THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2017/2018

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Social and Political Science : Social Anthropology

Undergraduate Course: Happiness: Cross-Cultural Perspectives (SCAN10043)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Social and Political Science CollegeCollege of Humanities and Social Science
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryThis course will review the extent to which the social sciences have engaged with the topic of happiness from the Enlightenment to the present day. 'Happiness' will be broadly conceived, encompassing all subject appraisal of the quality of life and related matters such as aspiration and motives for this-worldly and other-worldly outcomes, and ethical judgements. Students will also address the literatures and policies relating to unhappiness and suffering, and discuss the pathologism of the social sciences as a cause for inadequate explicit analysis of social and cultural dimensions of happiness. The course will review cultural concepts and philosophies relating to happiness (such as utilitarianism and asceticism), as well as looking at the evidence of real-world differences in the achievement of happiness in diverse contexts and life-stages.
Course description Not entered
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Additional Costs None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesVisiting students should have at least 3 Anthropology courses at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this). We will only consider University/College level courses.
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2017/18, Available to all students (SV1) Quota:  40
Course Start Semester 2
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 200 ( Lecture Hours 20, Seminar/Tutorial Hours 10, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 166 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) 1. Long essay - 70%
2. Short written assignment based on individual and/or group projects in and out of class - 30%
Feedback Written feedback on Long essay and short written assignment.
Weekly verbal group feedback on progress in group learning projects which are linked to both coursework assignments
Verbal feedback on group class presentation at end of course.
No Exam Information
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Better appreciation of the importance of happiness as a topic in social analysis, social policies, and ethical debate
  2. Stronger awareness of the importance of evaluative judgement in social analysis, and of the deficiencies in evaluation that result from a)inadequate cross-cultural perspectives, and b)inadequate explicitly attention to happiness as a criterion for judging social quality and quality of life
  3. Better awareness of the evidence concerning the achievement of happiness in diverse contexts worldwide, and of the gaps in understanding and evidence that need to be addressed
  4. An enriched understanding of the evolution of the social sciences through appreciating the ways in which happiness has been foregrounded in the past and backgrounded for the past 100 years
Reading List
None
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
KeywordsNot entered
Contacts
Course organiserDr Neil Thin
Tel: (0131 6)50 3880
Email: N.Thin@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMiss Lauren Ayre
Tel: (0131 6)50 4001
Email: Lauren.Ayre@ed.ac.uk
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