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School of Global Studies

Geography and Anthropology

(BA) Geography and Anthropology

Entry for 2021

FHEQ level

This course is set at Level 6 in the national Framework for Higher Education Qualifications.

Course Aims

A. To develop in Geography students:
1. The ability to describe and analyse, both spatially and environmentally, the characteristics of places and the interactions between them.
2. A firm understanding of how relationships and processes result in the observed characteristics of places.
3. A developed awareness of the myriad diversity of the earth's surface as a context for human habitation, economic production and social life.
4. Provide the training and experience (e.g. field work, lab-based study, GIS etc.) needed to achieve the above.

B. To develop in Anthropology students:
1. The intellectual and practical skills in the analysis, interpretation and understanding of ethnographic data and an understanding of anthropological theory.

C. In both majors
1. The necessary preparation for employment in a wide range of contexts or for further study and a career where anthropological and geographical skills and understandings will be applied.
2. The enabling of an engagement in life-long learning, study and enquiry and an appreciation of the value of education for society and the environment.

Course learning outcomes

1. Understand a) the nature of the relationships and processes (contemporary, historical, biophysical) that shape the human characteristics of places (e.g. demographic, economic, social, cultural, political...), and b) how places become differentiated from one another as reflected, for example, in patterns of wealth inequality at the international and sub-national scales.

2. Demonstrate the ability to apply this knowledge and understanding to contemporary problems such as those of third world underdevelopment, inter- and intra-national ethnic conflict, and urban social exclusion, and to the evaluation of policies designed to solve these problems.

3. Be able to explain the characteristics of specific places through reference to a body of locational and ecological concepts and theories using either a) locational analysis which focuses on the explanation of the spatial patterns of the phenomena being studied, or b) ecological analysis which focuses on the explanation of the in situ relationships between phenomena located at the same place.

4. Possess sufficient experience of the inter-relatedness of phenomena in geographical space to be able to visualise those phenomena as elements of either socio-spatial or socio-environmental systems.

5. Achieve a critical and self-reflexive understanding of human geography that a) incorporates an awareness of the situatedness of knowledge and the provisional status of accepted theory; b) recognises the significance of representations of people and places for an understanding of social and spatial behaviour; and yet c) develops the bases upon which competing ideas and theories about the nature

6. Interpret qualitative and quantitative geographical and environmental data, demonstrating numeracy, basic statistical skills, IT skills (e.g. spreadsheets, databases; word processing, email and www), and an ability to abstract and synthesise material from different sources.

7. Demonstrate a good knowledge of how maps are produced and used (cartographic skills).

8. Integrate the skills of the cartographer with those of the computer scientist, specifically to relate spatially-referenced data with place-attribute data through GIS (geographical information systems), remote sensing and related methods.

9. Demonstrate field investigation skills in both environmental and human geography (e.g. historical and contemporary human landscape evolution, land-use and built-form mapping and questionnaire surveys).

10. Comprehensive knowledge of the broad field of social and cultural anthropology.

11. Understanding of the key contemporary debates in anthropology.

12. Familiarity with the history of the discipline and the development of theoretical perspectives over time.

13. Detailed knowledge of a number of specialist areas within the discipline.

14. Knowledge of a wide range of ethnographic material and the way in which anthropological theory is used to understand this material.

15. Understanding of the ethical and political issues involved in anthropological research, analysis and writing.

16. Knowledge of a range of ethnographic research methods and ability to apply these.

17. Ability to communicate effectively with others and to present material both orally and in writing.

18. Ability to deploy a range of communication and information technology skills.

19. Ability to apply a range of skills in the retrieval and use of primary and secondary sources.

20. Ability to work together with others as well as independently, including to manage time effectively.

21. Ability to present concise and cogently structured arguments, both orally and in writing.

22. Ability to carry out critical analysis on complex issues related to the discipline.

Full-time course composition

YearTermStatusModuleCreditsFHEQ level
1Autumn SemesterCoreHuman Geographies of the Modern World (001GR)154
  CoreKey Concepts in Anthropology (L6067)154
  CoreSkills and Concepts in Geography I: Becoming a Geographer (002GR)154
  CoreThe Anthropological Imagination (L6001)154
 Spring SemesterCoreCulture Across Space and Time (V3049)154
  CoreSkills and Concepts in Geography II: Quantitative and Analytical Skills (F8509)154
  CoreThe Anthropology of Exchange, Money and Markets (L6070)154
  CoreWorlds and Selves (003AN)154
YearTermStatusModuleCreditsFHEQ level
2Autumn SemesterCoreCultural and Historical Geographies (L7020)155
  CoreEthnographic Research Methods (L6046N)155
  CoreReligion and Ritual (L6072)155
  CoreUnderstanding Global Migration (L7041C)155
 Spring SemesterCorePolitics and Power (L6071)155
  OptionBlack Lives Matter: Postcolonial and Decolonial Representations (006GR)155
  Cities and Urban Lives (L6076)155
  Culture and Representation (L6075)155
  Environmental Perspectives on Development (L2103)155
  Ethnographic Field Research (002AN)155
  Geography Overseas Field Class (L7024)305
  Postcolonial Africa (L7040)155
  Social Geographies for a Post-Pandemic World (L7016)155
  Southeast England Field Class (F8515)155
  Visual Anthropology (L6074)155
YearTermStatusModuleCreditsFHEQ level
3Autumn SemesterOptionAdvanced Sustainable Development: Sustainability in Policy and Practice (014GA)306
  Class, Community and Nation Through the Pandemic Portal (009GA)306
  Cultures of Colonialism (F8030A)306
  Current Themes in the Anthropology of Latin America (L6096)306
  Geographies of Money, Finance, and Debt (012GA)306
  Geographies of Violence and Conflict (001G4A)306
  Human Rights (L2124A)306
  Refugees, Migrants and Religion (008GR)306
  Slavery, Emancipation and Legacies (L6303A)306
  The Anthropology of Geopolitics (L6301A)306
  The Anthropology of Work, Labour and Precarity (L6302A)306
 Autumn & Spring TeachingOptionAnthropology Thesis (L6078)306
 Spring SemesterOptionAnthropology in the World: Theory, Knowledge, Action (and back again) (L6304S)306
  Anthropology of the Body (L6065)306
  Decolonial Movements (002ID2)306
  Environmental Anthropology (L6066)306
  Environmental Protest: Past and Present (013GS)306
  Global Food Security (005GS)306
  Political Ecology and Environmental Justice (013IDS)306
  Postcolonial Africa (L7040)155
  The global and the intimate: home cultures, belonging and personal life (008GS)306
  Understanding Contemporary India (L6057)306
  Whose Histories Matter? Doing Decolonial Heritage and National Identities (007GR)306

Course convenors

Photo of Geert De NeveGeert De Neve
Head of School Global Studies

Photo of JoAnn McGregorJoAnn McGregor
Professor Of Human Geography

About your joint honours course

Sussex has always promoted interdisciplinary study by encouraging students to combine different subjects and different approaches to learning. Joint-honours courses are an ideal option if you want to study more than one subject in depth. A key idea behind joint-honours is to experience the range of ways that different academic disciplines use to teach, learn and research. Those differences are stimulating and challenging, but they can also be confusing, so you will find some useful information below to help you get the most out of your course.

  • To find information about the individual modules that make up your course, go to the school that teaches the module. Each module is assessed by the school that teaches it, so on their website you will find (under “student information”) information about the assessment criteria being used, the referencing style you need to use for your work, contact times for your tutors, information about the student reps scheme and lots of other useful information.
  • To find general information about joint honours, use the Frequently Asked Questions list
  • For information about the rules and regulations that govern all Sussex students, start with the general student handbook
  • For help in improving your study skills, using the library and with careers, try the Skills Hub.

And if you have any other questions, contact the convenors for your course; they are here to help you.

Useful links

Please note that the University will use all reasonable endeavours to deliver courses and modules in accordance with the descriptions set out here. However, the University keeps its courses and modules under review with the aim of enhancing quality. Some changes may therefore be made to the form or content of courses or modules shown as part of the normal process of curriculum management.

The University reserves the right to make changes to the contents or methods of delivery of, or to discontinue, merge or combine modules, if such action is reasonably considered necessary by the University. If there are not sufficient student numbers to make a module viable, the University reserves the right to cancel such a module. If the University withdraws or discontinues a module, it will use its reasonable endeavours to provide a suitable alternative module.