Anthropology

Description

Anthropology offers a unique and powerful means for understanding cultural and social diversity in the modern world. It is concerned with contemporary issues such as multiculturalism, identity politics, racism and ethnic nationalism, changing forms of the family, religious conflict, gender, and the political role of culture. It also addresses perennial questions about human nature, such as, ‘What do we have in common with each other cross-culturally?’ and ‘What makes us different?’ If you are intrigued by these questions and want to study a discipline that will enrich your everyday life as well as equip you for a great variety of occupations, anthropology is for you.

Brunel offers you the best of both worlds: a solid foundation in core anthropological topics such as politics, religion and kinship, and the chance to venture into new and cutting-edge areas, notably in medical anthropology and the anthropology of childhood, education and youth.

Our courses are ethnographically grounded, covering a broad range of issues and societies across the world, from rural Java to the urban centres of South Africa. Our programmes are split into modules, each of which deals with a distinct topic.

Our approach

We pursue excellence in both teaching and research. Our aim is to produce degree programmes that combine innovative and classical teaching methods with leading-edge research, and which recognise the value of practical work experience in the learning process. We take great pride in both the quality of teaching and the extensive pastoral care of our students. As a student at Brunel you will also be assigned a personal tutor who will oversee your academic and personal development during your degree.

The latest thinking

All our modules are run by lecturers who are actively conducting research and publishing on these issues, so you will be taught by real specialists in the field. Their innovative findings ensure that teaching is topical and interesting.

How will I be taught?

Like most social science subjects, anthropology is taught through a mixture of lectures and small discussion groups or seminars. For each module, you will usually attend one lecture and one seminar every week. You will need to spend much of the rest of your time in the library studying independently, or, depending on your assignments, out in the field conducting interviews or undertaking participant observation.

Lectures: Most modules involve one or two hours of lectures a week. These provide a broad overview of key concepts and ideas relating to your course and provide you with a framework from which to carry out more in depth study.

Seminars: These relatively small groups are used to discuss the content of lectures and issues arising from the modules. Seminar activities, based on both discussion of readings and small group work, are structured to ensure active student participation and to allow students to clarify their own ideas in an atmosphere of discussion and debate.

Research work: All students take part in practical modules that engage directly with ethnographic methods, including participant-observation, interviewing, and other more specific research techniques. As you progress through the course, direction by staff over the design and implementation of projects is reduced.

One-to-one: You will have one-to-one supervision on your final year dissertation and at all levels you will have a personal tutor who is available to discuss personal and academic problems. When you go on placement, you will also be allocated a work placement tutor who will monitor your progress and provide further support if you need it. Lecturers are usually available to answer particular queries outside of scheduled hours – either in one-to-one tutorials or by email.

Detailed Course Facts

• GBP 9000 Year (EEA)
• GBP 13000 Year (Non-EEA)

• English

Course Content

Level 1

offers a grounding in the central themes and debates in anthropology; introduces students to the international work being carried out by the teaching staff; and explores the practicalities of undertaking anthropological fieldwork.

At Level 2,

you will take more advanced modules in the history and theory of anthropology, alongside modules covering on topics such as kinship, ethnicity, religion, sex and gender and regional ethnography.

At Level 3,

in addition to training in contemporary anthropological theory, students select from a range of topics as varied as personhood, the body, disability, medical anthropology, international development, childhood and youth, education, and psychological and psychiatric anthropology.

The BSc consists of both core and optional modules; a typical selection can be found below. Modules can vary from year to year, but these offer a good idea of what we teach.

Dissertation

All students write a 10-15,000 word dissertation in their final year (which, on four-year degrees, usually draws on research conducted during the second Work Placement). This is on a topic of your choice. In past years, students have written on topics such as:

• A New Age Settler Colony in South India

• The Effectiveness of AIDS Education Programmes

• The Role of Indigenous Healers in a South African Village

• Migration and Social Investment in a Mexican Village

• Exploring Modern Urban Paganism

Core Modules

Please note that module availability is subject to change.

Level 1

• Introduction to Anthropology: Themes and Debates

• Introduction to Anthropology: Beliefs and Ways of Thinking

• Fieldwork Encounters: Thinking Through Ethnography

• Anthropology, Objects and Images

• Research Methods in Anthropology

• Anthropology and Contemporary Debates

Level 2

• Ethnicity, Culture and Identity

• Ethnography of the Contemporary World - Selected Regions

• Classical Anthropological Theory

• Political and Economic Issues in Anthropology

• Kinship, Sex and Gender

Level 3

• Contemporary Anthropological Theory

Optional Modules

• Global Health in Anthropological Perspective

• Anthropological Perspectives on War and Humanitarianism

• Anthropological Perspectives on War and Humanitarianism

• The Anthropology of the Body

• The Anthropology of Childhood and Youth

• The Anthropology of Disability and Difference

• The Anthropology of Education and Learning

• The Anthropology of International Development

• Medical Anthropology in Clinical and Community Settings

• The Anthropology of the Person

• Themes in Psychological and Psychiatric Anthropology

English Language Requirements

IELTS band : 6.5 CAE score : 60(Grade C) TOEFL paper-based test score : 580 TOEFL iBT® test : 92

To study at this university, you have to speak English. We advice you to

Requirements

• GCE A-level ABB

• BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma D*DD in a related subject.

• BTEC Level 3 Diploma DD in a related subject with an A-Level at grade A.

• BTEC Level 3 Subsidiary Diploma D in a related subject with A-Levels grade AB.

• International Baccalaureate Diploma 33 points.

• Access to Higher EducationDiploma Complete and pass a related subject Access course with 45 credits at Level 3, of which 30 credits must be at Distinction and 15 credits at Merit or higher.

GCSE Mathematics grade C and GCSE English grade C are also required.

Please check our Admissions pages for more information on other factors we use to assess applicants as well as our full GCSE requirements and accepted equivalencies in place of GCSE’s.

English Language Requirements

• IELTS: 6.5 (min 5.5 in all areas)

• Pearson: 58 (51 in all subscores)

• BrunELT: 65% (min 55% in all areas)

Work Experience

No work experience is required.

Related Scholarships*

• Academic Excellence Scholarship

  "The Academic Excellence Scholarship can provide up to a 50 % reduction in tuition per semester. These scholarships will be renewed if the student maintains superior academic performance during each semester of their 3-year Bachelor programme. The scholarship will be directly applied to the student’s tuition fees."

• Access Bursary

  Bursary for UK students all subjects where the variable tuition fee rate is payable.

• Alumni Bursary

  Alumni Bursary for UK Undergraduate students

* The scholarships shown on this page are suggestions first and foremost. They could be offered by other organisations than Brunel University.