LinuxBeta Posted March 8, 2009 Report Share Posted March 8, 2009 I noticed that this isn't part of the "other subjects" forum, nor does it fall into any of the categories that exist. This is an IB subject, and I think you should at least have the syllabus up. Also, do people really not have this as an option? I find it odd, since our school has been offering this subject for a very long time. Is it that schools consider this subject useless? While our cultures are becoming more intertwined, the study of Anthropology has helped me understand much about human nature. In any case, I have attached the syllabus. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mia Posted March 27, 2009 Report Share Posted March 27, 2009 hey, i'm probably going to be doing anthropology next year when i start the IB program. could those of you who study it tell me about:1. your general opinion on the subject - like it? hate it? what other interests/subjects would it combine well with?2. what does it involve? a lot of reading? lots of essays/writing? group work?3. possibilities of doing an EE in anthropology? what's an exemplary EE topic?4. is there a huge gulf between HL and SL, or is it just a small leap? Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinuxBeta Posted March 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2009 Heyo, 1. I like the subject...our school treats SL anthro as a 1 year course...and I took it to escape the horrors of physics. This subject helps a lot with A1 subjects, since understanding culture is an important part of literature. The subject is really a lot of fun, if you have a good teacher. 2. It involves quite a bit of reading. We have to read the textbook, as well as about 4 ethnographies (anthro texts), examining different cultures. We then have to analyze them according to anthropological themes. We do a lot of group presentation in this subject, so as to divide the burden of heavily analyzing each and every chapter. 3. Yes, it's possible. An Anthro EE could involve either research or fieldwork. Fieldwork is probably a lot more fun. 4. There isn't a HUGE gulf. The difference between the two is that for HL you need to know anthropological theorists, and apply what they say in your writing. For us, the incorporation of theorists takes a whole second year. SL is relatively light though, besides the reading. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aliase Posted March 28, 2009 Report Share Posted March 28, 2009 Hey ! I'm also taking Anthropology.Did you guys have to do a fieldwork ? If yes, what did you do ? Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mia Posted March 28, 2009 Report Share Posted March 28, 2009 thanks linuxbeta ... some followup questions 1. how are you assessed? essays? tests for vocab? presentations?2. would you recommend anthropology for someone who has an interest in writing? Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted March 28, 2009 Report Share Posted March 28, 2009 Anthropology is very hard to teach because it requires an intense understanding to instruct others in it. Thats why it is mostly reserved for upper uni and why teachers dont recommend Anthropology EE's because they require field work, the anthropology lexicon, among other things.Also, there are a handfull of subjects we dont really have here. Such as Sports Medicine SL, Dance SL, School specific subjects, and another that is slipping my mind right now. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinuxBeta Posted March 29, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2009 Did you guys have to do a fieldwork ? If yes, what did you do ?The Anthro HL Internal Assessment does involve fieldwork. It can be pretty much whatever you want. A friend of mine was doing something on parent-teacher interviews, another on behaviour of people on public transit (ie/ bus seating arrangements etc). You are not expected to go down to investigate a wholely new culture...since that involves learning the language, being well informed, establishing rapports with informants..etc. thanks linuxbeta ... some followup questions 1. how are you assessed? essays? tests for vocab? presentations?2. would you recommend anthropology for someone who has an interest in writing?We have occasional tests on chapters, to make sure we understand what's going on. We also have some small assignments/presentations. We went to a museum at one point this year, and we were looking at artifacts. The majority of our assessment comes from presentations on the ethnographies. We were also marked on the IA (for SL, it is also incredibly fun- you get to watch people's behaviour for an hour in a place, and write about it. Then, once you learn anthropology, you have to critique your observations). Also, we do mock papers. Paper 1 is a sight passage from an ethnography that you've probably never seen, and we have to answer questions about it/compare it to something we studied. Paper 2 involves analysis of ethongraphies studied, and relating them to the 3 major anthro themes. If you have an interest in writing, definitely go for anthro. In my English A1 course, we are studying Their Eyes Were Watching God, a work of fiction written by an anthropologist. Also, a lot literature deals with culture, and can be analyzed using anthro. As far as I know however, it is a difficult subject. In our school's career, only 1 person has ever gotten a 7 in anthro SL, and one person in anthro HL (they both came last year ) . We've gotten a TONNE of 6s though. If you like reading, and like learning new things then definately go for this subject. I personally enjoy anthro more than history, and I wish I took this instead. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Lc~ Posted April 17, 2009 Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 Hi OP, thanks for the syllabus! but it's already up in the syllabi thread in General IB discussion so I'm going to remove it as it takes up space on the server!I'm sort of doing anthropology at Uni, it's part of my communication and cultural theory module it's interesting enough, but I agree too much reading invovled to understand the smallest of points!good luck with exams Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mia Posted April 18, 2009 Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 in regards to the scarcity of 7s:is this because anthropology is particularly difficult to excel at, or do most subjects have a similar grade distribution? & are there a lot of writing opportunities (essays, comparative essays, critical analyses etc)? Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Lc~ Posted April 18, 2009 Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 in regards to the scarcity of 7s:is this because anthropology is particularly difficult to excel at, or do most subjects have a similar grade distribution? & are there a lot of writing opportunities (essays, comparative essays, critical analyses etc)?it's because it's subjective, it's not impossible to get, but I think you'd need a higher knowledgeable maturity to be able to write a 7 essay in this subject. It's not impossible, but I'd think it's more dobale at Uni than in Highschool.I don't know about the IB subject, I'm just commenting on the subject in general Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aliase Posted May 1, 2009 Report Share Posted May 1, 2009 Hi, I just have a small question. Our teacher said we could use our own field study in the IB exams. Is that true ? Would it be wise to use it ? I doubt a lot of what my teacher says... the students had to correct her a couple of times and she uses wikipedia as her main source of information to base her course on. I know I've gathered a lot of information on my field study, pertaining religion and gender division of labour. Since I know it very well, I could use it easily in the Exam 2. So, I'm asking you guys. Hope you have an answer and/ or advice for me ! Thanks ! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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