Social anthropology is the study of cultures and sub-cultures existing in our present day; this discipline uses hands-on, empirical methods to map and understand all phenomena related to human life. The module will introduce you to basic concepts and subfields of anthropology, such as concepts of self, ritual and myth, ecological anthropology and proxemics. You will read various articles and case studies to elaborate on in-class material, and you are expected to complete assignments involving reflections on readings and autonomous research. Additionally, there will be a short field trip during which we will collect empirical data and apply the concepts learned in class.
Everything humans do, create, think, and feel is embedded in a cultural system; experience and meaning are culturally determined. The anthropological perspective you will gain during this course is valuable and useful no matter which social science you decide to pursue.