BSc in Social Anthropology
Programme Code: UBANS2
Department: Anthropology
For students starting this programme of study in 2022/23
Guidelines for interpreting programme regulations
Three-year classification scheme for BA/BSc degrees for all students from the 2018/19 academic year
Students on this programme have the opportunity to receive a language, International History, or Politics specialism attached to their degree certificate and transcript. See the details at the bottom of this page for more information.
Please note that places are limited on some optional courses. Admission onto any particular course is not guaranteed and may be subject to timetabling constraints and/or students meeting specific prerequisite requirements.
Paper |
Course number, title (unit value) |
LSE100 |
LSE100 is a half unit taken by all students, running across Michaelmas and Lent Terms in the first year. The course provides one of the marks that is eligible to be included in the calculation of the First Year Average for purposes of classification. Students will choose ONE of the three half-unit options below: |
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LSE100A The LSE Course: How can we avert climate catastrophe? (0.5) |
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LSE100B The LSE Course: How can we control AI? (0.5) |
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LSE100C The LSE Course: How can we create a fair society? (0.5) |
Year 1 |
Paper 1 |
AN100 Being Human: Contemporary Themes in Social Anthropology (1.0) |
Paper 2 |
AN101 A History of Anthropological Theory (1.0) |
Paper 3 |
AN102 Ethnography through Mixed Media (1.0) |
Paper 4 |
Courses to the value of 1.0 unit(s) from the following:
Note that in addition to this list of courses offered in outside departments, any available language course run by the Language Centre will also be approved. |
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Approved Outside Options (Year 1) |
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Language Courses |
Language Specialism |
Students wishing to graduate with a language specialism should refer to the requirements set out in the Language Specialism footnote. G |
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International History Specialism |
Students wishing to graduate with an International History specialism should refer to the requirements set out in the International History Specialism footnote. H |
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Politics Specialism |
Students wishing to graduate with a Politics specialism should refer to the requirements set out in the Politics Specialism footnote. I |
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Year 2 |
Paper 5 |
AN200 The Anthropology of Kinship, Sex and Gender (1.0) |
Paper 6 |
AN226 Political and Legal Anthropology (1.0) |
Paper 7 |
AN256 Economic Anthropology (1): Production and Exchange (0.5) and AN298 Fieldwork in London: Learning Ethnographic Methods (0.5) |
Paper 8 |
Courses to the value of 1.0 unit(s) from the following: |
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Anthropology Selection List A |
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Ethnographic options |
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OR
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Courses to the value of 1.0 unit(s) from the following, if the pre-requisite first year courses have been taken. (see Note) |
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Language Courses |
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Government List A |
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History List A |
Note: |
Students are strongly encouraged to take ethnographic options to the value of at least one half unit under Papers 8 and 12. See relevant footnotes for details of the Language, International History and Politics specialism requirements.
Language Specialism: Approved courses to the value of 1.0 unit can be selected from the Language Courses list. Language options may be chosen if they are a continuation of a language studied in Year 1, and must be above Level 1.
International History Specialism: Approved International History options to the value of 1.0 unit may be chosen if HY113 or HY116 or HY118 was taken in Year 1 and subject to availability.
Politics Specialism: Approved Government options to the value of 1.0 unit may be chosen if GV100 or GV101 was taken in Year 1. |
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Year 3 |
Paper 9 |
AN303 Advanced Theory of Social Anthropology (0.5) # and AN357 Economic Anthropology (2): Transformation and Globalisation (0.5) |
Paper 10 |
AN301 The Anthropology of Religion (1.0) # |
Paper 11 |
AN397 Special Essay Paper in Social Anthropology (1.0) |
Paper 12 |
Courses to the value of 1.0 unit(s) from the following: |
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Anthropology Selection List A |
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Ethnographic options |
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OR
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Courses to the value of 1.0 unit(s) from the following, if the pre-requisite first and second year courses have been taken. (see Note) |
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Language Courses |
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Government List A |
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Government List B |
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History List A |
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History List B |
Note: |
Students are strongly encouraged to take ethnographic options to the value of at least one half unit under Papers 8 and 12. See footnotes for details of the Language, International History and Politics specialism requirements.
Language Specialism: Approved courses to the value of 1.0 unit can be selected from the Language Courses list for students wishing to receive a language specialism attached to their degree certificate and transcript. Language options may be chosen if they are a continuation of a language studied in Years 1 and 2. Language options must be above Level 2.
International History Specialism: Approved International History courses to the value of 1.0 unit can be selected, subject to availability, if HY113 or HY116 or HY118 was taken in Year 1 and HY courses to the value of 1.0 unit were taken in Year 2.
Politics Specialism: Approved Government courses to the value of 1.0 unit can be selected if GV100 or GV101 was taken in Year 1 and GV courses to the value of 1.0 unit were taken in Year 2 |
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AN221 The Anthropology of Christianity (0.5) # (not available 2022/23) |
AN237 The Anthropology of Development (0.5) |
AN243 Children and Youth in Contemporary Ethnography (0.5) # |
AN245 Borders and Boundaries: Ethnographic Approaches (0.5) (not available 2022/23) |
AN247 Anthropological Approaches to Questions of Being (0.5) (not available 2022/23) |
AN275 The Anthropology of Revolution (0.5) # (not available 2022/23) |
AN276 Anthropology and the Anthropocene (0.5) |
AN280 Public Anthropology (0.5) # (not available 2022/23) |
AN281 Health and Welfare: Anthropological Perspectives (0.5) (not available 2022/23) |
AN283 Anthropology, Art, and Poetics (0.5) # (not available 2022/23) |
AN284 Anthropological Approaches to Race, Racism, and Decolonisation (0.5) |
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GV100 Introduction to Political Theory (1.0) |
GV101 Introduction to Political Science (1.0) |
GY100 Introduction to Geography (1.0) |
GY121 Sustainable Development (1.0) |
HY113 From Empire to Independence: The Extra-European World in the Twentieth Century (1.0) |
HY116 International Politics since 1914: Peace and War (1.0) |
HY118 Faith, Power and Revolution: Europe and the Wider World, c.1500-c.1800 (1.0) |
LN252 Contemporary Literature and Global Society (1.0) # |
LN270 Society and Language: Linguistics for Social Scientists (1.0) |
PB102 Social Psychology (1.0) (not available 2022/23) |
PH103 The Big Questions: An Introduction to Philosophy (1.0) # |
SO110 Power, Inequality, and Difference: Contemporary Themes in Sociology (1.0) |
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Courses to the value of 0.5 unit(s) from the following: |
AN205 The Anthropology of Melanesia (0.5) |
AN223 The Anthropology of Southeast Asia (0.5) (not available 2022/23) |
AN240 Investigating the Philippines - New Approaches and Ethnographic Contexts (0.5) (not available 2022/23) |
AN250 The Anthropology of South Asia (0.5) # (not available 2022/23) |
AN269 The Anthropology of Amazonia (0.5) # (not available 2022/23) |
AN277 Topics in the Anthropology of sub-Saharan Africa (0.5) # (not available 2022/23) |
AN282 Bangladesh and Beyond: Anthropological Perspectives (0.5) # (not available 2022/23) |
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GV225 Public Choice and Politics (1.0) # |
GV245 Democracy and Democratisation (1.0) # (not available 2022/23) |
GV248 Power and Politics in the Modern World: Comparative Perspectives (1.0) # |
GV249 Research Design in Political Science (1.0) (not available 2022/23) |
GV251 Government, Politics and Public Policy in the European Union (1.0) # |
GV262 Contemporary Political Theory (1.0) # |
GV263 Public Policy Analysis (1.0) # |
GV264 Politics and Institutions in Europe (1.0) # |
GV267 Global Political Thought (1.0) # |
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EU3A1 The Politics and Policies of 'Brexit': The UK's changing relationship with the European Union (0.5) (not available 2022/23) |
GV302 Key Themes in the History of Political Thought (1.0) # |
GV307 Conflict and Cooperation: A Few Provocative Debates (0.5) |
GV309 Politics of Money and Finance in Comparative Perspective (0.5) # (not available 2022/23) |
GV311 British Government (1.0) # |
GV312 Advanced Topics in Government: Executive Politics (1.0) # (not available 2022/23) |
GV313 Politics of Trade in Comparative Perspective (0.5) # |
GV314 Empirical Research in Government (1.0) (not available 2022/23) |
GV315 Voting and Elections in Developing Democracies (0.5) # |
GV316 Advanced Issues in Applied Political Theory (0.5) # |
GV318 Building Democracies from Conflict? Violence, Power-Sharing and Institutional Design (0.5) # |
GV319 Experimental Politics (0.5) # * J (not available 2022/23) |
GV320 Populism (0.5) (not available 2022/23) |
GV321 Concepts and Controversies in Political Theory (0.5) # |
GV323 Transparency and Accountability in Government (0.5) (not available 2022/23) |
GV324 Applied Quantitative Methods for Political Science (0.5) # |
GV325 Topics in Political Economy (0.5) # |
GV326 Conflict, War and Revolution - Approaches to Political Theory (1.0) # |
GV327 Governance and Corruption (0.5) # |
GV328 Middle East Politics in Transnational Perspective (0.5) |
GV329 Making Democracy Work (0.5) # |
GV330 Data Science Applications to Politics Research (0.5) # |
GV332 Big Data in Politics: A Few Provocative Debates (0.5) |
GV334 Comparative Perspectives on Inequality and Politics: Global North, Global South (0.5) |
GV335 African Political Economy (0.5) (not available 2022/23) |
GV336 Latin America: Democracy and Development (0.5) |
GV337 Politics, Crime, and Criminal Justice in Comparative Perspective (0.5) # |
GV338 Politics and Political Economy of India (0.5) |
GV366 Political Economy of the Developing World (1.0) # (not available 2022/23) |
GV390 Government Dissertation Option (1.0) K |
GV398 Inside the Mind of a Voter: Research in Electoral Psychology (1.0) (not available 2022/23) |
GV3L1 Analytical Approaches to British Politics (0.5) # |
GV3L2 The Politics and Policy of Climate Change and Sustainability (0.5) # |
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HY200 The Rights of Man: the History of Human Rights Discourse from the Antigone to Amnesty International (1.0) |
HY206 The International History of the Cold War, 1945-1989 (1.0) |
HY221 The History of Russia, 1676-1825 (1.0) (not available 2022/23) |
HY226 The Great War 1914-1918 (1.0) (not available 2022/23) |
HY232 War, Genocide and Nation Building. The History of South-Eastern Europe 1914-1990 (1.0) |
HY235 Modernity and the State in East Asia: China, Japan and Korea since 1840 (1.0) |
HY238 The Cold War and European Integration, 1947-1992 (1.0) (not available 2022/23) |
HY239 People, Power and Protest in Latin America, c.1895 to the present day (1.0) (not available 2022/23) |
HY240 From Empire to Commonwealth: war, race and imperialism in British History, 1780 to the present day (1.0) (not available 2022/23) |
HY241 What is History? Methods and Debates (1.0) |
HY242 The Soviet Union: Domestic, International and Intellectual History (1.0) |
HY243 Islamic Empires, 1400 - 1800 (1.0) |
HY245 The United States and the World since 1776 (1.0) |
HY246 The Global Caribbean: Colonialism, Race and Revolutions 1780s-1980s (1.0) |
HY247 The History of Modern Turkey, 1789 to the Present (1.0) |
LN251 Comparative Literature and 20th Century Political History (1.0) # |
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HY311 Limited War During the Cold War Era: The US in Korea (1950-53) and Vietnam (1954-75) (1.0) |
HY315 The European Enlightenment, c.1680-1799 (1.0) |
HY319 Napoleon and Europe (1.0) (not available 2022/23) |
HY320 The Cold War Endgame (1.0) |
HY322 Nazi Germany's War: Violence and Occupation in Europe, 1939-1945 (1.0) |
HY323 Travel, Pleasure and Politics: The European Grand Tour, 1670-1825 (1.0) |
HY327 The Anglo-American Special Relationship, 1939-89 (1.0) |
HY328 The Arab-Israeli Conflict: Nationalism, Territory, Religion (1.0) |
HY329 Independent India: Myths of Freedom and Development (1.0) |
HY330 From Tea to Opium: China and the Global Market in the Long Eighteenth Century (1.0) |
HY331 Henry Kissinger and the Global 1970s (1.0) (not available 2022/23) |
HY332 Interwar worlds: the cultural consequences of the First World War (1.0) |
HY333 Enslavement, commerce, and political formations in West Africa, c. 1550-1850 (1.0) |
HY334 Communication Revolutions in Latin America, c.1539 to the Present (1.0) |
HY335 History of Foreign Relations of the People’s Republic of China, 1949-2008 (1.0) |
HY336 The United States and nuclear weapons from the Manhattan project to the end of the Cold War (1.0) |
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LN100 Russian Language and Society 3 (advanced) (1.0) # |
LN101 Russian Language and Society 1 (beginner) (1.0) # |
LN102 Russian Language and Society 2 (intermediate) (1.0) # |
LN104 Mandarin Language and Society Level 1 (Beginner) (1.0) # |
LN110 German Language and Society 3 (advanced) (1.0) # |
LN112 German Language and Society 2 (Intermediate) (1.0) # |
LN120 Spanish Language and Society 3 (advanced) (1.0) # |
LN121 Spanish Language and Society 1 (beginner) (1.0) # |
LN122 Spanish Language and Society 2 (intermediate) (1.0) # |
LN130 French Language and Society 3 (advanced) (1.0) # |
LN131 French Language and Society 1 (beginner) (1.0) # |
LN132 French Language and Society 2 (intermediate) (1.0) # |
LN140 Mandarin Language and Society 3 (Advanced) (1.0) # |
LN142 Mandarin Language and Society 2 (Intermediate) (1.0) # |
LN200 Russian Language and Society 4 (proficiency) (1.0) # |
LN210 German Language and Society 4 (proficiency) (1.0) # |
LN220 Spanish Language and Society 4 (proficiency) (1.0) # |
LN230 French Language and Society 4 (proficiency) (1.0) # |
LN240 Mandarin Language and Society 4 (Proficiency) (1.0) # |
LN250 English Literature and Society (1.0) # A |
LN251 Comparative Literature and 20th Century Political History (1.0) # B |
LN252 Contemporary Literature and Global Society (1.0) # C |
LN253 European Literature and Philosophy (1.0) # D |
LN254 Literature and Aspects of Ethics (1.0) # E |
LN270 Society and Language: Linguistics for Social Scientists (1.0) F |
LN320 Spanish Language and Society 5 (mastery) (1.0) # |
LN330 French Language and Society 5 (mastery) (1.0) # |
LN340 Mandarin Language and Society 5 (Mastery) (1.0) # |
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Prerequisite Requirements and Mutually Exclusive Options
* means available with permission
Footnotes
A : LN250 Not available to 2nd and 3rd year students on the BA/BSc in Social Anthropology programmes.
B : LN251 Not available to 2nd and 3rd year students on the BA/BSc in Social Anthropology programmes.
C : LN252 Not available to 2nd and 3rd year students on the BA/BSc in Social Anthropology programmes.
D : LN253 Not available to 2nd and 3rd year students on the BA/BSc in Social Anthropology programmes.
E : LN254 Not available to 2nd and 3rd year students on the BA/BSc in Social Anthropology programmes.
F : LN270 Not available to 2nd and 3rd year students on the BA/BSc in Social Anthropology programmes.
G : Language Specialism: Students who have taken and passed one language course in each year of their degree (i.e. 25% of their overall programme of study) will receive a language specialism attached to their degree certificate and transcript. Students must take all courses in the same language (French, Spanish, German, Mandarin or Russian) in order to qualify for the specialism. The three courses must also be consecutively harder in level, for example: beginner, intermediate and advanced. Students who choose language courses in each year according to these rules will receive a language specialism. Degree certificates which include a language specialism will state the language in the title, for example: BSc in Social Anthropology (with French).
H : International History Specialism: Students who have taken and passed at least one course from the Department of International History in each year of their degree (ie, 25 per cent of their overall programme of study) will be offered the opportunity to receive an International History specialism attached to their degree certificate and transcript. In order to qualify for the specialism, students must take HY113, HY116 or HY118 in their first year, courses to the value of one unit from International History List A in the second year, and courses to the value of one unit from International History List A or International History List B in the third year. Students who choose to take International History courses are not obligated to receive a specialism, but have the option if they wish. Degree certificates which include an International History specialism will state this in the title, i.e.: BA in Social Anthropology (with International History).
I : Politics Specialism: Students who have taken and passed at least one course from the Department of Government in each year of their degree (ie, 25 per cent of their overall programme of study) will be offered the opportunity to receive a Politics specialism attached to their degree certificate and transcript. In order to qualify for the specialism, students must take GV100 or GV101 in their first year, courses to the value of one unit from Government List A in the second year, and courses to the value of one unit from Government List A or Government List B in the third year. Students who choose to take Government courses are not obligated to receive a specialism, but have the option if they wish. Degree certificates which include a Politics specialism will state this in the title, i.e.: BA in Social Anthropology (with Politics).
J : GV319 can be taken in Year 3 only.
K : Only Available to students on the BSc in Philosophy, Politics and Economics as an option on Government List B. Students on other programmes may only select this course under Paper 12 of their programme regulations.
# means there may be prerequisites for this course. Please view the course guide for more information.
Level 1 courses are not permitted as part of this degree programme in Years 2 and 3.
Note for prospective students:
For changes to undergraduate course and programme information for the next academic session, please see the undergraduate summary page for prospective students. Changes to course and programme information for future academic sessions can be found on the undergraduate summary page for future students.
