Anthropology

Curriculum Intent

To build a world which is tolerant, equal and just we must learn to identify intolerance, inequality and injustice, then set to the work of making them right. The purpose of both Sociology and Anthropology is to develop each student’s understanding of the social and cultural environments which humans have built and thereby arm them with the skills to thrive within, to put right and to improve upon those environments.In Anthropology they will broaden this and prepare themselves with the knowledge and skills to work with global audiences, organisations, partners and clients.

By introducing students to core social issues and debates we develop their knowledge of our society and foster skills of analysis, consideration and judgement making required to succeed in a diverse and interconnected global world. Students of the social sciences become well trained in the strengths and the intricate limitations of applying scientific and statistical approaches to many levels of organisational decision-making. We also nurture, and then hone the ability of students to put forward their arguments in discussion, but most importantly in formalised and evidenced academic essays.

Anthropology is offered as:

• IB Anthropology in Current Year 13 students only.

Key Stage 5 Anthropology (IB)

(Current International Baccalaureate students)

Curriculum Overview

Students at Key Stage 5 have six lessons a fortnight studying the IB Social and Cultural Anthropology qualification. These are split into three strands which are delivered in parallel by two subject specialists.

Year 13

In Year 13, we study a further 3 topics:

Strand A: Reading from the book, The Trobriand Islanders of Papua New Guinea by Anette Weiner, we study a society run by women and totally preoccupied with yams. Following in the footsteps of the titan of Anthropology, Bromislaw Malinowski, we explore a society where women hold the major reins of power, where sorcerers are paid in axes to murder enemies in secret, and where great armadas of colourful boats set out on epic voyages across the pacific in search of trade and friendship.

Strand B: Reading from the book, Pretty Modern by Alexander Edmonds, we study the plastic surgery trade in Rio De Janeiro. Under the Area of Enquiry: The Body, we investigate how people control and modify their bodies to fit different cultural ideals. From the prominent Maori tattoos to the lip plates of Suri tribeswomen, we investigate how humans use their bodies as a canvas through which they express their cultural standards and beliefs.

Strand C: In the first term we study the brief but crucial topic of Ethics in Anthropology. This topic underpins much of what gives the subject meaning and delves into the philosophical and moral dilemmas which face a researcher of the vastly different worlds which humans inhabit. From the second term onwards we return to theory. In this unit we look at Anthropological explanations for the features of human societies, trying to form a larger picture of the commonalities and differences between us and why these came to be.

Assessment in IB Social and Cultural Anthropology

Further Reading/Resources

General purpose textbooks;

• Barnard, A., 2000. Social Anthropology: a Concise Introduction for Students: Taunton: Studymates. An excellent introduction to key subjects and theories in Anthropology. This book is very clear and concise. It does not deal with subjects in much depth and should be supported by other reading.
• Eriksson, T., 2004 What Is Anthropology? London: Pluto press. This is a very accessible book with chapters on key concepts in Anthropology such as culture and society and Anthropological Theory.
• Hendry, J., 2008 Sharing Our Worlds: An Introduction to Cultural and Social Anthropology. Basingstoke: Palgrave McMillan. This very readable textbook and provides overviews of many of the topics we cover. There is also a very useful resource list at the end of each chapter which includes films, novels and questions for discussion.
• Inda, J., and Rosaldo, R., 2008 The Anthropology of Globalization: A Reader, Second Edition Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. Excellent material on capital, rulers and subjects, commodities, media, ideologies, ‘disorderly development’ and the San and lots more.
• Metcalf, P., 2005 Anthropology: the Basics, Oxon; Routledge. This is a very readable book that deals with topics and theories in an understandable and fluid way. The chapters are not easy to dip in and out of and are less useful for revision by subject.
• Monaghan, J., and Just, P., 2000 Social and Cultural Anthropology: a Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. This is an excellent little book which integrates overviews of many of the key topics with illustrations from the author’s own fieldwork.

Theory Books;

• Erickson, P., and Murphy, L., 1999 A History of Anthropological Theory. Hertfordshire: Broadview Press. A very thorough and sophisticated exploration of Anthropological knowledge from the time of the Greeks until the present. This book is very enlightening with regard to the philosophical developments of the last 3000 years. Also contains a useful index and comprehensive encyclopaedia of theoretical terms.
• Leighton, R., 1997 An Introduction to Theory in Anthropology. Cambridge: CUP. A very good and clear introduction to theory including; functionalism, structuralism, interactionist theories, Marxism, post-modernism, and others.
• Park, M., * Biological Anthropology. , New York: McGraw-Hill . This is an excellent introduction to the theory of evolution, human evolutionary history and the major contributions this is to our modern understanding of humanity. There are now seven edition of this book. The more recent additions, 2012, are more up-to-date in this fast moving and dynamic academic subject. Older editions, 2005+, are cheaper and still contain the majority of the information we will need.

Fieldwork Guides:

• Kutsche, P., 1998 Field Ethnography: A Manual for Doing Cultural Anthropology. Prentice Hall. The whole purpose of this book is teaching ethnography by doing ethnography. It is structured around a set of five assignments that you do. Each assignment has a number of specimen papers and analysis by which to judge your own work and further your technique. This book is an excellent companion for a Higher level Student who is conducting their fieldwork project.
• Roben, A., and Sluka, J., 2007 Ethnographic Fieldwork: An Anthropological Reader. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. An excellent and comprehensive text exploring many of the difficulties both external, internal and ethical, experienced during fieldwork. Clearly guides the reader through different types of ethnographic writing. This text is better for the students who need help assessing and evaluating their fieldwork data.

Ethnographies

• Chagnon, N., 1997 Yanomamo, Belmont: Wadsworth Learning. An excellent textbook on the Yanomamo of The Amazoon Rainforest. This text also covers the theory of Cultural Ecology very well, relating it directly to the material. Part of the case studies in Cultural Anthropology series.
• Evans-Pritchard, E., 1940 The Nuer: A Description of the Modes of Livelihood and Political Institutions of a Nilotic People. Oxford: Clarendon Press. This is another key text in Anthropology. It gives a good description of the Nuer a large society that survives without leaders.
• Evans-Pritchard, E., 1976. Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic Among the Azande. Oxford: Clarendon Press. A brilliant description of a large kingdom in the Sudan in which magic rules their daily lives of its people.
• Goodale, J., 1980 Tiwi Wives : A Study Of The Women Of Melville Island, North Australia. Washington: University of Washington press. A very thorough investigation into the lives of Tiwi women. This book is accurate, dense and includes quantitative data to back up its points.
• Hart, C., Pilling, A., and Goodale, J., 1988. The Tiwi of North Australia. Belmont: Wadsworth Learning. An excellent textbook on the Tiwi of Melville and Bathurst Islands. Part of the case studies in Cultural Anthropology series.
• Lee, R., 2003 The Dobe Ju/’hoansi. Belmont: Wadsworth Learning. An excellent textbook on the Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert. Part of the case studies in Cultural Anthropology series.
• Malinowski, B,. 1932. Argonauts of the Western Pacific. New York; Routledge. This is one of the first and most influential ethnographies ever written, and excellent exploration of the lives of the Trobriand Islanders of East Papua. This text is heavy with information making it harder to use for revision.
• Marshall Thomas, E., 1989 The Harmless People. New York: Vintage Books. A good, readable, introduction to the Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert. Reads as a journey rather than a textbook.
• Mead, M., Coming-Of-Age in Samoa. London; Harper Perennial. The ground-breaking text that brought feminism into anthropology. This book explores adolescence, sexuality and society with conclusions that were very controversial at the time.
• Weiner, A., 1988 The Trobrianders of Papua New Guinea, Belmont: Wadsworth Learning. An excellent textbook on the Trobriand Islanders of East Papua. Part of the case studies in Cultural Anthropology series.