BA (Hons) Anthropology & Sociology

Anthropology and sociology both deal with human behaviours in their social context. This joint honours degree gives you a comprehensive grounding in these converging subjects, so you'll develop an understanding of their shared tradition and their differences in perspective.

UCAS
LL36
Course length
3 years full-time.
Entry requirements
A-level: ABB
BTEC: DDM
IB: 34 points
Access: Pass with 45 Level 3 credits including 30 at Distinction & 15 at Merit
or equivalent; see find out more about our general entrance requirements.
Additional requirements

We don't assume you have any knowledge of anthropology, and welcome applications from anyone with arts, social studies or science backgrounds. 

If your first language is not English, please check our English Language requirements.

Fees and funding
Please see undergraduate tuition fees.
Contact the departments
Contact one of the Admissions Tutors, Dr David Graeber or Dr Brett St Louis.
Visit us
Find out about how you can visit Goldsmiths at one of our open days or come on a campus tour.

Why study BA Anthropology & Sociology at Goldsmiths?

  • The degree is divided evenly between the two subjects, so you'll look at cultural difference and non-Western societies, as well as the sociology of industrial societies
  • Our academics are responsible for actively shaping the disciplines – they are pioneers in their fields, playing key roles in the development of contemporary social and cultural understandings
  • The Department of Sociology is joint top in the country for research excellence, and the Department of Anthropology has been placed in the UK's top 15 universities for this subject area (Complete University Guide league table 2014)
  • We look at the subjects from a contemporary perspective, which means that what you learn in the classroom will be relevant in a variety of public domains, in Britain and elsewhere
  • We have a diverse, dynamic and motivated group of students
  • You'll develop an understanding of human behaviour and organisation, which will be useful to a number of different career paths
  • Our graduates have gone on to work for the UN, World Bank, NGOs, law companies and CSR consultancies

What you study

In your first year you'll learn the main theories within social anthropology, and will be introduced to ethnography and anthropological methodological practice. For the sociology element you'll look at the subject's key texts and thinkers, and will develop an overview of the discipline's development and distinguishing features.

In your second year you'll consider the anthropology of religion, morals and symbolism, and explore interactions between current changing economic and political structures. A link course will familiarise you with methodological and philosophical issues in sociology and anthropology, and you'll deal with the central issues in sociological analysis and the formation of the modern world. You'll also take a sociology option. 

You take a compulsory link course in the third year, which examines how the world has changed since classical sociological theory was produced. You'll also choose anthropology and sociology options, and can complete a dissertation on a topic of your choice, with tutor supervision.

Assessment

Unseen examination papers, take-home papers, reports, practical projects, and assessed coursework.


Equivalent qualifications

Scottish qualifications: ABBBC (Higher), ABC (Advanced Higher)
European Baccalaureate: 77%
Irish Leaving Certificate: A1 A1 A2 B1

Courses and structure

Credits and levels of learning

An undergraduate honours degree is made up of 360 credits – 120 at Level 4, 120 at Level 5 and 120 at Level 6. If you are a full-time student, you will usually take Level 4 courses in the first year, Level 5 in the second, and Level 6 courses in your final year. A standard course is worth 30 credits. Some programmes also contain 15-credit half courses or can be made up of higher-value parts, such as a dissertation or a Major Project.

Teaching

Teaching is by lectures, seminars, workshops and tutorials. You're assigned a personal tutor, who also acts as an academic tutor. Tutors oversee your academic work and progress over the year. In the third year, most students undertake a Dissertation on a subject of their choice, for which they receive supervision.

Assessment

Assessment is through a combination of examinations, pre-released examinations, assessed course work and projects.


Level 4

At Level 4 you take five core courses (three from Anthropology and two from Sociology)

Code Course title Credits
tbc Critical Readings: The Emergence of Sociological Rationality 30 credits

tbc

tbc Modern Knowledge, Modern Power 30 credits

tbc

tbc Introduction to Social Anthropology 30 credits

This course introduces basic anthropological concepts of kinship, politics, economics, and religion and the history and theoretical schools of anthropology. Assessed by: one three-hour unseen written paper.

tbc Anthropological Methods 15 credits

This course explores aspects of anthropological methods. You study the following areas: data collection techniques and implications of type and quality of data; participant observation: techniques involved, its evolution and change; analytical approaches to primary data, re-analyses of secondary sources; the philosophy of science; value free social science, interaction between observer and observed, perception and ‘fact’. Assessed by: one 2,500-word report.

tbc Ethnography of a Selected Region I 15 credits

You'll study the linguistic and cultural groupings of a particular region. The region studied may vary from year to year, but is taken from one of the following: Africa, the Caribbean, the Andes, Lowland South America, Europe, and South Asia. Assessed by: one two-hour unseen written paper.


Level 5

At Level 5 you choose one Sociology option and then take six core Courses (two from Sociology, three from Anthropology and a 'link' course which is taught jointly by both Departments): 

Code Course title Credits
tbc Central Issues in Sociological Analysis 15 credits

tbc

tbc The Making of the Modern World 15 credits

tbc

tbc Anthropology of Religion 15 credits


The course focuses on ‘classic’ theories and key anthropological texts on religion, magic, myth, ritual, morality, symbolism and belief. Using ethnographic examples from various parts of the world, it looks at how religious identity is inscribed in the body, spatial and temporal orders, and at the relationship between religion and secularism, mass media and the internet, transnationalism, power and resistance. Assessed by: one 4,000-word report.

tbc Anthropology and the Visual 15 credits

This course provides a critical introduction to the many ways anthropologists engage with the visual from their use of visual methodologies and analysis of representations to their ethnographic study of everyday visual forms. Focusing on a wide range of visual media from photography, museum exhibitions and popular representations on TV to dress, body art, architecture and other everyday visual and material forms, the course raises issues about the significance of visibility, the politics of representation, the social life of visual and material forms and the relationship between seeing and other senses. Assessed by: one 4,000-word report.

tbc Politics, Economics and Social Change 30 credits

This course outlines the scope and approaches of economic and political anthropology and development studies. Issues of aid, populism, marginality, nationalism, fundamentalism, globalisation and other phenomena which do not fit easily into definitions of the ‘economic’ or ‘political’, are critically evaluated. Assessed by: one three-hour unseen written paper.

tbc Methodological and Philosophical Issues in Sociology and Anthropology 15 credits

This is a ‘link’ course, taught jointly by the Departments of Anthropology and Sociology. It introduces the basic issues of analytical method within anthropology and sociology with reference to philosophies of both the natural sciences and humanities Assessed by: one two hour unseen written paper.

Level 6

At Level 6 you take a core Sociology course (Theorising Contemporary Society - 15 credits) and then choose two Sociology Options

You also select two Anthropology Options from the following list:

  • Anthropology of Art (15 credits)
  • Anthropology of Development (15 credits)
  • Anthropology and the Environment (15 credits)
  • Anthropology of Europe (15 credits)
  • Anthropology and Gender Theory (15 credits)
  • Anthropology of Human-Animal Relations (15 credits)
  • Anthropology of Rights (15 credits)
  • Anthropology and the Visual: Production Course (15 credits)
  • Gender Theory in Practice (15 credits)
  • Health, Medicine and Social Power (15 credits)
  • Psychological Perspectives in Anthropology (15 credits)
  • Urban Anthropology (15 credits)

    The balance of Level 6 is made up of Options chosen from departments. You may also choose to do a Dissertation in Sociology or Anthropology. College regulations determine the exact balance of courses between the departments and these are explained carefully when you make your third-year choices.

Learning and teaching

On this degree you'll attend lectures and seminars where you'll hear about ideas and concepts related to specific topics, and where you'll be encouraged to discuss and debate the issues raised. This will enhance your academic knowledge of the subject, and will improve your communication skills.

But this is just a small proportion of what we expect you to do on the degree. For each hour of taught learning in lectures and seminars, we expect you to complete another 5-6 hours of independent study. This typically involves carrying out required and additional reading, preparing topics for discussion, or producing essays or project work.

This emphasis on independent learning is very important at Goldsmiths. We don't just want you to accept what we tell you without question. We want you to be inspired to read more, to develop your own ideas, and to find the evidence that will back them up. Independent study requires excellent motivation and time management skills. These skills will stay with you for life, and are the kind of transferable skills that are highly sought after by employers. 

Learning and teaching on this degree will take place through:

  • Lectures
  • Seminars
  • Tutorials
  • Independent learning
  • Presentations
  • Assessments

Find out more about these learning and teaching approaches.

Skills and careers

Skills

The BA Anthropology and Sociology programme will help you develop the following skills:

  • an understanding of human behaviour and organisation
  • an understanding of current and emerging concepts and theoretical approaches that are central to sociology and anthropology
  • the ability to examine how social, public and civic policy can be influenced by sociological knowledge
  • the ability to investigate, appraise and communicate empirical information
  • research and problem-solving skills
  • communication skills

Careers

This degree enables graduates to go on to a wide range of careers, covering areas including:

  • social and community work
  • teaching
  • business and management
  • the media
  • the public sector
  • the voluntary and charitable sector

About the Department of Anthropology

What is normal?

It’s what anthropology is all about.

 
Video: Click to play
Anthropology is a critical science that studies what it means to be human in different parts of the world. And at Goldsmiths it’s fast and it’s contemporary. We focus on how anthropology can help us understand society and our place within it, by applying anthropology as a local and global lens to explore everything from myth and ritual to new technologies.

As a department we’re interested in pushing the discipline forward – we’re known for pioneering new fields including visual anthropology and the anthropology of modernity – so as a student here you’ll get the chance to specialise in unique areas and look at subjects you can’t study elsewhere.

We want you to graduate with an anthropology degree that has weight in the real world so we make sure you learn anthropology’s core methods and theories together with specialist subject areas relevant to contemporary public life. It’s why our research, cited as ‘internationally excellent’ in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, is policy-oriented and addresses everyday issues in areas as diverse as urban planning, development, emotions and aesthetics, and new social movements.

Why study Anthropology at Goldsmiths?

  • The Department of Anthropology is exciting and multi-disciplinary, with specialists in a huge variety of areas of research
  • We're one of the most consistently innovative departments in Britain, and have been at the forefront of new fields in the discipline, including visual anthropology, the anthropology of development and rights, and the anthropology of media
  • We look at the subject from a contemporary perspective, which means that what you learn in the classroom will be relevant in a variety of public domains, in Britain and elsewhere
  • We currently have 16 permanent members of teaching staff and three administrative staff, as well as a large group of visiting tutors, and research fellows working on a range of exciting projects
  • We have approximately 250 undergraduate students, plus 80 Masters and 40 research postgraduate students
  • We also have close links with other departments and research centres at Goldsmiths, including the Centre for Cultural Studies, the Centre for Urban and Community Research, the Centre for the Study of the Balkans, Sociology, Psychology, HistoryMedia and Communications, and Social, Therapeutic and Community Studies
  • As a University of London student, you'll have the opportunity to attend seminars and courses throughout the University’s colleges and institutions, and can make use of the excellent library facilities at Senate House and fellow colleges

We have wide-ranging research links with other institutions, and our areas of specialisation include:

  • the environment
  • peasantries
  • post-socialism
  • kinship
  • gender
  • animals
  • medicine health and the body
  • anthropology of science and biotechnology
  • visual anthropology
  • development and rights
  • representation
  • material and popular culture
  • cultural politics
  • neo-colonialisms
  • postcolonialisms
  • history

Staff research interests cover many geographical regions including Latin America, North America, Africa, the Pacific, Asia, and Europe, including Britain.

About the department

Sociology

 
Video: Click to play

Discover different sides of life

Sociology studies the relationship between social structures and social actions. We study how people make their own histories but never under circumstances of their own choosing. Sociology at Goldsmiths is active, contemporary and inventive. We are as interested in the ‘global’ issues of poverty and injustice as we are in the ‘micro’ issues of identity and presentation of self. Sociology is a craft, a vocation and to study and engage with the subject can be transformative; once you have acquired a sociological imagination the world will never be the same for you again.

As a department we are interested in pushing the discipline forward. We are proud to be the joint top university for sociology in the UK (Research Assessment Exercise 2008) and we are known for pioneering ‘Live Sociology’ - focusing on contemporary issues, using innovative methods and celebrating the sociological imagination. It is an approach driven by our international research and it means that as a student here, you can delve into a whole host of topics; many you will be familiar with from previous study – class and stratification, race, gender, power - but much of which will be new – the digital, the body, culture and cities.

We want you to graduate with a sociology degree that has weight in the real world so we make sure you learn how to apply sociology’s core methods to particular areas of life now. Our courses are hands-on – giving you the opportunity to research and record an environment, create and analyse your own data, and draw your own conclusions. And you can apply the skills of sociological study to many careers – our graduates go on to work in a whole range of settings from research institutes to major record labels. 

Why choose Sociology at Goldsmiths?

We’re welcoming. Come and let us know what you think and learn through a combination of lectures, small group seminars, practical workshops and field trips, and from an approachable team of expert staff, many of whom have won awards for their teaching.

We are experimental. As a student here you can test out your ideas and get involved in the latest developments within the field. Because all of our staff teach their own specialisms, you find out about the latest research first.

We are active. This means you won’t be synthesising existing information but you will be generating data of your own, conducting your own primary research, and experiencing what it means to be a sociologist now.

At Goldsmiths you can:

• Choose from five undergraduate degrees covering areas from media and sociology to the social and political sciences

• Be part of an internationally recognised department whose research was rated ‘world class’ in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise

• Access unrivalled University of London research libraries, and gain a reader’s ticket to The British Library

• Engage with a programme that draws on a range of interdisciplinary subjects and looks at a whole range of areas from the technologies of medicine, to media, advertising and branding, and bodies.

• Be part of an international learning environment where everyone offers their own unique point of view

• Debate with academics who are experts in their field, published authors and media commentators in their own right

• Set up your own work placement to apply your skills in practice

• Access a range of research partners from UNICEF to Amnesty International, and from Intel to the BBC

Staff

The Department has 28 full-time academic staff, including nine Professors and nine professional staff, as well as part-time and research staff. We also have a number of visiting tutors.

We publish widely in the form of books, contributions to journals, and press articles. This means that you'll be taught by staff who are actually shaping the discipline.

Find out more about staff in the Department of Sociology. 

Facilities

In addition to extensive computing facilities, the Department co-ordinates a programme of talks featuring visiting lecturers from other universities. These talks cover specific areas of interest, and supplement events held by academics within the Department.

Find out more about Goldsmiths

Graduate profiles

Geoffrey

BA Anthropology & Sociology graduate

"Goldsmiths gave me new life skills and the ability for analytical thinking."

My journey at Goldsmiths began in the late 1980s, but is just as relevant today. I did Anthropology and Sociology as a mature student and loved every minute of it. Goldsmiths enabled me to understand how culture and society is so vibrant and diverse. It also gave me new life skills and the ability for analytical thinking.

My three years flashed by and, after graduation, I decided to do an MA in Sociology with special reference to Qualitative Research. This degree was completed on a part time basis, but was just as rewarding.

Goldsmiths was very kind to me, enabling me to grow as a person and human being. I hope I have been able to share this with my family, friends and colleagues. Goldsmiths in the 21st century is a centre of academic excellence, I still visit and I am still inspired! Age is no barrier to study, young or old, so good luck and enjoy every precious moment.


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