BA (Hons) Social Anthropology and Politics

The critical knowledge and analytical skills you acquire through BA Social Anthropology and Politics will help you stand out from the crowd.

Social Anthropology teaches students to question taken for granted assumptions and think differently about some of the biggest questions of our time. From the challenges of conservation, to growing inequalities and religious coexistence, social anthropology’s comparative perspective will help you reassess the world around you.

A knowledge of politics helps you to understand what governments do, shedding light on how some of history’s pivotal events were motivated by the political leaders of the day. You learn to find your way among different arguments, rival theories and alternative explanations and about campaigns, elections, protest movements, policy issues and political ideals. You will also learn a great deal about human nature. Politics is not only what political scientists study, but also an activity in which professional politicians, civil servants and ordinary citizens take part.

Studying Social Anthropology and Politics will enable you to develop a distinctive set of skills and attributes. You will learn how to search for, select from and evaluate sources of information, weigh up arguments, and present your findings effectively. You will also become sensitive to the assumptions and beliefs that underlie behaviour in a range of social and cultural contexts, and this will give you a critical edge.

The first year of the degree course gives you a thorough grounding in both Social Anthropology and Politics. In addition to receiving theoretical and methodological training in your second year, you can choose from a wide range of optional modules as you develop your own interests. In your final year, you will be able to continue to shape your own degree through your optional module choices and you will develop your own dissertation project with the help of an academic supervisor.