Faculty of Arts Anthropology

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Faculty of Arts

Table of Contents

1. Prerequisites
2. Requirements for a major
3. Honours entry
4. Honours requirements
5. Further study
6. Career opportunities
7. For more information
Subject Lists
    First-year subjects
    Second/third-year subjects
    Fourth-year subjects

Anthropology is strategically located within the School of Anthropology, Geography and Environmental studies (SAGES) to offer students the opportunity to pursue interdisciplinary studies in these areas while attaining an essential grounding in the discipline of anthropology. Staff in the SAGES are actively engaged in research and consulting projects throughout Australia and the Asia-Pacific region.

Anthropology is the study of the structures, histories, beliefs and practices that characterise diverse societies and cultures throughout the world. Research draws on interdisciplinary and cross-cultural perspectives to assess empirical data and to provide critical analyses of cultural perceptions. Students are able to take subjects that focus on specific communities in the Asia-Pacific region and may select from a diverse range of topics covering areas of interest such as kinship, gender, nationalism, myth and ritual, ethnicity, and the economic, environmental and social impact of development. Comparative approaches ensure that students are presented with anthropological perspectives on contemporary issues and problems relevant to future careers in both the public and private sectors.

Graduates of anthropology will bring an understanding of and sensitivity to cultural difference to their professional careers, whether as anthropologists working in the field, academia, or government and non-government organisations. Students interested in expanding their knowledge in anthropology are provided with an articulated structure of higher degree study options at the University of Melbourne.

1. Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for first-year anthropology subjects.

Second/third-year anthropology subjects are available to any student who has completed at least 50 points of first-year studies.

2. Requirements for a major

A major in anthropology usually consists of nine 12.5 point subjects, totalling 112.5 points. It comprises:

• two first-year subjects in anthropology: 121-107 Social Order and Social Change and 121-108 Varieties of Human Experience (25 points); and

• seven second/third-year subjects in anthropology (87.5 points), at least three of which must be chosen from the designated core of four listed below:

  Core subjects

  121-056 The Human Cosmos

  121-058 Sentiments and Structures

  121-060 Power, Ideology and Inequality

  121-065 Working with Value

• an additional four subjects may be chosen from the following:*

  Elective subjects

  121-055 Keeping the Body in Mind

  121-057 Ethnic Nationalism and the Modern World

  121-061 Applied Anthropology

  121-062 Sorcery and the Anthropology of Evil

  121-063 Culture Change and Protest Movements

  121-064 Evolutionary Psychology

  121-066 Sexing the Self

  121-067 Cooperation and Conflict

  121-068 Redefining Nature

  121-069 Evolution of Consciousness

  654-307 Evolution and the Human Condition

  *Of the four second/third-year non-core subjects, students may include no more than two relevant subjects taught in other departments subject to the prior approval of the undergraduate coordinator in anthropology.

3. Honours entry

The prerequisites for entry to fourth-year honours in anthropology are:

• completion of all the requirements for the BA;

• completion of a major in anthropology;

• an average grade of H2B or higher over the second/third-year subjects within the major.

Entry to honours must be approved by the anthropology honours coordinator and the Faculty of Arts honours course adviser.

For details of entry procedures and timetable for submission of applications, students should contact the anthropology honours coordinator.

4. Honours requirements

5. Further study

A BA with honours in anthropology can lead to MA and PhD degrees.

6. Career opportunities

Graduates in anthropology should develop an appreciation of the richness and complexity of the societies and cultures that make up our world, and the analytical skills to make sense of them. Some graduates may pursue careers as professional anthropologists, either within an academic institution or employed in government or non-government bodies concerned, for example, with overseas aid and development. Other graduates will continually draw on their anthropological studies as teachers, writers, journalists, administrators, and within the increasing array of professions and positions in both government and private enterprise that require an understanding of and sensitivity to cultural difference.

7. For more information

Dr Mary Patterson, Undergraduate Coordinator
School of Anthropology, Geography and Environmental Studies
The University of Melbourne
Victoria 3010
Tel: +61 3 8344 6339/7572
Fax: +61 3 8344 4972
Email: marycp@unimelb.edu.au
Web: http://www.anthropology.unimelb.edu.au

First-year subjects

121-107 Social Order and Social Change
121-108 Varieties of Human Experience

Second/third-year subjects

121-054 Applied Medical Anthropology
121-055 Keeping the Body in Mind
121-056 The Human Cosmos
121-057 Ethnic Nationalism and the Modern World
121-058 Sentiments and Structures
121-060 Power, Ideology and Inequality
121-061 Applied Anthropology
121-062 Sorcery and the Anthropology of Evil
121-063 Culture Change and Protest Movements
121-064 Evolutionary Psychology
121-065 Working with Value
121-066 Sexing the Self
121-067 Cooperation and Conflict
121-068 Redefining Nature
121-069 Evolution of Consciousness

Fourth-year subjects

121-536 Anthropology Thesis
121-535 Anthropology Thesis (MYE)
121-409 Philosophy and Scope of Anthropology
121-445 Reading Anthropology
121-446 Explanation and Understanding
121-475 Problems in Ethnological Theory
121-491 Directed Study in Anthropology
121-492 Advanced Topics in Applied Anthropology
121-493 Contemporary Anthropological Theory

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