This module is not currently running in 2022 to 2023.
Fieldwork is the hallmark of anthropological research. Its style and delivery, as well as the discourses surrounding it, have changed alongside the discipline. In his book Routes, Travel And Translation In The Late Twentieth Century, Clifford (1997) flags two important aspects of fieldwork: first, the formation of intensive interactions and relationships that produce "deep" cultural understanding in settings that can vary in time and location, and, second, a sense of displacement, movement or travel for the fieldworker thus allowing for an objective detached perspective. The ways in which anthropologists strive to interact with people while maintaining objectivity, make research ethics and methodological choices particularly important since their presence in the field has implications on the people whom they study.
Total contact hours: 39 (these include 5 methods workshops offered to students on specialised topics of interest, totalling 15 hours)
Private study hours: 111
Total study hours: 150
MA Social Anthropology and all associated pathways
Research Proposal (65%)
Oral Presentation (20%)
Seminar Participation (15%).
Reassessment methods: 100% coursework.
Reading list (Indicative list, current at time of publication. Reading lists will be published annually)
Alexiades M. and D. M. Peluso, 2002. Prior Informed Consent: the politics of cross cultural exchange. In: S. A. Laird, ed. Biodiversity and Traditional Knowledge: Equitable Partnerships in Practice. London: Earthscan.
Antonius, C. G. M. Robben and Jeffrey A. Sluka, eds. 2007. Ethnographic Fieldwork: An Anthropological Reader. London: Blackwell.
Bernard, H. Bernard. 2005. Research Methods in Anthropology: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. Altamira Press.
Bourgois, Philippe 1996. "Confronting Anthropology and Inner-City Apartheid," in American Anthropologist. 98(2):249-258.
Clifford, James 1986. Introduction: Partial Truths. In Writing Culture: The Poetics and Politics of Ethnography, ed. James Clifford and George Marcus, 1-26. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Faubion, J.D. and G.E. Marcus (eds) 2009. Fieldwork is Not What it Used to Be: Learning anthropology's method in a time of transition. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
The intended subject specific learning outcomes. On successfully completing the module students will be able to:
8.1 provide critical skills for examining the relationship between anthropological theory and methods
8.2 introduce various methodological approaches within anthropology
8.3 instil a sophisticated understanding of ethics within the context of fieldwork and the disciple at large
8.4 develop proficiency in following the guidelines of the Association of Social Anthropologists of the UK and Commonwealth (ASA) Statement on Ethics and the American Anthropological Association (AAA) Code of Ethics, as well as complying with school fieldwork ethic requirements necessary for conducting fieldwork
8.5 develop a critical understanding of the 'participant observation' method and its role within anthropological fieldwork
8.6 provide the necessary skills to develop, conduct and analyse a 'life history' as part of a broader anthropological project
8.7 present case studies through which these concepts can be thought and critiqued
8.8 develop a nuanced comparative perspective on these concepts engaging ethnographic materials
8.9 gain an appreciation of the potential challenges and benefits of anthropological research in local, regional, national and international settings
The intended generic learning outcomes. On successfully completing the module students will be able to:
9.1 articulate and assess a range of methodological approaches for anthropological fieldwork research
9.2 locate contemporary issues in anthropology's relation to ethics, fieldwork, method and theory
9.3 summarise and interpret texts and performance by locating them within appropriate cultural and historical trajectories
9.4 think critically about fieldwork research methods through an anthropologically informed analysis
9.5 choose appropriate methods in relation anthropological questions suitable for research study
9.6 present ideas systematically and cogently both orally and in writing
9.7 interact with peers and their lecturers in the exchange of ideas
9.8 summarise complex material succinctly
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