How might justice be obtained in volatile public cultures of suspicion?  How would you examine competing assertions of human rights amidst new forms of violations? How do people become weapons of war? Are humanitarian workers always welcomed in peace-time?

This programme allows graduates and professionals to critically engage with these questions and related issues. Concerns about rights have a long history as people over the ages made assumptions and acted on beliefs about what it meant to be human. Such understandings, seemingly straightforward, also cover violence of vast magnitude and attract extensive scrutiny in academic and non-academic settings. In contemporary settings marked by uncertainties and security fears, anthropological insights on these issues are of increasing significance. The programme addresses the demand for anthropological expertise on human rights and justice vis-à-vis the contemporary. Uniquely, it also offers optional pathways in Law and in Refugee Studies. Students choose from a wide range of optional modules from the LLM in Human Rights, the MA in Refugee Studies and the MSc in Anthropology.

The programme draws on the expertise of anthropologists who have conducted long-term research in various countries. It also utilises specialists in Law and in Refugee Studies. The three core modules in the programme collectively guide students to develop critical understandings of human rights and justice issues, mapping a complex terrain of power and victimhood. The first module grounds students theoretically in the anthropology of human rights and justice. The second module further develops these approaches through an empirical focus which includes case studies on international peace-keepers, the International Court of Justice, truth commissions and human rights organisations. The third is a double dissertation module which offers rigorous research training to conduct an anthropological project on issues of human rights and justice.

Students carry out a range of innovative assessments, inclusive of critical portfolios, to develop work on organisations, groups and individuals involved in these areas, nationally and internationally. They acquire anthropological expertise in assessing various contemporary concerns and have options to extend these assessments through law and refugee studies’ perspectives. The programme draws on a diverse range of material inclusive of anthropological blogs and other online resources.

The programme is designed for graduates as well as for those professionals who seek anthropological expertise on human rights and justice. It is relevant to those who are desirous of exploring perspectives on anthropology and law. It is suitable, also, for students wishing to proceed to a doctorate in the anthropology of human rights and related areas.

• Key anthropological debates in human rights and justice.

• A wide range of optional modules from the LLM in Human Rights, the MA in Refugee Studies and an incoming MSc in Anthropology.
• Flexible studies available with options for part-time study and intermediate qualifications
• Rigorous training in anthropological conventions to develop an ethnographic fieldwork project
• Specialist supervision and sustained guidance on an anthropology research topic for your dissertation
• Innovative teaching and learning environment to include fieldtrips, a research retreat, debates, student-led fieldwork projects and assignments and a range of case studies
• A practice-oriented approach that will emphasise independent evaluations and connections to professional contexts through fieldwork assignments and research exchanges.

As part of a flexible platform, students will have options to study full-time or part-time. Students will have the options to start in September or February. Part-time students will carry out two years of studies. Intermediate awards will be available for those completing 30, 60 or 120 credits.  

The programme will be delivered through an interactive teaching and learning mode with an emphasis on developing students’ contextual and reflexive awareness of the issues. Students will benefit from an intensive research retreat to develop ideas for research projects. Students will also have opportunities to incorporate fieldtrips into their work and to draw on individual supervisory sessions.

Students will be taught in a supportive atmosphere through a mix of lectures, research seminars and workshops and fieldwork activities.  Classes will utilise visual material and case studies as well as fieldtrips exercises. As part of experiential processes of learning, students will have further opportunities to participate through problem-based and research-embedded workshops.

Students will engage with a range of research material through ethnographies, archives, online sources inclusive of internet blogs, data held by organisations, reports, films, ‘field-notes’ and testimonial accounts. Students will also benefit from a programme of visiting speakers. They will be able to engage in study groups and peer group appraisals as part of self-reflexive exercises. They will have opportunities to attend research seminars held by the various research centres and groups in the School. Students will also be able to draw on UELPlus, the university’s online teaching and learning support resource for modules.

Your development of your research project may relate to a work environment. This project may provide supporting material for possible internships at a later stage. You will obtain training in anthropological approaches to human rights and justice which can be utilised to proceed to doctoral research and/or further enhance your ability to offer anthropological expertise in contemporary settings. You will have opportunities to develop your expertise in relation to Law and to Refugee Studies.

You will discuss your research plans at an early stage through a research day/retreat; formative marks will be given for your plans and presentations. You will develop your anthropological dissertation on human rights and justice issues in a supportive atmosphere. You will be assigned a supervisor. You will have opportunities to engage in peer reviews. Your double dissertation module will earn 60 credits to reflect the emphasis on your development of critical and specialist research skills: symbolically, the dissertation will represent cumulative work achieved for the year. It is a key research achievement as part of your studies at Masters’ level.

You will have opportunity to form study groups and have additional tutorials with your supervisors. You will be allocated personal tutors and be able to meet with the programme coordinator and module leaders in individual and small group meetings. You will be guided to develop independent research in a peer-supported environment. You will benefit from support by anthropologists and other staff who have specialist expertise in a range of research areas. You will have opportunities to attend seminars hosted by one of the cluster of research centres and groups in the School including the Anthropology and Contemporary Worlds Research Group, the Centre on Human Rights in Conflict and the Centre for Research on Migration, Refugees and Belonging

• Develop reflexive understandings of anthropological approaches to human rights and justice through primary and secondary research.
• Critically apply anthropological connections to contemporary settings.
• Examine relevant case studies on anthropology, human rights and justice.
• Critically assess the field of anthropology, human rights and justice in academic and practice-oriented contexts.

Thinking skills

• Ability to critically analyse primary and secondary data
• Ability to devise an anthropological research problem in relation to theoretical and empirical issues on human rights and justice.
• Ability to develop a nuanced and grounded approach in relation to research on contemporary settings in relation to human rights and justice.
• Ability to critically assess a range of research on anthropology, human rights and justice

Subject-Based Practical skills

• Prepare portfolios on anthropology, human rights and justice issues
• Develop skills in accessing secondary data on these issues.
• Plan and implement an anthropological research project.
• Utilise anthropological skills in accessing a fieldsite and conducting research.

SKILLS FOR LIFE AND WORK (GENERAL SKILLS)

• Specialist skills in anthropology, human rights and justice
• Critical skills in debating
• Interpretive skills in a complex range of issues and ideas in relation to human rights and justice
• Analyse, write and present nuanced reports.

The typical duration of this programme is one year full-time or two years part-time.  It is possible to move from full-time to part-time study and vice-versa to accommodate any external factors such as financial constraints or domestic commitments.  Many of our students make use of this flexibility and this may impact on the overall duration of their study period.

What you will study when

• Lectures
• Tutorials
• Seminars
• Research series with invited guests
• Workshops
• Fieldtrips/Research retreats
• Study visits 

Thinking skills are developed through

• Seminar and workshops discussions
• Fieldwork and reflective periods
• Tutorials
• Primary and secondary research
• Small group discussions
• Student-led exercises
• Reflexive analyses

Practical skills are developed through

• Library research and data retrieval
• Reports/essays and project writing
• Presentations (which use diverse media)
• Support for independent fieldwork
• Problem-solving for fieldwork and related assignments
• Undertaking fieldwork

Skills for life and work (general skills) are developed through

• Guidance towards independent research
• Fieldwork
• Oral presentations
• Academic writing

ASSESSMENT

• Critical portfolios
• Oral presentations
• Primary research
• Reflexive work on research
• Formative exercises

 Thinking skills are assessed by work on

• Critical Portfolios
• Dissertation
• Seminar papers and presentations
• Research proposals
• Formative assessments

Practical skills are assessed by

• Presentations
• Research proposal
• Dissertation
• Formative presentations

Skills for life and work (general skills) are assessed by

• Preparing critical portfolios, seminar papers, ethnographic research
• Presenting work and using a range of media
• Developing a research plan
• Carrying out fieldwork

HOW WE ASSURE THE QUALITY OF THIS PROGRAMME

• There would be enough qualified staff to teach the programme;
• Adequate resources would be in place;
• The overall aims and objectives were appropriate;
• The content of the programme met national benchmark requirements;
• The programme met any professional/statutory body requirements;
• The proposal met other internal quality criteria covering a range of issues such as admissions policy, teaching, learning and assessment strategy and student support mechanisms.

This is done through a process of programme approval. The process involves consulting academic experts inclusive of subject specialists from other institutions.

The quality of this programme is monitored each year through evaluating:

• External examiner reports (considering quality and standards);
• Statistical information (considering issues such as the pass rate);
• Student feedback.

On the basis of these mechanisms and other information, programme teams undertake the annual Review and Enhancement Process. The annual Review is co-ordinated at School level and includes student participation. The Quality and Standards Committee monitors the process.

Once every six years an in-depth review of the whole field is conducted. The review panel includes at least two external subject specialists.  The panel considers documents, looks at student work, speaks to current and former students and speaks to staff before drawing its conclusions.  The panel provides a report highlighting good practice and identifying areas where action is needed.

This programme has a programme committee comprising all relevant teaching staff, student representatives and others who make a contribution towards the effective operation of the programme (e.g. library/technician staff).  The committee has responsibilities for the quality of the programme. It provides input into the operation of the Review and Enhancement Process and proposes changes to improve quality.  The programme committee plays a critical role in the quality assurance procedures.

The standard of this programme is monitored by at least one external examiner.  External examiners have two primary responsibilities:

• To ensure the standard of the programme;
• To ensure that justice is done to individual students.

External examiners fulfil these responsibilities in a variety of ways including:

• Approving exam papers/assignments;
• Attending assessment boards;
• Reviewing samples of student work and moderating marks;
• Ensuring that regulations are followed;
• Providing feedback through an annual report that enables us to make improvements for the future.

The following methods for gaining student feedback are used on this programme:

• Module evaluations
• Student/Staff consultative committee  (meeting at least once per semester)

Students are notified of the action taken through:

• Circulating the minutes of the programme committee
• Providing details on the programme notice board

The following methods are used for gaining the views of other interested parties:

• Questionnaires to former students
• Group discussion with former students