Anthropology

Ethical Worlds

Module code: L6308S
Level 6
30 credits in spring semester
Teaching method: Seminar
Assessment modes: Dissertation

Ethics has become an increasingly important area of anthropological theory and practice. Laidlaw, Zigon, Keane and Das, among others, have been influential.

In the School of Global Studies, we have significant expertise in this area, as well as a reputation for critical and radical engagement with real-world issues. The module offers you the opportunity to:

• find out about ethics as an important area of scholarly debate
• learn to critically reflect on ethics, an important skill in many careers anthropology graduates go on to.

Module learning outcomes

• Understanding Ethical Theories and Anthropological Approaches: Students will critically engage with key ethical theories (e.g., deontology, virtue ethics) and anthropological frameworks such as everyday ethics, Foucauldian ethics, and ethics as freedom, applying them to cross- cultural contexts.
• Analysing Ethnographic Case Studies: Students will evaluate how moral systems operate within different societies, drawing on ethnographic examples to explore concepts like ethical freedom and everyday ethical practices.
• Engaging with Critical Perspectives: Students will apply decolonial, feminist, and Marxist critiques alongside anthropological approaches to challenge universalist assumptions and explore contemporary ethical debates.
• Reflexive Ethical Practice: Students will reflect on their own ethical assumptions and understand how anthropological approaches—such as DIS everyday ethics and Foucault’s ideas on freedom—shape their research and interactions with the people they study.
• Extended Research and Critical Argument Development: Students will be able to demonstrate a capacity for extended, in-depth research and long form essay writing.