Please note: Information on this page relates to the 2010 academic year unless otherwise specified.
On this page:
- Overview
- Undergraduate Information
- Postgraduate Information
- How To Find Out More
- Related Subjects and Careers
- List of Courses
Overview
Why are human groups and their ways of life so different around the world? Why, for example, do many New Zealanders believe it is disgusting and cruel to eat dog, while Muslims don’t eat pork, and Hindus think cows are sacred? Why do most New Zealanders think marriage should only involve two partners, while the President of South Africa, following a Zulu custom, has three wives? Why do so many young people in New Zealand decide to get tattoos while many youths in Papua New Guinea willingly undergo painful scarification rituals? Why do such cultural differences develop and how might we understand them better?
Anthropology literally means 'the study of human beings,' while cultures are patterns of human behaviour and knowledge that every human learns as a member of a society. Cultural Anthropology focuses on how these cultural patterns shape our experiences. Anthropologists carry out research using the unique method of participant observation; they often live with the people they study for over a year, learn their language, and adopt their daily habits, gaining in-depth and firsthand insights into their way of life. This leads them to produce ethnographies: richly detailed texts describing the life and experiences of a cultural group.
Students of Cultural Anthropology explore how culture is expressed in areas such as ritual, symbolism, language, personality, religion, inequality, gender, family, art and politics. We compare life in New Zealand to the way people live in a range of diverse locations around the world. Understanding how other societies organise their lives and give meaning to their existence also increases our understanding of our own cultural worlds. Whether studying the hunting practices of Amazonian tribes or the politics of global agribusiness, the rituals of Pacific chiefs or the culture of corporate New Zealand, anthropology students explore what it means to be human today.
Cultural Anthropology lecturers at Victoria University have research expertise in such fields as: ritual, migration, inequality, ethnicity, psychological anthropology, historical anthropology, colonisation, indigenous peoples, and charity and development. They have carried out research in countries such as Greece, Italy, New Zealand, Germany, Canada, Papua New Guinea and the Cook Islands.
Undergraduate Information
BA major requirements
- ANTH 101 and 102
- 40 points from ANTH 200-299
- 40 points from ANTH 300-399
Postgraduate Information
Postgraduate Qualifications in Cultural Anthropology
How To Find Out More
You can order more information on this subject using our Request for Study Material form.
Victoria’s Student Recruitment and Course Advice Office offers advice on courses and help with planning your degree.
Contact the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences' Student and Academic Services Office for information on admission, qualifications and courses, course advice and selection criteria, exemptions and prerequisites.
Cultural Anthropology courses are taught within the School of Social and Cultural Studies, School Office: Murphy 921, tel: 04-463 5317, email: address.
Related Subjects and Careers
Career Paths in Cultural Anthropology
Cultural Anthropology graduates from Victoria University have gone into a wide variety of careers. Cultural anthropology provides you with a broad range of skills important in today’s world. At a general level, these include critical and creative thinking, research, writing and analyses, and the effective communication of ideas. More specifically, the study of cultural anthropology will teach you to understanding cultural diversity and the role of culture in all areas of life, and to apply anthropological knowledge to current social issues.
| Related Subjects | Careers |
|---|---|
|
Asian Studies |
Public sector research and policy analysis Museum curating Cultural heritage management Local and international journalism Documentary filmmaking Consumer research and advertising Immigration and refugee services Travel and tourism work International marketing Cross-cultural relations consultancy Public relations Urban planning International development NGO and humanitarian work Public health Community work English language teaching abroad |
List of Courses
For a complete course listing, see the list of all Cultural Anthropology courses.
| 100 Level Cultural Anthropology Courses |
|---|
ANTH 101 – Foundations of Society and Culture |
ANTH 102 – Social and Cultural Diversity |
| 200 Level Cultural Anthropology Courses |
|---|
ANTH 201 – Kin, Class and Caste |
ANTH 204 – Modern Anthropological Thought |
ANTH 208 – Culture and Experience |
ANTH 209 – Conflict and Reconciliation |
ANTH 213 – Ritual in the Modern World |
ANTH 215 – Special Topic: Theory and practice of visual ethnography: An introductory course |
| 300 Level Cultural Anthropology Courses |
|---|
ANTH 308 – Anthropology in Oceania |
ANTH 309 – Resistance and Power |
ANTH 310 – History of Anthropological Thought |
ANTH 312 – Representing Others: The Challenges of Ethnography |
ANTH 313 – Anthropology of the Modern World |
ANTH 315 – Selected Topic |
ANTH 316 – Visual Anthropology |
SACS 301 – Methods in Social and Cultural Research |
| 400 Level Cultural Anthropology Courses |
|---|
ANTH 406 – Special Topic: Materialising Society |
ANTH 407 – Ideas and Approaches: The Concept of Culture |
ANTH 408 – Ethnographic Research |
ANTH 409 – Perspectives and Problems: The Anthropology of Food |
ANTH 411 – Topics in Social and Cultural Anthropology: Inequality and Identity |
ANTH 412 – Anthropological Perspectives on Development |
ANTH 489 – Research Essay |