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Seminar on Applications of Anthropology and Analysis of Policies of Social Intervention

Code: 101255 ECTS Credits: 6
2025/2026
Degree Type Year
Social and Cultural Anthropology OT 3
Social and Cultural Anthropology OT 4

Contact

Name:
Laia Narciso Pedro
Email:
laia.narciso@uab.cat

Teachers

Maria Julieta Olaso Ruiz
Maria Carla Ritta Cardero

Teaching groups languages

You can view this information at the end of this document.


Prerequisites

There is no prior requirement but enrolling in this seminar is recommended after Anthropological Analysis of the Contemporary World.


Objectives and Contextualisation

Contextualization:

This seminar is devoted to analyse social intervention of public policies and different approaches developed by social and cultural anthropology. It focuses on policies aimed at social problems and those social groups and areas affected by them at both global and local levels.

Training goals:

Learning how to elaborate and carry out project proposals related to social problems by applying the knowledge and methods of social and cultural anthropology to the diagnosis, design, implementation and assessment of public policies in different areas.

Understanding the theoretical and methodological debates on the relationship between social and cultural anthropology and public policies based on readings, audio-visual material and case studies through a PBL methodology.


Competences

    Social and Cultural Anthropology
  • Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and duties, diversity and democratic values.
  • Assessing in theoretical, methodological and ethical terms the anthropology investigations aimed to basic objectives or oriented to intervention.
  • Assessing the effects of the implementation of expert social intervention models in the target groups.
  • Carry out effective written work or oral presentations adapted to the appropriate register in different languages.
  • Demonstrate skills for working autonomously or in teams to achieve the planned objectives including in multicultural and interdisciplinary contexts.
  • Designing a project adapted to the petitioner's request and to the characteristics and needs of the targeted populations.
  • Intervening in different contexts and areas of implementation of Anthropology (intercultural relations, development and cooperation, kinship, health, education, social use of space and other intervention areas).
  • Introduce changes in the methods and processes of the field of knowledge to provide innovative responses to the needs and demands of society.
  • Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
  • Take sex- or gender-based inequalities into consideration when operating within one's own area of knowledge.
  • Use digital tools and critically interpret specific documentary sources.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Ability to maintain an appropriate conversation.
  2. Applying the knowledge of cultural variability and its genesis to avoid ethnocentric projections.
  3. Assess the reliability of sources, select important data and cross-check information.
  4. Assessing the sociocultural adjustment of the survey questionnaires in small and large-scale investigations.
  5. Being capable of carrying out ethnographic designs corresponding to planned changes, and intermediate and final evaluation designs.
  6. Carry out ethical use of the information especially when it is of a personal nature.
  7. Carrying out an individual work that specifies the work plan and timing of activities.
  8. Carrying out oral presentations using appropriate academic vocabulary and style.
  9. Differentiating specific methodological aspects of applied researches.
  10. Effectively expressing themselves and applying the argumentative and textual processes of formal and scientific texts.
  11. Explain the explicit or implicit code of practice of one's own area of knowledge.
  12. Express ideas with a specific vocabulary appropriate to the discipline.
  13. Identify situations that require improvement or change.
  14. Identifying the ethical aspects of an intervention.
  15. Knowing and distinguishing the intervention design types, their potentiality, limitations and biases.
  16. Knowing and implementing the professional involvement in interventions into different contexts and areas of implementation of Anthropology within the field between culture and society.
  17. Knowing and understanding the foundations for the implementation of Anthropology into social and environmental interventions.
  18. Knowing some practical intervention cases.
  19. Plan work effectively, individually or in groups, in order to fulfil the planned objectives.
  20. Proponer proyectos y acciones que estén de acuerdo con los principios de responsabilidad ética y de respeto por los derechos y deberes fundamentales, la diversidad y los valores democráticos.
  21. Propose projects and actions that incorporate the gender perspective.
  22. Recognising the ethical implications of the ethnological relationships established during the fieldwork internship.
  23. Recognising the ethical implications of the investigations aimed at intervention.
  24. Recognising the importance of the internal inequality systems in the intervention processes.
  25. Reconciling the Administration demands and those from the affected populations in the intervention projects.
  26. Reconciling the targeted population's demands and needs.
  27. Solving problems autonomously.
  28. Submitting works in accordance with both individual and small group demands and personal styles.
  29. Summarizing the acquired knowledge about the relationship between nature, culture and society.

Content

The seminar has two cross-cutting modules and three thematic modules:

1. From the study of social problems to the application of anthropology to public policies: diversity, inequality and social justice. Theories of practice.

2. Methodologies of intervention and theory of change: diagnosis, design, implementation and evaluation.

3. Migration, mobility and integration policies. Challenges for social cohesion and belonging in plural societies.

4. Inter-group conflict, mediation and conflict resolution. Challenges and experiences at global and local levels.

5. Gender regimes and equality policies. General and specific challenges to the struggle against discrimination and violence against women in contemporary societies.


Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Master class and invited talks 30 1.2 2, 4, 25, 26, 18, 17, 15, 16, 9, 14, 24, 23, 22, 29
Viewing of documentaries and other in class activities 20 0.8 2, 4, 25, 26, 18, 17, 15, 16, 9, 14, 24, 23, 22, 5, 29
Type: Supervised      
Monitoring preparation of written test, individual and group monitoring 2 0.08 2, 4, 25, 26, 18, 17, 15, 16, 9, 7, 10, 8, 14, 1, 28, 24, 23, 22, 27, 5, 29
Type: Autonomous      
Study materials, preparation of written test 16 0.64 2, 4, 25, 26, 18, 17, 15, 16, 9, 14, 24, 23, 22, 27, 5, 29
Study materials, preparation of written test 18 0.72 2, 4, 25, 26, 18, 17, 15, 16, 9, 7, 14, 24, 23, 22, 27, 5, 29

The student is the main agent in the teaching-learning process, and based on this principle, a methodology focused on continuous work has been designed. Therefore, attendance is important in this course. Following the course requires active engagement in learning and responsibility throughout the entire process.

The Virtual Campus (VC) is the official communication space for the course. It is the student’s responsibility to access the VC and keep their email profile updated in order to stay informed of news and information posted throughout the course.

The methodology involves continuous work through:

  • Personal study and work: information research, extending the syllabus, comprehensive reading of mandatory texts, creating outlines, concept maps, and summaries of the materials covered inside and outside the classroom.

  • Theoretical and practical classes led by the professor: lectures, flipped classroom format, and use of audiovisual materials.

  • Text discussion seminars: sessions for debating mandatory readings with individual and/or group participation.

  • Preparation and presentation of assignments: documentation search; writing, drafting, and presenting assignments; public presentation of the work.

TUTORIALS: Student support through office (or virtual, in justified and previously agreed cases) tutorials, individually or in groups. The office hours will be communicated by the professor on the first day of class and will also be available on the VC.

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
Participation in group discussion. Debate Forum 20% 14 0.56 2, 4, 25, 26, 18, 17, 15, 16, 9, 11, 12, 10, 8, 14, 1, 19, 24, 23, 22, 5, 29, 3
Submission of essays 40% 25 1 2, 4, 25, 26, 18, 17, 15, 16, 9, 7, 12, 10, 8, 6, 14, 28, 20, 21, 24, 23, 22, 27, 5, 29
Written test and text analysis 40% 25 1 2, 4, 25, 26, 18, 17, 15, 16, 9, 7, 12, 10, 14, 13, 19, 28, 24, 23, 22, 27, 5, 29

The continuous assessment system consists of three types of activities:

Activity 1) Four individual tests (of the same format as the classroom exercises), one for each thematic module. Value: 40% of the final mark.

Activity 2) A team project of diagnostic exploration and intervention proposal on one of the topics proposed by the teacher and oral presentation of the work. Evaluation with a specific rubric given to the students with the aim of improving their weak points. Value: 40% of the final mark.

Activity 3) Five classroom exercises in pairs/groups. Reading and analysis of texts related to the thematic blogs, and oral presentation of the results (forum-debate). Value: 20% of the final mark.

The leading role in the teaching-learning process is played by the students and under this premise a methodology based on continuous work has been designed, and therefore attendance is important in this subject.

At the time of each evaluation activity, the teacher will inform the students (Moodle) of the procedure and the date of revision of the grades.

Recovery

In order to participate in the retake, students must have been previously assessed in a set of activities whose weight is equivalent to a minimum of 2/3 of the total grade.

If they do not pass, the individual work and the team project can be reassessed following the indications of the correction.

Single assessment:
This course does not provide for a single assessment system.

Plagiarism or fraudulent conduct:
If a student engages in any irregularity that could significantly alter the grade of an assessment activity, that activity will be graded with a 0, regardless of any disciplinary proceedings that may follow. If multiple irregularities occur in the assessment activities of the same course, the final grade for the course will be 0.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI):
Restricted use: For this course, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is permitted exclusively for support tasks, such as literature or information searches, text corrections, or translations. The student must clearly identify which parts were generated using such technology, specify the tools used, and include a critical reflection on how these tools influenced both the process and the final result of the activity. Lack of transparency in the use of AI in this evaluable activity will be considered a breach of academic integrity and may result in partial or total penalization of the activity’s grade, or more serious sanctions in severe cases.


Bibliography

GENERAL REFERENCIES (common to the syllabus of Social Intervention: specific readings will be provided for each section)

Alvermann, Donna E. "Narrative approaches." Handbook of Reading Research. Vol III (2002): 47-64.

Aguilar Villanueva, Luís F. 2007 La implementación de las políticas. Mexico: Miguel Angel Pórrua.

Biglia, Barbara. 2014. Avances, dilemas y retos de las epistemologías feministes en la investigación social. En “Otras formes de (re)concocer: reflexiones, herramientas y aplicacions desde la investigación feminsita”, p. 21-44.

Borofsky, Robert, and Antonio De Lauri. "Public anthropology in changing times." Public Anthropologist 1.1 (2019): 3-19.

Canals Sala, Josep. 1999. La antropología en los estudios de trabajo social: del exótico externo a la alteridad interna, en Antropología más allá de la academia: Aplicaciones, Contribuciones, Prácticas e Intervención Social. Santiago de Compostela: FAAEE.

Checker, Melissa. "Anthropology in the public sphere, 2008: emerging trends and significant impacts." American Anthropologist 111.2 (2009): 162-169.

Cruz, Isabel. 2002. Introducción a La Antropología para la Intervención Social. Valencia: Tirant lo Blanch.

Dattatreyan, E. Gabriel, and Isaac Marrero-Guillamón. 2019.  "Introduction: Multimodal anthropology and the politics of invention." American Anthropologist 121.1 (2019): 220-228.

Shore, Cris, and Susana Durão. "From a political anthropology to an anthropology of policy: interview with Cris Shore. By Susana Durão." Etnográfica. Revista do Centro em Rede de Investigação em Antropologia 14.3) (2010): 595-614.

Ervin, Alexander. "M. 2000 Applied anthropology: tools and perspectives for contemporary practice."

Franzé, Adela 2013. Presentación del monográfico Antropología y Políticas públicas. Revista de Antropología Social, 22, 9-23.

Fraser, Nancy & Lamas, Marta. 1991. La lucha por las necesidades: esbozo de una teoría crítica socialista-feminista de la cultura política del capitalismo tardío. Debate feminista, 3, 3-40.

Martín, Juan Carlos Gimeno. "Antropología (s) de orientación pública:“asomarse unos centímetros más allá del borde, ahí donde la perspectiva se amplía ligeramente”." Antropología de orientación pública: visibilización y compromiso de la antropología (2008): 247-75.

Hamann, Edmund T., et al. "Educational policy as a matter for anthropologists’ scholarly and applied engagement." Unpublished MS, no department, Council of Anthropology and Education (2007).

Hannerz, Ulf. "Diversity is our business." American Anthropologist 112.4(2010): 539-551.

Hannerz, Ulf. "Studying down, up, sideways, through, backwards, forwards, away and at home: Reflections on the field worries of an expansive discipline." Locating the Field. Routledge, 2020. 23-41.

Jabardo, Mercedes. 2008. Introducción: Preguntas y reflexiones en torno a una antropología de orientación pública. In: Jabardo M, Monreal P, and Palenzuela P (eds), Antropología de orientación pública: visibilización y compromiso de la antropología. XI Congreso de Antropología de la FAAEE, Donostia: Ankulegi Antropologia Elkartea.

Lamphere, Louise. "The convergence of applied, practicing, and public anthropology in the 21st century." Human Organization 63.4 (2004): 431-443.

Lassiter, Luke Eric. "Collaborative ethnography and public anthropology." Current anthropology 46.1 (2005): 83-106.

Lassiter, Luke Eric. "Moving past public anthropology and doing collaborative research." napa Bulletin 29.1 (2008): 70-86.

Okongwu, Anne Francis, and Joan P. Mencher. "The anthropology of public policy: shifting terrains." Annual Review of Anthropology 29.1 (2000): 107-124.

Osburn, Joe, Guy Caruso, and Wolf Wolfensberger. "The Concept of “Best Practice”: A brief overview of its meanings, scope, uses, and shortcomings." International Journal of Disability, Development and Education 58.3 (2011): 213-222.

Podjed, Dan, Meta Gorup, and Alenka Bezjak Mlakar. "Applied anthropology in Europe: Historical obstacles, current situation, future challenges." Anthropology in Action 23.2 (2016): 53-63.

Rogers, Patricia. 2004. "La teoría del cambio." Síntesis metodológicas: evaluación de impacto 2 (2014): 1-14.

Pink, Sarah. 2004. "Guest editor's introduction: Applied visual anthropology social intervention, visual methodologies and anthropology theory." Visual Anthropology Review 20.1 (2004): 3-16.

Romaní Alfonso, Oriol. 2006. “Barcelona desde la Academia (o los avatares de una antropología implicada)”, a: Feixa C. (dir.); Porzio L.; RecioC. (coords.). Jóvenes latinos enBarcelona. Espacio público y cultura urbana, Barcelona.

Ruiz Ballesteros, Esteban. 2005. Intervención social: cultura, discursos y poder: aportaciones desde la Antropología. Madrid:Talasa.

Schwegler, Tara, and Michael G. Powell. "Unruly experts: Methods and forms of collaboration in the anthropology of public policy." Anthropology in Action 15.2 (2008): 1-9.

Shore, Cris. 2010. La antropología y el estudio de la política pública: Reflexiones sobre la “formulación” de las políticas. Antípoda, 10(Junio), 21–49.

Stull, Donald D. 2019. Collaborative research and social change: Applied anthropology in action. Routledge.

Tello, Claudia Beatriz. 2017. Antropología e intervención social. Libros de Cátedra.

Van Willigen, John. 1986. Applied Anthropology: An Introduction. Massachusetts: Bergin and Garvey.

Vargas‐Cetina, Gabriela. "Do Locals Need OurHelp? On Participatory Research in Anthropology." Annals of Anthropological Practice 44.2 (2020): 202-207.

Vindrola-Padros, Cecilia, and Ginger A. Johnson. 2020. "Rapid techniques in qualitative research: a critical review of the literature." Qualitative Health Research 30.10 (2020): 1596-1604.

Wedel JR, Shore C, Feldman G, et al. 2005. Towards an Anthropology of Public Policy. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 600(July), 30–51.


Software

No required.


Groups and Languages

Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2025. You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject.

Name Group Language Semester Turn
(SEM) Seminars 11 Spanish second semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 12 Catalan/Spanish second semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 1 Catalan/Spanish second semester morning-mixed