Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology

Degree: Master of Arts in Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology
Mode of Study: Full-time
Duration: 1 year
Start date: September and February
Language of instruction: English
Location: Leiden
Croho/isat code: 60156
Specialisations:
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The Leiden MA in Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology is unique in the way it combines the analysis of cultural difference with a critical perspective on global development. Whereas “culture” signifies the differences between human beings, “development” connects different human societies by new technological, intellectual, economic and cultural relationships. Our programme teaches students to relate these globalising developments in practice, by stimulating them to do an independent study of the ways in which large-scale developments tie into small-scale experiences of people all over the world – and vice versa.

Focus
Regionally, the Leiden Institute of Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology mainly focuses on South-East Asia and Africa (south of the Sahara). Nevertheless, students are not limited in their regional orientation and have the opportunity to focus their research on any other region. Fieldwork which is supervised in situ can be carried out in Mali, Gambia, Indonesia, the Philippines and the Netherlands. Individually organised fieldwork is possible in all other parts of the world.

Specialisations
There are three specialisations within this MA programme:

All three specialisations can be combined with ethnographic film, on condition of proper BA-level preparation and starting with the programme in September

Objectives

  • To provide master’s students with general theoretical knowledge of the discipline and thorough knowledge of culture and society in a certain region. This will enable them to analyse the social problems of that region, to report on them in a academically sound way and to offer advice on policies;
  • To equip master’s students with the scientific skills required to independently design and execute fundamental and applied research;
  • To provide master’s students with the knowledge, skills and instruments required for the job market, both in societies that are culturally familiar and in those that are new and different.

Admission
After your official application, the Admission Committee will decide whether you can be:

a) admitted unconditionally
b) not admitted
c) admitted after satisfying certain conditions (conditional admission)

Depending on the content of the candidate’s undergraduate programme, it may be necessary to follow a premaster’s programme in order to acquire the background needed for the master’s programme in Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology. The pre-master programme is composed by the Admission Committee on an individual basis and based on specific candidate’s deficiencies. The duration of this programme can vary from three months up to one year (10 – 60 ECTS). In consultation with the Admission Committee, some parts of the premaster can be followed at the candidate’s home university.

Prof. Peter Pels

“Students carry out individual research for three months into the subject that fascinates them. This is carried out under the supervision of researchers of our institute.”

“Our master’s programme in Cultural Anthropology and Develop¬ment Sociology is first and foremost a disciplinary programme. After an introduction at the MA-level of the theory and practice of ethnography (or how to do research about large and important issues in small places), students can choose between three specializations: Environmental Anthropology and Development Sociology, Global Economy and Culture, and Media, Visual and Material Culture. ‘Global Economy and Culture’ is the most general of the three, and deals predominantly with the small-scale manifestations of large-scale institutions such as global markets, nation-states and international organizations, and global processes of trade and production. ‘Media, Visual and Material Culture’ combines visual anthropology and material culture studies, and allows students a choice between visual anthropology more generally, and a museum-track in collaboration with the Museum of Ethnology and the Museum of Antiquities in Leiden. ‘Environmental Anthropology and Development Sociology’, finally, concentrates on environmental anthropology and the sociology and anthropology of development.

All three specializations can be combined with ethnographic film, on condition of proper BA-level preparation and starting with the programme in September.

Studying culture in the street requires thorough and intimate knowledge of specific world areas. Leiden has long specialized in Southeast Asia en Africa, although staff members (often with the help of area studies colleagues in other parts of Leiden University) also supervise research in other parts of the world. It is this intimate involvement with specific cultural regions that gives our programme its excellent international reputation. Practical field research is one of the pillars of both our bachelor and our master programmes. In the latter, we pride ourselves on the fact that we have been able to perfect our curricular activities and individual supervision to make sure that students finish the programme within a year with an academic product of high quality.”