Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology
Code: 101576 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2500244 East Asian Studies | FB | 1 |
Contact
- Name:
- Irene Masdeu Torruella
- Email:
- irene.masdeu@uab.cat
Teachers
- Joaquin Beltran Antolin
- Blai Guarné Cabello
Teaching groups languages
You can view this information at the end of this document.
Prerequisites
Students must be able to read and understand academic texts in English.
Objectives and Contextualisation
Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology focuses on knowledge of cultural diversity, intercultural relations and the issue of ethnocentrism, as well as different aspects of communication and cross-cultural mediation, with a view to promoting respect for diversity and sociocultural equality. The subject is a vital part of the East Asian Studies programme, since it provides an insight into cultures and societies to which most of the students do not belong. Its specific objectives consist of analysing the concept of culture, learning about anthropological research methodology and techniques, and understanding mechanisms for the construction of social and cultural otherness. It also explores the consequences of intercultural contact through topics such as racism, xenophobia and stereotyping; ethnicity; acculturation; cultural hybridity; and marginalisation, exclusion and discrimination.
Competences
- Applying knowledge of the ethical and methodological principles in order to ease the relations in international and intercultural contexts.
- Developing critical thinking and reasoning and communicating them effectively both in your own and other languages.
- Developing self-learning strategies.
- Ensuring the quality of one's own work.
- Fostering respect of diversity and equality in the practice of interculturality.
- Having interpersonal skills.
- Knowing and comprehending the cultural diversity, intercultural relationships, and problems related to ethnocentrism in connection with East Asia.
- Knowing and comprehending the methodological and ethical principles that ease the relations in international and intercultural contexts.
- Knowing and using the information and communication technology resources (ICT) in order to collect, produce, analyse and present information related to the East Asian Studies.
- Recognising and overcoming the problems created by ethnocentrism in the intercultural communication and mediation.
- Respecting the diversity and plurality of ideas, people and situations.
- Respecting the gender equality.
- Students must be flexible and capable of adapting to new circumstances.
Learning Outcomes
- Applying knowledge of the ethical and methodological principles in order to ease the relations in international and intercultural contexts.
- Assessing the obtained results in the information search process in order to update the knowledge about anthropology.
- Demonstrating knowledge about key concepts and theoretical frameworks of anthropology.
- Developing critical thinking and reasoning and communicating them effectively both in your own and other languages.
- Developing self-learning strategies.
- Ensuring the quality of one's own work.
- Fostering respect of diversity and equality in the practice of interculturality.
- Having interpersonal skills.
- Knowing and comprehending the methodological and ethical principles that ease the relations in international and intercultural contexts.
- Recognising and overcoming the problems created by ethnocentrism in the intercultural communication and mediation.
- Respecting the diversity and plurality of ideas, people and situations.
- Respecting the gender equality.
- Students must be flexible and capable of adapting to new circumstances.
- Using different tools for specific purposes in the field of anthropology.
- Using the basic terminology of anthropology.
Content
1. The beginnings of anthropology: the notion of “culture”
2. Social anthropology I: the evolutionist school and the difference
3. Social anthropology II: the functionalist /structural-functionalist schools, the diversity and similarities
4. Cultural anthropology: the school of culture and personality
5. The socio-political construction of alterity: exotism and orientalism, ethnicity and gender
6. An anthropological approach to material culture: agency and social relations
7. Interculturality and hybrid cultures: migration and transnationalism
8. Method and techniques: the ethnographic methodology
Activities and Methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Lectures | 50 | 2 | 1, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Group project | 18 | 0.72 | 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Reading and written essay | 73 | 2.92 | 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15 |
To achieve the established objectives, this subject involves both lectures and practical classes. The lecturer will inform students of the characteristics of assessment activities on the first day of class. The work students carry out mainly consists of lectures, individual/group presentations in class, debates and discussions in class based on selected readings, watching documentaries, documentation searches, reading assignments, written assignments, and a series of exams. Students must keep abreast of the news and information published on the Virtual Campus / Moodle.
Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Assessment
Continous Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exam | 40% | 2 | 0.08 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15 |
| Group project | 25% | 3 | 0.12 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 |
| Written essay (individual) | 35% | 4 | 0.16 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15 |
Continuous assessment
Students must provide evidence of their progress by completing various tasks and tests. These activities are detailed in the table at the end of this section of the Study Guide.
Review
When publishing final marks prior to recording them on students' transcripts, the lecturer will provide written notification of a date and time for reviewing assessment activities. Students must arrange reviews in agreement with the lecturer.
Missed/failed assessment activities
Students may retake assessment activities they have failed or compensate for any they have missed, provided that those they have actually performed account for a minimum of 66.6% (two thirds) of the subject's final mark and that they have a weighted average mark of at least 3.5.
The lecturer will inform students of the procedure involved, in writing, when publishing final marks prior to recording them on transcripts. The lecturer may set one assignment per failed or missed assessment activity or a single assignment to cover a number of such activities. Under no circumstances may an assessment activity worth 100% of the final mark be retaken or compensated for.
Classification as "not assessable"
In the event of the assessment activities a student has performed accounting for just 25% or less of the subject's final mark, their work will be classified as "not assessable" on their transcript.
Misconductin assessment activities
Students who engage in misconduct (plagiarism, copying, personation, etc.) in an assessment activity will receive a mark of “0” for the activity in question. In the case of misconduct in more than one assessment activity, the student involved will be given a final mark of “0” for the subject. Assessment activities in which irregularities have occurred (e.g. plagiarism, copying, impersonation) are excluded from recovery.
Single assessment
This subject may be assessed under the single assessment system in accordance with the terms established in the academic regulations of the UAB and the assessment criteria of the Faculty of Translation and Interpreting.
Students must make an online request within the period established by the faculty and send a copy to the teacher responsible for the subject, for the record.
Single assessment will be carried out in person on one day during week 16 or 17 of the semester. The Academic Management Office will publish the exact date and time on the faculty website.
On the day of the single assessment, teaching staff will ask the student for identification, which should be presented as a valid identification document with a recent photograph (student card, DNI/NIE or passport).
Single assessment activities
The final grade for the subject will be calculated according to the following percentages:
Exam of all the theoretical content (40%)
Written essay (individual) (35%)
Oral presentation of the essay (25%)
Grade revision and resit procedures for the subject are the same as those for continual assessment. See the section above in this study guide.
Bibliography
Beltrán Antolín, Joaquín. "La diversidad cultural y el poder". UOC, Barcelona, 2007.
Boivin, Mauricio; Rosato, Ana y Arribas, Victoria. Constructores de otredad. Una introducción a la Antropología Social y Cultural. Antropofagia, Buenos Aires, 2007.
Guarné, Blai. "Mirades intencionades: representació i alteritat". UOC, Barcelona, 2002.
Guarné, Blai. "Oralitat i escriptura: tecnologies de l'intel·lecte". UOC, Barcelona, 2016.
Software
We will not use specific sotfware
Language list
| Name | Group | Language | Semester | Turn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (TE) Theory | 1 | Catalan/Spanish | second semester | morning-mixed |