted. In first and second year there are also short fundamentals courses providing students with various learning skills for social anthropologists: Studying Anthropology and Reading & Writing Anthropology in the first year and Anthropological Practice and Ethnographic Theory in the second year.

In the third and fourth years (Junior and Senior Honours) students concentrate on Social Anthropology, or, in the case of those doing combined and with degrees, on Social Anthropology and their other main subject. The single honours curriculum requires students to study ten courses over two years (six in third year and four in fourth year), as well as writing a dissertation in fourth year. The courses include four compulsory core courses in third year: Kinship: Structure & Process; Ritual and Religion; Consumption, Exchange and Technology; and Anthropological Theory. There are also two compulsory core courses in fourth year: Belief, Thought & Language and Culture and Power.

Social Anthropology

The University of EdinburghCollege of Humanities and Social ScienceApril 2014

What is Social Anthropology?

Social anthropology is the comparative study of human conduct and thought in their social contexts. It is normal for human beings to be interested in the diverse opinions and activities of others, around the world and on their own doorsteps. In this respect, anthropologists differ only to the extent that they pursue such interests in disciplined and systematic ways. Societies around the world vary enormously in their social, cultural and political forms, and their individual members display an initially overwhelming diversity of ideas and behaviour. The study of these variations and the common humanity, which underlies them and renders them intelligible to sympathetic outsiders, lies at the heart of social anthropology. Consequently, while the subject matter overlaps to some extent with that of sociology, human geography, and development studies, social anthropology is also closely linked to history and philosophy.

Degrees in Humanities and Social Science Degree in Science and Engineering

MA Honours in:Social AnthropologySocial Anthropology and PoliticsSocial Anthropology and Social PolicySocial Anthropology with DevelopmentSocial Anthropology with Social HistorySocial Anthropology with South Asian StudiesArabic and Social Anthropology

Archaeology and Social AnthropologyLinguistics and Social AnthropologyPersian and Social AnthropologySociology and Social Anthropology

LLB Honours in:Law and Social Anthropology

MA Honours in:Geography and Social Anthropology

The remaining courses are chosen from a range of options which vary from year to year. These options include Regional Analysis courses (e.g. on Eastern or Southern Africa, South or Southeast Asia, the Middle East and South America). Other options cover a wide range of specific topics including Anthropology of Development; Magic, Science and Healing; Anthropology of Happiness; Anthropology of Violence; The Invention of History; and Human Origins and the Genesis of Symbolic Thought. Combined honours and with degree students take fewer core and optional courses in Social Anthropology, filling out their curricula with courses from the other subject areas concerned.

Students receive research training during their third year, and are assigned academic supervisors to advise them on conducting their research project and on writing the resulting 15,000-word dissertation, which is submitted during the fourth year. This dissertation forms a substantial part of the final degree assessment.

What sort of teaching and assessment methods are used?In the first two years, teaching is principally by lectures (two per week), weekly small group tutorials, and use of video material. Assessment is by a combination of course work, including project work, and a formal examination in the summer. In the third and fourth years teaching is done through a mixture of lectures, student presentations, participatory activities of various kinds, and small group discussions. Core courses are assessed by examinations at the end of each year, and optional courses through written essays and other course work. There are usually about 40-50 honours students in each year, but in first and second year the class sizes may be as large as 350 and 120 respectively, because Social Anthropology is a popular outside subject chosen by many students studying for other degrees.

What can I do after my degree?Graduates in Social Anthropology from Edinburgh will have acquired wide-ranging knowledge and understanding about the contemporary world and above all the ability to make sympathetic sense of the global diversity of social and cultural institutions, processes and ideas. They will have also developed considerable skill in talking and writing about such issues in a range of contexts and formats.

They are therefore directly equipped to follow a wide range of careers, including work in international development agencies, journalism and the media, museums, multi-cultural education, and applied or academic social research. Many prospective employers are of course interested more in the class of degree obtained, and the intellectual skills acquired, rather than the specific subject studied, and on that basis Social Anthropology graduates have gone on to do many other kinds of work too.

What sort of postgraduate courses are available?MSc/Diploma: This intensive conversion course is designed for graduates with first degrees in other subjects who wish to study social anthropology, either to supplement their existing professional skills or to prepare themselves for research in social anthropology. Diploma students undertake a programme of taught courses, seminars, and supervised reading, and are assessed through essays and written examinations. The normal period of study is 9 months (full-time) or 21 months (part-time). The MSc course runs in conjunction with the Diploma but is examined to a higher standard, and students are also required to produce a dissertation during the following summer. The normal period of study is 1 year (full-time) or 2 years (part-time).

MSc/Diploma in Medical Anthropology: This programme is intended to provide students with the tools to develop an advanced understanding of health, illness, and medicine in different social and cultural settings. The MSc explores both traditional healing and modern medical technologies, and how they address both old ills and the new health problems associated with rapid social change. It creates a platform for critical uses of anthropological ideas and methods in contemporary health related issues, and explores the social, cultural, and political dynamics of health, illness and healing in a global perspective.

MSc/Diploma (by Research): These research training programmes may be taken as freestanding programmes in their own right, or as the first part of a PhD programme. All candidates must complete a programme of research training and candidates for the MSc must also submit a dissertation on an approved topic. The normal periods of study are 9 months (full-time) or 21 months (part-time) for the Diploma, and 1 year (full-time) or 2 years (part-time) for the MSc.

MSc International Development: A selection of MSc programmes, some with a regional focus (Africa/South Asia). For additional information please refer to: www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/global-development

MPhil: This is a research degree undertaken by graduates on any topic within social anthropology, normally over a period of two years (full-time) or between three and five years (part-time). Students produce a thesis which must demonstrate an advanced level of knowledge and understanding of their chosen topic.

PhD: This is an advanced research degree. Students carry out original research under appropriate supervision, and the resulting thesis, usually based on fieldwork, is expected to make a significant contribution to knowledge on a clearly defined topic. The normal period of full-time study for the PhD is three years and the maximum is five years; for part-time students the corresponding periods are four years and six years, respectively.

How do I find out more?You will find our most up to date entry requirements at: www.ed.ac.uk/studying/undergraduate/degrees

This sheet is part of a series designed to accompany the Universitys Undergraduate Prospectus and you should read it in conjunction with that. If you would like further information about the subject, contact us at:

Social AnthropologySchool of Social and Political ScienceChrystal Macmillan Building15a George SquareUniversity of EdinburghEdinburgh, EH8 9LD

Email: uto.sps@ed.ac.ukWeb: www.san.ed.ac.uk

A degree in Social Anthropology with Development has offered a diverse and dynamic insight into the cultural construction of different societies and the needs, values and beliefs of different peoples and groups. I was attracted to this course by the wide variety of subjects available and the opportunity for independent ethnographic research. This has not only allowed me to develop skills in qualitative and culturally-sensitive research, but has also inspired me to pursue my interests through further academic studyRebecca Walker,MA (Hons) Social Anthropology with Development graduate

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