Supervised individual research on a topic in anthropology.
ANTH 490 is an individual research project on an approved topic under the supervision
of one or more members of staff, culminating in the submission of the dissertation
of no more than 20,000 words (excluding footnotes, appendices and references). Submission
date for dissertations is the Friday of the week following the end of second
semester. The choosing of your topic is one of the most challenging and rewarding
decisions that you will have to make in the whole exercise. It will depend on the
kind of interests you have developed in Social Anthropology and the availability of
supervisors with appropriate expertise. Please review the list of staff members and
areas of interest on the Social Anthropology website. It is recommended that you consult
with appropriate staff as soon as possible and before the end of your third year.
If you have developed strengths in particular areas of your subject or become closely
involved with certain courses, there would be considerable advantage in continuing
with that work for your dissertation.
One important consideration, and
one reason for consulting closely with staff, is making sure that you select a topic
that is practicable within the time available. The challenge here is selecting something
that is going to make a satisfying and rewarding piece of research, but that will
also be of such size and scope that you will be able to bring it to completion on
time.
In social anthropology, potential topics range from library-based
studies based on primary and/or secondary sources, to research involving fieldwork
using one or a number of the many different methods used in field research (for example,
participant observation, formal interviews, unobtrusive methods). This is usually
your first opportunity to carry out field research, and with the supervision that
is provided by the Programme it will enable you to gain valuable first-hand experience
in doing social research. Fieldwork involving human subjects requires ethical approval
from the University Ethics Committee; your supervisor will advise you about this.
| Paper title | Dissertation |
|---|---|
| Paper code | ANTH490 |
| Subject | Anthropology |
| EFTS | 0.5000 |
| Points | 60 points |
| Teaching period | Full Year |
| Domestic Tuition Fees (NZD) | $3,426.50 |
| International Tuition Fees (NZD) | $13,983.00 |
- Restriction
- ANTH 495, ARCH 490
- Limited to
- BA(Hons), PGDipArts
- Contact
- anthropology@otago.ac.nz or individual members of staff
- More information link
Please visit the Programme of Social Anthropology
- Teaching staff
- All academic staff
- Paper Structure
- Writing of a dissertation
- Teaching Arrangements
- Weekly meetings with supervisor/s
- Textbooks
- None specified, but reading relevant to topic is essential
- Graduate Attributes Emphasised
- Lifelong learning, Scholarship, Communication, Critical thinking, Ethics, Research,
Self-motivation.
View more information about Otago's graduate attributes. - Learning Outcomes
- The ability to conduct independent, high-quality and rigorous research
- The capacity to locate, evaluate and analyse diverse sources, data and information
- Skills in writing a report-length dissertation based on original research
