Anthropology and Politics BA

Program Overview

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The Joint Honours Programme in Anthropology and Politics provides students with an in-depth, interdisciplinary understanding of contemporary cultures and politics, international affairs, societies, and institutions in their political, historical, social, cultural, economic and legal dimensions.

Anthropology is the study of human diversity around the world. In studying anthropology, you will learn how different societies live together and think about such topics as family, sex, religion, art, and economics and gain skills increasingly in demand in a globalized and automated world.

Studying anthropology at Queen’s will allow you to examine some of the deepest and most pressing questions about human beings. Issues addressed in our modules include:

Does globalisation mean the end of cultural difference?

Can a post-conflict society heal?

How do ritual traditions, musical performances, and art shape cultural identities?

How do some people become willing to die for a group?

Through classroom modules, optional placements, and your own anthropological fieldwork, you will also gain valuable skills in critical thinking, cross-cultural understanding, researching, interviewing, writing, and presenting.

The academic study of politics is concerned with the sources of conflict, co-operation, power and decision-making within and between societies, how differences are expressed through ideology and organisation, and how, if at all, disagreements and problems are resolved. We look at conflict, co-operation and its origins, dynamics and trajectories, at theories of society, at the value and ethical basis of political ideas and action, and at politics in different national and historical contexts.

Anthropology and Politics Degree highlights

In The Guardian University Guide 2021, Queen's Anthropology was ranked 2nd in the UK.

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Global Opportunities

Undergraduate anthropology students, as part of their training, have carried out ethnographic field research around the world. Projects have focused on orphanages in Kenya; AIDS in southern Africa, education in Ghana; dance in India, NGOs in Guatemala, music in China, marriage in Japan, backpacking in Europe, and whale-watching in Hawaii.

In addition, through the different stages of the dissertation module (preparation and research design, fieldwork itself, and post-fieldwork writing-up), students develop a range of skills (organizational skills, interpersonal skills, information-handling skills, and project management skills) that prepare them for later employment. Many of our students work with NGOs and other organisations as part of their fieldwork.

QUB students, uniquely in the UK, still have the opportunity to spend part of the course studying in other European universities, through our Erasmus programme. There are also opportunities to study at partner institutions in the USA and Canada.

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Industry Links

Anthropology students develop a range of skills (organizational skills, interpersonal skills, information-handling skills, and project management skills) that prepare them for later employment. Many of our students work with NGOs and other organisations (e.g. Operation Wallacea; Belfast Migration Centre) as part of their fieldwork.

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Career Development

Politics graduates have risen to the top in a number of fields, including media, print journalism, translating, marketing, local government, fast-stream Civil Service, and a very wide range of local, national and international companies.

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World Class Facilities

The Performance Room includes a variety of musical instruments from around the world, a collection that has grown since the 1970s when Ethnomusicology was first established as an International Centre at Queen’s by the late Prof John Blacking. These instruments, together with the sprung performance room floor, facilitate music and dance ensembles, enabling our unit to remain one of the leading departments in Ethnomusicology.

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Internationally Renowned Experts

Anthropology at Queen’s has international renown in the following areas: Ethnomusicology and performance; Conflict and borders; Religion; Cognition and culture; Migration and diasporas; Irish studies; Material culture and art; Human-animal relations; The cross-cultural study of emotions.

Politics: with over 30 staff at the cutting edge of research and publication, the School is the largest in Ireland and one of the largest in the UK and Ireland, with specialisms in Irish and British politics, political theory, sustainable development, the politics of film and literature, gender, democratic innovations, European Union politics, ethnic conflict, and international relations.

Centre of Excellence: the School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics at Queen‘s has 30 full-time academics, making it the largest institutional centre for the study of these subjects in Ireland and one of the largest in the UK.

The School also boasts the following:

• Centre for Public History

• The Senator George J Mitchell Institute for

Global Peace, Security and Justice

• Institute of Cognition and Culture

• Institute of Irish Studies

• Two International Summer Schools (the Irish

Studies Summer School; and the Conflict

Transformation and Social Justice Summer

School)

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Student Experience

The School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics received an overall student satisfaction score of 90% in the 2019 National Student Survey.

‘’Recently the dissertation experience has been really useful in my job search. Because it involves different research methods and demonstrates good written and verbal communication skills, it's great for the CV and even better for coming up with examples for competency questions in interviews. It's also brilliant for networking because it provides easy conversation and an awareness of social issues etc.”

Lucy Proudlock

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Course content

Program Outline

Course Structure

Introduction	Introduction Anthropology at Queen’s is constructed around four innovative, engaged themes: What Makes Us Human? Key modules explore core elements of anthropology. They examine social groups, from families to nations, and social dynamics, from village politics to globalisation. In understanding social groups we examine individual life trajectories against the background of diverse social expectations. Modules may include: Being Human: Evolution, Culture and Society; World on the Move; How Society Works. Conflict, Peacebuilding and Identity Modules on this theme deal directly with large-scale Global Challenges such as conflict, security, and peacebuilding. Issues such as migration, ethnic conflict, and globalisation will be covered across all three years of the degree, with specialist modules looking at Ireland and at the role of anthropology in policy. Modules may include: Us & Them: Why We Have Ingroups and Outgroups; Why Are Humans Violent? Understanding Violence, Conflict, and Trauma; Migration, Mobilities and Borders. Arts, Creativity and Music Globally renowned for long-standing research expertise in the area of ethnomusicology and the arts, our modules examine issues of sound and music making; art, aesthetics and emotion; and performance and identity around the world. We explore the production, appropriation and use of material artefacts and images in a world of interconnectedness through migration, trade, and digital communication technology. Modules may include: Being Creative: Music, Media and the Arts; Radical Musics: Understanding Sounds of Defiance across Disciplines. Morality, Religion and Cognition These modules examine a number of important themes in religion and morality, including the origins of religion, apocalyptic movements, sacred values, and the relationship of emotion and religion. We will explore our moral worlds and beliefs through the socio-cultural, psychological, and evolutionary sciences. Modules may include: Apocalypse!: The End of the World; In Gods We Trust: The New Science of Religion; Human Morality; Love, Hate, and Beyond.
Stage 1	Anthropology • Being Human: Evolution, Culture and Society • A World on the Move: Anthropological and Historical Approaches to Globalisation Us and Them: Why Do We Have In-groups and Outgroups? • Being Creative: Music, Media and the Arts • Understanding Northern Ireland Politics • Comparative Politics • Contemporary Europe • Issues in Contemporary Politics • Perspective on Politics • World Politics: Conflict and Peace
Stage 2	Anthropology • How Society Works: Key Debates in Anthropology • Skills in the Field: Dissertation Preparation • Hanging out on Street Corners: Public and Applied Anthropology • Business Anthropology in the Digital Age • Why Are Humans Violent? Understanding Violence, Conflict, and Trauma • Human Morality • Radical Musics: Understanding Sounds of Defiance across Disciplines • Apocalypse! The History and Anthropology of the End of the World. Politics • American Politics • British Politics in crisis • International Organisations • Modern Political Thought • Politics and Policies of the European Union • Security and Terrorism • Studying Politics • The Politics of Deeply Divided Societies
Stage 3	Anthropology • Dissertation in Social Anthropology: Writing-Up • The Politics of Performance: From Negotiation to Display • Human-Animal Relations • In Gods We Trust: The New Science of Religion • Love, Hate and Beyond: Emotions, Culture, Practice • Music and Identity in the Mediterranean • Ireland and Britain: People, Identity, Nations • Remembering the Future: Violent Pasts, Loss, and the Politics of Hope Politics • Arms Control • Asylum and Migration in Global Politics • Contemporary Political Philosophy National and Ethnic Minorities in European Politics • Northern Ireland: A Case Study • Political Parties and Elections in Northern Ireland • Challenges to contemporary party politics • Politics, Public Administration and Policymaking • Security and Technology • The Far Right in Western Europe and North America • The Politics of Irish Literature • Earth, Energy, Ethics and Economy: The Politics of Unsustainability Note that this is not an exclusive list and these options are subject to staff availability

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People teaching you

Dr. Cillian McBride

Politics Programme Convenor

Email: c.mcbride@qub.ac.uk Telephone: +44(0)2890975028

Dr. Ioannis Tsioulakis

Anthropology Programme Convenor

Email: i.tsioulakis@qub.ac.uk Telephone: +44(0)2890975028

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Contact Teaching Times

Personal Study	10 (hours maximum) Typically 10 hours per module (30 hours per week), revising in your own time
Small Group Teaching/Personal Tutorial	6 (hours maximum) In a typical week, you will have 3-6 hours of tutorials (or later, project supervision).
Medium Group Teaching	9 (hours maximum) In a typical week, you may have up to 9 hours of practical classes, workshops or seminars, depending on the level of study.
Large Group Teaching	6 (hours maximum) In a typical week you may have up to 6 hours of lectures, depending on the level of study.

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Learning and Teaching

Examples of the opportunities provided for learning on this course are:

E-Learning technologies

Information associated with lectures and assignments is often communicated via a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). A range of e-learning experiences are also embedded in the degree programme through the use of, for example, interactive support materials, podcasts and web-based learning activities.

Fieldwork

Single-honours anthropology students have the opportunity to study research methods and carry out anthropological fieldwork for an 8-week period. This crucial period of skill-formation and research forms the basis of a dissertation they write up in the first semester of their third year.

Lectures

Lectures introduce foundation information about new topics as a starting point for further self-directed private study/reading. Lectures, which are normally delivered in large groups to all year-group peers, also provide opportunities to ask questions and seek clarification on key issues as well as gain feedback and advice on assessments.

Self-directed study

This is an essential part of life as a Queen’s student. It is during self-directed study when a student completes important private reading, engages with e-learning resources, reflects on feedback, and completes assignment research and preparation.

Seminars/tutorials

A significant amount of teaching is carried out in small groups (typically 10-12 students). These sessions are designed to explore in more depth the information that has been presented in the lectures. They provide students with the opportunity to engage closely with academic staff, to ask questions of them and to assess their own progress and understanding with the support of their peers. During these classes, students will be expected to present their work to academic staff and their peers.

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Assessment

A variety of assessment methods are used throughout the programme.

The assessment methods used include coursework essays (submitted during or at the end of the semester), oral presentations by individual students, video logs, artwork and performance workshops, weekly online commentaries on set readings, written examinations, and dissertations.

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Feedback

As students progress through their course at Queen’s, they will receive general and specific feedback about their work from a variety of sources including lecturers, module co-ordinators, placement supervisors, personal tutors, advisers of study and peers. University students are expected to engage with reflective practice and to use this approach to improve the quality of their work.

Feedback may be provided in a variety of forms including:

Face to face comment. This may include occasions when you make use of the lecturers’ advertised “office hours” to help you to address a specific query.

Placement employer comments or references.

Online or emailed comment.

General comments or question and answer opportunities at the end of a lecture, seminar or tutorial.

Pre-submission advice regarding the standards you should aim for and common pitfalls to avoid. In some instances, this may be provided in the form of model answers or exemplars which you can review in your own time.

Comment and guidance provided by staff from specialist support services such as, Careers, Employability and Skills or the Learning Development Service.

Once you have reviewed your feedback, you will be encouraged to identify and implement further improvements to the quality of your work.

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Overview

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Modules

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Modules

The information below is intended as an example only, featuring module details for the current year of study (2022/23). Modules are reviewed on an annual basis and may be subject to future changes – revised details will be published through Programme Specifications ahead of each academic year.

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

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Core Modules

Being Human: Evolution Culture and Society

(20 credits)

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Optional Modules

A World on the Move:Historical and Anthropological Approaches to Globalization

(20 credits)

Issues in Contemporary Politics

(20 credits)

Us And them: Why do we have ingroups and outgroups?

(20 credits)

World Politics

(20 credits)

Contemporary Europe

(20 credits)

Perspectives on Politics

(20 credits)

Comparative Politics

(20 credits)

Being Creative: Music Media and the Arts

(20 credits)

'Understanding Northern Ireland: History, Politics and Anthropology'

(20 credits)

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Core Modules

Key Debates in Anthropology

(20 credits)

Studying Politics

(20 credits)

Modern Political Thought

(20 credits)

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Optional Modules

Hanging out on Street Corners: Public and applied Anthropology

(20 credits)

Business Anthropology for the Digital Age

(20 credits)

Human Morality

(20 credits)

The Northern Ireland Conflict and paths to peace

(20 credits)

Apocalypse! End of the World.

(20 credits)

Identity Politics in Diverse Societies

(20 credits)

Skills in the Field: Ethnographic methods

(20 credits)

International Relations

(20 credits)

Irish Politics

(20 credits)

American Politics

(20 credits)

Politics and Policy of the European Union

(20 credits)

Security and Terrorism

(20 credits)

International Organisations

(20 credits)

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Core Modules

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Optional Modules

Global Pol. Econ. of Energy

(20 credits)

Security and Technology

(20 credits)

Asylum and Migration in Global Politics

(20 credits)

Arms Control

(20 credits)

The Placement

(20 credits)

In Gods We Trust: The New Anthropology of Religion

(20 credits)

Anthropology and Roma

(20 credits)

Party Politics in the 21st Century

(20 credits)

Remembering the Future: Violent Pasts, Loss and the Politics of Hope

(20 credits)

Anthropology Dissertation

(40 credits)

Challenges to contemporary party politics

(20 credits)

National and Ethnic Minorities in European Politics

(20 credits)

The Politics of Performance: From Negotiation to Display

(20 credits)

Dissertation (Politics and International Studies)

(40 credits)

Gender and Politics

(20 credits)

Internship

(40 credits)

Earth, Energy, Ethics and Economy: The Politics of Unsustainability

(20 credits)

European Cultural Identities

(20 credits)

Political Parties and Elections in Northern Ireland

(20 credits)

The Far Right in Western Europe and North America

(20 credits)

Politics of the Global Economy

(20 credits)

Human-Animal Relations: An Anthropological Perspective

(20 credits)

Contemporary Political Philosophy

(20 credits)

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Course content

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Entry Requirements

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Career Prospects

Introduction

Skills to enhance employability

Studying for an Anthropology degree at Queen‘s will assist you in developing the core skills and employment-related experiences that are increasingly valued by employers, professional organisations and academic institutions. Through classroom modules, optional placements and your own anthropological fieldwork, you will gain valuable skills in critical thinking, cross-cultural understanding, researching, interviewing, writing, and presenting.

Employment after the Course

Career pathways typically lead to employment in:

• User Experience

• Consultancy

• Civil Service

• Development, NGO work, International Policy, Public Sector

• Journalism, Human Rights, Conflict Resolution, Community Work

• Arts Administration, Creative Industries, Media, Performance, Heritage, Museums, Tourism

• Market Research

• Public and Private Sector related to: Religious Negotiation, Multiculturalism/Diversity

• Teaching in schools

• Academic Teaching and Research

• Human Rights, Conflict Resolution, Community Work, Journalism

Employment Links

A growing number of Internship opportunities will match dissertation students with organisations and institutions relevant to their career paths by building on local and international staff networks and professional connections.

Current placement partners include

• Operation Wallacea, which works with teams of ecologists, scientists and academics on a variety of bio-geographical projects around the globe.

• Belfast Migration Centre offers students of the module ‘Migration, Displacement and Diasporas’ internship opportunities in their ‘Belonging Project’.

Professional Opportunities

International Travel

As part of undergraduate training, students have the opportunity to use practice-based research skills during eight weeks of ethnographic fieldwork in areas of their specialisation, which can entail working with organisations around the globe.

Additional Awards Gained(QSIS ELEMENT IS EMPTY)

Prizes and Awards(QSIS ELEMENT IS EMPTY)

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Degree plus award for extra-curricular skills

In addition to your degree programme, at Queen's you can have the opportunity to gain wider life, academic and employability skills. For example, placements, voluntary work, clubs, societies, sports and lots more. So not only do you graduate with a degree recognised from a world leading university, you'll have practical national and international experience plus a wider exposure to life overall. We call this Degree Plus. It's what makes studying at Queen's University Belfast special.

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Entry requirements

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Fees and Funding