Anthrozoology Residential
| Module title | Anthrozoology Residential |
|---|---|
| Module code | ANTM107 |
| Academic year | 2025/6 |
| Credits | 15 |
| Module staff | Dr Fenella Eason (Lecturer) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 1 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 20 |
|---|
Module description
In this module you will attend a three-day residential as a virtual event at the University of Exeter. The residential will provide you with a unique opportunity to engage with other postgraduates and academics also involved in theoretical and/or empirical research on human-animal relations at the University of Exeter. Academic speakers will come from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds including (non-exhaustively) Sociology, Philosophy, Environmental Sciences, Geography, Psychology and Anthropology and will present their own research to student attendees in the form of guest lectures, workshops, seminars and film screenings. Student attendees will also be given opportunity to engage in reflexive analysis and critical debate during roundtable discussions stimulated by the presented academic content, set readings and in the light of wider current debates in Anthrozoology and cognate disciplines.
As it is expected that the general themes of the residential will change every year, multiple attendance for students taking the course will be allowed and encouraged. However, the module can only be taken as an accredited module (i.e. count towards your degree) on one occasion. This module will be assessed through the production of a formative reflexive 500-word blog, a five-minute summative podcast, and a 2750-word portfolio review of three residential presentations, incorporating a critical discussion of the theoretical and/or methodological and/or ethical issues raised by the different speakers.
Full attendance at, and participation in, all aspects of the entire residential event is expected from all accredited-module attendees. Non-accredited attendance, including partial attendance, is open to all other students registered on the MA Anthrozoology programme, regardless of whether they have previously taken the accredited module or not, as well as to newly admitted MA students in Anthrozoology who have yet to embark on their studies.
Module aims - intentions of the module
The primary aim of the module is to provide distance-learning students on the MA Anthrozoology with the opportunity to participate in an immersive, interactive, face-to-face learning environment with their peers and established scholars. Through attendance at the residential and active participation in and contribution to academic and non-academic debates in Anthrozoology students will develop a good understanding of the interdisciplinary scope inherent to Anthrozoological research. The format of the residential will enable students who usually study at a distance to experience more traditional approaches to the dissemination of academic research and to engage directly with the theoretical, methodological and ethical issues encountered by practicing academics from a range of disciplinary backgrounds. Participating academics will present their research in the form of lectures, workshops and conference papers which will be followed by interactive, student-led group discussions.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. demonstrate a thorough engagement with and understanding of a range of multi-disciplinary approaches to human interactions with other animals
- 2. discuss and critically assess the implications of approaching human interactions with other animals from a range of disciplinary perspectives
- 3. show a good understanding of the different theoretical and methodological approaches which scholars studying human-animal interactions utilise in order to understand these varied interactions
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 4. demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the ways in which different academic disciplines approach and analyse human interactions with other animals
- 5. engage with and critically assess some of the current debates (theoretical, methodological, ethical) relating to human interactions with other animals
- 6. make reflexive, theoretically informed comparisons between the work of practicing scholars from a range of academic disciplines and your own research and/or experiences relating to human interactions with other animals
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 7. demonstrate critical, analytical thinking and synoptic skills
- 8. demonstrate the confidence/ability to discuss in a critically analytical manner the arguments presented by other academics
- 9. express complex ideas in a clear, coherent and reflexive manner through the formulation and dissemination of cogent arguments (both verbally and in writing)
- 10. demonstrate the ability to participate as a productive member of a team during group discussions
Syllabus plan
The residential will take place over a period of three days, and will comprise a series of workshops, seminars and lectures run by academics from the University of Exeter and, where possible, appropriate external speakers.
Academic content will vary according to staff availability and current staff research interests/projects. However, topics could include:
- Biopolitics and wildlife conservation
- Animal ethics
- Multispecies ethnography
- Advocacy and applied research in animal welfare
- Visual representations of animals
- Literary representations of animals
- Historical representations of animals
- Animals in the archaeological record
Because of the variable nature of the annual programme of the residential, the details of learning activities and teaching methods below are indicative, based on prior experience, but not a guarantee of the precise number of hours afforded to each activity year-by-year.
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | 130 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled learning and teaching | 12 | Academic-led lectures, papers, seminars |
| Scheduled learning and teaching | 2 | Staff-led film screening and discussion |
| Scheduled learning and teaching | 6 | Student-led discussions relating to lectures and seminars |
| Guided Independent Study | 30 | Non-assessed preparatory readings |
| Guided Independent Study | 20 | Research and writing of formative assessment |
| Guided Independent Study | 80 | Research and writing of summative assessments |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reflexive blog | 500 words | 1-9 | Written feedback from module tutor. |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A portfolio review of three presentations | 70 | 2750 words | 1-10 | Written feedback |
| A podcast relating to a single presentation | 30 | Five minutes | 1-10 | Written feedback |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portfolio | Portfolio (2750 words) (70%) | 1-10 | August/September reassessment period |
| Presentation response | Podcast (five-minutes) (30%) | 1-10 | August/September reassessment period |
Re-assessment notes
Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.
Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 50%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of referral will be capped at 50%.
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.
DeMello, M. 2010. Teaching the animal: Human-animal studies across the disciplines (pp. xi-xix). Lantern Books.
DeMello, M. 2012. Animals and society: an introduction to human-animal studies. Columbia University Press.
Herzog, H. A. 2007. Gender differences in human–animal interactions: A review. Anthrozoos: A Multidisciplinary Journal of The Interactions of People & Animals, 20(1), 7-21.
Irvine, L. 2012. Sociology and anthrozoology: Symbolic interactionist contributions. Anthrozoos: A Multidisciplinary Journal of The Interactions of People & Animals, 25(Supplement 1), 123-137.
Kalof, L., & Fitzgerald, A. J. (Eds.). 2007. The animals reader: the essential classic and contemporary writings. Oxford and New York: Berg.
Kirksey, E. 2014. The Multispecies Salon. Duke University Press
Lloyd, N., & Mulcock, J. 2006. Human-animal studies in Australia: perspectives from the arts, humanities and social sciences. Australian Zoologist, 33(3), 290-294. http://www.rzsnsw.org.au/Volumes%20of%20RZS%20papers/2006%20vol33%283%29/Lloyd%20N%20Mulcock%20J%20Human-animal%20studies%20in%20Australia%20-%20perspectives%20from%20the%20arts,%20humanities%20and%20social%20sciences.pdf
Ogden, L. A., Hall, B., & Tanita, K. 2013. Animals, plants, people, and things: A review of multispecies ethnography. Environment and Society: Advances in Research, 4(1), 5-24.
Rose, D. B., van Dooren, T., Chrulew, M., Cooke, S., Kearnes, M., & O’Gorman, E. 2012. Thinking through the environment, unsettling the humanities. Environmental Humanities, 1(1), 1-5.
Shapiro, K., & DeMello, M. 2010. The state of human-animal studies. Society & Animals, 18(3), 307-318.
Smart, A. 2014. Critical perspectives on multispecies ethnography. Critique of Anthropology, 34(1), 3-7.
Tsing, A., Swanson, H., Gan, E., and Bubandt, N. (eds.), 2017. Arts of living on a damaged planet: Ghosts of the Anthropocene. University of Minnesota Press.
Van Dooren, T., 2014. Flight ways: Life and loss at the edge of extinction. Columbia University Press.
| Credit value | 15 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 7.5 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 7 |
| Available as distance learning? | Yes |
| Origin date | 18/06/2015 |
| Last revision date | 13/5/2025 |
