The material world: Ecology and economy
Undergraduate course
- ECTS credits
- 10
- Teaching semesters Spring
- Course code
- SANT107
- Teaching language
- Norwegian
- Resources
- Schedule
- Reading list
Course description
Objectives and Content
In a time of climate crisis and rapid economic and technological change, how does anthropology help us understand the challenges facing our material world? People’s interactions with their spatial and material surroundings is a central concern of social anthropology. This course gives a comparative insight into how the material world forms, and is formed, by social and cultural contexts. The course connects the material and ideal aspects of human life via several themes such as: the body; landscape, ecology and environmental conflict; infrastructure, expertise and technology; regimes of production, exchange, and consumption. Emphasis is placed on conveying the social and cultural diversity found around the world, amid uneven projects of globalization and modernization, and relations of power and governance.
Learning Outcomes
A candidate who has completed the course should have the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:
Knowledge:
The student...
- is familiar with the social anthropological study of materiality, environment, and economy
- has broad knowledge of the different cultural practices and understandings of several areas of life related to environment, economy, and social organization.
Skills:
The student...
- is able to account for and reflect on central anthropological debates about the connections between material conditions, social organization and cultural meaning.
- is able to apply anthropological knowledge, concepts and perspectives to concrete empirical cases and to theoretical issues concerning material dimensions of human life and activities.
General Competence:
The student...
- is able to apply social anthropological concepts and perspectives to the understanding of materiality, environment, and economy.
- is able to make critical use of analytical concepts and perspectives in order to understand local and global processes in society.
ECTS Credits
10 ECTS
Level of Study
Bachelor
Semester of Instruction
Spring
Required Previous Knowledge
None
Credit Reduction due to Course Overlap
SANT103 (10 ECTS)
Access to the Course
This course is open to students at UiB
Teaching and learning methods
Lectures, workshops, comments on written assignments, ethnographic film.
- 3-4 hours of lectures per week
- 5-7 weeks of classes, approximately 20 hours of lectures in total
Compulsory Assignments and Attendance
Submission of text based on methodical exercise. Only with an approved assignment will students be allowed to take the exam. Approved compulsory assignment is valid for 4 semesters.
Forms of Assessment
6 hours school exam
The exam will be given in the language in which the course is taught. The exam can be submitted in English, Norwegian, Swedish or Danish.
Grading Scale
The course is graded with letter grades A-F
Assessment Semester
Exam is offered in the teaching semester and the following semester (ordinary exam for students with valid approved compulsory assignment)
Reading List
The reading list will be ready before 1 July for the autumn semester and 1 December for the spring semester.
Course Evaluation
All courses are regularly evaluated according to UiB's quality assurance system
Examination Support Material
Dictionary preapproved by the Faculty
Course Administrator
The Department of Social Anthropology at the Faculty of Social Sciences has the administrative responsibility for the course and the study programme