introduction what is social anthropology? - University of St Andrews

LECTURE 2: WHAT IS ANTHROPOLOGY?
Through the comparative study of human societies and cultures, anthropology attempts to
make sense of the initially overwhelming diversity of human ideas and behaviour. It is the finegrained
analysis of these social, cultural and political variations as well as the common
humanity that underpins them that lies at the heart of social anthropology.
LECTURE 3: HOW DO WE DO ANTHROPOLOGY?
Anthropologists acquire their information through a distinctive method termed ‘participant
observation’. By living for prolonged periods and sharing experiences with those whom they
are researching, the anthropologist’s goal is to gain an in‐depth understanding of all aspects of
that particular social environment. In this lecture, we will look at exactly what this
methodology entails and how it brings about a unique anthropological perspective on the
world.
LECTURE 4: ETHNOGRAPHIC FILM ‐ BARZAKH (2011 DIR. MANTAS KVEDARAVICIUS)
Barzakh is a multi‐award winning ethnographic film that is a superb example of the
combination of anthropology and filmmaking. In a Chechen city recovering after the war, a
man disappears. As daily life goes on, those in search are drawn into a world where encounters
with diviners and legal advisors, with the torturers and the tortured, with secret prisons and
mythical lakes all become commonplace. When the disappeared do return in dreams, they are
said to come from Barzakh – a land between the living and the dead.
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