• Home
• Study
• Study Information
• Modules
• Module Information

Current Debates in Anthropology

Module description

This course will delineate some recent trajectories in anthropological theory. Over the course of the year we are going to explore some of the current directions in which anthropological thought appears to be moving; but this is a joint adventure, because unlike the history of anthropological thought, contemporary debates shift and change as we speak. The course will introduce you to some of the most contemporary approaches to anthropological thought. We will explore how theoretical approaches within and outside of the discipline shape contemporary anthropological thinking. In so doing we will trace how theory becomes embedded within ethnography to examine contemporary social issues.

Module aims - intentions of the module

The primary aim of the module is to build on your existing knowledge of anthropological theory, and introduce you to a body of concepts and approaches developed by practitioners of this dynamic subject in response to conducting fieldwork in a changing world. The module also aims to equip you with the necessary knowledge and skills to enable you to understand and evaluate the differing views expressed by established anthropologists in relation to key theoretical debates. Through constructive seminar discussions you will also be empowered to feel confident in utilising anthropological theory as a tool for analysing your own research.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. display a detailed knowledge of specific theoretical concepts and methodological approaches in anthropology and the intellectual debates concerning them;
• 2. display an informed awareness of, and sensitivity to, human diversity, and a reflexive appreciation of its scope and complexity;
• 3. evaluate the ethical implications of anthropological research in relation to a selection of ethnographic case studies and in relation to the Association of Social Anthropologists' Ethical Guidelines for Good Research Practice.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. demonstrate a competence in using major theoretical perspectives and concepts in anthropology via the application of appropriate theoretical models in the analysis of ethnographic case studies
• 5. demonstrate a recognition of the politics of language, indirect forms of communication, forms of power, theoretical statements and claims of authority, and an ability to analyse them
• 6. plan, undertake and present scholarly work that shows an understanding of anthropological aims, methods and theoretical considerations

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 7. express your own ideas orally and in writing, summarize the arguments of others, and distinguish between the two
• 8. engage in constructive discussion in group situations and seminars
• 9. evaluate your strengths and weaknesses in learning and study skills and to take action to improve your capacity to learn

Syllabus plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:

• Theoretical approaches to difference
• Theoretical approaches to inequality and power
• The affective turn
• The affective turn in practice  
• The Anthropocene
• Civil Disobedience and Activism 
• The Animals in our Food 
• Desire, Consumption and Waste 
• New forms of Kinship 
• Non-binary Genders and Non-normative Sexualities 
• Who is / What is a person anyway / anymore? 
• Tourism and the Commodification of Culture

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Bear, Laura. 2016. Time as Technique. Annual Review of Anthropology, Vol. 45
• Burr, R. 2002. Shaming of the Anthropologist: Ethical Dilemmas during and in the Aftermath of the Fieldwork Process. Anthropology Matters, 4(1). 
• Crapanzano, Vincent. 2004. “Imaginative Horizons” in Imaginative Horizons: An Essay in Literary-Philosophical Anthropology. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
• Giri, A. K. 2006. Cosmopolitanism and beyond: Towards a multiverse of transformations. 
• Development and Change, 37(6): 1277-1292. 
• Graeber, David (2011) “Consumption,” Current Anthropology 52 (4): 489-511. 
• Latour, Bruno. 2014. “Anthropology at the Time of the Anthropocene: A Personal View of What Is To Be Studied.” Distinguished lecture, Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association, Washington, DC, December 6.
• Laidlaw, J. 2002. For an anthropology of ethics and freedom. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 8(2): 311-332.
• Navaro-Yashin, Yael. 2012. The Make-Believe Space: Affective Geography in a Postwar Polity. Durham & London: Duke University Press.
• Pachirat, Timothy. 2013. Every Twelve Seconds: Industrialized Slaughter and the 
• Politics of Sight. Yale Agrarian Studies Series. New Haven, Conn.: Yale Univ. Press. 
• Sahlins, M. 1999. Two or Three Things that I Know about Culture, The Journal of the Royal 

Key words search

Anthropology, theory, ethnography