Anthropology (Postgraduate Diploma)

Course Structure

Students may enrol on a full-time (9 months) or part-time (three years) basis If you wish to take the programme on a part time basis you will be required to complete 3 taught modules each year (one in first semester and two in second semester or vice versa). It is advised you should complete the core modules in your first year. Please note, all modules run at the same time for full time and part time students. Please contact the programme convenor for further information. The MA is awarded to students who successfully complete six taught modules (four core modules and two optional modules) and a 15,000 word research dissertation. Full-time students design their research in the spring semester with the help of their supervisor, conduct fieldwork in the early summer, and write up and complete the dissertation over the summer months. Students also participate in the weekly Anthropology Postgraduate Seminar were MA/PhD students present their on-going research and in addition attend the weekly Anthropology Research Seminar, where established academics discuss their work. Students also have the option to audit an undergraduate modules. Exit qualifications are available: students may exit with a Postgraduate Diploma by successfully completing 120 CATS points from taught modules or a Postgraduate Certificate by successfully completing 60 CATS points from taught modules.

Course Details

This programme is designed to offer students a foundation in the field of anthropology, including transferable skills connected to methodological outlooks (interviews, participant observation, digital and visual anthropology) and to theoretical issues within the discipline. The programme also addresses contemporary themes (climate change, social movements, visual media, conflict and social groups). A key component of the programme is students’ ability to design and conduct their own, original project, under the supervision of a member of staff and an expert in the field, which involves an extended period of fieldwork over the summer months. Alongside the methodological and theoretical courses provided, this programme offers a comprehensive introduction to the discipline and a hands-on experience of conducting ethnographic fieldwork. Students are required to take FOUR CORE modules (THREE in semester 1 and ONE in semester 2 PLUS the MA Dissertation). Students are required to take TWO Optional Modules, of which at least ONE should be from the Anthropology options. MA students complete a 12,000 word dissertation, under the guided supervision of an expert member of staff. Full-time students design their research in the spring semester with the help of their supervisor, conduct fieldwork in the early summer, and write up and complete the dissertation over the summer months. Students also participate in the weekly Anthropology Postgraduate Seminar were MA/PhD students present their on-going research and in addition attend the weekly Anthropology Research Seminar where established academics discuss their work. Students also have the option to audit an undergraduate module and participate in various music ensembles.

People teaching you Dr Evropi Chatzipanagiotidou Senior Lecturer/Disciplinary Lead - Anthropology HAPP Dr Evi Chatzipanagiotidou is a political anthropologist researching conflict and peace, displacement, migration and diasporas, and the politics of memory and loss. She has conducted ethnographic research in Cyprus, Turkey, Greece, and the UK. Email: e.chatzipanagiotidou@qub.ac.uk Dr Ioannis Tsioulakis Reader HAPP Dr Ioannis Tsioulakis is an ethnomusicologist with a focus on popular music industries. He researches the impact of ‘The Greek Crisis’ on musicians, as well as the role of cosmopolitanism in subcultural creative practices. He is currently conducting collaborative research on performing artists in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. Email: i.tsioulakis@qub.ac.uk Dr John Knight Reader HAPP Dr John Knight has undertaken extensive field research in rural Japan on a range of topics, including migration, forestry, farming, and tourism, on which he has published widely. His main area of research is human-animal relations, including sportive hunting, wildlife pests, and the use of animals in tourism. Email: j.knight@qub.ac.uk Dr Paulo Sousa Reader HAPP Dr Paulo Sousa is a Cognitive Anthropologist working at the interface between the cognitive, evolutionary and social sciences, and whose interests focus on agency, moral psychology and inter-group conflict, as well as their relation to religion. He is Director of the Institute of Cognition and Culture and Research Fellow of The Mitchell Institute. Email: paulo.sousa@qub.ac.uk Dr Raluca Roman Programme Convenor/Lecturer HAPP Dr Raluca Roman is a social anthropologist specialising in the study of religion (specifically Christianity), humanitarianism and ethnicity. She is particularly interested in the relationship between Christianity, morality and social engagement, as well as the inter-linking of religious belonging, religious practice and social action. She has conducted fieldwork in Finland and Romania, focusing on the process of religious mobilisation and religious activism among the Roma. Email: raluca.roman@qub.ac.uk Dr Stephen Millar Lecturer HAPP Stephen R. Millar is Lecturer in Anthropology and Ethnomusicology. His research and teaching focuses on music, conflict, and cultures of resistance, with an emphasis on Britain and Ireland. He is particularly interested in the social impact of music-making and his work uses music as a platform to examine some of the most pressing concerns of our times, including militant nationalism, social inclusion, and the legacy of colonialism. Email: s.millar@qub.ac.uk Professor Dominic Bryan Professor HAPP Professor Dominic Bryan’s work focuses on power and public space. He is interested in how identity is expressed through rituals and symbols and how these activities bond social groups and create conflict. His work looks specifically at peace and conflict in Northern Ireland. Email: d.bryan@qub.ac.uk Professor Fiona Magowan Professor HAPP Professor Fiona Magowan is a Fellow and Research Theme Leader in the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice. As PI of 'Sounding Conflict: From Resistance to Reconciliation' (PaCCS grant, 2017-2021), she is heading a team of 6 Queen's staff and 10 partner organisations researching sound, music and creative practices in conflict transformation around the globe. Email: f.magowan@qub.ac.uk Professor Jonathan Lanman Professor HAPP Professor Jonathan Lanman is a cognitive anthropologist interested in the scientific study of religion. He has collaboratively conducted field, survey, and experimental research on atheism, secularization, ritual, and self-sacrifice and is President-elect for the International Association for the Cognitive and Evolutionary Sciences of Religion Email: j.lanman@qub.ac.uk Professor Maruska Svašek Professor HAPP Professor Maruška Svašek's main research and teaching interests include materiality, art, human mobility and affect/emotions. As Research Fellow of The Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice, she is interested in conflict-related issues, in particular in conflicts about material production. Email: m.svasek@qub.ac.uk

Teaching Times

Learning and Teaching

The Diploma is taught through a combination of small-group seminars and lectures. Assessment and Feedback: through a combination of essays, learning journals, blog-posts, placements, projects, presentations and fieldwork-based reflections.

Knowledge and Understanding