Course summary

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.