SA3074 Anthropology of Learning and Cognition

Academic year

2025 to 2026 Semester 2

Further information on which modules are specific to your programme.

Key module information

SCOTCAT credits

30

The Scottish Credit Accumulation and Transfer (SCOTCAT) system allows credits gained in Scotland to be transferred between institutions. The number of credits associated with a module gives an indication of the amount of learning effort required by the learner. European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) credits are half the value of SCOTCAT credits.

SCQF level

SCQF level 9

The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) provides an indication of the complexity of award qualifications and associated learning and operates on an ascending numeric scale from Levels 1-12 with SCQF Level 10 equating to a Scottish undergraduate Honours degree.

Availability restrictions

Module available for all students who meet prerequisites, number of students capped at 27

Planned timetable

To be arranged

This information is given as indicative. Timetable may change at short notice depending on room availability.

Module coordinator

Dr R D G Irvine

Dr R D G Irvine
This information is given as indicative. Staff involved in a module may change at short notice depending on availability and circumstances.

Module Staff

Dr Richard Irvine

This information is given as indicative. Staff involved in a module may change at short notice depending on availability and circumstances.

Module description

This module addresses a fundamental anthropological question: how do we learn? Rather than taking cultural transmission for granted, we examine the processes by which people take on cultural knowledge, and how the social environment interacts with the development of mind. Engaging with cognitive anthropology and anthropological perspectives on child development, the module looks at the social dynamics of formal and informal educational settings, including apprenticeship and schooling. Here, we consider ethnographic examples from diverse contexts, as well as critical and theoretical literature that allows us to consider how anthropology can make a contribution to wider cross-disciplinary debates involving psychology, the cognitive sciences, and education. In doing so, we encourage students to reflect analytically on their own experiences of learning.

Relationship to other modules

Pre-requisites

BEFORE TAKING THIS MODULE YOU MUST PASS SA2001 AND PASS SA2002

Assessment pattern

Coursework = 60%, Examination = 40%

Re-assessment

Coursework = 100%

Learning and teaching methods and delivery

Weekly contact

1 x 1hr lecture (x11 weeks), 1 x 2 hr seminar (x11 weeks)

Scheduled learning hours

32

The number of compulsory student:staff contact hours over the period of the module.

Guided independent study hours

264

The number of hours that students are expected to invest in independent study over the period of the module.

Intended learning outcomes

  • develop a cross-cultural understanding of how people learn within diverse contexts
  • recognise the ways that anthropology can contribute to an understanding of child development
  • recognise differing perspectives on the relationship between cognition and culture
  • develop a critical and reflective understanding of their own experience of learning