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ANT3030 Dissertation Writing-Up

Module Convenor: Professor Hastings Donnan

Lecture Times: Tuesdays 11 am to 1.00 pm in PFC/02/009

First meeting at 11 am on Tuesday 28 September

This module enables students actually to ‘do anthropology’ for themselves. You choose a topic for in-depth research, carry out between 6 and 8 weeks of fieldwork, and write up and analyse your findings in a dissertation which is 8 000 words long (the word length will be reviewed next year). While some students choose to stay in Northern Ireland, others carry out their fieldwork in Europe, North America, or in faraway countries of the developing world. Through the personal experience of working on your dissertation you will gain first-hand knowledge of how anthropological findings are made. You will also learn how to connect 'raw' data and theory, and will investigate how the reflexive anthropologist deals with both. The dissertation will introduce you to the different techniques of qualitative research. This knowledge is extremely useful in different jobs and employers (as well as postgraduate admissions tutors) may well be impressed by your work for the dissertation: it is evidence of independent study, practical initiative and interpersonal skills. The achievement of a sustained piece of writing which explains and analyses your research also demonstrates transferable skills of great value to employers, and is an indicator of your ability to proceed to postgraduate training or research.