ARCH10150 Anthropology An Introduction Syllabus (2022–2023)

This module provides an introduction to the discipline of anthropology—the study of humans and human diversity in the present and the past. Anthropology examines the diversity of human societies and cultures across space and time. Anthropology is an interdisciplinary subject, sometimes divided into 'four fields': cultural/social anthropology, physical anthropology, linguistic anthropology, and archaeology. This module will provide students with an overview of anthropology, with an especial focus on cultural/social anthropology. We will examine how kinship, gift exchange, and the household/home are understood in different societies and how they act to give shape to those societies. We will explore different ways of understanding the world and how to make comparisons between these, and ask what it means to think anthropologically.