AN405     
The Anthropology of Kinship, Sex and Gender

This information is for the 2014/15 session.

Teacher responsible

Prof Rita Astuti OLD 6.11 and Dr Nicholas Long OLD 6.14

Availability

This course is available on the MSc in Anthropology and Development, MSc in Anthropology and Development Management, MSc in China in Comparative Perspective, MSc in Gender, MSc in Law, Anthropology and Society, MSc in Religion in the Contemporary World and MSc in Social Anthropology. This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.

Course content

This course provides an examination of the cultural frameworks and social aspects of kinship systems, gender roles, personhood and human sexuality, analysed through ethnographic examples from diverse cultures. It aims to equip students with the analytical tools to engage in theoretical debates concerning core concepts such as 'kinship', 'marriage', 'gender', 'sex', 'the person', and the relationship between 'nature' and 'culture'. The course charts the history of anthropological debates on kinship, relatedness, sex and gender, and familiarises students with a range of contemporary approaches to these themes, placing ethnographic materials into a critical dialogue with recent developments in gender theory, queer theory, the anthropology of colonialism, psychoanalysis, evolutionary theory, and cognitive anthropology.

Teaching

10 hours of lectures and 10 hours of seminars in the MT. 10 hours of lectures and 10 hours of seminars in the LT.

Formative coursework

Students are expected to prepare material for discussion in the seminars. Anthropology students taking this course will have an opportunity to submit a tutorial essay for this course to their personal tutors. For non-Anthropology students taking this course, a formative essay may be submitted to the course teacher.

Indicative reading

Carsten, J. (ed) Cultures of Relatedness (2000); Carsten, J. After Kinship (2003); Chodorow, N. The Power of Feelings: Personal Meaning in Psychoanalysis, Gender and Culture (1999); Donnan, H. and Magowan, F. The Anthropology of Sex (2010); Fox, R. Kinship and Marriage (1967); Levi-Strauss, C. The Elementary Structures of Kinship (1969); Moore, H. L. A Passion for Difference: Essays in Anthropology and Gender (1994); Schneider, D.  A Critique of the Study of Kinship (1984); Stone, L. Kinship and Gender: An Introduction (2006).

Assessment

Exam (100%, duration: 3 hours) in the main exam period.

Teachers' comment

In interpreting the Course Survey results, bear in mind that over the period covered by the survey this course has been taught by a number of different teachers (who might not be teaching you in the next session). In addition, the course material may have changed quite considerably.

Key facts

Department: Anthropology

Total students 2013/14: 14

Average class size 2013/14: 8

Controlled access 2013/14: No

Lecture capture used 2013/14: No

Value: One Unit

Guidelines for interpreting course guide information

Course survey results

(2010/11 - 2012/13 combined)

1 = "best" score, 5 = "worst" score

The scores below are average responses.

Response rate: 92.2%

Question

Average
response

Reading list (Q2.1)

2

Materials (Q2.3)

1.6

Course satisfied (Q2.4)

2

Lectures (Q2.5)

2

Integration (Q2.6)

1.9

Contact (Q2.7)

2

Feedback (Q2.8)

2.2

Recommend (Q2.9)

Yes

70.7%

Maybe

22.8%

No

6.5%