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Social Anthropology

Study Course Description

Course Description Statuss:Approved
Course Description Version:2.00
Study Course Accepted:02.02.2024 12:25:41
Study Course Information
Course Code:KF_079LQF level:Level 6
Credit Points:2.00ECTS:3.00
Branch of Science:Sociology; Social AnthropologyTarget Audience:Communication Science; Sociology
Study Course Supervisor
Course Supervisor:Klāvs Sedlenieks
Study Course Implementer
Structural Unit:Faculty of Social Sciences
The Head of Structural Unit:
Contacts:Dzirciema street 16, Rīga, szfatrsu[pnkts]lv
Study Course Planning
Full-Time - Semester No.1
Lectures (count)5Lecture Length (academic hours)2Total Contact Hours of Lectures10
Classes (count)5Class Length (academic hours)2Total Contact Hours of Classes10
Total Contact Hours20
Part-Time - Semester No.1
Lectures (count)5Lecture Length (academic hours)2Total Contact Hours of Lectures10
Classes (count)5Class Length (academic hours)2Total Contact Hours of Classes10
Total Contact Hours20
Study course description
Preliminary Knowledge:
Basic background knowledge in social sciences.
Objective:
To introduce students to the basics of social anthropology.
Topic Layout (Full-Time)
No.TopicType of ImplementationNumberVenue
1IntroductionLectures1.00auditorium
2Main directions of social anthropology (economics and politics; kinship, sex and gender; health and illness; religion)Lectures4.00auditorium
3Seminar discussion of the main lecture topics as well as the following topics: language and communication, ethnicity, modes of thought, cross-cultural psychiatry.Classes5.00auditorium
Topic Layout (Part-Time)
No.TopicType of ImplementationNumberVenue
1IntroductionLectures1.00auditorium
2Main directions of social anthropology (economics and politics; kinship, sex and gender; health and illness; religion)Lectures4.00auditorium
3Seminar discussion of the main lecture topics as well as the following topics: language and communication, ethnicity, modes of thought, cross-cultural psychiatry.Classes5.00auditorium
Assessment
Unaided Work:
Compulsory readings for all five seminars; preparing a group presentation that discusses one one of the seminar questions. In order to evaluate the quality of the study course as a whole, the student must fill out the study course evaluation questionnaire on the Student Portal.
Assessment Criteria:
• students know the compulsory readings; • students understand the actual problems of the current topic; • students can formulate their opinion and provide argumets for it.
Final Examination (Full-Time):Exam (Written)
Final Examination (Part-Time):Exam (Written)
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge:Students will be able to know: • what is anthropology; • what are the main research methods used in social anthropology; • what is the range of questions asked by anthropology; • understand the most important issues of kinship, communication, economic, political, gender, health and illness, and religious aspects of human life from the point of view of anthropology.
Skills:After successfully completing the course, students: will be able to analyze academic literature; will be able to write a reasoned text; will be able to analyze social processes using anthropological knowledge.
Competencies:You will be able to analyze anthropological texts; justify own opinion while giving group presentations; analyze social phenomena drawing on acquired anthropological knowledge.
Bibliography
No.Reference
Required Reading
1Hendry, J. 2016. Other people’s worlds : an introduction to cultural and social anthropology. Palgrave Macmillan.
2Lee, Richard B. 1969. 'Eating Christmas in the Kalahari.' Natural History, 78(10):14-22.
3Conklin, Beth A. 1995. “Thus are our bodies, thus was our custom’: mortu-ary cannibalism in an Amazonian society”. American Ethnologist 22 (1): 75–101.
4Clarke, Morgan. 2006. “Islam, kinship and new reproductive technology”. Anthropology Today 22 (5): 17–20.
5Humphrey, Caroline. 1999. “Shamans in the City”. Anthropology Today 15 (3): 3–10.
6Bonta, Bruce D. 1996. “Conflict Resolution Among Peaceful Societies: The Culture of Peacefulness”. Journal of Peace Research 33 (4): 403–420.
7Ferraro, G. P., & Andreatta, Susan. 2010. Cultural anthropology : an applied perspective. Chapter 6. Language and Communication.
8Lock, M. 2002. Medical Knowledge and Body Politics. In MacClancy, J. (ed.) Exotic No More. Anthropology on the Front Lines, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
9Martin, E. 2022. Persuasive Technology and Personhood on Social Media. Science, Technology, & Human Values, 16224392211370.
10Ulturgasheva, Olga. 2017. “Ghosts of the Gulag in the Eveny World of the Dead.” The Polar Journal 7 (1): 26–45.
Additional Reading
1Delaney, C. L., Kaspin, D. 2017. Investigating culture : an experiential introduction to anthropology. Chapter 6. Our Bodies, Our Selves. Pp.1-33.
2Zirnīte, Māra. 2017. Etnisko kultūru saskarsmes dzīvesstāstos. In "Piederēt un atšķirties: romu, krievu un latviešu dzīvesstāsti Latvijā" 18–50. Rīga: LU Filozofijas un socioloģijas institūts, Latvijas Mutvārdu vēstures pētnieku asociācija.
3Glazier, S. D., & Ember, C. R. 2018. Religion. Explaining Human Cultures.