AnthNav is an online resource designed to support people just starting out in the field of social anthropology…
How to Use the Site
On this site we have curated a variety of links (to videos, graphics, websites, and more), and laid them out within short paragraphs covering terms or concepts that are key to ‘getting’ social anthropology.
If you are totally new to the field, we recommend you look through the ‘About Social Anthropology’ sections first (see the home page). But it’s up to you – you can engage with the sections in any order, depending on what you want to know about.
And remember: the brief summaries of key topics on this site are really just to help structure your learning journey – for any topics that you don’t feel confident with yet, we recommend taking time to check out the content on the links provided, which will take you deeper, and expose you to a wider variety of voices.
Some Background to the Project
The research towards completing this kit was funded by a ‘Teaching and Learning’ grant from the University of Otago. The idea was for this site was conceived in response to the real world ‘problem’ of many students entering social anthropology papers at upper levels, without any prior experience with the discipline.
Our goal was to both support these students, and take the pressure off staff, by providing an accessible multimedia toolkit that they could use to independently ‘bridge’ themselves into the discipline. It can also benefit first-year students, or more experienced students who need a refresh on basic concepts.
The contents of the AnthNav kit were informed by: surveys of undergraduate students; focus groups with postgraduate students; consultation with other teaching staff; survey and evaluation of existing resources on the internet; analysis of layout of a range of introductory textbooks. We have also done some more academic reflections on this process, which will appear in a forthcoming journal article around ‘threshold concepts.’
About the Authors
This kit was created by Dr Susan Wardell, and Dr Ella J. Robinson.
Dr Susan Wardell is a lecturer in the Social Anthropology programme, at the University of Otago. She grew up in Dunedin and is Pākehā (New Zealand/European). Her disciplinary background is in social anthropology and communication studies, and her current research interests include medical crowdfunding, emotion and affect online, mental health, care labour, disability, collective memorialisation, and ecological grief… just to name a few! As well as academic stuff, she writes poetry and creative essays, as you can read more about on her writing website. Her office is a jungle but there is always a cup of tea on offer. You can also find her on ResearchGate, or on Twitter as @unlazy_susan
Dr Ella J. Robinson grew up (mostly) in Auckland and is of Pākehā (New Zealand/European) background. She recently received her doctorate in social anthropology from the University of Otago and feels at home in the beautiful, little city of Dunedin. Her broad research interests include the anthropology of ageing and the life course, embodiment, and gender/sexuality. Outside of academia, she is often found dancing, reading fantasy books, writing, or drinking coffee (preferably in a patch of sunshine).
Send Us a Message
We hope AnthNav is useful to you, and we welcome feedback, as we hope to continue improving over time. Let us know what you think in our feedback form. Or send us a message below
Copyright AnthNav – All rights reserved
AnthNav 