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****************************************************** * http://www.anthropologymatters.com * * A postgraduate project comprising online journal, * * online discussions, teaching and research resources * * and international contacts directory. * ****************************************************** M.Sc. Evolutionary Approaches to Cultural Anthropology and Archaeology at the University of East London A new M.Sc. at UEL: http://www.uel.ac.uk/ssmcs/programmes/ postgraduate/evol%5Fappr%5Fanthrop/ Anthropology at UEL is associated with Survival International, working in support of tribal people Contact: Diane Ball 020 8223 [log in to unmask] In anthropological research we have to ask difficult questions. Whatever the focus of your own research, you will be expected to demonstrate competence in a wide range of complex issues. These are some of the questions we will attempt to answer. If you find any of them interesting and challenging, then this is the Masters course for you! Why don't chimpanzees talk? If god is a delusion, how can so many people be wrong'? Why do class societies, like that of Stonehenge, build monuments? What is the best number of fathers to have? In key Amazonian myths there is always conflict between the genders—why? Why might selfish gene theory predict three genders? Do monuments code cultural knowledge? Because there are high emotional costs in feeling vengeful, why take revenge? If the survival chances of going on a raid are poor, what is war good for? When shamans go into trance, why do they visit their ancestors? Like the first priest-shamans, do ritual leaders today use socially imposed altruism? If 'the first kings were dead kings', what were the reproductive advantages of the first elites? Given that today there are thousands of languages, can there be one neo-Darwinian theory of language origins? If there is a universal template for myths, how can we use it in our field work? How far does costly-signalling theory explain the meaning of rituals today? In undertaking field work can anthropologists use group selection theory when it has been so discredited by behavioural ecology? If Indo-European languages and myths have Palaeolithic roots, how can that inform our research into Indo-European cultures today? Here at the University of East London Anthropology is taught to the highest standard. We are enthusiastic for our discipline, and each year our students become equally highly motivated. The staff have many years’ experience teaching and researching Evolutionary Approaches to Cultural Anthropology and Archaeology. UEL Anthropology prides itself on leading the discipline in this interface. Lectures, seminars and workshops will normally be conducted in the evenings. Some of the key features taught on the M.Sc. Anthropology programme are: The opportunity to work within the established discipline of Human Behavioural Ecology. An exploration of the origins and later transformations to symbolic culture using evolutionary theory. Dedicated research methods modules to develop advanced qualitative and quantitative analytical skills. Preparation and completion of an independent research dissertation. As a M.Sc. Anthropology graduate student you will concentrate on one area of research specialization— your dissertation. This dissertation is of an open-architecture design which is expected to reflect your own research interests. This pattern enables you to become involved in research in your second semester and, at the same time, provides considerable flexibility in the specific details of your individual professional development. The essential principle underlying the design of this programme is that staff serve as a resource for you in the development of your future professional competence. For those embarking on a full-time Masters degree in Anthropology you will normally attend evening classes twice a week for the Autumn and Spring semesters. However, there are a number of flexible part-time options that you may wish to consider that will allow you to stagger your programme over a number of years. Part-time students are expected to attend one evening a week. Full time students would finish their campus-based study by Easter and then, with the guidance of email support, complete their field-based dissertation by the following Autumn. The syllabus reflects a strong staff research profile which tracks the origins of and later transformations to symbolic culture. Topics include: language origins, ritual, myth, revenge and warfare, gender- ideologies, egalitarianism and stratification, co-operation and food sharing, mating tactics, motherhood and parental investment, life history allocations, dominance and altruism, and handicap theory. The staff have substantial regional expertise in Africa, Australia, Amazonia, Europe and the Caribbean. If you would like to find out more about a M.Sc. in Evolutionary Approaches at UEL, contact Diane Ball, the Anthropology Administrator: tel: 0208 8223 2770; email: [log in to unmask] , or Paul Valentine, the Programme Tutor: email: [log in to unmask] ************************************************************* * Anthropology-Matters Mailing List * * To join this list or to look at the archived previous * * messages visit: * * http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/Anthropology-Matters.HTML * * If you have ALREADY subscribed: to send a message to all * * those currently subscribed to the list,just send mail to: * * [log in to unmask] * * * * Enjoyed the mailing list? Why not join the new * * CONTACTS SECTION @ www.anthropologymatters.com * * an international directory of anthropology researchers * ***************************************************************