MA Anthropology of Food and Intensive Language (Japanese)

Overview

Anthropology of Food - Our MA programme in the Anthropology of Food offers you the opportunity to explore historically and culturally variable foodways, from foraging to industrial agriculture, from Europe and North America to Africa, Asia and South America.

You will study the passage of food from plant to palate, and examine who benefits, and who suffers, from contemporary modes of food production, exchange, preparation, and consumption. You will also explore the role of food in human migrations and investigate the formation of regional and national cuisines. As well as examine food fears and food safety and concerns over ‘nutrition transition’.

Debates over the impact of agricultural biotechnology on agrarian livelihoods and knowledge systems, as well as on the natural environment, are assessed. Movements toward organic agriculture, veganism and vegetarianism, fair trade, and slow food are also analysed.

An anthropological approach to the study of food draws upon and challenges the perspectives of other disciplines, whether agronomy or nutritional science, economics or law, history or literature.

This programme has a first-rate graduate employability record, with graduates moving on to find employment in food-related government ministries, international organisations, development agencies, or non-governmental associations.

Japanese - The two-year language pathway is directed at students with a professional and academic interest in Japan. The intensive training in Japanese language aims at supporting students’ ability to tackle their disciplinary interests by engaging with written texts and in oral communication in Japanese.

Your chosen discipline is combined with intensive Japanese language over two years (including a period in Japan), making this programme unique in Europe.

Students’ proficiency levels will be assessed through a placement test during registration week.

Employment

Skills gained include:

• the development of analytical and theoretical skills based on a detailed understanding of the social science literature on migration and diaspora
• ability to approach theories and debates from a critical and reflexive basis
• ability to develop their presentation skills and their ability to articulate arguments coherently in order to promote class discussion and critical engagement with ideas and practices
• learn photographic and film making techniques through the Media unit
• practice research techniques in a variety of specialised research libraries and institutes
• acquire/develop skills in a language to Effective Operational Proficiency level (in the two-year intensive language pathway)
• be able to apply for funding to do a PhD
• be prepared to enter a Social Science PhD programme