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SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY
HONOURS PROGRAMME
2012/2013
THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGHSCHOOL OF SOCIAL AND POLITICAL SCIENCE
This handbook provides Social Anthropology honours students with details of staff, courses, and procedures specific to Social
Anthropology. A wealth of useful further information and advice on School-wide procedures and links to University support services is
provided on the SPS Undergraduate School web site at http://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/undergrad
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Contents
Aims and Outcomes................................................................................................... 3
Communications........................................................................................................ 5
Social Anthropology Staff.........................................................................................6
Degrees and Courses................................................................................................ ..7
Timetables............................................................................................................... 10
Core Courses............................................................................................................ 12
Option Courses........................................................................................................ 15
Assessment.............................................................................................................. 18
Special Circumstances.............................................................................................22
Plagiarism and Ethical Conduct...............................................................................25
Appendices
1. Dissertation.......................................................................................................25
2. Presentation of Written Work................................................................................32
3. Dates and Deadlines............................................................................................... 33
EDUCATIONAL AIMS OF THE HONOURS PROGRAMME:
a broad knowledge of the major fields of study in social and cultural anthropology; substantive knowledge of a range of social and cultural contexts, institutions, processes
and ideas; the ability to understand, evaluate and use a range of theoretical frameworks in the study
of social and cultural anthropology; the capacity to develop research proposals, and to carry out and and write up an
independent research project within an achievable time frame
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the capacity to apply knowledge and skills to the understanding and evaluation of issues and problems in the contemporary world;
key generic skills in critical thinking and oral and written communication of information and argument;
PROGRAMME OUTCOMES
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDINGOn completing the Honours programme students should be able to:
demonstrate knowledge and understanding of different social and cultural contexts, institutions, processes and ideas;
evaluate alternative explanations of particular social contexts, processes, and events; demonstrate awareness of different theoretical, conceptual , and key methodological
approaches used in anthropological analysis; demonstrate an understanding of the social and historical processes that influence the
objects of anthropological study; demonstrate an understanding of the methods and value of cross cultural comparative
analysis; demonstrate an ability to comprehend, evaluate and communicate ethnographic
information; demonstrate an understanding of the nature of explanation and interpretation in social
anthropology and nature of evidence in such accounts; demonstrate an alertness to the potential applications of anthropological knowledge, and
their ethical implications in a variety of contexts.
GRADUATE ATTRIBUTES: RESEARCH AND ENQUIRY
Graduates in social anthropology will be able to create new knowledge and opportunities for learning through the process of research and enquiry, including the abilities to:
apply different theories to the interpretation and explanation of human conduct and patterns of behaviour;
recognise and account for the use of such theories by others; judge the value and relevance of empirical evidence and theoretical argument and
interpretation in social science; identify and design ways of solving problems with a social and cultural dimension; question cultural assumptions; interpret and analyse a variety of textual, oral and visual forms.; discuss ideas and interpretations with others in a clear and reasoned way.; apply anthropological knowledge to a variety of situations; plan and execute a research-based dissertation or project; assess the ethical implications of anthropological research and enquiry.
GRADUATE ATTRIBUTES: PERSONAL & INTELLECTUAL AUTONOMY
Graduates in Social Anthropology will be able to work independently and sustainably, in a way that is informed by openness, curiosity, and a desire to meet new challenges, including the abilities and dispositions to:
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be independent learners who take responsibility for their own learning and are committed to continuous reflection, self-evaluation and self-improvement
be able to sustain intellectual interest by remaining receptive to both new and old ideas, methods, and ways of thinking
be able to make decisions on the basis of rigorous and independent thought, taking into account ethical and professional issues
be able to use collaboration and debate effectively to test, modify and strengthen their own views
be able to respond effectively to unfamiliar problems in unfamiliar contexts have a personal vision and goals and be able to work towards these in a
sustainable way
GRADUATE ATTRIBUTES: COMMUNICATION
Graduates in Social Anthropology will recognise and value communication as the tool for negotiating and creating new understanding, collaborating with others, and furthering their own learning, including the abilities to:
make effective use of oral, written and visual means to critique, negotiate, create and communicate understanding
use communication as a tool for collaborating and relating to others further their own learning through effective use of the full range of
communication approaches seek and value open feedback to inform genuine self-awareness recognise the benefits of communicating with those beyond their immediate
environments use effective communication to articulate their skills as identified through
selfreflection
GRADUATE ATTRIBUTES: PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS
Graduates in Social Anthropology will be able to effect change and be responsive to the situations and environments in which they operate, including the abilities to:
make constructive use of social analysis skills in personal, professional, and community life
apply understanding of social risks, in relation to diverse stakeholders, while initiating and managing change
be both adaptive and proactively responsive to changing social contexts have the confidence to make decisions based on their understandings and their
personal and intellectual autonomy transfer their knowledge, learning, skills and abilities from one context to
another understand and act on social, cultural, global and environmental
responsibilities, and help others to do the same be able to work effectively with others, capitalising on their different thinking,
experience and skills understand and promote effectively the values of diversity and equity, while
also recognizing possible trade-offs between these
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COMMUNICATIONS
COMMUNICATIONSMost members of teaching staff have office hours on one or two days a week in which they can meet students without prior appointment. Times will be posted on their office doors and on their page on the School website. In emergency, messages for any member of the academic staff can be left with Miss Katie Teague, the honours secretary (phone 650 3933). However, all staff have email addresses (which are given in the next section) and you are strongly encouraged to use email for routine communication with staff, tutors, and fellow students. See also the section on email addresses below.
Remember that everyone in the university — secretaries and members of teaching staff as well as students — works under considerable pressure at certain times of year and it is not always possible to deal with every problem the instant it occurs. Patience and politeness will, however, greatly improve the general flow of communication.
New Personal Tutor and Student Support services: you should all have received notice from the University about the new University-wide project for enhancement of student support services, including replacement of the ‘Director of Studies’ role with that of ‘Personal Tutor’ (who will be referred to as ‘PT’ as distinct from the ‘Course Tutors’ who run course-specific tutorials). If you are unsure who your PT is, please consult MyEd, where you will also find facilities for recording notes about your meetings with your PT. Please see the SPS Undergraduate School web site: www.sps.ed.ac.uk/undergrad/on_course_students/honours/personal_tutor_system for further information about how this system will operate in SPS, and the Institute for Academic Development’s Undergraduate web site (www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/institute-academic-development/undergraduate) for a wealth of useful information on university-wide procedures and support services.
SEMINARS Each week visiting anthropologists present their work in progress to the subject group as a whole. Speakers and topics are announced on School notice boards and on the Social Anthropology webpage. This gives you an insight into topics at the forefront of the discipline, and Honours students are strongly encouraged to attend at least some of these. Social Anthropology seminars are held on Fridays from 3-5pm.
Liaison and engagementWe are always ready to listen to students’ suggestions for the improvement of our courses, programmes, and procedures, and there are various ways in which you can communicate your views to the department. In Semester 1 we ask each Honours year to elect two representatives to the Staff-Student Liaison Committee, which meets each Semester. They also nominate representatives to sit on the School’s Undergraduate Board of Studies and Undergraduate Teaching Committee. These representatives are also encouraged to pass on suggestions from fellow students to the Social Anthropology Director of Undergraduate Teaching. At the end of each
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Semester, we ask you to complete course evaluation questionnaires covering all aspects of the course and your studies. Finally, individual students with problems or suggestions regarding a particular course are invited to pass them on to the Course Organiser at any time during the year.
MyED https://www.myed.ed.ac.ukYou are strongly advised to make regular use of MyED as your gateway to most of the information you will need on courses, procedures, and support systems
THE SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY SUBJECT GROUP
Head of Subject
Dr Ian Harper Room 5.10 CMBPhone (direct): 650 3816Email: [email protected]
Director of Undergraduate TeachingDr Neil Thin, Room 5.27Phone (direct): 650 3880Email: [email protected]
Administrative SecretaryMiss Katie Teague, Room 1.10 CMBPhone: 650 3933Email: [email protected]
Undergraduate Office SecretaryMrs May Rutherford, Undergraduate Teaching Office, Ground floor CMBPhone: 650 3932Email: [email protected]
TEACHING STAFF
All of our academic staff are involved in both teaching and research. To engage fully in this academic community you should familiarise yourself with the staff by visiting their web sites at www.sps.ed.ac.uk/staff. Although at any one time a number of staff are away on research leave, all are in principle accessible to you: we will respond to your email enquiries, and meet with you on request if we can. Each staff member’s web site specifies open office hours at which you may drop in for a consultation.
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DEGREES AND COURSES
All students should consult their relevant degree regulations which are available at: http://www.drps.ed.ac.uk/
Single Honours in Social AnthropologyStudents must take a total of ten courses (plus Dissertation) in their two honours years. Six of these (four in third year and two in fourth year) are compulsory core courses, and four can be chosen from the list of optional courses available each year. Students must take at least one Regional Analysis course over the two honours years. In addition, all Junior Honours students must attend Imagining Anthropological Research in Semester 1. Core courses are assessed by course work, and by unseen examinations at the end of the semesters in which they are taken. Option courses are assessed by coursework, and by essays written and submitted in the semesters in which they are taken.
Social Anthropology with DevelopmentStudents must take a total of ten courses (plus Dissertation) in their two honours years. Four of these (two in the third year and two in the fourth year) are compulsory core courses, and five (three in the third year and two in the fourth year) can be chosen from the list of optional courses available in each year. Students must also take Social Development in the third year. At least one of the optional courses over the two years must be a Regional Analysis course. In addition, all Junior Honours students must attend Imagining Anthropological Research in Semester 1. Core courses are assessed by coursework, and by unseen examinations at the end of the semester in which they are taken. Option courses are assessed by coursework, and by essays written and submitted in the semester in which they are taken.
Combined Honours in Social AnthropologyStudents must take a total of ten courses (plus Dissertation) in their two honours years. Combined Honours students take one or two core courses in Social Anthropology each year, the number and choice of which depend on their degree curricula. Students must also take the required number of optional courses from the list below. Note that the regulations for some Combined Honours degrees specify one option course as compulsory in a particular year. Students also attend the required number of courses in other subject areas. Exact requirements for each combined degree are listed in the respective degree programme entries; you should discuss this with your Director of Studies. If you intend to submit a dissertation in Social Anthropology, you must attend Imagining Anthropological Research in your Junior Honours year. If you are submitting a dissertation in another subject you do not attend this course.
Other StudentsWe welcome visiting and external students of various types: non-graduating students (SOCRATES, junior year abroad, etc.), as well as honours and MSc students from other subject groups in the School of Social and Political Studies and students from the degree in Religious Studies with Social Anthropology.
In general, visiting students who have passed the equivalent of Social Anthropology 1A, 1B, and 2 at their home institution are welcome to take any appropriate option courses. This qualifying requirement does not apply to students from programmes
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such as International and European Politics or Nationalism Studies, who are welcome to take those option courses listed for their programme.
External students, especially those from within the School of Social and Political Science, are also welcome to take our Honours courses subject to places being available. We do not permit external students to take Imagining Anthropological Research or (except in special circumstances) Belief, Thought and Language. In all cases, external students will be assessed in exactly the same ways as Edinburgh-based students registered for degrees in Social Anthropology.
Any students wishing to take Social Anthropology Honours courses, who are not registered for Single or Combined Honours degrees in Social Anthropology should consult with the relevant course convener before registering.
TEACHING and SUPERVISION
All Honours courses are taught in 2-hour sessions, which involve combinations of lecturing, small-group and, in some cases, project work. Teaching on core courses is supplemented by 1-hour support teaching classes for small groups, attendance at which is compulsory and for which registers are kept. 10% of the final mark for each core course is dependent on tutorial participation, including submission of short pieces of written work as required by the tutor. Details of times for these support classes will be posted on Learn 9 where you will be able to sign up for a group.
Detailed reading lists for all courses, with details of assessed coursework and essay titles where appropriate, will be on Learn 9 from the beginning of the Induction Week.
Courses start in week 1 of Semesters 1 and 2 and run for ten weeks, not including Innovative Learning Week which takes place in week 6 in Semester 2. Students will not be allowed to change courses after the end of the second week of each semester.
Junior Honours students working on dissertations will be allocated a supervisor in Semester 2 and will continue to meet with the same supervisor (where possible) in Semester 1 of their Senior Honours year when they write up.
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CORE COURSES
Semester 1 Semester 2
Junior HonoursAnthropological TheoryImagining Anthropological ResearchConsumption, Exchange, Technology
Kinship: Structure & ProcessRitual & Religion
Senior Honours
Culture & Power Belief, Thought & Language
OPTIONAL COURSES
Semester 1 Semester 2
Happiness: Cross Cultural PerspectivesSocial Development
Visual AnthropologyThe Anthropology of Death Magic, Science, Healing
Regional AnalysisEast-Central Africa Indigenous Peoples of Lowland South
America
Regional AnalysisIndigenous Politics, Culture and Film in
Canada
See over for Semester timetables
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Social Anthropology Honours Timetable
First Semester 2012/2013
Time Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri
09.00 – 10.50
Happiness: Cross Cultural Perspectives
SEMINAR ROOM 5, CMB
Indigenous Peoples of Lowland South America
SEMINAR ROOM 5, CMB
Social Development
SEMINAR ROOM 1 CMB
11.10 – 13.00
Imagining Anthropological Research (3)
SEMINAR ROOM 1, CMB
Anthropological Theory (3)
SEMINAR ROOM 1, CMB
Consumption, Exchange, Technology (3)
SEMINAR ROOM 1, CMB
East Central Africa
SEMINAR ROOM 1, CMB
Culture & Power (4),
SEMINAR ROOM 1, CMB
14.10 – 16.00
DeptSeminar 3-5 pm,
Seminar Room 2, CMB
16.10 – 18.00
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Social Anthropology Honours Timetable
Second Semester 2012/2013
Time Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri
09.00 –10.50
Magic, Science, Healing
Faculty Room North, DHT
11.10 – 13.00
Ritual and Religion (3),
Hugh Robson Building Lecture Theatre
Kinship (3),
SEMINAR ROOM 2, CMB
14.10 – 16.00
Belief, Thought and Language (4),
Faculty Room South, DHT
The Anthropology of Death
SEMINAR ROOM 2 CMB
Visual Anthropology
G.8, Gaddum Lecture Theatre, 1 George Square
DeptSeminar 3-5 pm,
SEMINAR ROOM 2 CMB
16.10 – 18.00
Visual Anthropology film showing
Lecture Theatre 3, 7 Bristo Square
Indigenous Politics, Culture and Film in Canada
SEMINAR ROOM 1, CMB
(3) Third year core course(4) Fourth year core course
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SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY HONOURS COURSES: 2012/2013
CORE COURSES
Junior Honours
Imagining Anthropological Research (SCAN10037)
This course is only intended only for Honours students in Social Anthropology who are planning to work on a dissertation in the subject in the summer of 2013. The main purpose of the course is to prepare you to write your dissertation proposal. Our chief task, therefore, is to help you imagine what will be involved in your field or library project. To do so we shall be looking at the process of research, from the design stage through to the methodologies and to the writing strategies, always within the context of what is possible in an undergraduate dissertation. We shall also have presentations and discussions on particular people’s experience of doing research, using examples from the work of Senior Honours students, previous undergraduates and current postgraduates, as well as members of staff. In the second half of the semester you will be allocated to a group which will work together on students’ Research Proposals. By the end of the Semester, students will have developed their ideas into a detailed Research Proposal, setting out a timetable, budget, and a consideration of the practical arrangements and methods. The proposal, which will account for 10% of your final dissertation mark, will include a discussion of relevant theoretical and ethnographic literature, and an ethical clearance form.
Semester 1: Monday 11.10-13.00, Seminar Room 1, Chrystal Macmillan Building.Dr Joost Fontein
Anthropological Theory (SCAN10022)
This course covers some of the main changes in theory and ethnography, and the complex relationship between the two, since the late 1960s. The first half of the course, taught by Joost Fontein, explores the emergence of what can be loosely thought of as 'post-structuralist' anthropology. The first two topical lectures examine the contribution of two hugely significant post-structuralist thinkers, Michel Foucault and Pierre Bourdieu, both of whose influence upon anthropological work continues to be profound, even four decades on. The third and fourth lectures explore how second wave feminism and postcolonialism, as broader social and political movements, coincided with, affected and were closely intertwined with the emergence of a post-structuralist anthropology that was preoccupied with fundamental questions of structure and agency, discourse and practice, subjectivity and embodiment, power and resistance, which with these great thinkers were critically engaged. The second half of the course, taught by Stefan Ecks, takes students through some of the continuing inspirations for anthropological theory, starting with the 'grand theories' of Karl Marx and Max Weber. Despite the fact that both these theorists wrote their works in the nineteenth and early twentieth century, they only began to influence anthropological theory since the 1960s. The final two topical lectures deal with 'structuralism' before and after 'poststructuralism'. We first learn how structuralism was originally conceived by Claude Lévi-Strauss, and then explore how Bruno Latour's work can be
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understood as a direct response to Lévi-Strauss. The course ends with a summative overview of where anthropological theory now stands, and where it might go in the future. The course is intended to give students not only a grasp of the historical development of anthropological theory, but also a taste of what constitutes the cutting edge of anthropological theory today. It is a challenging but hugely rewarding course in which students' own first-hand reading of and creative engagement with complex theoretical thought is a central aim.
Semester 1: Tuesday 11.10-13.00, Seminar Room 1, Chrystal Macmillan Building.Dr Joost Fontein and Dr Stefan EcksAssessment: Coursework 20%, Exam 70%, Tutorial Participation 10%
Kinship: Structure and Process (SCAN10021)
This course examines some of the ways in which people in different societies conceptualise and live out relatedness. It shows how notions about relatedness are linked to notions about gender, theories of procreation (which are themselves changing under the impact of New Reproductive Technologies), and ideas about bodily substance, as well as having emotional, economic, and political salience. Kinship has long been regarded as the core of the anthropological discipline, although the extent to which this is still the case is questionable. The course will consider some of the history of kinship studies, looking at some central debates in the subject and assessing their implications for anthropological theory.
Semester 2: Wednesday 11.10-13.00, Seminar Room 2, Chrystal Macmillan Building.Prof Janet Carsten and Dr Maya MayblinAssessment: Coursework 20%, Exam 70%, Tutorial Participation 10%
Consumption, Exchange, Technology (SCAN10031)
The course discusses how goods are produced, circulated and consumed, and how these three fundamental processes of social life and reproduction are mediated by technology. Classically, economic anthropologists focused on how such activities were organised in small-scale societies or in colonial territories; often production and exchange, with their associated technologies, were highlighted while consumption received less attention. Today the impact of globalisation, the rise of the digital society, and the overflowing material abundance that characterises life in the advanced economies and aspirations elsewhere, have led many social theorists to focus on consumption and communication as the key factors determining how people experience power, identity, connections and conflicts. We study a range of case studies and theoretical essays, evaluating the strengths, weaknesses and applicability of different approaches.
Semester 1: Wednesday 11.10-13.00, Seminar Room 1, Chrystal Macmillan BuildingDr Jacob CopemanAssessment: Coursework 20%, Exam 70%, Tutorial Participation 10%
Ritual and Religion (SCAN10023)
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The course, which has been revised from scratch this year, will look at anthropological contributions to the understanding of ritual and religion, starting and ending with moments of especially acute reflection on the place of religion in the contemporary world. Our starting point will be that moment in the late 19th and early 20th century when classic theorists (especially Weber and Durkheim) pondered the place of religion in an age of scientific challenge, and we shall end with contemporary arguments about the boundaries between religion and politics. In between we will investigate the intersection of religion and ritual with a range of topics (art, economics, gender, sexuality – among others).
Semester 2: Tuesday 11.10-13.00, Hugh Robson Building Lecture TheatreProf Jonathan Spencer with Dr Maya Mayblin and Dr Naomi HaynesAssessment: Coursework 20%, Exam 70%, Tutorial Participation 10%
Please note that this year for the first time the examination will take the form of a 2-question “take-home” paper. More details will be provided in the full course guide which will be available at the end of Semester 1.
Senior Honours
Culture and Power (SCAN10030)
This course introduces a range of anthropological approaches to politics. It provides a detailed examination of both open and hidden forms of power and their workings at the global, state, national, community, and personal level. Key themes of this course are the interactions between subjects, population and governance; nation states, citizenship, migration, territorialism and multiple ways of belonging and exclusion; colonialism and post-colonialism; forms of domination and resistance; discourses on human rights, and political violence.
Semester 1: Friday 11.10-13.00, Seminar Room 1, Chrystal Macmillan Building.Dr Toby KellyAssessment: Coursework 20%, Exam 70%, Tutorial Participation 10%
Belief, Thought and Language (SCAN10032)
The course considers anthropology’s unique contribution to the study of ‘language’, and also gives students an appreciation of the source of theoretical inspiration which debates about ‘language’ have proffered for anthropologists in grasping the bases of sociality, agency, and power. By sampling a selection of ethnographic works, students will come to recognize that ‘language’ is a rewarding ethnographic subject in its own right as well as a condensed site of theoretical origination even for those whose principal interests lie elsewhere.) Last but not least, the course aims to show how matters of ‘language’, and indeed, competing views about how language ‘works’, are
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currently made relevant (even explicitly) in current political, legal, and ethical debates.
Semester 2: Monday 14.00-15.50 Faculty Room South, David Hume TowerDr Magnus CourseAssessment: Coursework 20%, Exam 70%, Tutorial Participation 10%
OPTION COURSES
Regional Analysis
East Central Africa (SCAN10020)
This region of Africa is known to us largely through images of war, disease and poverty. From genocide in Rwanda and Sudan, violent armed conflict in the Great Lakes Region and the Horn of Africa, to some of the worst outbreaks of the global pandemic of HIV and AIDS, and to frequent outbreaks of famine and food insecurity, we relate to this region largely through images of disaster and suffering fed to us through the media. In this course, we ask, how can these issues be addressed, without perpetuating the idea that hunger, death and suffering are somehow ‘natural’ in this part of Africa? Can ethnography be mobilised to bring to life the ‘everyday-ness’ of life in the region, without doing disservice to the very real problems that exist? How do the people living in the region reflect on their position in the global economy? Each week in the course we will look at these issues, plus others such as the place of pastoralism, urban life, the nation, and the politics of music, to ask ourselves what anthropology can bring to bear on our understanding of life in East Central Africa.
Semester 1: Thursday 11.10-13.00, Seminar Room 1, Chrystal Macmillan Building.Dr Rebecca MarslandAssessment: Coursework 20% and Essay 80%
Indigenous Peoples of Lowland South America (SCAN10047)
This course aims to present an ethnographic vision of indigenous peoples of lowland South America as authors of their own lives, as opposed to previous anthropological approaches which frequently viewed the lives of indigenous peoples as determined by either the environment or European colonialism. In doing so, it builds upon a body of recent ethnographic work which has sought to understand practices of kinship, historical memory, politics, subsistence, language, and shamanism from the perspective of indigenous ontologies, or reflections on the nature of being in the world. Such an approach provides a framework for an advanced understanding of both broad regional similarities, but also important differences and particularities within the region.
Semester 1: Thursday 9.00-10.50 Seminar Room 5, Chrystal Macmillan BuildingDr Magnus CourseAssessment: Coursework 20% and Essay 80%
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Indigenous Politics, Culture and Film in Canada (SCAN10056)
This course explores the significance of screen as a medium for understanding Canada's complex relations with its Aboriginal peoples and as a channel for Indigenous self-determination. It examines key turning points in Aboriginal-State relations in Canada through their portrayal on screen. It then considers how different Aboriginal communities use television, film, video and new media to promote national and international understanding of their cultures.The course is framed by the interdisciplinary, area studies approach of Canadian Studies. It includes an examination of international and national films made about Indigenous communities in Canada; the emergence and output of Indigenous broadcasting companies; the establishment, output and impact of community-based Indigenous production companies in Canada, and the increasing emphasis on screen as a mechanism for engaging Aboriginal youth in the politics of cultural self-determination.
Semester 2: Tuesday 16.10 – 18.00, Seminar Room 1, Chrystal Macmillan BuildingDr Annis May TimpsonAssessment: Coursework 20% and Essay 80%
Other Option Courses
Happiness: Cross Cultural Perspectives (SCAN10043)
This course will review the extent to which the social sciences have engaged with the topic of happiness from the Enlightenment to the present day. ‘Happiness’ will be broadly conceived, encompassing all subjective appraisal of the quality of life and related matters such as aspiration and motives for this-worldly and other-worldly outcomes, and ethical judgements. Students will also address the literatures and policies relating to unhappiness and suffering, and discuss the pathologism of the social sciences as a cause for inadequate explicit analysis of social and cultural dimensions of happiness. The course will review cultural concepts and philosophies relating to happiness (such as utilitarianism and asceticism), as well as looking at the evidence of real-world differences in the achievement of happiness in diverse contexts and life-stages.
Semester 1: Wednesday 9.00-10.50 Seminar Room 5, Chrystal Macmillan BuildingDr Neil ThinAssessment: Coursework 20% and Essay 80%
Social Development (SCAN10044)
Development policies and strategies are important dimensions for all societies and their outcomes, intended and unintended, are a part of the context in which most anthropologists research and work. Through a series of case studies and anthropological engagement with development process and practices, the course will highlight anthropology's contribution to understanding and engaging in social development. In particular, we will look at the institutions involved in development,
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the relationship between development and health and the environment and climate change.
Semester 1: Friday 9.00-10.50, Seminar Room 1, Chrystal Macmillan Building.Dr Nayanika MathurAssessment: Coursework 20% and Essay 80%
The Anthropology of Death (SCAN10034)
Is death a universal of the human condition or a culturally bound habit of thought? Focusing on a variety of ethnographic contexts, the basic aim of this course is to explore some of the ways in which death has been (re)presented in order to be resisted or embraced. As this exploration revolves around the ‘discourse’ of anthropology, manifested in the changing theoretical attitudes towards the ethnography of mortuary rites, it also attempts to highlight a deeper affinity between the ‘reality’ of death and the anthropological quest for comparative knowledge.
Semester 2: Tuesday 14.00-15.50, Seminar Room 1, Chrystal Macmillan BuildingDr Dimitri TsintjilonisAssessment: Coursework 20% and Essay 80%
Magic, Science, Healing (SCAN10008)
Do anthropologists fetishise magic? Magic, in contrast to science, is a cultural difference that attracts us to study other societies. Like science, magic describes ways of knowing the world, but are these worlds commensurable? Drawing on insights from both anthropology and science studies, we will ask: is it possible to distinguish between rationality and belief? How can magic and science be ‘political’? Why has the occult persisted in modern society? Does science also enchant? We will use ethnographies of witchcraft and sorcery, scientific laboratories, anatomy and immunology, and colonial science to engage with these debates. As we address these questions, we also explore whether the scholarly analysis of magic is rationalising regimes of power over ‘others’ (the production of expertise), and whether magic critiques hegemonic narratives of modernity.
Semester 2: Thursday 9.00-11.10, Faculty Room North, David Hume TowerDr Stefan EcksAssessment: Coursework 20% and Essay 80%
Visual Anthropology (SCAN10050)
This course will provide a broad overview of the history of visual anthropology and engage how the formal methods available to anthropological filmmakers have been/are deployed in the context of producing ethnographic engagements with the world that are primarily visual in their orientation. Thus, visual anthropology and its formal (i.e. methodological) relationship to ethnography, cultural and social anthropology, and the social sciences and humanities more generally is the specific focus of the course. The films and readings under discussion are drawn from materials generally recognized to be ethnographic (although such definitions are
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always contested). Specific anthropologists/filmmakers to be covered will include Robert Gardner, Jean Rouch, Karl G. Heider, Robert Flaherty, and Sol Worth; salient non-fiction films or other visual representations (such as the early scientific photography of Charcot or Muybridge) will also be considered.
Note: This is not a technical course in filmmaking technique. As the focus will be on the analysis of particular films, students will be required to attend regular film screenings outside of the weekly lecture.
Semester 2: Thursday 14.00-15.50 (Lecture), G8, Gaddum Lecture Theatre, 1 George Square. Film screening, Monday 16.10-18.00, Lecture Theatre 3, 7 Bristo Square.Dr Richard BaxstromAssessment: Coursework 30% and Essay 70%
ASSESSMENT
Single HonoursThe final degree mark is based on assessed course work and tutorial participation, together with assessed essays (for options courses), and unseen examinations (for core courses) at the end of each Semester, together with the dissertation. These units of assessment contribute as follows to the final mark:
Core Courses: (6 in two years) 6 units (120 credits)Options: (4 in two years) 4 units (80 credits)Dissertation and proposal 2 units (40 credits)Total 12 units (240 credits)
Social Anthropology with Development degrees are assessed according to the following units:
Core Courses: (4 in two years) 4 units (80 credits)Options: (5 in two years) 5 units (100 credits)Social Development 1 unit (20 credits)Dissertation and proposal 2 units (40 credits)Total 12 units (240 credits)
Combined HonoursThe various Combined Honours degrees differ from this format to some extent. Students should consult their the Degree Regulations and Programmes of Study on the University web site for the specific details of their Combined Honours degree, and if in doubt consult their Personal Tutor.
ASSESSED COURSE WORK
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All core and option courses involve an element of assessed course work, which varies in nature from course to course. See individual reading lists for details. The short course work (1000-1500 words) carries a weighting of 20% towards the final mark for the course as a whole. In general (see exceptions below), short course work for option courses is due in week 5 of each semester and course work for core courses is due in week 7.
IMPORTANT: Course work should be submitted in person (not by a friend or relative) to Miss Katie Teague, the Administrative Secretary in Room 1.10, on or before 12 noon on the specified date, as follows:
Semester 1: Option courses: Tuesday 16 October*Core courses: Tuesday 30 October
Semester 2: Option courses: Tuesday 12 FebruaryCore courses: Tuesday 26 February
Work submitted by email, fax or post will NOT be accepted
*Please note that assessed coursework for the HAPPINESS course will be due on Tuesday 30th October – see course outline on Learn 9 for details.
EXAMINATIONS
There is a written examination for each core course, at the end of the semester in which the course is taken. Exam timetables will be announced later. These examinations contribute 70% towards the overall mark for the course.
ASSESSMENT OF ESSAYS & COURSE WORK
Common marking descriptors for all SPS exams, coursework, and dissertations, are set out on the SPS Undergraduate School web site /www.sps.ed.ac.uk/undergrad/on_course_students/honours/assessment_and_regs/marking_descriptors.
While these set out the general quality standards relating to the grading system, more specific assessment criteria are used for different subject areas and sometimes for specific courses or specific assessment exercises. The latter, please consult the relevant course information. Please note that the following default marking criteria are used for Social Anthropology honours coursework, essays, and dissertations, and form the basis for written feedback unless stated otherwise in your course-specific assessment guidance:
Ethnographic Evidence (Effective use of ethnographic material Use of Theory)Awareness was shown of relevant theoretical debates (Critical assessment of theoretical positions)Use of Relevant Literature (Evidence of independent literature search; Ethnography and theory were effectively linked
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Structure of Argument (The ideas and approach were original; Intelligent use of analysis, argument, criticism and debate)Style and Presentation (Material was clearly organised; Writing style was clear and fluent)Referencing/Bibliography (Correct citation of references)
Please note that although you may be given indicative grades for each of these criteria, your overall mark for any piece of work is an overall quality assessment, NOT a simple aggregate of these grades. For example, you could be graded ‘A’ on all criteria except for ‘structure of argument’ but if this one critically aspect of your essay was weak your overall mark could be several grades below an A.
Students must submit one essay of 3,000-3,500 words for each option course taken. This carries a weighting of 80% towards the overall mark for the course unless otherwise stated.
IMPORTANT: Essays must be submitted to the essay box outside Room 1.10 on or before 12 noon on Tuesday 11 December (Semester 1) and Tuesday 16 April (Semester 2). Essays must be submitted by you in person (not by a friend or relative) to the Administrative Secretary, not to anyone else. Essays submitted by email, fax or post will NOT be accepted.
Students handing in essays whose titles have not been set by or previously agreed with the course lecturer do so at their own risk. Essays or parts of essays which have already been submitted for one course, will not be accepted for another course.
Students must submit two paper copies of all coursework and essays. One cover sheet should be completed with an exact word-count, examination number, course name and signed plagiarism declaration. Staple this to the top copy of your essay and then paperclip the 2 copies together before dropping them in the box. Cover sheets are available from outside Room 1.10 Chrystal Macmillan Building. In addition, you must also submit an electronic version for all coursework and essays via Learn 9 by the same deadlines. The School is now using the ‘Turnitin’ system to check that essays submitted for honours courses do not contain plagiarised material. Turnitin compares every essay against a constantly-updated database, which highlights all plagiarised work. Please note that this includes ‘self-plagiarism.’ Students are not allowed to submit the same piece of work for more than one unit of assessment in their programme of study, nor are students allowed to submit for assessment work submitted at another institution. This is not 'plagiarism' by definition but it is academic misconduct nonetheless. Each piece of writing submitted for assessment should be a substantially original piece of work produced specifically for that unit of assessment. For more information please refer to:
http://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/undergrad/honours/what_is_plagiarism
Each essay will be marked by the course lecturer. His or her comments, and a provisional mark, will be available within three weeks of submission. Essay marking will be internally moderated, and a sample will be sent to the External Examiner. All marks are provisional and are subject to change by the full Board of Examiners, including the External Examiner, at the end of the academic year. You are strongly advised to reflect carefully on the feedback you receive on all
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coursework and essays, and to discuss key learning points with your Personal Tutor.
All work submitted is accepted on the clear understanding that it is the student’s own unassisted work. This condition applies as much to essays composed in private as it does to examination scripts. Please refer to the Statement on Plagiarism elsewhere in this booklet.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMITTING YOUR COURSEWORK AND ESSAYS ELECTRONICALLY
Create an essay fileSave your essay with your exam number as the file name, e.g. 1234567.doc. Do not include your name anywhere on the project to ensure anonymity. Files must be in Word (.doc), rich text (.rtf), text (.txt) or PDF format. Microsoft Publisher, Open Office and Microsoft Works files will not be accepted. Failure to do this will cause delays in getting your project back to you.
Open Learn 9Access Learn through your MyEd portal and open the relevant course.
Upload the essay file
Click on the Turnitin Submission icon. 1. To begin the submission process click on the ‘submit’ icon which is found in the submit column.
2. Your name should be automatically filled in on the form. Type in “Essay” in the submission title as the form cannot be sent unless all the fields are complete.
3. Next, click on the ‘Browse’ button to open your computer’s file browser and use it to browse to the document you wish to submit. Make sure the drop down box at the top of the form still says ‘submit a paper by: file upload’. Before clicking on the ‘submit’ button, make sure that all the fields in the form are complete (if you leave one blank you will receive an error message and the file upload box will be cleared). Click the ‘submit’ button when you are happy you are submitting the correct file.
4. At this point, a plain text version of the essay will be displayed to you (it won’t show any formatting, images, etc.). Review this to ensure you are submitting the correct document (the document itself will be sent to the system in its original format). If you are happy, click on the ‘Submit Paper’ button to submit your assignment. If you have made a mistake you can click on the ‘cancel, go back’ link, which will take you back to the submission form.
5. You’ve now submitted an assignment! A receipt from the system is displayed.
6. Click on the ‘go to portfolio’ link to return to the assignment inbox.
7. On returning to the assignment inbox, you can view your submission to make sure everything is as it should be.
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8. Clicking on the title you gave your assignment opens a viewer that displays your submission and also contains the paper ID which can be used by the administrators of the system to identify your work if there is a problem.9. Clicking on the document icon in the contents column allows you to see your work in its original submitted format.
You can also follow this link for more detailed instructions:
http://www.ed.ac.uk/polopoly_fs/1.22364!fileManager/submitturnitinplwebct.pdf Please note that late submissions are unlikely to be accepted by the Turnitin system and you should contact the Secretary, [email protected] if you are unable to submit your electronic copy.
Rules and procedures regarding, Lateness, Length, and duplication of courseworkIt is crucial that you read and abide by the generic SPS rules for submission of all assessed work, and the procedures for exceptional cases where late submission is unavoidable. These are all at: http://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/undergrad/on_course_students/honours/assessment_and_regs/coursework_requirements. If you are in any doubt about these rules and procedures, or if you need to submit a Lateness Penalty Waiver form, please consult Katie Teague, or ask your PT or the relevant course organizer if you need academic advice.
SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES If you find yourself struggling due to illness, an accident or bereavement, your Student Support Officer, Katie Teague is available for help and support, and you may also consult your PT about minimising any adverse effects on your academic work and assessments.Please read carefully the online guidance on SPS procedures (with links to University-wide regulations) for responding to Special Circumstances: www.sps.ed.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf.../Special_Circumstances_statement.pdf
EXAMINATIONS
Students must sit unseen 2-hour examinations at the end of each semester, for each of the core courses taken during that semester. The examinations carry a weighting of 70% towards the final overall mark for the course as a whole. They are as follows:
Junior Honours: Kinship: Structure and ProcessAnthropological TheoryRitual and Religion - Please note that this year for the first time the examination will take the form of a 2-question “take-home” paper. More details will be provided in the full course guide which will be available at the end of Semester 1.Consumption, Exchange, Technology
Senior Honours:
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Belief, Thought and Language Culture and Power
Combined Honours papersAt the end of each semester, Combined Honours Students submit essays for each of their optional courses in Social Anthropology, and sit the relevant examinations from those listed above. They also do the relevant assessed coursework in each course. They submit dissertations as required by the regulations for their specific degrees.
DEGREE ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES
The Board of Examiners and the External ExaminerExams in Social Anthropology are the responsibility of the Social Anthropology Board of Examiners. The Board consists of all full-time members of staff in the Subject Group, and External Examiners from other universities. Combined Honours students degrees are awarded by the Board and External Examiner of the first-named subject, though work in other subjects is first validated by their respective External Examiners.
Examination PapersExamination questions are usually drafted by those who have taught the course or courses being examined in the paper. The Board meets to review the draft papers to see that they are clear and fair. Particular care is taken to see that questions are properly worded and that there is no repetition or overlap between papers. The drafts are then sent to the External Examiners for approval.
Completion of PapersIf a candidate does not attend an examination or submit a piece of course work, and if there is no reasonable explanation for this, such as illness or accident, that item will be graded zero in the candidate’s overall assessment.
Awarding of Degree ClassesThe University system for determining degree classifications is based on a mean mark system derived from a weighted aggregate of marks for all Honours courses taken. Thus, for example, a mean mark of 56 will result in the award of a lower second class degree; a mean mark of 63 will result in an upper second class degree and a mean mark of 72 will result in a first class degree. Special College Guidelines apply for borderline marks that take account of profiles of performance, i.e. marks from two percentage points below the class or boundary grade up to the boundary itself, e.g. mean marks of 58-59.99 are considered borderline. For more information on borderline cases, please see section 9.8 of the Assessment regulations which can be accessed from http://www.aaps.ed.ac.uk/regulations/.
ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION
Core courses
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Attendance at the weekly tutorials for core courses is compulsory. Attendance registers will be maintained. 10% of the final mark for each core course is dependent on tutorial participation. Each week you will be required to come to class with a short piece of written work. In most cases, you will write a short paragraph of your own personal response to each of the essential readings for that week.
The rationale behind the system is:
To provide a solid basis for a vibrant and productive class discussion
To help students formulate their own opinions about relevant readings
To provide students with a record of their readings during the course and thus form a solid tool for exam revision and/or essay preparation
To provide students with more opportunities to improve and practice their writing skills
To provide course teachers with a basis for awarding a grade for tutorial participation at the end of the course
What is a personal response? A personal response is not a summary of the reading, but rather your reaction to it. What did you like or not like about the piece? What questions did it answer or leave unanswered?
You will be required to bring a paper copy of your personal response to class, a copy of which will be handed in to the tutor at the end of the class. You will not receive a mark or feedback for each individual response, but these responses will feed into the final tutorial participation mark awarded out of ten.
Imagining Anthropological ResearchAttendance at these classes and small group sessions is compulsory for students proposing to write dissertations in Social Anthropology.
APPEALS
If you feel that the mark you have received for a piece of work is not justified, you may request that your work be remarked, but only if there are clear reasons to doubt the original mark. In the first instance you should go and discuss the mark with the course convenor who may be able to help you understand why the mark was given. If you wish to pursue the matter further you will need to make an appointment with the Director of Undergraduate Teaching, Dr Magnus Course. If you wish to proceed with the appeal, the Director of Undergraduate Teaching can then arrange for the relevant piece of work to be remarked. Like the original mark, the revised mark remains provisional until the final exam board, and may go up or down from the original mark.
PLAGIARISM
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The University’s degrees and academic awards are given in recognition of candidates’ personal achievements. Plagiarism (the act of copying or including in one’s own work, without adequate acknowledgement, intentionally or unintentionally, the work of another, for one’s own benefit) is academically fraudulent and an offence against University discipline. Plagiarism, at whatever stage of a candidate’s course, whether discovered before or after graduation, will be investigated and dealt with appropriately by the University. If after investigation it is established that work submitted for assessment has been plagiarised to a significant extent, it will be permanently noted on the candidate’s record.
The full text of the University’s policy, and a statement of the steps which the University may take in cases where candidates use or are thought to have used the work of another person or persons in their own work, are listed in full in the Examination Regulations and Guidelines, and may be found at:
http://www.aaps.ed.ac.uk/regulations/Plagiarism/Intro.htm
You will also be required to sign a declaration regarding plagiarism on the coversheets which must accompany all work submitted for assessment within the School of Social and Political Science. Please make sure that your work has been prepared in accordance with University and School guidelines.
ETHICAL CONDUCT
Students carrying out research will be required to obtain ethical clearance by submitting their proposals to the ethical clearance procedures of the School of Social and Political Science. These procedures will be covered during the Imagining Research Component in Junior Honours year. Details can be found at:
http://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/research/ethics.html
During their research, students will also be expected to adhere to the ASA’s Ethical Guidelines for Good Research Practice. These too will be distributed during the Imagining Research Component, and are also available at:
http://www.theasa.org/ethics.htm
APPENDIX 1: DISSERTATIONS
Rationale
Many honours students find the 3rd/4th year dissertation process - from the preparation of the research proposal, through the research and the final write up - to be the most interesting and productive part of our Social Anthropology Degree programme. Staff too find the supervision and assessment of dissertations to be a particularly fulfilling and satisfying part of our undergraduate teaching. The dissertation gives students the opportunity to design, carry out and write up an original piece of self-motivated work, using a variety of research methods, including ethnographic fieldwork and secondary literature research. Not all dissertations need to involve field research, but
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all dissertations should include some ethnographic/empirical material engaged in informed theoretical analysis, and in discussion with wider comparative and secondary literature. Our experience tells us that the best dissertations are usually those that are both theoretically imaginative yet also empirically interesting and informed. Student feedback from previous years suggests that sometimes problems emerge from the high expectations of students. It is important for students to know that their supervisors can only guide them in the research and preparation of their dissertations, and particularly during the writing up stage. Ultimately, the success of the dissertation depends on the amount of intellectual effort and time students are prepared to commit. Students and staff are both advised to carefully examine the SSPS Common Dissertation Marking Descriptors (see page 34) and the dissertation mark sheets (see page 45) particularly in the final stages of the dissertation preparation, so as to ensure that they are aware of the marking criteria and that expectations remain realistic. Although the marking of dissertations is inevitably a subjective process, students should be reassured that staff are meticulous in the marking of dissertations, and that double marking and moderating procedures are in place to ensure that all dissertations get the marks that they deserve.
Administrative Information
All Single Honours students are required, as part of the degree assessment, to submit a dissertation based on field research and/or library research. Teaching arrangements have been designed to accommodate this requirement. It is expected that the research will occupy part of the long vacation between the Junior and Senior Honours years.
The situation for Combined Honours students varies according to the balance between disciplines. Students taking ‘with’ degrees (e.g., with Development) have to submit dissertations in Social Anthropology; students taking ‘and’ degrees (e.g., and Social Policy) usually have a choice between submitting a dissertation in Social Anthropology or in their other discipline. Students taking such degrees should familiarise themselves with the appropriate regulations, and discuss any possible choice with their Director of Studies.
The University has asked us to make the following statement:
Social Anthropology and the University of Edinburgh do not take responsibility for the well-being and safety of students carrying out field research, either in foreign countries or in Britain. It is assumed that they will conduct themselves in a mature, responsible and prudent manner, alert to the demands that may be made upon them by unfamiliar circumstances.
Students carrying out research will be expected to obtain specific ethical clearance under the procedures in force in the School of Social and Political Studies, and to adhere to the Ethical Guidelines of the ASA, which will be distributed during the Imagining Research course, and will also be available from the Honours Course Organiser.
Please note: If you are planning to be away on an exchange or Erasmus scheme for all or part of 3rd year then it is highly important that you read the following.
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If you are planning to do your dissertation in your fourth year in social anthropology, then:
a) you MUST, during your 3rd year away, follow the Imagining Research course via Learn 9 during semester one of third year, and
b) you MUST submit a full research proposal at the end of that course on the submission date of 14th January 2013.
If you fail to submit a full dissertation proposal at the same time as the non-away students, we will not permit you to do your dissertation in social anthropology. (This sanction can only apply to joint honours students who will, in these circumstances, be obliged to do their dissertation in their other subject).
Your proposal will be 'marked' and extensive comments provided, and will be used to allocate you a dissertation supervisor in semester two, but because you are 'away' students they will not be graded, and will not contribute your overall dissertation mark.
Students going on Exchange who wish to undertake fieldwork for their dissertation are strongly encouraged, although not required, to undertake fieldwork in the same location as their exchange.
Information for Junior Honours Students
*PLEASE NOTE – There will be an introductory meeting for all junior honours students taking the Imagining Anthropological Research course, at the end of semester one. Attendance is mandatory. Time, date and place of this session will be announced in due course.
Topics and locationStudents are not required either to carry out field research or to travel outside the UK for their dissertation research, although many students do both. In the past, students have submitted excellent dissertations based entirely on library research, or based on fieldwork carried out in Edinburgh or elsewhere in the UK.
Students must have the permission of the Head of Subject to undertake their proposed research. If you wish to work outside the UK you must submit an outline proposal for your research during semester 1. (If you are undecided but would like to keep this option open you should probably submit a proposal at this stage.) If you are happy to work more locally, you can ignore this deadline and wait until the full proposal is due to settle your destination and topic.
The outline proposal should contain the following information
• Your name and degree programme• Topic you want to research• Country or countries to be visited (the more specific on exact cities or regions the
better)
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• Existing links or contacts with the field area (if you are seeking an NGO placement or support from ERASMUS/SOCRATES this is the place to mention it)
• Language or languages you will need for fieldwork and your existing level of proficiency
• A copy of the latest Foreign Office ‘Advice for Travellers’ relevant to your destination; this can be downloaded from the internet (http://www.fco.gov.uk/); advice can also be obtained by telephoning 0870 606 0290 and explaining where you are planning to travel
• An outline budget for your project with an indication of what financial support you expect to obtain
One copy (typed or word-processed) of this outline proposal (which, apart from the Foreign Office material, should not be more than 2 pages) must be submitted to the Administrative Secretary in Room 1.10 by 12 noon on Friday 19 October 2012. You should also email a copy to [email protected]. We hope to be able to make a decision on these initial choices before the Easter break. You will still have to submit a full proposal in Semester 2, and approval for your outline does not mean we will necessarily approve your project when you submit your full proposal.
Research ProposalIn Semester 2 every student (including ‘away’ students – see p.26) has to submit a full research proposal, of between 3,000 and 3,500 words, which will account for 10% of their final dissertation mark. This should contain the following components
• One-page executive summary with the following- your name and degree programme- title of research project- one-paragraph summary of the topic- one-paragraph summary of relevant practical arrangements you have made
(e.g., placements, permissions, visas, language training)- estimated total cost of the project, and sources of funding- completed School of Social and Political Studies ethical clearance form
• Literature review, situating your project in terms of the relevant theoretical and ethnographic literature
• Some account of the methods you think you will use in to research your topic• Account of practical arrangements needed and practical arrangements made (visas
and flights, contacts with organizations and interested academics, etc.)• Timetable (from June to September)• Budget (estimated costs and identified sources of funds)• A consideration of ethical issues raised by your research, including a completed
School ethical clearance form.
The summary page will be used to select a supervisor for the project and to identify possible problems. Proposals will be referred to the Head of Subject and Dissertation Approval Sub-Committee who have the final say in accepting or rejecting a student's proposed research. The proposal will then be passed on to the supervisor you have been allocated, who will provide suggestions and advice; in some cases we may ask students to revise and resubmit their proposal before permission is granted for them to embark on a particular project. However, if a student is asked to rewrite the proposal,
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it will not be remarked, and only the initial proposal will count towards the final dissertation mark.
Once the Research Proposal has been approved, a student may only change topic by submitting a new Research Proposal that must be approved by the Dissertation Approval Sub-Committee.
Two copies of this proposal must be submitted to the Administrative Secretary (Ms. Katie Teague, Room 1.10) by 12 noon on Monday 14 January 2013. You should also submit an electronic version via Learn 9.
SupervisionEach student has a dissertation supervisor. If your proposal is approved you will be allocated your supervisor as soon as possible. It is your responsibility to communicate with your supervisor at least twice before starting your research. Your supervisor is responsible for overseeing the conduct of the research and the writing up, generally from the approval of the proposal to the final submission in Senior Honours year. In some cases, though, it may be necessary to allocate a new supervisor (e.g., if a member of staff is on leave) in the autumn.
Information for Senior Honours Students
Supervision in Senior Honours yearIndividual supervisors and students vary a great deal in their preferred style of supervision — some preferring to meet frequently with other students as well as their supervisors, others preferring less frequent but more intensive one-on-one meetings. In general, though, every student is entitled to the following level of supervision
• 5 hours divided between the Junior and Senior Honours years (this is per student; you may prefer to meet for 10 hours in pairs, etc.)
• one reading of a full draft of the dissertation
• replies to the mid-term report, and any letters, as long as these arrive in Edinburgh with the times agreed in advance with your supervisor
In addition, there will also be two group writing up sessions: one at the beginning of the semester on ‘defining the key arguments, purpose and structure of a dissertation’, and one at the end of October on ‘ensuring dissertations are finalised with full attention to the assessment criteria’. These sessions are compulsory, and the times, dates and place will be announced in due course.
NOTE - In response to student feedback from previous years, it is suggested (but this is not compulsory, and depends on the particular arrangements of individual students and their supervisors) that when full drafts are submitted to supervisors for comments, they are submitted with a self-completed ‘mark sheet’ by the students. These will then be discussed with the supervisors. The point is to encourage students to reflect upon the qualities, strengths and weaknesses of their own dissertations, from a marker’s perspective, in order to help students make productive revisions (in
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structure, style, finish and language, as well as arguments and content) to their finalised dissertations.
Format of DissertationSenior Honour students are required to submit two copies of their dissertation to the Administrative Secretary (Room 1.10) by 12 noon on Friday 16 November 2012. One copy will later be returned. The submission deadline is final. If you anticipate any problem in submitting your dissertation on time you MUST complete a LPW form and/or see your DOS as appropriate. As with exams and other assessed work, special circumstances may be considered only with appropriate certification. Everyone must anticipate possible problems with computers and printing, and you must plan to complete the printing and binding process well in advance of the submission deadline. No allowance will be made for problems of this nature.
Dissertations should not normally be less than 10,000 words, and must not be more than 15,000 words long. Longer submissions will be penalised by lower marks in accordance with the standard penalties applying in the School of Social and Political Science. The word limit includes tables of contents, abstract, acknowledgments, footnotes and appendices but not your bibliography or diagrams. Experience has shown that polished and succinct dissertations, falling well within the limit, profit in terms of quality and marks, while longer, diffuse dissertations may suffer in both respects.You must also submit a version electronically via Learn 9.Dissertations must be presented on A4 sized paper, typed or word-processed with double spacing and with a margin of approximately 1.5 inches on the left hand side. Both copies of the dissertation must be identical in all respects. Each copy must be spirally or otherwise securely bound.
LayoutWhile some individual variation is acceptable, your dissertation should be laid out in accordance with the following general principles. Please note that from this year we will be marking dissertations anonymously, so please ensure that your examination number is the only source of identification anywhere in the dissertation.
Title Page: This should contain the title of the dissertation with your examination number underneath. Do not put your name on the title page (or anywhere else). Near the bottom of the page there should be the following statement:
‘A Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of M.A. in Social Anthropology.’
with the year of submission below. There should also be a statement of the number of words (including all notes and appendixes) on this page.
Contents: A piece of work of this size should be split into sections or chapters with titles to indicate the content. Tables and maps important for the development of your analysis should be presented within the main body of the text, though clearly labelled and firmly bound into the main dissertation. The location of all these items should be specified in a Table of Contents at the front of the Dissertation. The Table of Contents should include page numbers.
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Abstract: A concise abstract of not more than 200 words announcing the key themes, arguments and overall purpose of the dissertation should be inserted immediately after the title page. Students are reminded of the importance of writing a clear and representative abstract, as this is the first text that a reader comes across in any piece of writing, and therefore provides the larger analytical context and purpose against which the subsequent writing is judged. Remember also to include an acknowledgments page, recognising the contributions of informants and others who have helped you in your research.
Footnotes: These can be collected at the end of the dissertation or (preferably) put at the bottom of each page. In general you should beware of using too many footnotes as they slow down the reader and can be distracting.
References and Bibliography: You should include a full bibliography with all publication information (following a generally accepted and consistent citation method, preferably the style described in Appendix 3). All quotations should have full references, and all references should be included in the bibliography.
Marking: All dissertations are double-marked by local Social Anthropology staff and are also sent to the External Examiner. As well as paying attention to overall quality, each marker is asked to comment on the dissertation’s strengths and weaknesses in the following broad areas, using the dissertation criteria set out in Appendix 1 above:
• Quality of Data• Use of Anthropological Theory• Use of Relevant Literature• Structure of Argument• Style & Presentation• Referencing/Bibliography
Freedom of Information & Dissertations:
The School’s policy is to retain copies of dissertations. The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 requires the University to make available to any enquirer information held by the University, unless one of the legislation’s narrowly defined exemptions applies. Exemptions include
• Information provided in confidence (e.g., situations where individuals were interviewed in confidence and are quoted in the dissertation).
• Substantial prejudice to commercial interests.
• Research in progress (most likely to apply where dissertations include information about research findings that have not yet been published but where an intention exists to publish them).
APPENDIX 2: Presentation of Written Work
All work submitted for assessment — essays, research proposals, dissertations — must be typed or word-processed and should follow standard scholarly procedures for presentation of bibliographic information.
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Unless your main degree subject follows other citation methods, all references and bibliographies should use the Harvard (author-date) system as found, for example, in the Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute or American Ethnologist.
For example, in the body of an essay or dissertation:
• Single author’s quotation or idea referred to: (Smith 1989: 213)• Two authors, more than one page: (Johnson & Margolin 1990: 245-7)• More than two authors: (Kennedy et al 1994: 156)• Citation of another author’s work in a secondary text: (Baxter 1982, cited in
Comaroff 1988: 16)
Long quotations (more than 4 lines) should be indented with no quotation marks; shorter quotations should be incorporated in the main text with single quotation marks. Author’s names, etc., should appear at the end of the quote before the full stop. Quotations should not be in italics.
In the bibliography you should use the following conventions:
Single author: Smith, J .G. (1989) The anthropologist as apprentice: lessons from the field.
London: Vertigo Press.
• title of book in italics
Two authors / chapter in a book Johnson, M. & Margolin, P. (1990) ‘Children at risk.’ Pp 17-53 in The problems
of children on the streets in Brazil. J. Butterfield (ed). Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.
• title of article in quote marks• title of book in italics
Journal articleSimpson, Bob (1994) ‘Bringing the “unclear” family into focus: divorce and re-
marriage in contemporary Britain.’ Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 29: 831-51.
• title of article in quote marks• title of journal in italics
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Appendix 3: Dates and Deadlines
2012
10-14 Sept: Induction week.
17 September: Semester 1 Teaching starts
16 October: Assessed coursework due for Semester 1 option courses (unless otherwise stated)
19 October: Deadline for submission of outline dissertation research proposal (Junior Honours; non-UK projects only)
30 October: Assessed coursework due for Semester 1 core courses and also for Happiness: Cross Cultural Perspectives
16 November: Deadline for submission of dissertations (Senior Honours)
3 December: Semester 1 consolidation and exam period begins
11 December: Deadline for Semester 1 assessed essays
14 December: Semester 1 ends
2013
14 January: Semester 2 Teaching starts and (for Junior Honours) full dissertation research proposal
12 February: Assessed coursework due for Semester 2 option courses
18-22 February: Innovative Learning Week – No course teaching
26 February: Assessed coursework due for Semester 2 core courses
29 March: Semester 2 Teaching ends
1-5 April: Revision/reading week
16 April: Deadline for Semester 2 assessed essays
29 April: Exam period begins (inclusive of Saturdays)
25 May: End of Semester/End of Examinations
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