AN226     
Political and Legal Anthropology

This information is for the 2014/15 session.

Teacher responsible

Prof Deborah James OLD 6.06

Dr Insa Koch

Availability

This course is compulsory on the BA in Anthropology and Law, BA in Social Anthropology and BSc in Social Anthropology. This course is available on the LLB in Laws. This course is available as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit and to General Course students.

Pre-requisites

Undergraduates taking this course should have completed an introductory course in anthropology unless granted exemption by the course teacher.

Course content

The anthropological analysis of political and legal institutions as revealed in relevant theoretical debates and with reference to selected ethnography. The development of political and legal anthropology and their key concepts including forms of authority; forms of knowledge and power; political competition and conflict; colonial transformation of indigenous norms; writing legal ethnography of the 'other'; folk concepts of justice; the theory of legal pluralism; accommodation of religious practices in secular laws of European states.

Teaching

10 hours of lectures and 10 hours of classes in the MT. 10 hours of lectures and 10 hours of classes in the LT.

Formative coursework

Students are expected to prepare discussion material for presentation in the classes.

Indicative reading

Gledhill, J, 1994, Power and its Disguises; Leach, E, 1954, The Political Systems of Highland Burma; Sharma, A and Gupta, A, 2006, The Anthropology of the State; Verdery, K, 1999,  The Political Lives of Dead Bodies; Moore, S F, 1978, Law as Process; Malinowski, B, 1916, Crime and Custom in Savage Society; Bohannan, P, 1957, Justice and Judgement among the Tiv; Comaroff J and Roberts S, 1981, Rules and Processes. Detailed reading lists are provided at the beginning of the course.

Assessment

Exam (70%, duration: 3 hours) in the main exam period.
Essay (15%, 2500 words) in the LT.
Other (15%) in the MT.

Students are required to facilitate a class in Michaelmas Term. In addition students will submit a written piece of 750-1000 words on the session they facilitated. Facilitation and write up will count for 15% of the overall mark for the course. Students are required to write an assessment essay of 2000-2500 words in Lent Term (15%).

Key facts

Department: Anthropology

Total students 2013/14: 48

Average class size 2013/14: 13

Capped 2013/14: No

Lecture capture used 2013/14: No

Value: One Unit

Guidelines for interpreting course guide information