Short course
Anthropology Applied
Course status:
Course ended
Location:
Online
Dates:
17/09/2025 - 26/11/2025
Study format:
Online - live
Fees:
£360.00
As pandemics sweep across the globe, as climate change threatens our vision of the future, and as population growth accelerates amidst diminishing natural resources and rapidly emerging technologies, it seems clear that most of the global challenges and opportunities we face are fundamentally human in nature. While the pervasive influence and consequences of culture, identity and power are woven vividly into the fabric of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, our world is becoming increasingly complex, contested and unpredictable.
In this course we will explore the unique and vital contribution of applied anthropology in helping to examine and address some of the major global challenges of our time. Drawing from real-world case studies we will investigate a range of critical issues, from sustainable development and population displacement to public health and natural disasters. We will learn how an integrated understanding of underlying social and cultural dynamics can dramatically influence the success or failure of interventions and outcomes, tipping a delicate balance between preservation or loss, prosperity or poverty, peace or conflict, life or death.
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Programme details
This course begins on the 17 Sep 2025 which is when course materials are made available to students. Students should study these materials in advance of the first live meeting which will be held on 24 Sep 2025, 7:00-8:00pm (UK time).
Week 1: Applied anthropology: methods, ethics and collaborating for change
Week 2: Organisational cultures: truth, power and leadership
Week 3: Aid and Agencies: development politics and crisis culture
Week 4: Sustainable development and environmental justice
Week 5: Refugees and dilemmas of displacement
Week 6: Public health and the social dynamics of disease
Week 7: COVID-19: risk and rebellion in a global pandemic
Week 8: Disaster! Cultural responses to catastrophe
Week 9: Hurricane Katrina: truth, tragedy and the wrath of God
Week 10: International security: peace, conflict and contested worlds
Level and demands
This course is open to all and no prior knowledge is required.
This course is offered at FHEQ Level 4 (i.e. first year undergraduate level), and you will be expected to engage in independent study in preparation for your assignments and for the weekly webinar. This may take the form, for instance, of reading and analysing set texts, responding to questions or tasks, or preparing work to present in class. Our 10-week Short Online Courses come with an expected total commitment of 100 study hours, including those spent in live webinars.
English Language Requirements
We do not insist that applicants hold an English language certification, but warn that they may be at a disadvantage if their language skills are not of a comparable level to those qualifications listed on our website. If you are confident in your proficiency, please feel free to enrol. For more information regarding English language requirements please follow this link: https://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/about/english-language-requirements
Course aims
- To explore the role and practice of applied anthropology as an approach to understanding and addressing the social and cultural dynamics that underpin complex global challenges.
- To deepen our understanding of anthropological principles, perspectives and methods, and how they are being applied to address a wide range of contemporary social issues.
- To nurture anthropologically-informed approaches to exploring human values, behaviours, lived experiences, and perceptions of danger and need.
- To encourage ethical, reflexive, evidence-based and culturally-sensitive engagement with current and future wicked problems and global challenges.
IT requirements
Any standard web browser can be used to access course materials on our virtual learning environment, but we recommend Google Chrome. We also recommend that students join the live webinars on Microsoft Teams using a laptop or desktop computer rather than a phone or tablet due to the limited functionality of the app on these devices.
Programme details
This course begins on the 17 Sep 2025 which is when course materials are made available to students. Students should study these materials in advance of the first live meeting which will be held on 24 Sep 2025, 7:00-8:00pm (UK time).
Week 1: Applied anthropology: methods, ethics and collaborating for change
Week 2: Organisational cultures: truth, power and leadership
Week 3: Aid and Agencies: development politics and crisis culture
Week 4: Sustainable development and environmental justice
Week 5: Refugees and dilemmas of displacement
Week 6: Public health and the social dynamics of disease
Week 7: COVID-19: risk and rebellion in a global pandemic
Week 8: Disaster! Cultural responses to catastrophe
Week 9: Hurricane Katrina: truth, tragedy and the wrath of God
Week 10: International security: peace, conflict and contested worlds
Teaching methods
This course takes place over 10 weeks, with a weekly learning schedule and weekly live webinar held on Microsoft Teams. Shortly before a course commences, students are provided with access to an online virtual learning environment, which houses the course content, including video lectures, complemented by readings or other study materials. Any standard web browser can be used to access these materials, but we recommend Google Chrome. Working through these materials over the course of the week will prepare students for a weekly 1-hour live webinar you will share with your expert tutor and fellow students. All courses are structured to amount to 100 study hours, so that on average, you should set aside 10 hours a week for study. Although the course finishes after 10 weeks, all learning materials remain available to all students for 12 months after the course has finished.
All courses are led by an expert tutor. Tutors guide students through the course materials as part of the live interactions during the weekly webinars. Tutors will also provide individualised feedback on your assignments. All online courses are taught in small student cohorts so that you and your peers will form a mutually supportive and vibrant learning community for the duration of the course. You will learn from your fellow students as well as from your tutor, and they will learn from you.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course students will be better able to:
- define and explain key principles and practices of applied anthropology, and discuss them in relation to real-world issues and challenges;
- critically evaluate a range of examples and case studies of anthropology in practice;
- apply ethnographic methods to explore human values, behaviours, lived experiences and perceptions of danger and need;
- develop a set of ethnographically-informed recommendations for addressing a contemporary issue or challenge, and justify your rationale.
Assessment methods
You will be set two pieces of work for the course. The first of 500 words is due halfway through your course. This does not count towards your final outcome but preparing for it, and the feedback you are given, will help you prepare for your assessed piece of work of 1,500 words due at the end of the course. The assessed work is marked pass or fail.
Mark Anderson
Mark specialises in African archaeology, the anthropology of ritual, and applied educational anthropology. He is a Teaching Fellow at Imperial College London, a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute, and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.
Assessment methods
You will be set two pieces of work for the course. The first of 500 words is due halfway through your course. This does not count towards your final outcome but preparing for it, and the feedback you are given, will help you prepare for your assessed piece of work of 1,500 words due at the end of the course. The assessed work is marked pass or fail.
Level and demands
This course is open to all and no prior knowledge is required.
This course is offered at FHEQ Level 4 (i.e. first year undergraduate level), and you will be expected to engage in independent study in preparation for your assignments and for the weekly webinar. This may take the form, for instance, of reading and analysing set texts, responding to questions or tasks, or preparing work to present in class. Our 10-week Short Online Courses come with an expected total commitment of 100 study hours, including those spent in live webinars.
English Language Requirements
We do not insist that applicants hold an English language certification, but warn that they may be at a disadvantage if their language skills are not of a comparable level to those qualifications listed on our website. If you are confident in your proficiency, please feel free to enrol. For more information regarding English language requirements please follow this link: https://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/about/english-language-requirements
Fees
| Description | Costs |
|---|---|
| Course Fee | £360.00 |
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