Bachelor of Arts Honours in Anthropology
Human and Social Studies - General Social Science
Purpose and Rationale
Qualification in Anthropology
Purpose:
- Equip learners with the ability to identify, analyse, and explore new theoretical and empirical information in Anthropology independently.
- Develop specialised skills for problem-solving in Anthropology, applying them progressively with decreasing guidance.
- Provide competence to argue a position from a theoretical stance, considering relevant literature and demonstrating familiarity with the discipline's discourse.
- Enable learners to transition from basic to advanced research levels, mastering essential theoretical and methodological material.
- Develop analytical skills and methodological competence to address societal problems critically and independently.
- Prepare learners to pursue a Master's in Anthropology.
- Engage learners in faculty research seminars, reading groups, academic discussions, and organising lectures and seminars on anthropological issues.
Benefits:
- Outreach to communities through practical research and projects, making information accessible to interested groups.
- Conduct independent research.
Rationale:
- Recognition of cultures existing uniquely in time and space, requiring acceptance and negotiation of otherness for understanding.
- Acknowledgement of culturally constructed and enacted forms, such as rituals, class relations, and self-understanding.
- Understanding the intrinsic cultural and political elements of politics, as well as the environmental influences on social life.
- Preparation of learners to operate in the research environment, focusing on human interactions and relationships.
Sector Needs:
- Anthropology's focus on human interactions makes this qualification crucial in fostering awareness and understanding of human relations.
- Meeting the sector's needs by providing knowledge of human interactions within the research context.
Graduation and Learning Pathway:
- Graduating with an Honours degree will prepare learners to register for a Master's Degree, continuing their academic journey in Anthropology.
Outcomes
- Demonstrate an understanding of an anthropological perspective built upon a holistic understanding of cultural systems.
- Develop an understanding of local and global processes and social complexity through space and time.
- Pose research questions and investigate these questions creatively, critically, ethically, and independently, including through sophisticated use of appropriate theory and methodology as appropriate to anthropology, and place these investigations in the context of the relevant intellectual tradition.
- To develop the ability to critically evaluate anthropological data.
Assessment Criteria
Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcomes 1:
- Define theory and describe its role in building anthropological knowledge.
- Compare and contrast basic theoretical orientations.
- Describe how anthropology differs from and is similar to other social sciences, and give examples of these differences.
- Articulate knowledge of the extent of anthropology, including its main subfields, and its ties to other sciences and the humanities.
Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcomes 2:
- Demonstrate knowledge and comprehension of culture, past and present cultural and political systems, subsistence, social organization, and health and belief systems.
- Describe the historical/cultural contexts influencing social processes at local and global levels.
Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcomes 3:
- Identify basic methodological paradigms and approaches and describe their role in building anthropological knowledge.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the differences among basic methodological approaches for data collection.
- Design research in a chosen area and justify decision-making.
- Assess a published research's relevance to their work and how it can benefit from such research.
Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcomes 4:
- Formulate a critical, scientific understanding of contemporary human variation in cultural and social contexts, including ethical concerns.
- Think holistically and comparatively about human ways of life, using non-ethnocentric methods.
- Demonstrate anthropological skills applicable to solving present-day concerns in Southern Africa, the African continent, and globally.
Integrated Assessment:
- Modules are externally examined by Anthropological Studies experts.
- Formative and Summative Assessments include examinations, assignments, and tests.
- Research projects are evaluated by at least two external examiners.
Qualification Details
- Type
- Honours Degree
- NQF Level
- 08
- Min. Credits
- 120
- SAQA Source
- More Information
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