Social Anthropology

Using the Harvard approach to referencing (see the ‘Citing and referencing’ section on the Monash University website). Essay questions: Culture, Society and the Individual Interview someone (using a voice recorder, such as on a phone) or reflect upon your own life (an autoethnography) and answer the question: How has this person's life been shaped by the culture(s) and society they have grown up in? Think of the analytical categories discussed in the course (e.g. kinship, gender) as well as others less discussed (e.g. education, work) and consider what may have influenced as well as inhibited this person's life course. You do not need to cover a full list; choose two or three traits that reflect who the person is and what makes life meaningful or else difficult for them and use these to make observations and comparisons between this person and others (in their own society or elsewhere) using the themes of culture, society and the individual. Kinship Think of two or three families living in close proximity, or who are from the same ‘culture’, whom you know or previously knew. Describe and analyse aspects of their family dynamics that differ and suggest the implications of this for anthropologists looking to make generalisations. Witchcraft, religion, and science: making sense of the world If anthropologists recognize the rationality of belief systems based on a coherence between knowledge​‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍​ foundations and personal interpretations, can a similar analysis apply to diverse or extreme political views? Draw upon examples and refer back to anthropological theory. Gift exchange What roles might the transaction of ‘gifts’ (broadly conceived) play in human relationships? Effects may be deliberate, unnoticed, or inadvertent. Discuss with regard to specific examples, whether personal or ethnographic. Ritual If weekends and holidays are culturally constructed ritual ‘escapes’, what does this say about society and the structure of people’s lives? Use examples of rituals and interpret what these may mean to people, drawing upon anthropological theory. Political anthropology Is it possible for society to exist without the state? Landscape How might a place change in meaning over time without actually changing? What does this suggest about people, meaning, materiality, and time? Discuss with examples, either historical, ethnographic, or personal. Personhood In what ways might personhood change through a single life course? Consider how physical, social, material, and legal components might affect a sense of self. Make comparisons between examples. Gender How might anthropological theory and ethnographic examples support an argument for changing gender norms within a society? Suggest examples of change which you might like to see and consider what obstacles or opposition these propositions may face. Globalisation and ethnicity Is globalisation making the world more homogenous, or more heterogeneous? Discuss with reference to the concepts of culture and ethnicity. This is a 1500 word essay. I have believed covered Ritual and Person hood https://youtu.be/8JcmAoderl4 2 spirit https://y​‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍​outu.be/oJDOh3VSoxQ