Culture and Communication

Learning Outcomes

Learning Outcomes

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Be competent in the use of theoretical perspectives and concepts in anthropology and sociology while being able to apply them to the areas of culture, communication and cognition
• Identify, select and evaluate appropriate data and evidence from relevant sources and present conclusions in an appropriate social science format.
• Further develop your understanding of communication while enhancing your own communication skills.
• Critically evaluate selected theories of the relationship between culture and cognition.
• Organise and make sense of different types of social scientific argument.
• Develop time management and organisational skills.
• Undertake independent work in the area of information gathering using libraries and access to different sources of information.
• Enhance your skills of self-reflection with regard to academic work.
• Enhance your capacity to engage in critical analysis and problem solving.
• Discuss the impact of writing on oral traditions.
• Undertake an investigation of one area of the social sciences relevant to this module in detail, paying attention to appropriate methods, styles of analysis, evidence, theory, and the presentation of research findings.
• Recognise and formulate social science questions.
• Discuss the theoretical relationship between thought and language.

The module concentrates mainly upon human communication by exploring the relationship between thought (perception, cognition, attitude, memory, etc), cultural practices (ritual, dress, music, film, etc) and social organization (age, gender, social division etc). Core theoretical perspectives will be applied to ethnographic examples throughout the unit within a wide range of contexts (eg life narratives, the human body, war memories and filmic traditions). The module also considers the influences of various forms of communication upon culture and social organizations, as well as investigating the historically durable role of images as a communications medium. In effect, the module explores the connections between what you think, what you recognize, what cultural things you 'do', and the society you do them in.

Two lectures a week and one discussion seminar every fortnight.

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.