PhD in Anthropology and Social Change

Anthropology and Social Change is a small, innovative graduate department with a particular focus on activist scholarship, militant research, and social change. Our unique approach to ethnographic research methodology dissolves traditional barriers between research and political activism, between insiders and outsiders, and between researchers and protagonists. Ethnography is a tool for "creating the conditions we describe." We engage in the process of co-research to explore existing alternatives and possibilities for social change.

Students learn how to apply the practice of direct action to the research process with the support of talented faculty. We set out to create the conditions we describe when our research begins to embody the values of the world we want to create.... [-]

The doctoral study programme at CU FHS is organized in the full-time (4 years) and correspondence form of study. The programme allows studies focused on philosophical, historical, socio-cultural and socio-linguistic anthropology and human ethology. The task of the programme, in general, is grasping the theoretical basics and methods of this field and mastering the methodology of academic research.

The curriculum of Ph.D. students includes: - The studies are organized in two modules, whereas the first module is compulsory for all students in the programme, the second one is selected on the basis of the consultations with the supervisor. - Ph.D. seminar - a compulsory exam in a living language - the defense of the student’s dissertation The concept of the study programme is determined by the department council.... [-]

Duration: All SOAS PhD programmes are expected to take a maximum of 48 months fulltime (three years of full fees that includes one-year fieldwork, and one final year of continuation). The PhD programme may also be taken part-time. If taken part-time, it is normally expected that both the year-long fieldwork component and continuation year are taken full time.

Entry Requirements: a BA and/or MA degree in Anthropology, with a merit or equivalent in the Master's Degree and an MA dissertation grade of 65% (UK) or higher. Applicants must provide a clear and coherent research proposal of 2000 words.

Mode of Attendance: Full Time or Part Time... [-]

The Ph.D. in Evolution and Behaviour is delivered by the Faculty of Arts and Science. Students in this program are normally supervised by Faculty members in the following contributing departments/areas: Biological Sciences, Neuroscience, and Psychology.

Research in this program focuses on the evolutionary processes responsible for shaping functionally organized behaviors in a wide variety of organisms. The research targets a range of different behaviors that address the critical life challenges facing these organisms, such as finding food and avoiding predators, attracting and selecting mates, rearing offspring, and negotiating extended networks of social relationships. The emphasis of the research is to examine the potential adaptive basis of different behaviour patterns and understand the underlying genetic, anatomical, physiological, and psychological mechanisms that guide them and their interactions with environmental processes.... [-]

The Doctoral study programme comprises a thesis written under supervision that makes an original contribution to the field of Anthropology on a topic selected in consultation with the Department of Anthropology and Development Studies. A Doctoral defence (of the proposal and the thesis) is required in accordance with the regulations of the Faculty of Humanities. An article ready for publication on the thesis content is also required.

A Master’s Degree in Anthropology and a final course mark of at least 65% in the particular discipline.

Name: Prof David Moore Tel: 011 559 2979/2859 / Email: dbmoore@uj.ac.za

Anthropology seeks to understand the nature and origins of human biological variability, cultural diversity, and social formations through systematic exploration, scientific examination and the application of theory to human populations and their artifacts, including their social configurations, past and present.

Although anthropology has historically been most successful in the analysis of small sociocultural systems, its current challenge is to situate the direct objects of study in their global contexts in both space and time. The discipline draws freely on various fields of study in the humanities and in the social and natural sciences, and its diversity today is such that no single central mission earns a wide consensus.... [-]