SOcial & Cultural anthropoligy
Course Duration
2 Years
Examination Board
IBDP
Entry Criteria
Grade 5 in English Language GCSE; Grade 4 in Maths GCSE; and at least 3 other qualifications at grade 4 or above.
Overview
“Anthropology is about finding out about the thousand other lives you could have lived if you had been born in a different time or place. It is about ‘making sense of other people’s worlds, translating their experiences and explaining what they are up to, how their societies work and why they believe in whatever it is that they believe in’ (Eriksen, 2006: ix)”
Social and cultural anthropology is the comparative study of culture and human societies. Anthropologists seek an understanding of humankind in all its diversity.
In an increasingly interconnected world, anthropology seeks to unravel the complexities of what makes us human by exploring what makes people as social beings in different cultures different from each other.
What will I study during the course duration?
IB Social and Cultural Anthropology will allow students to explore and understand the similarities and differences of how they experience the world, in comparison to other cultures and peoples. The curriculum will delve into the study of societies and cultures, and explore problems or issues associated with the complexities of societies on a regional and global scale. Throughout the course, students will focus on the key anthropological concepts of:
- Belief and knowledge
- Change
- Culture
- Identity
- Materiality
- Power
- Social relations
- Society
- Symbolism
What will I study?
The IB course allows us to study an impressive and engaging breadth of topics organised under the banner of 9 anthropological inquiries. The curriculum itself will focus around four of these topics:
- Belonging
- Health, illness and healing
- Classifying the world
- Movement, time and space
- Communication, expression and technology
- Production, exchange and consumption
- The body
- Conflict
- Development
Alongside their classroom-based learning, students will complete a research project which invites them to actively participate in observations of other people or cultures. This will positively add to the development of citizens who are globally aware, internationally minded, and ethically sensitive.
What will I study?
The IB course allows us to study an impressive and engaging breadth of topics organised under the banner of 9 anthropological inquiries. The curriculum itself will focus around four of these topics:
- Belonging
- Health, illness and healing
- Classifying the world
- Movement, time and space
- Communication, expression and technology
- Production, exchange and consumption
- The body
- Conflict
- Development
Alongside their classroom-based learning, students will complete a research project which invites them to actively participate in observations of other people or cultures. This will positively add to the development of citizens who are globally aware, internationally minded, and ethically sensitive.
How will I be assessed?
External assessment (4 hours 30 minutes)
- Paper 1 (2 hours) (30%)
Section A: Three compulsory questions based on an unseen text, covering part 1 of the syllabus, engaging with anthropology. One compulsory question. This question will be one of the six “big” anthropological questions from part 1 of the course, engaging with anthropology.
Section B: HL extension—anthropological ethics. One compulsory question based on one of two stimuli (visual and written). - Paper 2 (2 hours 30 minutes) (35%)
Section A: one compulsory question based on part 2 of the syllabus, engaging with ethnography. This question requires students to make meaningful connections between a key concept, ethnographic material (within the context of an area of inquiry) and a specific contemporary example of a real-world issue.
Section B: nine areas of inquiry, each containing two questions; students choose two questions from two different areas of inquiry they have studied. The questions are based on part 2 of the syllabus, engaging with ethnography.
Internal assessment (60 hours) (25%)
This component is internally assessed by the teacher and externally moderated by the IB at the end of the course. Three compulsory activities based on part 3 of the syllabus, engaging in anthropological practice.
- Fieldwork proposal form
- Critical reflection
- Research report and evaluation
Career opportunities and Future study
- Policy Advisor to Government
- Market Research Analyst
- Environmental Consultant
- Documentary Filmmaker/Journalist
- Human Resource Specialist
- International Development Specialist