Anthropology and Sociology

There are several areas of overlap between Anthropology and Sociology, making them particularly suitable for combination in a joint honours degree. The BA Anthropology and Sociology course combines modules from the BA Anthropology and BA Sociology providing a comprehensive understanding of humans as social and cultural beings.

Year 1

In the first year, you take a selection of modules from across the two departments (i.e. Anthropology and Sociology):

Compulsory theory modules:

• People and Cultures

and/or

• Classical Sociological Theory.

Compulsory research modules:

• Doing Anthropological Research

or

• Social Research Methods.

Examples of optional modules:

• Being Human
• Critical Scholarship in the Social Sciences
• Health, Illness and Society
• Human Evolution and Diversity
• Introduction to Criminological Theory
• Societies in Transition (double module)

Year 2

Students currently select a mixture of modules from both Anthropology and Sociology, either split evenly or weighted towards one or the other disciplines, including compulsory research training in either Anthropology or Sociology as preparation for the final year dissertation module.

Compulsory research modules:

• Research Methods in Action (double module)

or

• Research Project Design.

Examples of optional modules currently available in Sociology:

• Communities and Social Justice
• Contemporary Criminological Theory
• Crime, Power and Social Inequalities
• Police and Policing
• Self, Identity and Society
• Sociology of Education and Social Inequalities
• Sociology of Health and Medicine
• Violence and Abuse in Society.

Examples of optional modules currently available in Anthropology:

• Evolution, Variation and Adaptation
• Our Place in Nature
• Biology, Culture and Society
• Kinship and Religion
• Politics and Economics
• Global Health and Disease
• Sex, Reproduction and Love.

Year 3

You take a 40-credit Dissertation in Anthropology or a 40-credit Dissertation in Sociology in view of previous training in social research. Additionally, students currently take up to 60 credits of modules in each Department.

Examples of optional modules in Anthropology:

• Anthropology in the Contemporary Middle East
• Anthropology, Art, and Experience
• Decolonising Anthropology
• Poison, Pollution and the Chemical Anthropocene
• Exhibiting Anthropology
• Capitalism in Ruins
• Social Anthropology of Hormones
• Anthropology of Ethics and Morality
• Anthropology of Sport
• Anthropological Skills for Climate Change Survival
• Power and Governance
• Violence and Memory
• Anthropology of Tobacco
• Anthropology of Health Inequality
• Anthropology of Physical Activity and Health
• Evolutionary Medicine: Maternal and Infant Health
• Human Reproductive Ecology
• Development, Conflict and Crisis in the Lower Omo
• Evolution of Cooperation
• Comparative Cognition and Culture
• Cultural Evolution of Music
• Technological Primates
• Primates in Peril
• Primates, Predators and the Ecology of Fear
• Homo narrans: evolutionary anthropology of fiction
• Forensic Anthropology
• Palaeoanthropology and Palaeoecology.

Examples of optional modules in Sociology:

• Anthropological Field Course
• Community Placement
• Crime, Justice and the Sex Industry
• Cyberculture and Cybercrime
• Inside Out: Issues in Criminal Justice
• Social Policy
• Sociology of Forensic Science and Criminal Investigation
• Sociology of Work and Professions
• Digital Health and Other Devices (short module)
• Feminist Anti-Violence Activism (short module)
• Justice, Violence and Abuse (short module)
• Race, Racism and Social Justice in Contemporary Britain' (short module)
• Sociology of Mental Health (short module)
• Sociology of Reproduction and Parenthood (short module)
• Youth in Crisis (short module).

Placement

Study abroad

Anthropology

Study abroad or placement activities are not only enjoyable but can give a significant edge when it comes to employability. We currently have links with the University of West Bohemia (Czech Republic), the University of Iceland, the University of Ljubljana (Slovenia) and the University of Malta, with new opportunities being added every year. We also run a third-year Field Course module, involving fieldwork at various field sites.

Sociology

We currently have links with the universities of Helsinki in Finland and Duisburg-Essen in Germany. Students can also apply to the university-wide international exchange programme with universities in North America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

As a student on the BA (Hons) Anthropology and Sociology degree, your learning will be supported by formal teaching sessions, such as lectures and smaller-group teaching in seminars and practical classes. You will shift from being a consumer of knowledge in the classroom to a generator of knowledge, ready for professional or postgraduate life. To help develop this independence, you will spend part of your time engaged in self-directed study, which will include reading, project work and preparation for classes. In your third year, you will undertake a dissertation on a sociological or anthropological topic of your choice, preferably one that overlaps the two subjects, giving you the chance to engage in a major piece of independent work.

Assessment on the BA (Hons) Anthropology and Sociology degree varies by module, but may include written examinations, podcasts, museum displays and outreach activities, coursework in the form of essays or research projects, and presentations.

You will be given a Year Tutor when you start your degree, and will normally keep the same advisor for the duration of your studies. Where possible, you will be given a Year Tutor who has an interest or background in both sociology and anthropology. Year Tutors are there to support your academic work by providing advice about such things as study skills, module choices, dissertation topics, and applications for further study or employment. As well as discussing your academic work with your nominated tutor, you are encouraged to make use of the drop-in hours provided by academic staff during term-time. These drop-in hours give you the opportunity to discuss your work with module tutors, for example to seek clarification on complex ideas, get suggestions for additional readings, and receive further feedback on assessments.

As a student in the Sociology and Anthropology Departments, you will be welcomed into the wider departmental communities, for example being able to attend an extensive programme of research-focused seminars in both departments, where academic staff, postgraduate students and visiting scholars present their cutting-edge research, which may provide inspiration for your dissertation topic and even future study or employment.

Alternative international requirements

Successful completion of General Secondary Education Certificate (Tawjihi) - 80%