SOSANT2120 – Regional Ethnography: Africa
Course description
Schedule, syllabus and examination date
Course content
This course gives a critical introduction to the anthropology of one broad traditional anthropological "region", with a particular emphasis on current research interests related to that region, and how these are shaped by historical the legacy of colonialism and the global political economy. The course reflects critically about regional ethnographic knowledge-making, and provides thereby the basis for a productive engagement with the tradition of comparative ethnography.
In the beginning, the students will be given a brief overview of anthropological research traditions and themes related to the region and their historical context. The main part of the course will then focus on recent and current subject matters that shape contemporary anthropological research on and from the region, and on on-going debates about the discipline's place in the region.
Learning outcome
Knowledge
- Overview of the region’s contribution to anthropology
- Familiarity with some recent and current themes in regional anthropology
- Critical reflection about the history and contemporary conditions of anthropology of and from the continent
Skills
- Competence in regional ethnography and familiarity with some main themes in the region’s contemporary anthropology
General competence
- Ability to engage with and communicate contemporary social anthropological insights
- Understanding and respect for social and cultural, as well as historical variation, as well as for theoretical and methodological differences between regional anthropological approaches
- Critical reflection about the role and responsibility of anthropology and the anthropologist in the context of a particular region
Admission to the course
Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.
If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.
Recommended previous knowledge
Basic knowledge in Social Anthropology.
Overlapping courses
- 10 credits overlap with SOSANT2110 – Regional Etnografi: Midt?sten and SOSANT2130 – Regional etnografi: Latin-Amerika.
- 10 credits overlap with SOSANT2110 – Regional Etnografi: Midt?sten and SOSANT2140 – Regional ethnography: East and Southeast Asia.
- 10 credits overlap with SOSANT2130 – Regional etnografi: Latin-Amerika and SOSANT2140 – Regional ethnography: East and Southeast Asia.
- 10 credits overlap with SOSANT2110 – Regional Etnografi: Midt?sten and SOSANT2150 – Regional etnografi: Norden.
- 10 credits overlap with SOSANT2130 – Regional etnografi: Latin-Amerika and SOSANT2150 – Regional etnografi: Norden.
- 10 credits overlap with SOSANT2140 – Regional ethnography: East and Southeast Asia and SOSANT2150 – Regional etnografi: Norden.
- 10 credits overlap with SOSANT2110 – Regional Etnografi: Midt?sten and SOSANT2160 – Regional etnografi: Oceania.
- 10 credits overlap with SOSANT2130 – Regional etnografi: Latin-Amerika and SOSANT2160 – Regional etnografi: Oceania.
- 10 credits overlap with SOSANT2140 – Regional ethnography: East and Southeast Asia and SOSANT2160 – Regional etnografi: Oceania.
- 10 credits overlap with SOSANT2150 – Regional etnografi: Norden and SOSANT2160 – Regional etnografi: Oceania.
- 10 credits overlap with SOSANT2110 – Regional Etnografi: Midt?sten and SOSANT2170 – Regional ethnography: Europe.
- 10 credits overlap with SOSANT2130 – Regional etnografi: Latin-Amerika and SOSANT2170 – Regional ethnography: Europe.
- 10 credits overlap with SOSANT2140 – Regional ethnography: East and Southeast Asia and SOSANT2170 – Regional ethnography: Europe.
- 10 credits overlap with SOSANT2150 – Regional etnografi: Norden and SOSANT2170 – Regional ethnography: Europe.
- 10 credits overlap with SOSANT2160 – Regional etnografi: Oceania and SOSANT2170 – Regional ethnography: Europe.
- 5 credits overlap with SOSANT2110 – Regional Etnografi: Midt?sten.
- 5 credits overlap with SOSANT1101 – Regional etnografi: jordens folk og kulturelt mangfold (discontinued).
- 5 credits overlap with SOSANT2130 – Regional etnografi: Latin-Amerika.
- 5 credits overlap with SOSANT2140 – Regional ethnography: East and Southeast Asia.
- 5 credits overlap with SOSANT2150 – Regional etnografi: Norden.
- 5 credits overlap with SOSANT2160 – Regional etnografi: Oceania.
- 5 credits overlap with SOSANT2170 – Regional ethnography: Europe.
Teaching
Lectures take place throughout the semester.
Compulsory element
Students will submit three essays (800-1000 words each) over the semester for feedback. Prompts and detailed instructions for these essays will be provided in class. Feedback will be provided as follows:
- Lecturer feedback on one essay.
- Peer feedback on one essay.
- Guided self-review (with a rubric) on one essay.
The essays will be assessed as ‘Approved/Not approved’. Students must have their essays approved in order to sit for the exam.
Compulsory activity must be approved and the exam passed in the same semester.
Absence from compulsory activities
In case of illness or other valid reasons, you may in some cases be granted valid absence or postponement of compulsory activities.
Examination
Students will select their two strongest essays from the semester to revise and resubmit as their final written exam. These two essays (each 1000 words +/- 10 %) will be submitted along with a resubmission statement (350-500 words per essay) detailing their editing choices. These will be submitted in Inspera as a single document. Substantial revisions and a thorough revision statement are required to pass the final exam.
Examination support material
All exam support materials are allowed during this exam. Generating all or parts of the exam answer using AI tools such as Chat GPT or similar is not allowed.
Language of examination
You may submit your response in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English.
Grading scale
Grades are awarded on a pass/fail scale. Read more about?the grading system.
Also see?Grading guidelines in social anthropology.
More about examinations at UiO
- Use of sources and citations
- How to use AI as a student
- Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
- Withdrawal from an exam
- Illness at exams / postponed exams
- Explanation of grades and appeals
- Resitting an exam
- Cheating/attempted cheating
You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.