Social & Cultural Anthropology HL

Social and cultural anthropology is the comparative study of culture and human societies and the exploration of the general principles of social and cultural life. The course places emphasis on comparative perspectives that make cultural assumptions explicit, and contributes to an understanding of contemporary real-world issues such as war and conflict, the environment, poverty, injustice, and human rights.

Social and cultural anthropology is distinct from other social sciences in its research tradition of participant observation and in-depth, empirical study of social groups. Areas of anthropological inquiry in this course are: belonging; classifying the world; communication, expression and technology; conflict; development; health, illness and healing; movement, time and space; production, exchange and consumption; and the body. These areas are explored through the key anthropological concepts of belief and knowledge, change, culture, identity, materiality, power, social relations, society, and symbolism.

The course engages students with the concepts, methods, language and theories of the discipline. At the heart is the practice of anthropologists, and the insights they produce in the form of ethnographic material. Through authentic anthropological practice, students engage with anthropological approaches and develop critical, reflexive knowledge. It contributes a distinctive approach to intercultural awareness and understanding, which embodies the essence of an IB education, and fosters the development of globally aware, internationally minded, and ethically sensitive citizens.

The aims of the social and cultural anthropology course at SL and HL are to enable students to:

1. explore the characteristics and complexities of social and cultural life

2. develop new ways of thinking about the world that demonstrate the interconnectedness of local, regional and global processes and issues

3. foster an awareness of how cultural and social contexts inform the production of anthropological knowledge

4. develop as critical thinkers who are open-minded, reflective and ethically sensitive

5. apply anthropological understanding in order to reflect on their own lives and experiences, as well as those of others, transforming their actions in the world.