Anthropology

Master of/Magisteriate in Arts (Social and Cultural Anthropology)

The program is designed to provide general training in social and cultural anthropology so that graduates will be qualified to pursue further studies in anthropology at the doctoral level, or in the alternative, have acquired the intercultural skills they need to work effectively as consultants or mediators in multicultural contexts. The program is specifically designed to sensitize students to their ethical responsibilities as anthropologists, provide them with a taste of fieldwork, help them develop a critical understanding of anthropological theory, and encourage experimentation with the medium, form and style of ethnographic presentation. Students are invited to join with faculty in the reconstruction of the discipline of anthropology, and the promotion of intercultural communication and respect.

Faculty

The MA in Social and Cultural Anthropology is supported by 9 anthropologists. In addition, sociologists in the department will also provide support to students with fields or topics of research which intersect with their respective expertise in sociology.

Faculty members responsible for the anthropology program:

Professors:
Vered Amit, PhD (Manchester); Sally Cole, PhD (Toronto); Chantal Collard, PhD (Paris); Homa Hoodfar, PhD (Kent); David Howes, PhD (Montréal); Christine Jourdan, PhD (ANU) (Chair).
Associate Professor:
Maximillian Forte, PhD (Adelaide).
Assistant Professors:
Kregg Hetherington, PhD (California, Davis); Mark Watson, PhD (Alberta).

Sociology faculty members who provide additional support:

Professors:
Valérie de Courville Nicol, PhD (Carleton); Danielle Gauvreau, PhD (Montréal); Greg Nielsen, PhD (Montréal); William Reimer, PhD (British Columbia); Frances Shaver, PhD (Montréal); Anthony Synnott, PhD (London).
Associate Professors:
Meir Amor, PhD (Toronto); Beverley Best, PhD (Simon Fraser); Daniel Dagenais, PhD (Paris X-Nanterre); Satoshi Ikeda, PhD (Australian National University) (Canada Research Chair); Sylvia Kairouz, PhD (Montréal); Katja Neves-Graça, PhD (York); Shelley Reuter, PhD (Queen’s); Bart Simon, PhD (California, San Diego) (Graduate Program Director); Jean-Philippe Warren, PhD (Victoria) (Concordia University Research Chair).
Assistant Professors:
Marc Lafrance, PhD (Oxford); Amy Swiffen, PhD (Alberta).

Faculty Research Interests

Faculty members have conducted research in regions throughout the globe including: the Canadian North, the American Southwest, the Caribbean, Latin America, Oceania, West Africa, the Middle East, Western Europe, and here in Quebec. Areas of specialty include: legal anthropology, economic anthropology, gender and development, kinship, religion, identity, anthropological linguistics, the senses, and the history of anthropology. Areas of innovation include: elites, individuality, transnationality, anthropology of food, culture and consumption, media, international adoption, youth culture, travel and life writing. For a more thorough description, see the Department of Sociology & Anthropology Home Page

Admission Requirements. An undergraduate degree with honours or specialization in anthropology or joint specialization in anthropology and sociology, with a grade point average of 3.00 (B average) is required. An undergraduate degree with a major in anthropology, with a grade point average of 3.00 (B average) will be considered, provided that the background preparation is acceptable.

Applicants who lack certain prerequisite courses may be required to take a qualifying program of up to 12 undergraduate credits in addition to the regular graduate program. For the qualifying program a grade point average of 3.00 (B average) is required.

Applicants with deficiencies in their undergraduate preparation may be required to take up to 24 undergraduate independent credits.

International students must pass the TOEFL iBT language test with a minimum score of 80 (or 550 for TOEFL PBT). Similar scores on comparable tests are acceptable.

Applications to the program must be accompanied by a preliminary statement (roughly 500 words in length) of the student’s intentions regarding research, fieldwork and thesis.

Application Deadlines. The deadline for completed applications is January 15 for the Fall term and October 1 for the Winter term.

Requirements for the Degree

1. Credits. A fully-qualified candidate is required to complete a minimum of 45 credits. Additional courses may be taken from outside the program, subject to the advice and approval of the student’s supervisor or the Graduate Program Director.
2. Residence. The minimum residence requirement is one year (3 terms) of full time study, or the equivalent in part-time study.
3. Supervision. At the beginning of the first term of full-time or part-time study, the student is assigned an interim advisor for the duration of the first term. At the beginning of the second term in the case of full-time study, or the equivalent in terms of part-time study, the student must select a permanent thesis supervisor as well as a second faculty member to serve on the Thesis Committee. Members of the Thesis Committee evaluate the thesis. The thesis will be examined by an Examining Committee, composed of the thesis supervisor and the second committee member, and a third faculty member chosen in consultation with the Graduate Program Director. The responsibility for the composition of the Thesis Committee rests with the student in consultation with and subject to the approval of the Graduate Program Director.
4. Language Requirement. A working knowledge of English and French is recommended, although written work may be submitted in either language. Where appropriate, students are encouraged to acquire competence in the language of the community they choose to study; this may be achieved in the context of ANTH 640.

Academic Regulations

1. GPA Requirement. The academic progress of students is monitored on a periodic basis. To be permitted to continue in the program, students must obtain a cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.00 based on a minimum of 12 credits. Students whose GPA falls below 3.00 are considered to be on academic probation during the following review period. Students whose GPA falls below 3.00 for two consecutive review periods are withdrawn from the program.
2. C Rule. Students in master’s/magisteriate programs are allowed to receive no more than one C grade to remain in good standing in the University.
3. F Rule. Students who receive a failing grade in the course of their studies will be withdrawn from the program. Students may apply for re-admission. Students who receive another failing grade after re-admission will be withdrawn from the program and will not be considered for re-admission.
4. Time Limits. All work for a master’s/magisteriate degree for full-time students must be completed within 12 terms (4 years) from the time of initial registration in the program at Concordia University; for part-time students the time limit is 15 terms (5 years).
5. Graduation Requirement. In order to graduate, students must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.00.

Courses

Each student must satisfactorily complete the following program: ANTH 600, ANTH 601, ANTH 610, ANTH 620, ANTH 630, and ANTH 660. Each student must further complete the fieldwork and thesis component of the degree program, which is composed of ANTH 690, ANTH 691 and ANTH 692.

All courses listed below are worth 3 credits unless otherwise noted.

ANTH 600 Identity and Difference
This course explores the processes of social differentiation and identification.

ANTH 601 World Anthropologies
This course examines the roots of anthropological theory in Western culture and the decolonization of anthropology since the 1960s.

ANTH 610 Ethnographic Research and Ethics
This course explores the methods used to gather ethnographic material and the ethical dynamics of the fieldwork encounter, and the duties of the anthropologist as cultural mediator.

ANTH 620 Writing Methods in Inter-Cultural Communication
This course examines a range of methods and styles for presenting ethnographic material, from ethnographic realism to fiction, and encourages further experimentation.

ANTH 630 New Directions in Anthropological Research
This course explores emergent concepts, methods and topics in anthropology.

ANTH 640 Special Topics I *
This course, selected in consultation with the student’s thesis supervisor, may be taken from a cognate discipline.

ANTH 641 Special Topics II *
This course, selected in consultation with the student’s thesis supervisor, is offered as the occasion arises, for example, when a faculty member returns from the field, or when a visiting professor is in residence.

ANTH 660 Professional Development Seminar
This seminar is designed to help students develop the professional skills needed to pursue a career in research, practice or teaching. Students are exposed to a variety of research approaches through presentations by a diversity of faculty researchers. This seminar takes place every two weeks over the course of the Fall and Winter semesters. Credit for this course is obtained on a pass/fail basis.

ANTH 690 Thesis Proposal
The student develops a research proposal under the direction of his/her thesis supervisor.

ANTH 691 Fieldwork: Stage (6 credits)
The fieldwork requirement, which may last from 3-4 months, involves undertaking research in a community which differs in important respects from the student’s community of reference, and collecting ethnographic data. This research will form the basis of the student’s thesis.

ANTH 692 Thesis (18 credits)
The thesis is required to demonstrate that the student has been able to carry out independent field research. It should be a work of near publishable quality. The thesis is evaluated by the student’s Thesis Committee and one other faculty member. The student is also required to defend the thesis orally before the above-mentioned examiners.

* Subject matter varies from term to term and from year to year. Students may re-register for this course provided that the course content has changed. Changes in content are indicated by the letter following the course number, e.g. ANTH 640A, ANTH 640B, etc.

For application information, visit the School of Graduate Studies website.