WELCOME TO THE Department of Anthropology
Undergraduate Handbook 2019 Dates for your diary
Welcome events 2019 – All Anthropology undergraduate students
Attendance is compulsory unless otherwise stated. Date Time What Where From Monday, LSE Welcome for new students Across campus 23 September info.lse.ac.uk/current-students/your-first-weeks Tuesday, 9.30 – 10am Registration for BA/BSc Social Anthropology and BA Hong Kong Theatre, CLM 24 September Anthropology and Law students 3 – 4:30pm School Welcome presentation for all new UG students Peacock Theatre, PEA Thursday, 9 – 10am Introductory talk for all Anthropology department UG CLM 4.02 26 September students 10 – 11:30am BA/BSc Social Anthropology programme-specific OLD 6.05 orientation 11.30 – 1pm BA Anthropology and Law programme-specific orientation OLD 6.05 2 – 2.30pm Departmental introduction to e-resources (surnames A-L) OLD 6.05 3 – 3.30pm Departmental introduction to e-resources (surnames M-Z) OLD 6.05 4 – 5pm Follow up to the morning’s introductory talk CLM 5.02 5 – 7pm Anthropology welcome party OLD SDR (Senior Dining Room) Friday, 10.30 – Student laughter yoga workshop (optional) Shaw Library, OLD 27 September 11.30am 2 – 4pm BA/BSc student trip to/tour of Docklands Museum Docklands Museum
Welcome events 2019 – BA Anthropology and Law students
Note that first year BA Anthropology and Law students are required to attend the compulsory Law Department events listed below in addition to relevant sessions above. These events take place during LSE Welcome and Week 1. Date Time What Where Monday, 11am – 12 noon Welcome to LSE Law (compulsory) Sheikh Zayed Theatre, NAB LG.08 23 September 12 noon – 2pm LLB Lunch (optional) NAB Lower Ground 2 – 4pm Introduction to the LLB (compulsory) Sheikh Zayed Theatre, NAB LG.08 Tuesday, 8 – 9am LLB Breakfast (optional) NAB Lower Ground 24 September 9 – 10am The English Legal System (compulsory) Sheikh Zayed Theatre, NAB LG.08 Wednesday, 9 – 4pm Legal Walk/Library Induction (optional) In family groups 25 September 4 – 5pm How to Read English Cases: Part 1 (compulsory) Old Theatre, OLD G Thursday, 10 – 11pm How to Read English Cases: Part 2 (compulsory) Peacock Theatre, PEA 26 September 11 – 5pm Legal Walk/Library Induction (optional) In family groups 5 – 7.30pm Legal Lives (optional) Shaw Library, OLD Friday, 10 – 12 noon The Limits of Law (Group A) (optional) LSE Life (TBC) 27 September 1pm – 3pm The Limits of Law (Group B) (optional) LSE Life (TBC) Monday, 2.30 – 5pm LLB Afternoon Tea (optional) NAB Level 8 30 September Thursday, 6 – 8pm LLB Drinks Reception (optional) Law Society, Chancery Lane 3 October
B Contents
Dates for your diary inside front cover Advice Team 35 International Student Visa Advice Team (ISVAT) 35 Welcome to the LSE, and the Department of Anthropology 3 Student Representation 36
About the Department 4 Quality Assurance 36 Our background 4 Our teaching priorities 5 LSE Services to support you with Key academic staff 5 your studies and in your career 37 Letters of reference 6 LSE LIFE 37 Office hours 6 LSE Library 37 Departmental Office 6 Language Centre 38 Communication within the Department and LSE Careers 38 within the School 7 LSE Volunteer Centre 38 LSE Generate 38 About your degree programme 9 Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) 39 The Department’s undergraduate grade criteria 19 Your Wellbeing and Health 41 Plagiarism 23 Exams and Assessments 42 Taking notes 25 Results and Classification 43 Guidance for students on UK essay writing style 26 Fees and finance 44 Libraries 30 Codes and Charters 45 Associations of interest to Anthropology student 31 Systems and Online Resources 47 Key Information 33 Need IT help? 47 Term dates and LSE closures – LSE for You 47 Academic Year 2019/20 33 Student Hub 47 Registration 33 Moodle 47 Your LSE Card 33 Email 47 Inclusion Plans 33 Training and Development System 47 Student Status Documentation 33 Information Security Awareness Training 47 Interruption 34 Programme Transfer 34 Course Selection and Timetables 49 Change of Mode of Study 34 Withdrawal 34 The LSE Academic Code 51 Regulations 34 Campus map inside back cover Student Services Centre 35 What If… 35
studenthub.lse.ac.uk/welcome
1 2 Welcome to the LSE, and the Department of Anthropology
This handbook is intended to provide you with some useful information about our undergraduate programmes, but it is not exhaustive. A great deal of up-to-date material about LSE support services, registration, timetabling, and library facilities is also available on the LSE web pages, so you would benefit from reading these.
If you have just arrived at LSE and need some guidance, please take a look at the ‘Your First Weeks’ website (lse.ac.uk/yourFirstWeeks).
The Anthropology Department web pages (lse.ac.uk/anthropology) provide information about members of staff including their research and publications, and special events. Also of relevance during your time as a student will be the Anthropology Department’s General Information for Students Moodle page. (moodle.lse.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=983)
Please bear in mind that the information given here about course requirements and assessments is intended for guidance only. You should always confirm requirements by checking the definitive versions in official School publications (normally the Calendar lse.ac.uk/calendar) and if necessary checking with the Student Services Centre (on the Ground Floor in the Old Building or lse.ac.uk/ssc) and/or your Academic Mentor.
As you will learn, ours is a relatively small department, and we maintain an informal, friendly, and supportive atmosphere for our students. If you do happen to encounter problems of any kind, be they academic, financial, or emotional, we very much hope that you’ll let us know at once. You can do this by informing your Academic Mentor (with whom you’ll have regular meetings throughout the year), by setting up an appointment with your Head of Year, or the Departmental Tutor, or by approaching any member of departmental staff, including our very capable administrators.
Professor Laura Bear Head of Department LSE Department of Anthropology
3 About the Department
Our background (ii) Commitment, conviction and doubt explores the forms taken by commitment – whether to received cosmologies, ontologies, Anthropology has been taught at the LSE since 1904. Following the and religious faiths and/or to modernity, secularism, or non-religion. arrival of Malinowski in 1910, the School became one of the leading Charles Stafford’s work in China views the current interest in ‘ethics’ centres for the development of modern social anthropology, and from alternative perspectives; Mathijs Pelkmans (on Post-Soviet many of the key figures in this evolving tradition – including Raymond countries), Harry Walker (on Amazonia) and Michael Scott (on Firth, Edward Evans-Pritchard, Hortense Powdermaker, Fei Xiaotong, Melanesia) have investigated and theorised affective states such Edmund Leach, Lucy Mair, Isaac Schapera, Maurice Freedman, Jean as happiness, wonder, irony and doubt. Fenella Cannell’s research La Fontaine, Maurice Bloch, Alfred Gell, Jonathan Parry, Chris Fuller, on Mormonism in the US raises comparative questions about Stephan Feuchtwang, Olivia Harris, John and Jean Comaroff, and Christianity as well as exploring its relationship to social theory. others – were at the LSE as students or teachers. (iii) Mind, learning and cognition centres on processes of childhood To this day, we retain a strong commitment to the radical empiricism learning (in the work of Catherine Allerton, Rita Astuti and Charles of anthropological research of the kind championed by Malinowski, Stafford); the self and conceptions of free will; affect and altered Firth, and Powdermaker. We have also long critically considered issues states of consciousness (as with Nicholas Long’s research on of decolonisation, colonial encounters, race, indigeneity and the politics hypnotherapy, trance), moral judgement, and human cooperation. We of fieldwork. Such debates are intrinsic to the past, present and future engage critically with psychology, cognitive science, and evolutionary of the discipline. We also acknowledge that as we teach, critique theory. We examine (as with Harry Walker’s ERC-funded project on and suggest alternatives, we are simultaneously implicated in the justice in Amazonia which analyses concepts of equality, fairness, structures of power within the university and beyond. responsibility, and entitlement in comparative perspective) how evolved predispositions of the human mind (e.g. towards mutualism, Embedded in the ethnographic tradition, and with research outputs the sense of fairness, the perception of one’s agency) are shaped by based primarily on long-term participant observation fieldwork, our specific historical and cultural circumstances. Our expertise dovetails interests are very diverse. We conduct fieldwork in many different with recent developments in the Department of Psychological and places (including India, Bangladesh, mainland China, Taiwan, Japan, Behavioural Science. Caucasus, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, Madagascar, Amazonia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Melanesia, Germany, the (iv) Generative vitality provides new perspectives on kinship, gender UK, the USA); and our projects address a wide range of concerns and generative or productive processes, and forms of redistribution. – including politics, inequality, development, disability, childhood, Alongside Fenella Cannell’s work on vital relations, this includes ritual religion and non-religion, and cognition. There are, however, several practices (as with Laura Bear’s work on intimate economies in the UK cutting-edge themes around which our departmental research and India), conceptions about the generation – and the end – of life, coalesces and which unite sub-disciplinary concerns. These themes the nature of parental responsibility and of childhood. Our research build on years (even decades) of research and are nourished is rooted in households and local contexts but shows how these link by lively debates between colleagues. Overall they take forward to, and are productive of, global processes: it shows how the powers anthropology’s commitment to building a ‘big picture’ of humanity of capitalism – both generative and destructive – produce and are and our relationship with the wider world through comparison. Our reproduced within family relations or other forms of solidarity, as approaches to exploring these themes are historically rooted and with Clara Devlieger’s research on disability in the DRC. This research often involve cross-disciplinary collaboration. theme also enables us – as with Michael Scott’s work – to re-theorize phenomena such as so-called cargo cults as attempts to access the (i) Inequality and wealth in a capitalist world interrogates the hidden generativity and vitality that lies behind any visible form of interplay of hierarchy and egalitarianism (as in David Graeber’s power and productivity. current project with David Wengrow on the Childhood of Man and his other work); of poverty and abundance, and the intersection of (v) The state, its reach, and beyond: Our research on corporations, class, caste, ethnicity, and gender in the creation of inequality (as development (Katy Gardner in Bangladesh), legal and economic seen in Alpa Shah’s ERC/ESRC project with Jens Lerche on Inequality bureaucracies (Andrea Pia, Laura Bear, David Graeber, and Deborah and Poverty). Within the rubric of anthropology of economy, Laura James), speculation and prospecting (Gisa Weszkalnys in Sao Bear’s work on Rebuilding Economics and Deborah James’ project Tome), and related political/economic processes, seeks to explore on Ethnographies of Advice – both ESRC-funded – explore how a world where state powers are mediated through, contested or inequality is constituted in both core and more marginal sites of buttressed by market relations. Citizenship and belonging, political contemporary capitalism, and how processes of development and participation, changing systems of democratic choice and their local speculation, debt, austerity and insecurity (and the aspirations to meaning (as in Mukulika Banerjee’s research on elections in India), modernity and wealth that underpin these) play out globally. Our revolutionary struggle (Alpa Shah’s research on Naxalite Maoists in expertise involves interests and projects shared with the International India), transnational migration and the paradoxes and pain of being Inequalities Institute (III) and a joint seminar with the Department of undocumented (as in Catherine Allerton’s research on Indonesian International Development. children left stateless in Malaysia) are key areas where our research interrogates the reach and limits of state power.
4 These research interests are shared with colleagues in a number Key academic staff of departments and research units across the LSE, including International Development, Law, Psychological and Behavioural Head of Department Science, Social Policy, and the Centre for the Study of Human Rights. We also have programmes of collaboration and exchange with Professor Laura Bear ([email protected]) is the Head of Department. numerous overseas institutions.
The outstanding quality of our research outputs has been recognized Academic Mentor in the past Research Assessment Exercises; in the most recent Every student on an Anthropology programme is assigned an review, the Research Excellence Framework (published 2014), we Academic Mentor, usually before Week 1 of Michaelmas Term. were ranked first of UK Anthropology departments for research Students on the BA Anthropology and Law will also get an Academic quality, with 73 per cent of our outputs being judged world-leading or Mentor in the Law Department in the second and third years. Your internationally excellent. Academic Mentor is the first point of enquiry for questions of an academic nature. Your Academic Mentor will also be able to offer some guidance and assistance with personal concerns. Any questions that your Academic Mentor cannot assist with should be Our teaching priorities directed to your Head of Year.
The Department is well aware that its reputation as one of the world’s If you have questions about your degree programme, or something leading anthropology departments depends not only on research else that you would like to discuss, you may also visit your Academic and publications but also on its teaching of both undergraduate Mentor during their office hours or at another mutually convenient and graduate students. By providing our students with a coherent time. Regular contact with your Academic Mentor is recommended approach to anthropology which depends on a ‘mainstream’ core, but and will be beneficial for later reference writing and personal which is also continually being modified by new research findings, development. we are able to meet our commitment to providing education of the highest quality. Heads of Year
Students at all levels are expected to read widely in the Our Heads of Year are responsible for overseeing tutorials and anthropological tradition, and to have a good grasp of social mentor meetings for each year group. They are also your main point anthropology as a synthetic, holistic and comparative discipline of contact after your Academic Mentor. which seeks answers to questions of a very general kind, as well as engaging with the ethnographic detail of particular lives lived in First Year: Dr Catherine Allerton ([email protected]) unique places. Second Year: Dr Nick Long ([email protected]) The priorities of our departmental teaching are as follows: Third Year: Professor Rita Astuti ([email protected]) • to make you aware of the range of cultural variations existing in the world, as well as the commonalities which human individuals and Departmental Tutor groups share; Dr Catherine Allerton ([email protected]) is Departmental Tutor, with • to enable you to understand the nature and variability of social general responsibility for all BA/BSc programmes in our Department. forms, and to understand some of the factors involved in social and cultural change; Chair of Examiners • to enable you to reflect self-critically on your own society and culture; Dr Michael W Scott ([email protected]) is the Chair of Examiners. • to teach you about the theories and methods of anthropology, so Any problems relating to examinations, or the submission and that you understand how these fit into the wider framework of the examination of coursework, can be discussed with him. social sciences;
• to give you an understanding of the practice of anthropological Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Representative research, and of the ways in which ethnographic data are related to Dr Clara Devlieger ([email protected]) is the Department’s EDI anthropological theories (and vice versa); Representative. The Department is concerned to promote equality • to make you aware of the potential significance of anthropological and to foster an environment in which forms of discrimination insights for an understanding of policy issues, such as the impact (including, but not limited to, race, gender and sexuality) are not of socio-cultural factors on patterns of economic development, tolerated. If you have questions or concerns about these or related or the political significance in various historical circumstances of issues, please contact Dr Devlieger. All discussions will be held in the ethnic and cultural difference. strictest confidence.
Please check the departmental website for a full list of academic staff, their research interests, and contact details: www.lse.ac.uk/ anthropology/people.
5 Letters of reference Departmental Office
If you are asking an academic to write a reference for you, you should The department’s administrative team are normally in the office be aware of the following guidelines: between 9:30 and 5:30, Monday to Friday. As far as possible, the administrators operate an “open door” policy: if one of is not available, • Give referees at least three weeks’ notice before the reference the others will try to help. is due. Senior members of staff in particular are asked to write scores of references every term. It is in your own interest to give Yanina Hinrichsen Departmental Manager the referee enough time to do it justice. OLD 6.03, 020 7955 7202 • Never put down someone’s name as a referee without asking [email protected] them in advance. You should not normally name your Academic Mentor, or anyone else, as a referee for a job unless you have James Johnston Administrative Officer (Exams and Assessments) first discussed the matter with him or her, although, a general OLD 6.04A, 020 7852 5037 discussion may result in a blanket permission if you are applying [email protected] for a number of jobs. Maryam Bi • Provide all the information needed to write the reference (e.g., the Administrative Officer (Quality Assurance and Year Abroad) programme or job you are applying for; the research project you OLD 6.04A, 020 7107 5867 have presented as part of your application). Make sure that you [email protected] have filled out your part of any form you submit. Renata Todd • It is helpful if you include all the information your Academic Mentor Communications and Administration Officer will need in a single email, with a clear subject line. You might, for OLD 6.04A, 020 7852 3709 example, wish to remind your Academic Mentor of scholarships [email protected] awarded or internships undertaken. We have two general mailboxes which are used by all members of • Once someone agrees to be a referee, he or she has the obligation our administrative team. Please use these where possible in order to to do the job on time. Inevitably, busy people writing scores of ensure timely responses to queries on specific areas. references sometimes forget, so gentle reminders are worthwhile. For any issues relating to exams, assessments, extensions, course choice or registration please use [email protected]
Office hours For queries relating to events, or for enquiries relating to further study in the department, please use [email protected] All members of LSE teaching staff hold weekly term-time office hours. During these times, your teachers will be available to meet with you to answer particular questions you might have about the courses they teach, or to discuss more general issues relating to your course of study. You can use office hours to get additional guidance and support, and to receive more in-depth feedback on your assessed coursework. You can book appointments through Student Hub.
6 Communication within the Department • We try to reply to individual emails within 5 working days. We will provide an initial response to any feedback, enquiries and and within the School complaints within 3 working days. Please do not expect an immediate reply. If your enquiry is urgent, please attend office Email hours, call the department or come to the departmental office. Please bear in mind that email is used in the Department and throughout the School as the standard form of communication. In person It is therefore essential, once you have set up your LSE email address, that you check it regularly. Members of the department can always be contacted during their office hours.
Appropriate use of email If you want to set up a different time for a meeting, contact the staff member via email. Contact details can be found on the Departmental The department, and all its staff, receive a high volume of email and Staff web page. www.lse.ac.uk/anthropology/people ask that you bear the following guidelines in mind when using email: The notice boards in the Old Anthropology Library (OLD 6.05) as well • Please make use of the subject field, and give a clear and concise as those outside rooms OLD 6.02 – OLD 6.03 are used to display description of the content of your message e.g. “Request for information relevant to Anthropology students. tutorial meeting on Thursday 5 May”.
• Do not mark your email as urgent unless it really is! Change of address If you change your term-time or permanent address, or your phone Email should be used to arrange meetings with your Academic • number, you must inform the School. This change can be done by Mentor, and for requests for information that only require a brief you, using LSE for You. Your address is protected information and will response (a few lines). We expect you to attend office hours if you not be disclosed to a third party without your permission unless it is would like to discuss academic material; emails asking staff to for reasons of official School business. It is important that you keep summarise entire classes/lectures will not receive a reply. us informed of your private address and telephone number.
A woman waits by the river with her grandchildren. July 2018, Chambira River, Peru. Photo by Harry Walker.
7 The Anthropology Department has built the warm, intellectual home for me to think critically about the world and explore social alternatives to the status quo. At LSE, societies and voluntary work help me transform these same intellectual interests in humanity into real, positive change! Sean Chou, BA Social Anthropology
8 About your degree programme
Our Department runs two undergraduate degree programmes: the • You choose courses within the department to the value of one unit, BA/BSc in Social Anthropology and the BA in Anthropology and Law. or continue with a language studied in the first year. Both involve the study of twelve units over three years. In addition, all students take LSE100 in the Lent Term of Year 1 and the Michaelmas Third year Term of Year 2. The course is compulsory but does not affect your final degree classification. More information on LSE100 is given below. In the third year you will again take courses to the value of four units, of which three are compulsory Students on the BA in Anthropology and Law programme will also take LL100 a course on Foundational Legal Skills in Year 1. LL100 is • AN300 Advanced Theory of Social Anthropology compulsory but will not contribute to the classification of your degree. • AN301 Anthropology of Religion A general overview of each year of the degree programmes follows, but please note that you will need to consult the School Calendar • AN357 Economic Anthropology (2): Transformation and www.lse.ac.uk/resources/calendar/undergraduate.htm for updated Globalisation (H) and official information on regulations and requirements. The following are intended as guidelines only. • AN398 Special Essay Paper in Social Anthropology (H)
Students registering on the BA/BSc in Social Anthropology will not be • You choose courses within the department to the value of one unit, allowed to transfer onto the BA Anthropology in Law at any stage. or continue with a language studied in the first and second years. The full programme regulations and details of optional courses Students on the BA/BSc Social Anthropology are strongly encouraged can be found on the following pages: www.lse.ac.uk/resources/ to take ethnographic options (e.g. Anthropology of Melanesia, calendar/programmeRegulations/undergraduate/Default.htm Anthropology of Amazonia) to the value of at least half a unit (indicated by ‘H’) among their second and third year options.
Students on the BA/BSc Social Anthropology wishing to graduate with a language specialism need to take and pass one language BA in Anthropology and Law course in each year of their degree, i.e. 25% of the overall programme of study. In order to qualify for the specialism all courses must be in The Anthropology Department runs a joint degree in Anthropology and the same language and they must be consecutively harder in level. Law with the Law Department. Students will have an Academic Mentor within the Department of Anthropology in the first year and be invited to bridging sessions. In the second and third years students will have Academic Mentors in both the Anthropology and Law Departments. BA/BSc in Social Anthropology First year First year In the first year you will take courses to the value of four units, of In the first year you will take courses to the value of four units of which two are compulsory courses in Anthropology, and two are which three are compulsory (or core) courses. compulsory courses in Law.
AN100 Introduction to Social Anthropology • • AN100 Introduction to Social Anthropology AN101 Ethnography and Theory: Selected Texts • • AN101 Ethnography and Theory: Selected Texts AN102 Anthropology, Text and Film • • LL106 Public Law You choose your fourth unit from an approved list of one-unit (over two • LL105 Property I (H) terms) or half-unit (over one term) ‘outside options’ offered by other • departments. In addition to the list of approved courses, any available • LL109 Introduction to the Legal System (H) language course run by the Language Centre will also be approved. Students must also take the compulsory (non-assessed) LL100 Foundational Legal Skills. Second year
In the second year you will take courses to the value of four units of Second year which three are compulsory: In the second year you will take courses to the value of four units of • AN200 The Anthropology of Kinship, Sex and Gender which three are compulsory.
• AN226 Political and Legal Anthropology • AN226 Political and Legal Anthropology • AN256 Economic Anthropology (1): Production and Exchange (H) • LL108 Criminal Law • AN298 Research Methods in Social Anthropology (H) • LL104 Law of Obligations
9 • You choose your fourth unit from a variety of one-unit (over two Course structure terms) or half-unit (over one term) courses in Anthropology Throughout the first two terms, courses are taught through lectures, Third year classes and mentoring meetings. Most Anthropology courses involve weekly lectures, and associated classes where you will discuss In the third year you will take courses to the value of four units, of reading assignments in a small group with a teacher. In the first two which two are compulsory courses in Law. terms, you will typically have eight contact hours a week associated with your courses. You will have additional contact hours through • LL232 Law and Institutions of the European Union mentoring meetings with your Academic Mentor. • LL275 Property II • You choose your third unit from a variety of courses in Law Lectures • You choose your fourth unit from a variety of one-unit (over two These are normally 50 minutes long – starting 5 minutes past the terms) or half-unit (over one term) courses in Anthropology. hour and finishing 5 minutes to the hour. Lectures will introduce you to the particular topic of the week, as detailed on the reading list Full programme regulations and details of optional courses can be for the course, and they will provide you with a critical framework found on the following pages: through which to tackle your own reading. Reading lists are available www.lse.ac.uk/resources/calendar/programmeRegulations/ through Moodle. undergraduate/Default.htm Classes
Classes, normally also 50 minutes long, are an integral part of each LSE100 The LSE Course: lecture course and run in parallel with the lectures; they consist of small groups, normally of a maximum of 15 students. In the Understanding the causes of things Department of Anthropology classes for most core and optional courses take place weekly. Classes enable you to engage critically All first and second year undergraduate students are required to take with the material and the ideas presented in the lectures. They the course LSE100 The LSE Course: Understanding the causes of provide an opportunity for you to express your own ideas and to ask things. This is an interdisciplinary course which is taught over two the teacher for clarifications on issues introduced in lectures. terms: the Lent Term of your first year and the Michaelmas Term of your second year. Classes can take various forms, but in all cases they are not meant to develop into a lecture given by the class teacher, whose main role is LSE100 introduces you to the fundamental elements of thinking to facilitate the discussion among students. Sometimes you might be as a social scientist by exploring real problems and real questions, asked to give short oral presentations, or to represent a particular motion drawing on a range of disciplines across the social sciences. This in a class debate. Students gain most from classes if they prepare by distinctive course actively challenges you to analyse questions of reading key texts, and by participating actively in the discussion. current public concern and of intellectual debate from a rigorous social science perspective. Focusing on ‘big questions’ – such Some courses such as AN102 also include film screenings. You can as ‘How should we manage climate change?, or ‘Who should find more information on the teaching format for different courses own ideas?’ – as an LSE100 student you will explore the different here: http://www.lse.ac.uk/resources/calendar/courseGuides/ approaches to evidence, explanation and theory that are used in the undergraduate.htm different social sciences. In this way, the course not only broadens your intellectual experience, but also deepens your understanding of your own degree discipline. Mentoring Meetings At the beginning of each year, you will be given the name of your More information on the course can be found on the LSE100 website Academic Mentor (AM). Meetings with your Academic Mentor are www.lse.ac.uk/LSE100 or by visiting the LSE100 Moodle site. compulsory and an important part of the teaching you receive. In each year, there will be a mixture of small-group sessions and individual meetings with your Academic Mentor. Where possible your second- year Academic Mentor will continue in this role for your third year.
10 BA/BSc Social Anthropology In addition, you will have ‘bridging’ sessions in Michaelmas Term and in Lent Term that bring current topics of law in conversation with Academic Mentoring arrangements anthropology. These sessions are organised by the Director of the Anthropology and Law programme in conjunction with a practising First Year human rights barrister and are a unique feature of the Anthropology You will have three mentoring meetings in both Michaelmas and and Law programme. Lent Terms, and one in the Summer Term. You will meet your Academic Mentor to receive small-group teaching and feedback Second Year on formative work in your core courses AN100 and AN101. There will also be opportunities to have an individual meeting at the start In the Michaelmas term, you will have an individual meeting with your of the Michaelmas Term and again in the Lent Term to discuss any Academic Mentor from the Department of Anthropology to discuss concerns you have, to receive guidance on course choices, or to your courses and first year Anthropology exam results. You will address individual study needs to feel you may have. Your Summer have one meeting with your Academic Mentor from the Department Term tutorial will be focused on exam preparation. of Law to discuss your Law courses. In the Lent Term, you have a meeting with your Academic Mentor in each department to discuss class reports, your academic progress and exam preparation. In the Second Year Summer Term, you will have the opportunity to book an individual You will have two mentoring meetings in both Michaelmas and Lent session with a career consultant organised by the Department of Law Terms, and one in the Summer Term. Some of these mentoring to assist you in career-related questions and internships. meetings will provide opportunities for focused, individual discussion on your assessments (exams and coursework). You will also Third Year participate in a small-group meeting each term to support your study skills and preparations for your ethnographic research project. In the Michaelmas term, you will have an individual meeting with your Academic Mentor from the Department of Anthropology to discuss your courses and second year Anthropology exam results. You will Third Year have one meeting with your Academic Mentor from the Department You will have two mentoring meetings in both Michaelmas and Lent of Law to discuss your Law courses. In Lent Term, you will have a Terms, and one meeting in the Summer Term. The majority of these meeting with your Academic Mentor in each department to discuss mentoring meetings will be individual meetings to discuss your class reports, your academic progress and exam preparation. In the academic progress, and your plans for your extended essay. There Summer Term, you will have the opportunity to book an individual will also be one small-group session on study skills for research and session with a career consultant organised by the Department of Law your dissertation topic. to assist you in career-related questions. If you should choose to do an extended essay in Anthropology (AN398) then you will be given the opportunity to join a small-group session with your Academic Mentor in the Anthropology Department in the Lent Term to discuss study BA Anthropology and Law Academic skills for your research. Mentoring arrangements Attendance
Your Academic Mentor in the first year will be based in the Classes and mentoring meetings help you develop oral and written Department of Anthropology. In the second and third year you presentation skills and they encourage leadership and co-operation, will have an Academic Mentor in both the Anthropology and Law independent reading and research. Classes and mentoring meetings Departments. Where possible your second-year Academic Mentors are also means of monitoring your progress. Student attendance and will continue as your Mentors in the third year. performance is regularly recorded and failure to attend classes or to complete written work may result in refusal to grant permission to First Year enter for the written examinations. At the end of each term, teachers write class and mentoring reports via the LSE for You registers. You will have three mentoring meetings in both Michaelmas and Lent You can read these reports and discuss them with your Academic Terms and one one-hour meeting in the Summer Term. You will meet Mentor at the beginning of the following term. These reports form your Academic Mentor to receive small-group teaching and feedback a permanent record of your performance at the School and give us on formative work on your core courses AN100 and AN101. There will information when we write reference letters. also be an opportunity to have an individual meeting at the start of Michaelmas Term and again in the Lent Term to discuss any concerns or to address individual study needs you feel you may have. Your Summer Term mentoring meeting will be focused on exam preparation.
11 Assessment
Anthropology courses are assessed by a combination of different Examinations assessment formats: traditional examinations, take-home exams, position pieces, assessment essays, research essays, an For Anthropology taught courses, examinations that are held in the ethnographic essay, and a dissertation. Details on the assessment for exam hall take place during the Summer Term (May/June), or, in each course are given on the LSE Calendar course guides. the case of deferred exams or resits, during the In Year Resit and Deferred Assessment Period (IRDAP) in late August. The dates for all summative assessments can be found on the Anthropology Departmental: General information for Students Moodle page moodle.lse.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=983 and on the individual Moodle course pages. Take-home examinations Courses outside the department will include exam and/or coursework components in their assessment. See the School’s Calendar for Take-home exams can be a practical and beneficial alternative to the course guides including assessment arrangements: www.lse.ac.uk/ conventional exam hall experience; but, students should bear in mind resources/calendar/courseGuides/undergraduate.htm that teachers who set this form of examination usually expect scripts of higher quality in depth, detail, accuracy, and style than those All undergraduate students MUST submit all assessment elements of produced in an exam hall context. a course by the relevant deadline(s). It is the responsibility of teachers who set take-home exams to If you do not submit an assessed coursework element of a course, provide – in advance – clear written guidelines regarding rationale, you will receive a mark of 0 (Absent) or 0 (Incomplete) for the whole technical procedures, rules, and structure to be used. If your course course on your transcript, depending on whether the course has a leader does not provide this information, it is your right to request it. single or multiple assessed elements. Assessed coursework is any NB: The take-home format is not intended to replace the conventional summative assessment that receives a grade, therefore it includes exam hall format for students on grounds of disability. essays, portfolio pieces, and dissertations. Unless all assessed work is completed and submitted you cannot complete and pass the course. Having any marks of 0 (Incomplete) or 0 (Absent) at the end of the degree programme will mean that you will not be able to proceed to graduation.
A man relaxes at home in his hammock. July 2018, Chambira River, Peru. Photo by Harry Walker.
12 What are take-home exams? Preparing for the exam
A take-home exam is an extended-time, open-note, open-book Prepare for a take-home exam as you would for any other. While it may examination executed under conditions that you control. This sound obvious to say so, your performance in take-home exams, as combination of more time and greater control over external with other exams, will benefit from revision, so do not wait until you conditions is designed to enable students to relax, be comfortable, have received the exam questions and the clock is ticking to begin think clearly, consult their written resources, and produce well- revising. Read through your lecture and class notes and think about considered, well-crafted answers to the set question(s). The chief the overarching themes of the course. It should not be too difficult for virtue of the take-home format is that it allows you to demonstrate you to predict the kinds of questions you will be asked. As with any your understanding of what you have been studying with greater exam, the best way to prepare is to identify a set of mock questions precision and less reliance on memory. That said, there is a and begin organizing your ideas and the materials you would need significant difference between a take-home exam and an assessment to support them. NB: if relevant past exam papers are not available, essay. Whereas an assessment essay may be developed over course leaders are required to provide mock questions. In all cases, many weeks and addresses only one theme, a take-home exam is you may also find it helpful to devise your own mock questions. Plan performed under greater time restrictions and may require you to ahead what positions you would argue for or against, what alternative complete several essays on different themes. analyses you would suggest, what ethnographic examples you would draw on to support your positions and analyses, etc.
Duration and individual exam adjustments (IEAs) Before you receive your take-home questions:
All Anthropology take-home exams are of 8 hours’ duration. 1. Identify or formulate a set of mock questions. Having taken the course, you know what its agenda has been. Focus on the recurring In advance of the exam, the Department will email all students asking themes, classic debates, critical questions, theoretical models, and those who have been granted individual exam adjustments (IEAs) ethnographies that have been central. Then imagine the kinds of specifying extra time in exams to self-identify. Those with relevant statements or questions that would most challenge you to think them IEAs will be granted additional consecutive time to complete the through with reference to ethnographic particularities. exam. For an 8-hour exam, this means students with IEAs allowing 25% extra time will have 10 consecutive hours in which to complete 2. Make broad provisional outlines of essays that would address the exam. your mock questions. You should be able to adapt these outlines to address the specificities of the actual questions in the exam itself.
Take-home exam format, style, and word count 3. Locate key texts you may wish to quote or refer to and mark All take-home exam scripts must be submitted in electronic format, them. These might include theoretical passages in the works either Word or pdf. Please use a font size of 11 or 12pt. All use of of authors whose ideas you wish to summarize or critique, or other people’s ideas and words (i.e., quotations and paraphrases) ethnographic accounts of practices you wish to summarize and must be cited fully and correctly, and a standardised bibliography of analyse in support of your arguments. works cited must be included. 4. Organize your study space. Your thoughts are in order; now get The whole exam script should be 3,000-4,000 words. NB: a 3-hour your space in order. Decide where you will write your exam answers handwritten exam script is normally around 3,250 words. The and assemble everything you will need. It is not expected that you bibliography is not included in the word limit, but everything else is, will write for 8 hours non-stop, but there will be intervals when you including footnotes or endnotes. NB: foot/endnotes and appendices want to be relatively secluded in order to concentrate. If you live in are included in the word count, even where footnotes are used shared accommodation or where others might interrupt you, consider to reference. Citations are also included e.g. (Davis, 1998). Your posting a sign on your door that says ‘Take-Home Exam in Progress. bibliography is NOT included where it is provided as a reference list at Please Do Not Disturb’. Put away your phone, etc. You may choose to the end of your essay. use the Library.
Exam scripts should not exceed 4,000 words. Submitting an exam script over this word limit will incur a penalty of 5 marks applied to the take-home final grade.
13 5. Make sure you have suitable internet access. Take-home exams are Submission, plagiarism and declaration of academic administered through Moodle, and you will receive the exam questions integrity via Moodle in the morning of the day of the exam. You will be expected to have uploaded your final version of exam answers to Moodle before When you submit your work through the relevant Moodle page, the end of the exam. Therefore having a reliable internet connection is please include a cover sheet with the following information: vital. It is your responsibility to make sure you are taking your exam in a) the name of the teacher, a location which provides suitable internet access. b) the course code and name, 6. Ensure you are fit to sit the exam.As with unseen exams the LSE operates a ‘fit to sit’ policy. This means that, if you do not notify c) your 5-digit candidate number, the Department that you are unfit to take the exam before it is released on Moodle, you will be treated as having declared yourself d) the overall word count (excluding bibliography), and well enough to take the exam. If you think you are unfit to sit the exam, you must contact the Anthropology Chair of Examiners for e) the date of submission. undergraduate programmes, Michael Scott [email protected] for In using the take-home format, the Department trusts that students advice before the start of the take-home exam. Be sure to copy your are mature enough to manage the freedoms the format affords email to [email protected]. and resist the temptation to engage in unauthorized collaboration or plagiarism (including re-use of one’s own previously assessed During the Exam essays or dissertations). All scripts will be checked using Turnitin plagiarism detection technology. For further information about It is your responsibility to use your 8-hour exam period in the way plagiarism (which includes self-plagiarism), please refer to the that is most efficient for you. You may wish to take one question at a relevant pages of this Handbook. time or to complete all your preliminary work for all questions before you begin the work of actual essay composition. These choices are entirely yours. Remember that time taken for short breaks, eating, After the exam and other necessities is not time wasted or used to the detriment As with unseen exams, if you sat the take-home exam but feel your of your performance. You have been given 8 hours in order to performance was affected by unforeseen circumstances outside of accommodate these needs. Pace yourself and save time at the end your control, such as a crime, injury or serious family problem, you for checking over, editing, and spell checking your answers. may submit an exceptional circumstance form to the School. Please 1. Submit early and often. All take-home exam submission areas visit the exceptional circumstances web page for more information. will allow you to upload your exam answers at any time during the www.lse.ac.uk/exceptionalcircumstances day. You may therefore wish to upload your exam answers as you work through the exam. You can upload a copy of your essay(s) at any time during the exam. NB: only the latest version of your submission will be saved and stored; the previous submission will be automatically overwritten. Be sure to save your own backup copies of Position Pieces previous versions in case you want to revert to them at any point. What is a position piece? 2. Submit your near final version at least thirty minutes before the A position piece is intended to be a slightly more open-ended, free- end of the exam. Do not wait till the last minute to submit your final form and creative format than the conventional academic essay. version of your exam answers. We recommend that you upload a There are no hard and fast rules as to what a position piece should or near final version at least 30 minutes before the end of your exam shouldn’t be like. Nevertheless, the following points are worth bearing duration. It is important that you give yourself time to upload your in mind as you prepare your pieces for assessment. work calmly and avoid any last-minute issues that may delay your submission. Just as in a conventional exam, it is not acceptable to • Have a position or take a stance on an issue that interests you. continue writing after the exam has finished. Therefore, if you submit late or not at all, you will receive a mark of 0 (Fail) for the exam. • You will need to explain and set out the reasoning behind your position. 3. What to do if you need clarification about the exam questions or experience technical problems. Please email anthro.admin@ • Keep it focused. You only have 1,200 words (AN102) or 1,500 lse.ac.uk immediately. Give your ID number, the course code of the words (AN300), so you cannot cover too many issues; better to exam you are taking, and a clear description of the problem. The focus on just one main question or theme. administrative team will be monitoring emails closely on the day of More information on how to write a successful position piece will take-home exams in order to respond as quickly as possible. be provided by the course leader and given on the course Moodle page. If you are unsure how to tackle this form of assessment, you You are strongly advised to make frequent back-up copies (and hard should attend the course leader’s office hours to ask about their copies) of your work. Computer failure is not valid grounds for failure expectations. to submit your exam answers. Remember that you should upload draft answers to Moodle throughout the day. As stated above only the latest draft that you upload will be stored on Moodle.
14 How many position pieces do I need to submit? AN298 Research Methods in Position pieces are used as an assessment format in two core courses: in the first year, for AN102 Anthropology, Text and Film, and Social Anthropology in the third year, for AN300 Advanced Theory of Social Anthropology. You will be asked to submit 6 position pieces during the year on This second-year course guides and supports you to identify, execute dates given to you at the start of the academic year. All pieces will and write-up your own ethnographic project in London. In parallel be marked, and you will receive feedback. In the case of AN102, at with your research activities, you will develop research skills for the the end of the year, the best four pieces will be used to calculate your collection, analysis, and representation of ethnographic data. The final grade for the course. In the case of AN300, the best two pieces course will provide training in ethnographic observation, participation, from each term will be used to calculate your final grade. listening, questioning, interviewing, analysing, and writing.
How are position pieces assessed? You will demonstrate your research skills by applying them to the Position pieces are a distinct form of assessment that are evaluated research questions pursued in your ethnographic project. You in a specific way. There are departmental criteria for marking position will write a 4,500- to 5,000-word essay reporting on your research pieces. These can be found later in this handbook. activities and findings. This is submitted in Week 2 of the Summer Term. The submission date is given on the course Moodle page Assessment Information section.
A lecture is given in Week 3 of the Michaelmas Term to introduce and Assessment essays inform you about AN298.
Where a course is assessed by essay, topics will be provided by class teachers during the term. Your essay must not contain a reproduction of text already submitted for summative assessment. You may cover a similar topic, but your essay must be a new piece of work. AN398 Special Essay Paper in
The essays must be scholarly pieces of work, properly presented, Social Anthropology carefully checked and proof-read, and with adequate references and For this third-year course, you are required to write a dissertation (or bibliography – preferably along the lines used by a reputable source, extended essay) based on library research. The information below is such as the Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute (JRAI). designed to give you some general information and guidance about this course, but students should check the course Moodle page for Essays must be your own unaided work. Any quotation from the full details: published or unpublished works of other authors must be properly acknowledged. For further information, see the section below on 1. The Extended Essay should be 7,000-8,000 words long. The plagiarism. bibliography is not included in the word limit but any footnotes or appendices are. Please use a font-size of 11 or 12pt. You are strongly advised to make frequent back-up copies (and hard copies) of the text. Do not use 2. You submit an initial one-page abstract of ideas in October via technical failure as a reason for late submission of the essay! Moodle.
The requirements of an assessment essay will vary depending on 3. On the basis of these abstracts, you will be assigned to groups what course you are taking and your year of study. In general the of 4 or 5 students and attend a workshop held in Week 4 of the word length requirement for full unit core course assessments Michaelmas Term. increases year on year. On some full unit courses such as AN100 Introduction to Social Anthropology you will be asked to submit 4. After the workshop, you will have tutorials with your Academic two essays of up to 2,500 words over the year. On certain second Mentor in Michaelmas and Lent Term to discuss the development and third year half unit option courses you will be asked to produce of your AN398 essay. an essay of up to 3,000 words. Full details of the assessment requirements for each course can be found in the course guides in 5. In week 4 or 5 of the Lent Term you will have a two-hour, small- the LSE Calendar www.lse.ac.uk/resources/calendar/ group seminar
The bibliography is not included in the word limit, but foot/endnotes 6. FINAL EXTENDED ESSAY and appendices are included, even when they are used to reference. For students taking AN399 in the 2019-20 academic year, the deadline for submitting the final essay is 4pm on Wednesday 6 May. See the course Moodle page for full details.
15 Instructions for submission The LSE operates an anonymous marking policy. In order to comply with this policy it is imperative that you follow the correct labelling You are required to submit all your summative assessments, of your assessment essays. Use the Assessment Essay Submission including essays, position pieces, and dissertation, online via Moodle. Template 2019/20 as the front page of your essay. This can found on the Assessment section for each course. You must give your 5-digit Submission dates for all assessments are given in the Summative candidate number (which can be found on LSE for You), the title and Assessment section of the Moodle page for each course. There is code of the class, the name of the class teacher, the essay question also a summary of all summative assessment submission dates that or title, the date, and the word count. You must not put your name or can be found in the Moodle page ‘Anthropology Department: General LSE ID number on an assessment essay. Information for Students’ moodle.lse.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=983
When you submit your work your file must be named as follows: Marks and Feedback on assessed essays
The filemust be saved as a Microsoft Word or pdf document. Note that these are the only formats acceptable.
Making a palm fibre fan. July 2018, Chambira River, Peru. Photo by Harry Walker.
16 Mark deductions on assessments submitted at a later date. Any evidence submitted at a later date should be emailed to the Chair of Examiners, [email protected] There are two situations in which marks are deducted from and copied to [email protected]. In the title of your email assessments. Marks are deducted if an essay exceeds the allowable please provide your LSE student ID and the relevant course code(s). word limit. Essays over the specified upper word limit will receive a penalty of 5 marks. This applies to all undergraduate assessment You should be aware that the Chair of Examiners may not be able to essays, AN298 ethnographic projects, AN398 dissertations, special respond to extension enquiries immediately. In order to avoid undue essays, position pieces, and take-home exams. anxiety, it is in your best interest to advise the Chair of your situation as soon as it arises or as soon as you realise that it will affect your Marks are deducted if you submit your assignment late without an ability to meet a deadline. extension agreement (see below ‘Late submission of summative coursework’). If you submit a piece of work after the deadline (or your Any extension granted will be confirmed in writing by email to you. Each extended deadline if applicable), you will be penalised 5 marks per case will be determined on its merits. The following is offered as a guide: day (or part thereof). • Insufficient justification for missing a deadline will include minor Late submission of summative coursework sickness, problems with computers or printers, conflicting multiple coursework deadlines, having to attend a wedding, not being able You MUST submit summative coursework by the relevant deadline(s). to obtain a certain book in the library, etc.
If you fail to submit a piece of summative coursework, you will receive • Sufficient justification should be accompanied by supporting a mark of 0 (Incomplete) or 0 (Absent) for the whole course and this documentation, most often a medical note from your doctor to will appear on your transcript. You will not be able to graduate until you verify an illness, or evidence that you have suffered an unforeseen have made a serious attempt at all compulsory components of all your major life event (accident, bereavement, etc.). courses. This applies to all assessed coursework. Disability/Dyslexia/Neurodiversity Extensions on grounds of disability / dyslexia / neurodiversity will be If you submit a piece of work after the deadline (or your extended granted only to students who have received an LSE Inclusion Plan deadline if applicable), you will be penalised 5 marks per day (or part (IP) through the Student Wellbeing Service. If you need an extension thereof). This could eventually result in you being given a mark of 0 (Fail) on these grounds, you must submit a formal request to the Chair for that component of the course, but you still need to make a serious of Examiners – following the guidelines above – and refer to your attempt at the component in order to avoid being given a 0 (Incomplete) Inclusion Plan (IP) in the request. or 0 (Absent) for the entire course and prevented from graduating.
All this indicates the importance of completing and submitting essays and all assessed work on time. It may be better to hand in an essay which is not entirely satisfactory by the due date than to hand it in late. Health issues
The LSE sets strict deadlines for formally assessed summative If you experience any health problems during your study programme, coursework. We recognise, however, that students may, in the course you need to inform your Academic Mentor as soon as possible. If you of the year, face serious unforeseen difficulties that prevent them are unwell for more than two weeks, you need to inform the Student from meeting these deadlines. We hope that no such difficulties Services Centre of your non-attendance because of ill health and will arise during your studies at the LSE; but, if you cannot meet a when you expect to return. deadline, the procedure is a follows: If you think your situation may affect your academic performance, Extensions are granted only in exceptional circumstances where you need to obtain a medical certificate from your doctor and pass need for extra time is backed by supporting evidence (for extensions a copy with a letter of explanation to the Student Services Centre on grounds of disability / dyslexia / neurodiversity see below). If you which will keep the letter on file. You must also inform your Academic believe you have a valid reason for requesting extra time (e.g., illness, Mentor in writing. bereavement), you may seek a formal extension by submitting an Extension Request Form, which can be found on every Anthropology Please note that it is vital to inform both the Department and the Moodle course page in the Assessment Information section. This Student Services Centre of any prolonged period of absence because request must be submitted before the set deadline/submission date. coursework forms a vital part of assessment. Ill health may also You will be asked to: affect exam performance, so please also see the information on Exceptional Circumstances. • briefly explain the reasons why you cannot submit by the due date Depending on the nature of your illness you may wish to get in touch and time with the St Philips Medical Centre, the LSE’s Disability and Wellbeing • specify the period (with dates) for which work was interrupted Service and/or the LSE Student Counselling Service. • include supporting evidence (eg, a medical certificate, death www.lse.ac.uk/medicalcentre certificate) www.lse.ac.uk/disability If you cannot provide the evidence electronically and/or immediately (eg, if you need to request a medical certificate from a doctor), an www.lse.ac.uk/counselling extension can normally be agreed on condition that evidence be
17 Formative coursework If you cannot submit your work on the date you have been given, you should submit it as soon as possible after that date. Extension The purpose of formative coursework is to provide you with informal requests are not applicable to formative work, however if you do feedback that helps you develop your writing and analytical skills not submit on time this will impact on your ability to productively ahead of any summative assessments and examinations. This is participate in the small-group mentoring meetings and the timing of an opportunity to try out different ideas and approaches without your feedback from your Academic Mentor. You may need to book the pressure of being formally ‘examined’. The feedback you receive an additional office hour to receive feedback or ask your Academic is invaluable in your preparation for the summative assessments. Mentor to provide feedback by email. If work is submitted late there is Formative work is submitted on Moodle and does not count towards no guarantee that feedback will be given within 3 weeks. the final grade. Instructions for submission are given on Moodle. You In the second and third year, your formative work for each course will receive feedback within 3 weeks of submission. will be assessed by the course teacher. You will be given dates to In your first year you will be asked to submit formative essays for submit your work. You should submit your formative work on your AN100 and AN101 in advance of small-group (usually 3 students) course Moodle page. You will receive feedback within 3 weeks. As mentoring meetings with your Academic Mentor. in the first year, extension requests are not applicable to formative work. If you submit your work late the timing of your feedback cannot be guaranteed. You should contact the course leader to arrange feedback during office hours or via email.
Photo by Harry Walker.
18 The Department’s undergraduate grade criteria
General grade criteria
The following scheme for grading of marks applies to summative assessments including: summative course work, research essays, take-home exams, unseen exams and dissertations. Attributes listed for each class are assumed to include the best attributes from the class below.
Class Marks (%) Attributes Brilliant First 80 – 100 Work of exceptional quality, based on comprehensive conceptual knowledge of the topic, (1) and developing a cogent and original argument in response to the question. For a mark of 90 or more, analysis is of such originality or insight as to potentially change some aspect of conventional understanding about the topic discussed. First 70 – 79 Excellent answers, closely linked to the question set, well-presented and argued with (1) sophistication, maturity and incisiveness, which demonstrate a wide familiarity with the subject matter and anthropological debates, and often display independent judgement and originality. Higher Upper Second 65 – 69 Competent work, presented as a cogent (if not original) argument, showing understanding (2:1) of all the main ideas and concepts relevant to the question. Addresses the question directly and relevantly. Good critical evaluation and discussion of the literature presented in a clear, well reasoned, and logical manner. Demonstrates understanding of most of the relevant literature and draws from a wide range of reading and anthropological debates. Factually correct, attentive to nuance, and comprehensive in coverage, although there may be minor slips and omissions. Lower Upper Second 60 – 64 Competent work, well argued in parts, showing understanding and/or awareness of many (2:1) of the main ideas and concepts relevant to the question. Addresses the question directly and relevantly. Satisfactory critical evaluation and discussion of the literature presented in a clear, generally well reasoned and consistent manner. Demonstrates understanding of a selection of the relevant literature and draws from a range of reading and anthropological debates. Factually correct and comprehensive in coverage, although there may be slips, omissions, and a lack of nuance. Lower Second 50-59 Answers demonstrate some understanding of the subject matter and evidence of some (2:2) reading, but are marred by poor presentation or by lack of sophisticated argument or knowledge. Answers are frequently narrative in style and only indirectly, or inadequately, address the question, or fail to focus. They often include unsupported generalisations, occasional inaccuracies, irrelevance, omissions, contradictions, are weak in definition and application of concepts, and display a clumsy prose style. Although the main issues are understood, they are often presented in a superficial manner. Some passages may do little more than replicate the content of course lectures. A 2:1 answer may be graded 2:2 if it is too short, or unfinished. Third 40 – 49 Basic, below-average answers which nevertheless show evidence that there is some (3) familiarity with the subject. Answers are often weak narrative/descriptive accounts, which move towards the relevant area required by the question but display only a partial grasp of the topic, the different aspects of debates, the requirements of the question, and the manner in which to construct an answer. Argument fleeting and frequently simplistic – but the answer should make sense and show some sign of organisation. Evidence of basic familiarity with the facts, but inaccuracies and omissions occur. Answers that are accurate, but largely reliant on course lectures for their content and/or structure, should be graded third class. Fail 20 – 39 Very weak answers which lack relevance, direction, accuracy and sub-stance. Answers which replicate course lectures verbatim with no evidence of reading or independent analysis should also be graded in this category. Bad Fail 0 – 19 The material presented is almost totally irrelevant to the question set. In examinations, this includes answers which have been barely attempted.
19 AN102/AN300 position piece grade criteria
The following scheme for grading of marks applies only to position pieces.
Class Marks (%) Attributes Brilliant First 80 – 100 Work of exceptional quality, based on deep and extensive conceptual knowledge of the (1) topic, and developing a cogent and original argument. For a mark of 90 or more, analysis is of such originality or insight as to potentially change some aspect of conventional understanding about the topic discussed. First 70 – 79 Excellent position pieces, well-presented and argued with maturity and incisiveness, and (1) which demonstrate a thorough and sophisticated understanding of the anthropological debates relevant to the position that is being advocated. First class position pieces often display independent judgement and originality, a subtle and thoughtful analysis of ethnographic and/or theoretical nuances, and dexterity in relating theoretical ideas to ethnographic materials. Higher Upper Second 65 – 69 Highly competent position pieces, structured around a cogent (if not original), clearly stated, (2:1) and well-supported argument. Good understanding of ideas and concepts relevant to the topic in hand. Critical evaluation and discussion of a good range of relevant material is presented in a clear, well reasoned, and logical manner. Where appropriate, the position piece acknowledges and engages with potential objections to the argument it advances. Factually correct and attentive to nuance, although there may be minor slips and omissions. Lower Upper Second 60 – 64 Competent position pieces, showing understanding and/or awareness of the main ideas (2:1) and concepts relevant to the topic in hand, structured around a clearly stated argument, and providing evidence and analysis to support the position adopted. Satisfactory critical evaluation and discussion of the literature presented in a clear, generally well-reasoned and consistent manner. Factually correct, although there may be slips, omissions, and a lack of nuance. Lower Second 50 – 59 Position pieces demonstrating some understanding of the subject matter and showing (2:2) evidence of some reading, but marred by poor presentation, lack of sophisticated argument, and/or lack of knowledge of the topic in hand. They often include unsupported claims, generalisations, occasional inaccuracies, irrelevance, omissions, contradictions, weak definition and application of concepts, or a clumsy prose style. They may fail to focus, lack structure, or offer a series of disconnected insights rather than articulating a clear position. The main issues are understood, but often presented in a superficial manner. Some passages may do little more than replicate the content of course lectures. A 2:1 position piece may be graded 2:2 if it is too short, or unfinished. Third 40 – 49 Basic, below-average position pieces which nevertheless show evidence that there is some (3) familiarity with the subject. They are often weak narrative/descriptive accounts, which display only a partial grasp of the topic, the different aspects of debates, and the manner in which to construct a piece of academic writing. Argument fleeting and frequently simplistic – but the position piece should make sense and show some sign of organisation. Evidence of basic familiarity with the facts, but also inaccuracies, omissions, or irrelevant passages. Pieces that are accurate, but largely reliant on course lectures for their content and/or structure, should be graded third class. Fail 20 – 39 Very weak position pieces which lack relevance, direction, accuracy and substance. Pieces that replicate course lectures verbatim with no evidence of reading or independent analysis should also be graded in this category. Bad Fail 0 – 19 The material presented is almost totally irrelevant to the assignment.
20 AN298 ethnographic essay grade criteria
The essay should demonstrate:
1. The student’s research skills: observation, participation, conversation, interviewing; the ability to identify non-obvious material for analysis. While acknowledging the constraints of such a short fieldwork project, the student is nonetheless expected to maximise the opportunities for active participation in the social context under analysis.
2. The research process: an account of how the ethnographic data was generated and of how the student came to know what s/he claims to know about the field site.
3. The student’s discovery: the answer/s the student has given to his/her research question/s (how the student’s initial curiosity has led him/her to discover something new).
4. The student’s confidence in analysing the ethnographic data: the ability to analyse the data and build an argument from the bottom up; while references to the secondary literature are permissible, they are not a requirement and they should not overshadow the student’s own efforts at analysing his/her original data.
5. The project’s limitations and potential: a reflection on the limitations of the project and how it could be taken further.
6. The student’s communication skills: the coherence, fluency and accuracy of the writing.
The following scheme for grading of the Ethnographic Essay marks has been agreed for the Department of Anthropology. Please note that the descriptions given below are “ideal types”; an essay may qualify for a class even if not all attributes are present.
Class Marks (%) Attributes Brilliant First 80 – 100 In addition to all the attributes described below (First, 70-79) the candidate demonstrates (1) an extraordinary aptitude for anthropological research. The essay showcases the strength of participatory methods by conveying deep knowledge of the field site and truly original insights into its social context. The analysis of the data is of publishing standard. First 70 – 79 Excellent research skills (evidenced by detailed and astute observations, rich conversational (1) material, excellent rapport with interlocutors). The research process is brought to life throughout the essay, providing support for the candidate’s empirical claims. Clear and detailed explanation of the aims of the project – what the candidate was curious about, what research questions emerged from the process of field work – and a compelling sense of discovery. The analysis of the data is sophisticated and clearly motivated by the evidence. If any secondary literature is cited, it is used by the candidate as a point of comparison or amplification of his/her original findings, rather than being used to derive the analysis. The reflections on the limitations of the project are insightful and constructive, demonstrating that the candidate has clear and concrete ideas of how to take the project forward if given more time and resources. The candidate writes with flair; the writing is engaging, clear, fluent and evocative. Upper Second 60 – 69 Good research skills (evidenced by competent observations, good quality conversational (2:1) material, and a good level of rapport with interlocutors). The research process is documented in enough detail to make the candidate’s claims convincing. Good account of the aims of the project – what the candidate was curious about and how this curiosity motivated the process of research – and the link between research activities and findings is presented in a clear and logical fashion. The analysis of the data is executed with confidence and the empirical material is used coherently and pertinently. If any secondary literature is cited, it is used to support the candidate’s own analysis rather than being imposed on the data. The reflections on the limitations and further potential of the project are well articulated. The essay has a clear structure and the writing is clear, fluent and carefully copy-edited.
21 Lower Second 50 – 59 Satisfactory research skills (evidenced by descriptive and conversational material that is (2:2) mostly adequate but is at times quite superficial, revealing only a cursory engagement with the candidate’s interlocutors). The research process is described or alluded to but in generic terms that leave the reader unsure as to how the candidate obtained the ethnographic data. The aims of the project – what the candidate was curious about and how this curiosity motivated the process of research – are explained or implied, but the link between research activities and findings is often unclear. The analysis of the data is at times muddled and unsupported by the ethnographic evidence. If any secondary literature is cited, it is imposed on the data often for irrelevant or tangential reasons, detracting from the development of the candidate’s own analysis. The reflections on the limitations and further potential of the project are cursory. The writing has some grammatical and/or syntactical mistakes, and the overall presentation is at times confusing. Third 40 – 49 Poor research skills (evidenced by the superficial quality of both observational and (3) conversational material and by the minimal level of rapport established by the candidate with his/her interlocutors). There is only a cursory and unconvincing account of the research process. The aims of the project – what the candidate was curious about and how this curiosity motivated the process of research – are not coherently described and the link between research activities and findings is tenuous. The analysis is confused and has little connection with the ethnographic data presented by the candidate. If any secondary literature is cited, it is used incoherently and with no obvious connection to the candidate’s own ethnographic material. The reflections on the limitations and further potential of the project are rushed and careless. The writing is marred by frequent grammatical and/or syntactical mistakes, and the overall presentation lacks clarity and cogency, with repetitions, some illogical argumentative steps and/or contradictions. Fail 20 – 39 The essay contains little evidence that the candidate has undertaken fieldwork. The ethnographic material is shallow and the analysis lacks relevance, accuracy and substance. Bad Fail 0 – 19 The candidate has failed to undertake fieldwork and has not been able to write an essay based on original ethnographic data.
Rita Astuti oversees a psychological experiment. July 2018, Chambira River, Peru. Photo by Harry Walker.
22 Plagiarism
The work you submit for assessment must be your own and all Plagiarism includes Self-Plagiarism source material must be correctly referenced. Plagiarism is not just submitting work with the intention to cheat. Plagiarism could Plagiarism includes not only unattributed or inappropriately referenced occur simply as a result of failing to correctly reference the sources use of another author’s text but also the re-use of your own work from you have used. If you are found to have committed an assessment previous summative essays and dissertations. In the Department of offence (such as plagiarism or exam misconduct) you could be Anthropology, you are allowed to draw freely on your formative work expelled from the School. when writing summative essays and your dissertation.
Any quotation from the published or unpublished works of other The work presented for assessment in your essays, exams, and persons, including other candidates, must be clearly identified as dissertation must not duplicate or overlap significantly with work you such. Quotes must be placed inside quotation marks and a full have presented elsewhere for assessment. reference to sources must be provided in proper form. A series of short quotations for several different sources, if not clearly identified as such, It is acceptable, however, to build on and develop ideas from earlier constitutes plagiarism just as much as a single unacknowledged long assessed work and to use your knowledge of anthropological texts to quotation from a single source. All paraphrased material must also be illustrate different arguments. clearly and properly acknowledged. Take time to understand the LSE rules and regulations. If you are found Any written work you produce (for classes, seminars, exams, guilty of plagiarism, ignorance of these rules is not a valid defence. dissertations, essays and computer programmes) must solely be your own. You must not employ a “ghost writer” to write parts or all of the work, whether in draft or as a final version, on your behalf. For further information and the School’s statement on Editorial Help visit Plagiarism awareness training lse.ac.uk/calendar. Any breach of the Statement will be treated in the same way as plagiarism. All first-year students will be offered a session in the Michaelmas Term on note taking, writing and plagiarism as part of their AN100 course. You should also be aware that a piece of work may only be submitted for assessment once (either to LSE or elsewhere). Submitting the In addition, in the Michaelmas Term, all first-year students will be same piece of work twice (regardless of which institution you submit given one Turnitin report on a piece of formative work. This will it to) will be regarded as the offence of “self-plagiarism” and will also allow you to see how Turnitin identifies plagiarised or quoted text be treated in the same way as plagiarism. and to understand the process through which all your electronically- submitted summative assessments will be screened. If you have any Examiners are vigilant for cases of plagiarism and the School uses questions about this process, please ask the Administrative team or plagiarism detection software to identify plagiarised text. Work your Academic Mentor. containing (or that contains) plagiarism may be referred to the Regulations on Assessment Offences: Plagiarism which may result in All students can also book a time to see their Academic Mentor the application of severe penalties. to discuss any questions you may have on plagiarism and seek guidance or further clarification. If you are unsure about the academic referencing conventions used by the School you should seek guidance from your department, Academic Mentor, LSE LIFE or the Library as soon as possible.
The Regulations on Assessment Offences: Plagiarism can be found at lse.ac.uk/calendar.
23 24 Taking notes
It is important to learn quite quickly to take useful notes in lectures How to take notes and classes as well as from books and articles. Notes condense information into an easily remembered form, i.e. well-structured and A few essential tips concerning taking notes: easy to use. This means that in lectures you should not attempt to write down everything the lecturer says, nor should you aim at 1. When taking notes from a book/article, always remember to copying whole sections of texts you might be reading (in relation to record the author’s name, the full title of the piece, the name of the this, read carefully the section on plagiarism). Instead, you should try publisher or of the journal and the date of publication. Also indicate to get the main points of the argument and to do so as clearly and page numbers. This information is essential if you are going to concisely as possible – the best notes are short notes! use the material in an essay, if you are going to use quotations and when you need to construct a bibliography (for assessment Do not forget that notes taken from lectures will never be sufficient essays, for example). on their own to provide the answer to a question, but they will in general provide a base on which to build. Always try to combine notes 2. Acknowledging the information above will prevent you from taken from lectures with those taken from classes, tutorials and the accidentally plagiarising material. Only use quotations when texts you have read. you deem it essential. And always record the quotation with quotation marks and the page number. In general, try to use as far as possible your own words – a clear indication of your having digested the author’s argument!
The purpose of taking notes 3. As said before, the best notes are short notes. Notes should be short enough so that you can revise from them quickly, but There are various reasons why note-taking is useful and important. comprehensive enough to answer a range of questions fully. First, during lectures and while you are reading, it forces you to concentrate and stops your mind from wandering off to think about 4. The best notes are not only short notes but also well organised something else as you listen or read. Secondly, writing notes also notes. Try to order your notes properly. The best way to do so is forces you to reflect on what you are actually reading or listening to to go back to your notes not too long after the lecture/class or – pressing you to make sense of it in your own terms. Things which having finished the reading and make the changes necessary to remain unclear will come immediately to the fore and this gives you render them clear and useful. Leaving your notes untouched and a chance to seek clarification before you have forgotten what it was disorganised until revision time will render them pretty useless! all about (re-read the paragraph or section that seems unclear, ask the teacher at the end of his/her lecture or during class about points These are all general points aimed at making note-taking as easy and which have remained obscure). Thirdly, notes provide very useful as useful as possible. Keep in mind, however, that sometimes your information at the time of revising for exams or writing essays. notes will be sketchy, at other times more detailed. Be flexible, just They help you get an overview of the material and an understanding make sure that your notes are serving the purposes you want to use of how it can be structured (they should give you, for example, a them for. good indication of how the lecturer organised his argument and the material related to it). The suggestions above should also be applied when making word- processed notes. Consider naming files by the author or title of source, rather than names such as “notes on …” or similar generic titles. It is very easy to accidentally include information in essays that should be attributed to sources other than yourself.
25 Guidance for students on UK essay writing style
First of all, please note that there is no single right way to write an Style and layout essay: the object of the work you do with your Academic Mentor over the year is in fact to find the most effective way for you, as You may want to organise your essay or dissertation in a layout that an individual, to communicate with your readers in essay form. follows these suggestions: Therefore, two quite different essays can be equally persuasive, and may receive equally good marks. • Margins should be 1 inch/2.5 cm all round. Please remember also that uniformity is not what we are looking • Chapters should always begin on a new page. for in LSE students, and that an essay which achieves a ‘First’ or ‘Distinction’ grade will always display an element of originality. • Section headings must be clearly indicated or numbered in a consistent way. Having said this, however, there are a few general guidelines which you may find useful. • Spacing may either be one-and-a-half, or double. • Font size should usually be 11pt. • The Bibliography should consist of references only, which means Presentation that work not cited in the text should not appear in the Bibliography.
An essay is a formal, written mode of communication. It should • Quotations: Long quotations (4+ lines) should be intended with no be word-processed, spell-checked, and should be presented in a quotation marks, shorter quotations should be incorporated in the scholarly fashion. All essays should include a short bibliography main text with quotation marks. Author’s name, etc., should appear which should list those works actually used for the essay (i.e. it at the end of quote before the full stop, and quotations should not should not just be copied out from the reading list). All essays should be in italics. use standard-form citations in the text of your essay, following the model of the major anthropology journals such as JRAI.
Close reference to an author should be followed by citation of that author, eg,: Leach (1954) claimed that Shan and Kachin identities were Length constructed in relation to, and by contrast with each other. The maximum lengths for assessment essays, extended essays, and dissertations are given in the departmental rules. Direct quotation from an author should be followed by a citation which includes the page number, eg, “It is then of great interest that Formative essays are not examined, and formal rules are therefore Shans and Kachins alike express their ideas about the political order by not set out for them in the same way. It is difficult to state exactly making use of identical or closely related concepts” (Leach, 1954: 107). how long an essay should be, since some people write in a more condensed style than others; however, as a guideline, we would In both these cases, the bibliography would include the reference: suggest 1,500 words as an appropriate length for an essay. Leach, Edmund (1954), Political Systems of Highland Burma: a Study of Kachin Social Structure. London, Athlone Press.
We recommend that page numbers are used in notes, since they provide you with an easy way to look back and find key sections of the books you have read, especially during revision.
26 English language and style When you are sure that you have covered the central content requirements for the essay, you are free to introduce other material Essays should be written in formal English, avoiding slang words – from written or verbal sources, inside or outside anthropology, and colloquialisms. Students for whom English is a second which you feel is relevant. Be careful however to keep this as an language should consult a reliable style guide, e.g. William Strunk addition to, not a substitute for, central course content. and E. B. White’s 1979 The elements of style (New York and London, Macmillan). These guides offer a wide range of examples of idioms and structures which can be used to express the relationship between ideas in terms of similarity, contrast, causation, Construction of essays metaphorical relationship, etc. Students who would like to develop Use the title of the essay. A title is a form of ‘hook’ on which you can their formal written English further should ask their academic Mentor hang your argument. In many cases, you may agree with, disagree about the LSE’s Language Centre, and LSE LIFE, which offers regular with or slightly modify the statement given in the title, with equally classes in advanced written English and good academic style. good results, as long as you back your argument up with evidence. The department is proud of the wide international range of its Many essay titles (and exam questions) are given in the form of a student body, and Academic Mentors will do their best to support two-part or three-part statement, which invites you to qualify each students working in a second language. However, students should section of the question, eg, the question: note that Academic Mentors are academic and personal advisors, and cannot act as professional language teachers or proof readers. “Mauss told us everything we need to know about ‘the gift’, but It is the responsibility of each student to seek appropriate help with nothing we need to know about ‘the commodity’” Discuss. their language work outside the department, where discussion with Academic Mentors suggests that this would be constructive. would invite you to explore the range of definitions offered in Mauss and other writers of both ‘gift’ and ‘commodity’, as well as to take issue with each part of the statement, expressing agreement, disagreement, or proposing a modified version of each of the two formulae. Content of essays Occasionally, an essay title might NOT allow several ways of Formative essays are generally set on topics taken from the taught answering, eg, the title: course reading lists. Since one objective of the degree programmes ‘Mauss has nothing whatever of importance to tell us about the in Anthropology is to teach a central body of theoretical and gift’. Discuss. ethnographic knowledge in the discipline, student essays should demonstrate a close reading and clear understanding of the set really invites a structured disagreement, taking a number of texts. In other words, you should: objections to the statement in turn. It would have to be a very bold and well-informed argument which could make a good case for • Lay out a description of the central arguments of the set texts as agreeing with this title. you see them. You may give a synoptic account of the argument and/or use short quotations from the text to illustrate the central Essays should be structured logically, and should generally follow a points. ‘linear’ development. That is, you should have: an introduction, which defines the problem, and states in brief how you intend to address it; • Analyse the ways in which the set texts relate to each other; do a central section, which considers each of the main relevant issues in they support each other? If so, are they using similar or different turn, and which makes clear the links between each section so that kinds of evidence or argument to arrive at a compatible view? the argument continues to have a forward-moving direction; and a Do they contradict each other? If so, why is this a difference of conclusion, which states your overall view of the topic as developed theoretical position, or a difference of available evidence, or a in the essay as a whole, and which may also set the entire question difference of political intention, etc.? Do the texts all speak to within a wider context. the same aspect of a problem or to different aspects or levels of that problem? In either case, in your view, are the most important Please note that one of the main ways in which students get ‘stuck’ in questions actually being addressed? writing essays, is by thinking that it is necessary to have the ‘ultimate solution’ to the problem in their heads before they put a word down • It may often be useful to provide some historical context, briefly on paper. Remember that you are dealing with major questions in explaining when and with what intentions an author was writing. social theory, over which there is unending controversy; it is therefore It may also be useful to consider the impact of this work on other asking too much of yourself to come up with an entirely original and writers in the field. convincing ‘answer’ each time you write an essay. It is important to wrestle seriously with large problems; it is also important, however, When dealing with ethnography, you should again show • to recognise that stating the problem in an interesting and insightful the reader that you have considered the text in detail, citing way, can be much more valuable than arriving at a forced and concrete examples and providing relevant quotations. Look unconvincing solution. If you are ‘stuck’ on an essay try explaining for internal consistency and inconsistency in the book, reading what is difficult about the question verbally to someone else; then the ethnographic description against both the author’s own note down the steps of your explanation (e.g. ‘it’s complicated theoretical arguments, and the theoretical arguments of the other because there are several different ways of defining ‘the gift’ which writers on the reading list for that topic. Make comparisons with overlap with each other...’ ‘it’s difficult because Mauss isn’t working other ethnographies that you know on similar regions or issues.
27 28 from the same basis as some of the people who criticise his book Inclusion of autobiographical and on the gift’ etc.) and use these explanations as a skeleton structure for your essay. It is more than acceptable to begin an essay with a anecdotal material formula such as: One last pointer, we welcome the inclusion of thoughtful accounts ‘There are two main difficulties confronting any analyst of of personal experience and outside reading in your essays. However, Mauss’s work: the first is the problem of relating Mauss’s when using personal or anecdotal material, you should always writings to each other, and the second is the wide number of be careful to make clear the status of that material and to offer contradictory ways in which his best-known book, The Gift it tentatively and politely if you wish to oppose a widely accepted (1990), has been understood. In this essay, I will begin with the argument which is made in key texts. Your essay will be more second problem, arguing with J Parry (1985) that it is impossible persuasive this way. Claiming that some monument of anthropology to understand Mauss’s theory of ‘gift societies’ except by seeing is stark raving bonkers on the basis of something you saw on a the ‘gift-commodity’ opposition as an artefact of contemporary week’s package holiday in 2011, while possibly true, will not look very (and especially capitalist) ideologies. After reviewing the contrary convincing. Putting doubts gently and opening up questions, will win positions of Sahlins and others, I will then move on to place The readers over to your point of view. Supporting your observations with Gift within the context of Mauss’s other work, and will consider material from within the texts themselves, will be even better. how far those of Mauss’s critics who view his whole oeuvre as undermined by its ‘evolutionist’ tendencies, are justified.’ Eg, to:
Note that this (fictional) first paragraph does NOT promise to produce ‘My own experience of growing up in a middle-class family in new solutions to the gift-commodity debate like rabbits out of a hat. Hong Kong, suggests that the focus of the recent literature on Note also that The Gift was not written in 1990, but that is the edition ‘Confucian’ family values in China and Korea may be somewhat currently recommended for use. misplaced’
You may use subheadings or subsections in the construction of you could add: your essay if you wish. This can be a useful way of making sure that ‘I will argue that a careful reading of the ethnographies in each section deals with a coherent point, and that ‘forced transitions’ question in fact provides evidence that gender relations within between one aspect of the discussion in the central section of the Chinese families are much less simply ‘patriarchal’ and ‘filial’ essay and another are avoided. You might want, for instance, to than the ‘Confucian’ model would have it’. explain two issues which at first do not seem to be closely connected, and each of which needs to be understood in its own right, and then This could be still further supported by arguments drawn from argue that they are in fact centrally linked to each other in a way individual reading, which allows you to see the problem from a new which you can demonstrate. Or, you might want to consider each angle, so you could add: of two texts or regional examples in turn, and then draw together comparative threads in a final section. However, if you do use ‘At the end of this essay, relying on recent work on the subsections, you must be careful not to become lazy and produce relationship between Chinese elite society and 19th century an essay which is like a list of notes: the essay should always have a European Jesuit missionaries, I will also question the analytic clearly-structured argument which moves forward from beginning to value of the term ‘Confucianism’ itself, arguing that it arose end, and should always be a way of ‘thinking through’ or ‘drawing a out of a historical ‘encounter’ between China and the West and mental map of’ a problem. An essay without an argumentative shape therefore conveys little about indigenous ways of evaluating is not an essay. family or economic relations’.
For those with visual imaginations, it may help literally to ‘draw’ the connections you see in diagram or map form first, before deciding on a way to string them together for the essay. Subheadings can be useful again here, for those whose minds don’t work in single straight Experiment within these guidelines lines, enabling you to separate out the threads of your story. The advantage of not being formally graded on your formative essays, If you lose the thread of the argument, try summarising the main is that you can afford to use them as a ‘private space’. Use this space point of each paragraph in a single sentence, which you jot down and time to work with your Academic Mentor or course teacher on in the margin, then see where it ‘flows’ and where it doesn’t. When developing a style of writing which suits you, and which allows you to you find a tangle, try re-stating the argument as a description of the say what you want to say with maximum flexibility and impact. problem, not as an ‘ultimate answer’ (see above). Remember that what you think cannot really be separated from how Finally, we suggest that you study examples of other peoples’ essays, you express your thoughts; practising expressing them effectively and that you also talk over essays amongst yourselves in informal should therefore be an exercise which gradually makes you feel more study groups to try out different ways of explaining and persuading, confident, more able, and more in control of knowledge and ideas. and to learn from how other people do it. You should also always Essays are in some ways an artificial form but they have a very be on the lookout for how books develop their arguments since the serious aim: to increase your enjoyment of the course over time, and author of a book is facing the same problems as you are in getting to develop skills which you will be able to use both inside and outside her or his ‘story’ across – but on a larger scale. anthropology, in whatever you choose to do next.
29 Libraries
In addition to the main LSE Library, there are others within LSE and University of London facilities: nearby which you may wish to use. lectures and libraries
The LSE is a part of the University of London, and as such has links to some University of London libraries. If the need should arise to The Old Anthropology Library research special topics that go beyond the LSE Library collection, students are advised to check if the Senate House or School of http://www.lse.ac.uk/anthropology/about-us/Old-Anthropology-Library Oriental and African Studies libraries hold the required items. Both The Old Anthropology Library (room OLD 6.05) is exclusively for the libraries are within walking distance from the LSE (close to Russell use of students and staff in the Department of Anthropology. The Square tube station). Library is used as a borrowing library at lunchtimes during term time, Students in the past have enjoyed special lectures held by various staffed by undergraduate students, and you can borrow books as well University of London hosts. Whilst you are studying at LSE, it is as obtain access to offprints and films. worth investigating if there are any particular lectures being given At other times the room is available as a study room and is open from at Goldsmiths, UCL, School of Oriental and African Studies or other early morning to late evening. Please note, however, that meetings University of London colleges and institutions. and regular seminars take place in there. A timetable will be posted on the door indicating when the Library is free for study and when it is in use. Other libraries
The British Library (96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB): The national The Shaw Library library of the United Kingdom which is a copyright library and thus reportedly keeps a copy of every publication printed in the UK. This is a small lending collection of general literature, daily Membership is limited to students with research purposes who can newspapers and magazines, and a substantial collection of recorded prove their need for access. Please contact the British Library for an music. It is housed in the Founders’ Room on the sixth floor of the application form if you believe this applies to you. More information is Old Building. Lunchtime concerts are held in the Shaw Library on available at www.bl.uk Thursdays in the Michaelmas and Lent Terms. The Anthropology Library, located within the Centre for Anthropology at the British Museum (Great Russell Street): every geographical area and all aspects of anthropology are covered. The library contains more than 120,000 volumes and 1,500 journal titles. The Library is open to all students for reference and research purposes. www.britishmuseum.org/about_us/departments/africa,_oceania,_ americas/research_facilities.aspx
The Wellcome Institute Library (near Euston): Medical anthropology. More information is available at wellcomelibrary.org
30 Associations of interest to Anthropology students
Royal Anthropological Institute European Association of Social www.therai.org.uk/ Anthropologists
This organisation publishes the Journal of the Royal Anthropological www.easaonline.org/ Institute and Anthropology Today, and hosts a large number of EASA is a professional association open to all social conferences, seminars and public events, including an ethnographic anthropologists either qualified and/or working in Europe. EASA film festival. It houses an archive of photographs and films that are organises biannual conferences and edits the journal Social available for consultation. Anthropology: Anthropologie Sociale.
Association of Social Anthropologists American Anthropological Association www.theasa.org www.americananthro.org/ The ASA is the main professional body of social anthropology for the This is the world’s largest professional organization of individuals UK and the Commonwealth. interested in anthropology. It organises many conferences, has a This association promotes the study and teaching of social flagship journal called American Anthropologist, and maintains an anthropology in the UK and the Commonwealth, publishes the journal excellent website. Anthropology Matters and organises an annual conference.
Market for mules in a village in the Wa state of Myanmar. Summer 2017. Picture taken by Hans Steinmuller. 31 So far, I’ve attended three of the LSE LIFE core courses and I would like to say that I think these should be mandatory for all LSE students. I thought I took good notes before, but the tips you provide are very helpful to focus during reading/lectures.
32 Key Information
Term dates and LSE Closures – Academic Year 2019/20
Michaelmas Term (MT) LSE will be closed during the following periods:
Monday 30 September – Friday 13 December 2019 Christmas Closure Reading Week: Monday 4 – Friday 8 November 2019 Monday 23 December 2019 – Wednesday 1 January 2020
Lent Term (LT) Easter Closure Thursday 9 April – Wednesday 15 April 2020 Monday 20 January – Friday 3 April 2020
January Exams: Monday 13 – Friday 17 January 2020 May Bank Holiday Friday 8 May 2020 Reading Week: Monday 24 – Friday 28 February 2020 Spring Bank Holiday Summer Term (ST) Monday 25 May 2020
Monday 4 May – Friday 19 June 2020 Summer Bank Holiday Summer Exams: Monday 11 May – Friday 19 June 2020 Monday 31 August 2020
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It is essential that you are fully registered with LSE during your time If you have a disability, long-term medical or mental health condition here. When you register for the first time you will need to attend in you are advised to apply for an Inclusion Plan (IP) as soon possible. person, show us the required documents, and collect your LSE Card. The sooner that you let the Disability and Wellbeing Service (DWS) Usually you can re-register for subsequent years of study online know about your condition the sooner they can work with you to put but sometimes we may need to see you in person again. For more appropriate support in place. Advisers in DWS can potentially set up information visit lse.ac.uk/registration one-to-one learning support, mentoring and help you access assistive technology designed to remove barriers to studying. To find out how to apply for an Inclusion Plan visit lse.ac.uk/inclusionPlans
Student Status Documentation
A certificate of registration provides proof to organisations such as council tax offices, embassies and banks, that you are registered as a current student at LSE. For more information about what a certificate of registration shows visit lse.ac.uk/studentletters. You can obtain a certificate of registration from the Student Services Centre during our opening hours which are normally 11am to 4pm, Monday to Friday (these may change during the year and you are advised to check lse.ac.uk/SSC for correct times). Your department will not be able to produce a certificate of registration for you. If you are planning to use this document to open a bank account, you will normally need to specify which bank it needs to be addressed to.
The Student Services Centre also offers a range of other documents to prove your student status including certificates of course choice and intermediate transcripts. Some can be produced immediately, and others need to be ordered in advance. For more information about the options available please visit lse.ac.uk/ studentStatusDocuments Your LSE Card
Your LSE card provides access to buildings and acts as your Library card. It is important that you keep it safe and never share it with anybody else. If your LSE card is lost, stolen or damaged visit lse.ac.uk/studentIdCards to find out how to get a replacement.
33 Interruption Regulations
You can take a year-long break in your studies (which we call an You should familiarise yourself with the LSE regulations, policies interruption) with approval from your academic department and and procedures that cover many aspects of student life. the School. You are usually required to return at the start of either Michaelmas Term or Lent Term as appropriate. Summer Term Some of the regulations explain the organisation and conduct interruptions are not possible. For more information visit of your academic study. These include information about the lse.ac.uk/interruptions structure of your programmes, assessment requirements, the basis on which your final degree is calculated and what to do if you face exceptional circumstances.
You can find links to the General Academic Regulations, Regulations Programme Transfer for First Degrees; Regulations for Taught Master’s Degrees; Plagiarism, and Appeals Regulations; in the LSE Calendar at You can request to transfer from your current programme to another lse.ac.uk/calendar programme at the same level according to the School’s regulations. There are usually restrictions or conditions on transferring You can find a full A-Z listing of all of LSE’s policies and procedures programmes, and sometimes transfers are not possible. All transfer online at lse.ac.uk/policies requests are considered by, and require approval from, both your current and new academic department and the School before being authorised. For more information visit lse.ac.uk/programmeTransfers
Change of Mode of Study
If you are studying a Master’s programme, and your circumstances change, meaning that you need to adjust your study from full-time to part-time, you will need to seek authorisation from your academic department. Changing from full-time to part-time study is generally acceptable, and your course selection will be amended according to programme regulations. Your fees will also be amended. Changing from part-time to full-time may not always be possible and requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis. It is not normally possible to study an undergraduate programme on a part-time basis. For more information visit lse.ac.uk/changeMode
Withdrawal
Withdrawing means that you are leaving your programme permanently. Before withdrawing you may want to consider interruption so that you have some time to consider your options. For more information visit lse.ac.uk/withdrawal
34 Student Services Centre
The Student Services Centre (SSC) is located on the ground floor of the Old Building and can provide advice and information about:
• Certificates of Registration (for bank accounts, travel, council tax etc.)
• Course selection and class changes
• Exams and assessment
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• Graduation
• Support for new arrivals
• Registration (registration for new students normally takes place in Clement House)
• Transcripts and Degree Certificates • LSE cards What If…
• TfL 18+ Oyster Cards The SSC have developed a series of answers to common “What if…” questions. These cover a broad range of topics including what to do if you’re unwell during an exam; become pregnant; change your name; The SSC is normally open between 11am and 4pm, Monday to Friday. are not happy with your marks or want to change degree programme. For the most up to date opening hours visit lse.ac.uk/ssc You can find these questions and answers at The SSC also hosts a series of specialist drop-in info.lse.ac.uk/current-students/what-if sessions covering:
• Financial support
• Fees, Income and Credit Control Office Advice Team
• Graduate admissions The SSC has a dedicated Advice Team that can provide advice on academic matters (particularly around non-progression, • International student visa advice interruption, withdrawal, regulations and exams). If you are not sure who to contact about a query or question then the Advice These sessions run for an hour at various times during the week Team will be happy to help. You can contact the advice team at so be sure to check when the next session is running. In most cases info.lse.ac.uk/current-students/student-services/advice-team you will need to sign up to attend a session. For more information or by phone on 020 7955 6167. visit lse.ac.uk/ssc
To find out more about the Student Services Centre visit lse.ac.uk/ssc, follow our page on the Student Hub and follow @lse_ssc on Twitter. International Student Visa Advice Team (ISVAT)
ISVAT provide detailed immigration advice for international students on their website which is updated whenever the immigration rules change. The best way to contact ISVAT is to use the query form at lse.ac.uk/isvat or to attend one of their drop-in sessions.
ISVAT also manage student exchanges to UC Berkley and through the Erasmus+ scheme. For more information about this visit lse.ac.uk/erasmus
35 Student Representation
Student-Staff Liaison Committees Each SSLC also elects one representative to attend the relevant Consultative Fora which are School-level forums. Here representatives and Student Consultative Fora from around LSE will discuss matters that impact on students.
Student-Staff Liaison Committees (SSLCs) are one of the most More information, including access to minutes from SSLCs across important bodies in the School. Their purpose is to create a forum the School can be found online: info.lse.ac.uk/current-students/ for students to discuss their experiences, both in and outside of creators-innovators-leaders/student-voice the classroom, with LSE staff. SSLCs are a shared, collaborative endeavour between Departments, the Students’ Union, central School Services, and, most importantly, students themselves.
At the start of the year you will be asked by your department if Student-Only Forums you would like to represent your programme on the Student-Staff LSE’s Director, Minouche Shafik, holds Student-Only forums in Liaison Committee (SSLC). Michaelmas and Lent terms. The forums are an opportunity for The role of an SSLC representative is central to ensuring that courses students from across the School to hear from the Director in person and programmes at LSE work effectively. Training will be provided for and gives you the chance to ask questions and share ideas. Look all SSLC representatives. These forums are a great way for students out for details of where and when forums will be happening on the to make their voice heard at LSE. Student Hub.
Quality Assurance
Quality Assurance Strategy Student Teaching Surveys
LSE’s approach to assuring the quality of our teaching is set out in In both Michaelmas Term and Lent Term TQARO conducts surveys the Strategy for Managing Academic Standards which can be found to assess students’ opinions of teaching. online in the “internal quality assurance section” of the website at lse.ac.uk/tqaro. As an awarding body LSE must be in a position to Teaching scores are made available to teachers, Heads assure the standards of its degrees. At the same time, we believe that of Departments, the Director of the Teaching and Learning Centre, the the design of quality assurance should respect different departmental Pro-Director (Education) and the Pro-Director (Faculty Development). cultures and academic histories. The strategy sets out broad principles In addition to producing reports for individual teachers TQARO and processes for assuring academic standards and for enhancing the produce aggregated quantitative data for departments and School- quality of educational provision. As of the 2018-19 academic year this wide bodies. The results can be found online in the “Surveys” section includes devolved quality assurance arrangements, with responsibility of the website at lse.ac.uk/tqaro for the oversight and modification of existing provision resting with Departmental Teaching Committees.
36 LSE Services to Support You with Your Studies and in Your Career
LSE Library
LSE Library holds one of the most important social science collections in the world and has all the material that you need for your studies and research.
Most items are split into collections to help you find what you are looking for:
• The course collection is located on the first floor, holding multiple copies of essential textbooks for your courses. It will have most of your required readings.
• The main collection is housed across three floors, holding wider items for social sciences research.
LSE LIFE
LSE LIFE is the place to develop the skills you’ll need to reach your goals at LSE, whether it concerns your academic work or other personal or professional pursuits. LSE LIFE is here to help you find your own ways to study and learn, think about where your studies might lead you, and make the most of your time at LSE.
LSE LIFE offers:
• Hands-on practical workshops where you can get advice on key areas of university work, including effective reading, academic writing , critical thinking, managing your dissertation research, and organising your time.
• Workshops to learn ways to adapt and thrive in new or challenging situations, including the development of skills for leadership, study/ work/life balance, and life beyond university.
• One-to-one appointments with our study advisers for personalised You can use Library Search to find books and other materials for advice on any aspect of your studies at LSE, or simply to talk your studies via lse.ac.uk/library. Once you have found what you through your ideas for research or other projects. need, write down its location to help you find it in the Library. To borrow books, use your LSE card and the self-service machines • Drop-in sessions with specialists from around LSE covering areas on the ground floor. Taught students can borrow up to 20 books at like CV writing, English language advice, finding and referencing any one time. You can renew your books online by logging into your academic sources, and statistics support. Library account at lse.ac.uk/library. If you do not return books on time, you will be unable to borrow any more until your overdue item A space to meet and work together with students from other • is returned or renewed. courses and departments. Academic Support Librarians provide subject expertise and • Special events to take advantage of what LSE and London personalised support. They also host workshops to help you identify, have to offer. find, manage and evaluate the information needed for your studies and research. You can find out who your Academic Support Librarian Find out more at lse.ac.uk/lselife, check out workshop materials is at lse.ac.uk/academicSupportLibrarian. Subject Guides are useful and other resources on Moodle or just drop by – LSE LIFE is on the online introductions to finding resources, read yours at lse.ac.uk/ ground floor of the Library. library/subjectGuides
37 Language Centre LSE Volunteer Centre
Whether you are an international student looking for support with your English, interested in taking a Language Centre course as part of your undergraduate degree, or want to learn or improve a language the Language Centre can help.
If English is not your first language, there are plenty of ways you can improve and practise using the English language for your academic work. English for Academic Writing courses are available for any undergraduate or postgraduate student who does not have English as a first language and would like a weekly English language class to help with academic writing for coursework. This support is delivered with LSE Life lse.ac.uk/lselife
You may be eligible to take a language, literature or linguistics course as part of your degree. As an LSE student you can also sign up for a non-degree language course at a discounted rate. As part of the LSE Language Policy, if you are a UK-EU undergraduate and you do not have foreign language at GCSE Grade C (or equivalent), you are eligible to take an MFL certificate course for free!
For more information visit lse.ac.uk/languages Volunteering is a great way to help develop new skills and meet new people while making a difference and the LSE Volunteer Centre is here to inspire and empower you to volunteer for causes LSE Careers that you are passionate about during your time at LSE. We work with organisations to advertise volunteering opportunities LSE Careers is here to help guide and support you throughout your across London, the UK and internationally. Whether you are passionate time at LSE. We provide a range of careers services and events about the environment or human rights or ready to change the world both online, face-to-face and through one-to-one appointments. through campaigning or mentoring, we’ll have an opportunity for you. We have a jobs board and offer bespoke services for disabled We also know that students are busy and we run a comprehensive students and PhD students. one-off volunteering programme to make sure you can fit it in.
There is lots of information and support at Looking to meet charities? The first volunteering fair will take place lse.ac.uk/careers including: on Monday 7 October and is a great opportunity to speak to over 50 representatives from some truly inspirational organisations. You can Information about the services offered by LSE Careers and how • find out more about this, as well as the advice and support we can to access them offer, at lse.ac.uk/volunteercentre or by following @LSEVolunteering • Support with your career options and insight into employment sectors and recruitment processes
• CV, cover letter and application form advice and examples LSE Generate
• Details of what graduates have gone on to do LSE Generate is the home of entrepreneurship at LSE.
We aim to support and scale socially-driven student and alumni LSE CareerHub, our online careers portal, allows you to: ventures, here in the UK and across the globe. We welcome all students and alumni, from those eager to develop and learn • Discover jobs and opportunities entrepreneurial skills to LSE entrepreneurs who have already launched their ventures and need support and advice from the team. • Book one-to-one discussions to talk about your career options and Join us for our events, enter the Generate funding competition, pop receive feedback on your applications by and meet us in our co-working space and access all our start-up resources for free. Discover more on our website lse.ac.uk/generate Explore upcoming events including skills seminars, • or keep up to date with Generate news through our social media, careers fairs and employer presentations (@LSEGenerate).
You can access CareerHub at careers.lse.ac.uk
Keep up-to-date with events and advice by following @LSECareers
38 Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)
As part of the School’s commitment to equality of respect and If you experience or witness bullying or harassment, please visit opportunity, and as set out in our Ethics Code, we are all responsible for lse.ac.uk/ReportIt to access information on how to report an treating everyone at LSE with dignity and respect. This entails ensuring incident and reach support. that no one is treated unfavourably because of their age, sex, disability, gender identity, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, marital or civil All members of the School are encouraged to complete the “Consent partnership status, pregnancy and maternity status, social or economic Matters” module to learn about how you might positively intervene as background, or their role at the School. a bystander, and to signpost anyone who has experienced any form of bullying or harassment to the support available on the Making a In practice, this means that we are all expected to: Choice hub.
• Treat all members of the School community fairly and with respect For further advice or information, please visit lse.ac.uk/EquityDiversityInclusion and follow the • Act courageously and openly, with respect for the knowledge and EDI Office on Twitter @EDI_LSE experience of others
• Play our part in creating an environment that enables all members of the School community to achieve their full potential in an environment characterised by equality of respect and opportunity
• Actively oppose all forms of discrimination and harassment, including challenging and/or reporting unacceptable behaviour.
39 40 Your Wellbeing and Health
Student Wellbeing Service (SWS) As well as dispensing medicines, pharmacies can also offer advice on common health problems. You do not need to make an appointment, SWS brings together two key student facing services; the Disability just visit a pharmacy and ask to speak to the duty pharmacists. In an and Wellbeing Service (DWS) and the Student Counselling Service emergency you should dial 999 to call an ambulance. You can also (SCS). SWS also facilitates the Peer Supporter Scheme. SWS aims to visit your nearest accident and emergency (A&E) department at your provide you with a single integrated source of help and assistance. local hospital or visit an Urgent Care Centre.
SCS provides a professional, free and confidential service to help you There is a lot more information about Health Care, including details with any problems that you may be experiencing. You can speak to about dentists and opticians, available at lse.ac.uk/studentHealth them about academic stresses, as well as personal and emotional difficulties. Visit lse.ac.uk/counselling to book an individual appointment, read about drop-in appointments or find out about groups and workshops. LSE Faith Centre
DWS are the first point of contact for students with disabilities, The Faith Centre is open to students of all faiths and none. It is long term medical and mental health conditions, and Specific home to LSE’s diverse religious activities, acclaimed interfaith Learning Difficulties such as dyslexia. DWS can help you to create an programmes and a reflective space for all staff and students. Inclusion Plan which is a way of putting in place agreed “reasonable adjustments” to support your studies. Visit lse.ac.uk/disability to find The Faith Centre provides a space for student faith societies to meet out more. and worship. The Faith Centre produces a Religion and Belief Guide each year which provides information and contact details for faith Peer Supporters give you the opportunity to talk to fellow students groups, you can collect a copy from the Faith Centre reception on the about anything that is worrying you. Peer Supporters are trained second floor of the Saw Swee Hock Student Centre. to offer confidential emotional support, help and reassurance. You can find out more about the scheme and arrange a chat with a Peer The Faith Centre hosts a range of wellbeing activities including Supporter at lse.ac.uk/peerSupport Mindfulness, Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga and Tai Chi. Class details can be found online at lse.ac.uk/faithCentre. The Cave in the Faith Centre is available to all LSE staff and students who need a quiet place for reflection. This space cannot be booked but is open Health Care in the UK throughout the week. The Faith Centre runs three acclaimed interfaith leadership You are likely to need to access medical care while you are at LSE, programmes which are your chance to explore, question and even if this is just for routine appointments. In the UK most health challenge religious differences and provide a unique opportunity to care is provided through the National Health Service (NHS). build relationships and challenge assumptions across faiths. Find out You are typically eligible for free treatment on the NHS if more by visiting the “Programmes” page at lse.ac.uk/faithCentre you fall into one of the following categories: The Faith Centre Director and Chaplain to the LSE, Reverend Dr James • You are a UK resident Walters, can be contacted on [email protected] for confidential support regardless of religious affiliation. Contact details for our team • You have a Tier 4 visa and have paid the immigration of Associate Chaplains can be found at lse.ac.uk/faithCentre health surcharge
• You are an EU/EEA student with a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC)
This list is not exhaustive and was correct at the time of print. The UK Council for International Student Affairs maintains an up-to-date listing on their website – ukcisa.org.uk
If you are unfamiliar with the NHS search for “NHS Services explained” to find out more. You are usually required to register with a local General Practitioner’s (GP) surgery before you can book an appointment. You should register as soon as possible and not wait until you are unwell. The nearest GP surgery is St Philips Medical Centre who are based on the second floor of Pethick- Lawrence House. This surgery will register most LSE students. For more information about the services offered and how to register please visit stphilipsmedicalcentre.co.uk or call 020 7611 5131. Alternatively, you can find your nearest GP by using the GP finder function on the NHS website nhs.uk
41 Exams and Assessments
Candidate Numbers Deferral
Your candidate number is a unique five digit number that ensures If you have difficulties in the lead up to, or during, the assessment that your work is marked anonymously. It is different to your student or exam then you can seek to defer the assessment or exam, in number and will change every year. Candidate numbers can be exceptional circumstances. You will need permission from the Chair accessed in early Michaelmas Term using LSE for You. of your Sub-Board of Examiners to do this. For more information visit lse.ac.uk/deferral
Exam Timetables Extension Policy Course by course exam timetables will be available online at lse. ac.uk/exams. For January exams the timetable is usually available If you have difficulties in the lead up to an assessment deadline but towards the end of Michaelmas term, for summer exams it is usually think you may be able to successfully submit if you had extra time, available in Lent Term and for students taking in-year resit and you can seek an extension request. You must make this request deferral exams, it is usually available in late July. Closer to each exam before the deadline has taken place and you will need permission season, you will also be given access to a personal exam timetable from the Chair of your Sub-Board of Examiners to do this. For more with your room and seat numbers in LSE for You. information visit lse.ac.uk/extensionpolicy
Exam Procedures Exceptional Circumstances
Anybody taking exams at LSE must read the Exam Procedures for If you miss an assessment that you did not defer, or experience Candidates. It contains all the information that you need to know difficulties that you feel may have had an impact on your and is updated each year. The document is less than ten pages and performance on an assessment you did attempt, even where you covers topics ranging from candidate numbers to permitted materials were provided with an extension, you should submit an Exceptional to what to do if things go wrong. You can download your copy at Circumstances Form and corroborating evidence to the Student lse.ac.uk/exams Services Centre. This will allow you to alert the Sub-Board of Examiners to the circumstances under which you completed the You may only use a calculator in an exam if this is permitted assessment or exams. For more information visit by the relevant academic department. If you are permitted a lse.ac.uk/exceptionalCircumstances calculator, it must be from the Casio fx-83 or fx-85 range. If you bring an alternative model it will be removed by invigilators and no replacement will be given. The permitted calculators are readily available in many supermarkets, online retailers and in the SU Shop. Fit to Sit Policy
By submitting your assessment regardless of whether it is coursework, participation in a class presentation or sitting an exam, Individual Exam Adjustments LSE considers that you have declared yourself fit enough to do so. If you have experienced disruption to your studies (illness, injury or Individual Exam Adjustments (IEAs) can be made if you have a personal difficulties for example) you must think carefully about documented medical, physical or mental health condition and/or a whether you should attempt the assessment or whether you should specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia or dyspraxia. The purpose consider requesting an extension or deferring the assessment. of IEAs is to provide an environment that gives all students an equal Requests for an extension or deferral must be made in advance of opportunity in exams. These adjustments are confidential and will not the assessment deadline. be listed on your degree certificate or transcript. In most cases you should apply for IEAs as part of getting your Inclusion Plan in place. However there is a different process for applying for IEAs for short- term, unexpected, conditions. For more information visit lse.ac.uk/iea
42 Results and Classification
Results Transcripts
Final results are released using LSE for You once the relevant School Continuing students can request intermediate transcripts at the Board of Examiners has ratified them. Results are not released to Student Services Centre immediately after ratified results have been students that have debts owing to the School. Provisional exam published. Final transcripts are made available electronically within a results are also made available in LSE for You for students taking system called Digitary which allows them to be easily shared. January exams and for students on 12 month Master’s programmes. For more information about final transcripts please visit For more information on how and when results are released visit lse.ac.uk/transcripts lse.ac.uk/results
Degree Certificate Classification Schemes Your degree certificate will be available for collection at Graduation Degrees are awarded according to the classification scheme or can be posted to you. For more information please visit applicable to the year in which you started your programme. These lse.ac.uk/degreecertificates schemes are applied by the Boards of Examiners when they meet to ratify your results. You can find the classification schemes at lse.ac.uk/calendar
43 Fees and Finance
Fees
All administration around your fees is handled by the Fees, Income and Credit Control Team.
LSE offers two options for payment of fees. You can either pay them in full prior to registration or by payment plan. If you have not paid your fees in full before you register you will be placed on a termly payment plan. You are expected to pay one third of your fees by:
• 28 October 2019
• 28 January 2020
• 28 April 2020
If you do not know your fees please visit lse.ac.uk/tableoffees
To pay online or to find out about the different payment methods available, visit lse.ac.uk/feepayments.
Unfortunately, it is not possible for you to pay in person.
The Fees Office also run drop-in sessions at the Student Services Centre for students who wish to discuss fee related enquiries:
• Check your tuition fees due
• Discuss any concerns regarding payments due
• Check funding or payments made
• Present forms for confirmation and completion Financial Support Office (FSO) FSO are responsible for the administration and awarding • Request invoices and receipts of scholarships, bursaries, studentships and School prizes. For full details regarding tuition fees, charging policy, payment FSO can also provide information about funds such as the Student and instalment options, visit lse.ac.uk/feespolicy for the Tuition Support fund and the LSE Access fund. You can find out more about Fees Policy FSO and download application forms at lse.ac.uk/financialsupport
FSO hold drop-in sessions in the Student Services Centre, can be contacted by phone on 020 7955 6609 or by email at financial- [email protected]
Cheque Collection
Some payments are made by cheque.
If you are asked to collect a cheque then you can collect it from the Student Services Centre during normal opening hours (usually 11am to 4pm, Monday to Friday). You do not need to wait for a drop-in session.
44 Codes and Charters
LSE Academic Code The Ethics Code
LSE has an Academic Code that sets out what we are doing to The Ethics Code details the principles by which the whole deliver a consistent student experience across our School and LSE community is expected to act. clarifies what students can expect from their LSE education. The School expects the highest possible ethical standards from The Academic Code brings together key principles that underpin all staff, students and governors. The Ethics Code sets out the students’ education into a School-wide policy. Developed in School’s commitment to the ethics principles of Responsibility and partnership with LSE Students’ Union, it sets the baseline to build Accountability; Integrity; Intellectual Freedom, Equality of Respect and on teaching standards, academic support, student voice and Opportunity, Collegiality and Sustainability. You can find the Code, assessment and feedback – areas that students have told us matter guidance and link to the online ethics module “Ethics at LSE” at the most to them. lse.ac.uk/ethics
A copy of the Academic Code is included in this handbook (see page 28). Research Ethics
If you conduct research you should refer to the Research Ethics The Student Charter Policy and procedures.
Our Student Charter, written by students and staff, sets out how Search online for “LSE Research Ethics and Guidance” to find LSE’s mission and ethos are reflected in the education you can resources on policy, procedure, informed consent, safety, training expect to receive at the School, and in the diverse, equitable and and support. You will also find the Code of Research Conduct and its inclusive community that we all contribute to and value. associated procedures.
The charter covers: If you have any questions regarding research ethics or research conduct please email: [email protected] • Your education – what an LSE education is and how you can make the most of it
• Our community – what it means to be part of the LSE community and how to contribute
• Your future, our future – how to inspire future generations of LSE students.
You can find out more about the Charter, and read the full version online, just search “LSE Student Charter”.
Codes of Good Practice
The Codes of Good Practice explain the obligations and responsibilities of students and staff.
The codes set out what you can expect from your department in relation to your teaching and learning experience, including the roles and responsibilities of Academic Mentors and Departmental Tutors; the structure of teaching at LSE and examinations and assessments. The codes also lay out your responsibilities and what LSE expects of you. You can find the codes of practice at lse.ac.uk/calendar
45 The Off Campus Support Scheme connects new undergraduate students not living in School accommodation with the LSE community. It is coordinated by the Student Services Centre, but our volunteer student mentors make the real contribution. We work with mentors to provide support and they dedicate their time, knowledge and enthusiasm to help new students feel part of LSE. Lydia Halls, Communications and Orientation Officer, Student Services Centre
46 Systems and Online Resources
Need IT help? Moodle
• Visit the Technology Help Desk on the first floor Moodle is LSE’s virtual learning environment. of the Library The majority of taught programmes have a course on Moodle, • Email [email protected] the online learning platform used at LSE. Moodle courses contain activities such as quizzes, communication tools, resources such as • Call 020 7107 5000. audio and video files, lecture slides, links to recordings of lectures and reading lists. Students may be asked to submit their work The Help Desk is open seven days a week during term time and electronically to Moodle, and teachers may provide feedback and offers a range of services including a laptop surgery. provisional marks via Moodle. Moodle is managed by your course leader so how it is used will vary from course to course.
You can access Moodle by visiting moodle.lse.ac.uk LSE for You
LSE for You is a web portal which gives you access to a range of services. You can access LSE for You at lse.ac.uk/lseforyou Email
LSE for You allows you to: LSE will use your LSE email address to communicate with you so check it regularly. • View and update your term time (contact) and home (permanent) address Microsoft Outlook is available on all public PCs. You can also access your email off-campus using webmail (mail.lse.ac.uk) or on the • Reset your IT password move using clients for laptops and mobile phones. For help setting up email on your device search “LSE mobile email setup”. • Access your candidate number
• View your results
• Select your courses Training and Development System
Alternatively you can also access services on the new Student Hub. The Training and Development System allows you to book a place on many of the personal development opportunities offered around LSE.
You can access the Training and Development System at apps.lse.ac.uk/training-system and login using your LSE Student Hub username and password. The Student Hub is LSE’s app, designed to help you navigate your day-to-day life at LSE. Use the LSE Student Hub app to view your timetable and upcoming Information Security deadlines, find your way around campus and keep up to date with news and events from your Department and the wider School. You Awareness Training can also book appointments with academics or support services LSE hosts an information security awareness course in Moodle. and create groups with friends and course mates to carry on the It will help teach you how to spot phishing emails, keep your conversation outside of class. devices safe and know how to treat your personal data. Download the Student Hub app on iOS or Android, or you You can access the course at moodle.lse.ac.uk/course, logging in can access the web app at studenthub.lse.ac.uk using your LSE username and password.
47 48 Course Selection and Timetables
type. You can build a shortlist of courses and compare the lecture timetables for that shortlist. Course Finder is available from late August.
You may also wish to look at course content on Moodle and check the teaching timetable to detect potential clashes.
Some departments have capped or controlled access courses which means that places are limited. For undergraduates these are allocated on a first come first served basis, for postgraduates there are a number of different selection methods. You can find more information about this at lse.ac.uk/courseSelection
2. Select Your Courses in LSE for You
Go to lse.ac.uk/selectcourses for step by step instructions on how to select your courses on LSE for You. Remember to select any compulsory courses and, if applicable, your dissertation. The process differs for undergraduate and postgraduate students.
Your programme comprises a number of courses, which are usually worth half (0.5) or a full (1.0) unit. Undergraduate students will take 3. Check Your Timetable and Moodle Enrolments courses to the value of four units per year. The number of courses postgraduate students take varies by programme but can be found Undergraduate students are allocated to all teaching centrally at lse.ac.uk/calendar. You will need to select all of your courses, and you will receive your personal timetable in LSE for You including any compulsory ones, in LSE for You. during Welcome.
Postgraduate students may be able to use Seminar Sign-up in LSE for You after you have made your course selections and they have been When to Select Courses approved by the department responsible for teaching the course. You will automatically be given access to the Moodle page Undergraduate course selection will open in early September. for your courses a few hours after selecting your courses on LSE Postgraduate course selection will open for browsing at the for You. If you change courses you will not be removed from the old beginning of Welcome and open properly just before term starts. course on Moodle automatically so you will need to do this manually. Course selections need to be made by the beginning of Week 3 of Michaelmas Term. You will be able to make changes to Lent Term half unit courses in early Lent Term. For the exact dates visit lse.ac.uk/courseSelection Changing Class or Seminar
Undergraduate students are only able to change class in exceptional circumstances, to request a class change apply using the “class How to Select Your Courses change request” tool within LSE for You. You should include details of why you need to change class and outline your availability for 1. Find the Courses You’d Like to Take alternative classes. You may be required to provide evidence in Go to lse.ac.uk/findcourses to access the tools and information to support of your request. help you decide which courses you want to take this academic year. Postgraduate students should either use Seminar Sign Up if it is Make sure that you identify a few back-up courses in case your first enabled for your courses or contact the department responsible for choice is not available. teaching the course. You should make sure that you attend any departmental course selection meetings and seek advice from your Academic Mentor or Departmental Tutor before finalising your course selections.
The LSE calendar is the place to check for programme regulations detailing which courses you are permitted to take. It also provides course guides for every course at LSE, including student feedback. You can find the calendar online at lse.ac.uk/calendar
LSE Course Finder is a tool to help you choose which courses to take within your programme regulations. Course Finder allows you to browse available courses by unit value, keyword, department and assessment
49 Can’t See Your Timetable? Access Guide to LSE Buildings
If you can’t see a course on your timetable after the relevant AccessAble have produced detailed access guides to the LSE publication date there are five common reasons: campus and route maps between key locations.
• You have not registered / re-registered for this academic year • You have not selected the course in LSE for You Getting Help You have selected a course which creates a clash on • There is more detailed information, contact details and answers to your timetable (undergraduate only) frequently asked questions online at lse.ac.uk/courseSelection • You have made changes within the last 48 hours (the timetable can take up to two days to regenerate)
• Your seminar has not yet been allocated by the relevant department (postgraduate only)
50 The LSE Academic Code
The LSE Academic Code, developed in partnership with LSE Students’ 3. All students will have an Academic Mentor to advise on academic Union, sets out what we do to deliver a consistent student experience matters. Academic Mentors should have the necessary expertise across our School and clarifies what students can expect from their and guidance to undertake the role. Ideally, students will keep the LSE education. same mentor throughout their time at LSE.
The Academic Code helps us deliver on our commitments to 4. Students will be invited to meet their Academic Mentor at least enhance experiences at LSE in partnership with students. Your input twice during each of the Michaelmas and Lent terms. These is essential to measure success, and the Students’ Union has worked meetings may take the form of 1-2-1 sessions or small group with us to redesign student representation at our School, so that you gatherings, so that mentees can meet one another and discuss have a stronger voice at LSE than ever before. issues of mutual interest.
The Academic Code should be read in conjunction with the 5. In addition to academic guidance provided by the Academic Mentor, LSE-LSESU Student Charter. students will have access to personal advice, for example with respect to mental health and wellbeing. Students will be clearly 1. All full-time undergraduate and taught postgraduate students informed about who to go to for what kinds of advice and this will taking a taught course will receive a minimum of two hours be available through various mechanisms, such as Disability and taught contact time per week when the course is running in the Wellbeing Services, Student Services, and Departments. Michaelmas and/or Lent terms, or a minimum of four hours taught contact time per week for a full-unit taught course running 6. Staff teaching on LSE programmes will be available to students entirely in Michaelmas or in Lent term. through a minimum of 35 office hours (for full-time teaching staff) during term time. Normally, the expectation is to meet 2. Students will have the opportunity to receive feedback on face-to-face, but contact may take other forms that are mutually formative and summative work, as set out below. Feedback agreed between the teacher and students. on assessment due in Summer Term is not required for non- continuing students except for dissertations or capstone projects. 7. Departments will hold at least one Student-Staff Liaison There may be exceptional circumstances where the below Committee and one Departmental Teaching Committee meeting timeframes are not possible and, if this is the case, the reasons for during each of the Michaelmas and Lent terms, following the extending the time period will be clearly explained to students as guidelines for each type of meeting that we have agreed in early as possible. partnership with the Students’ Union.
2.1 All assessment submission deadlines and feedback timeframes will be clearly communicated to students at the start of each course, including on the course Moodle page.
2.2 Feedback on formative tasks will normally be returned to students within three term weeks of the submission deadline, where students submit their work on time.
2.3 Feedback on summative assessment (excluding exams, dissertations or capstone projects) will normally be provided within five term weeks of the submission deadline, where students submit their work on time.
2.4 Feedback on January exams will normally be provided within six term weeks of the end of the exam period.
2.5 Feedback on Summer exams will normally be provided within four term weeks of the following Michaelmas term.
2.6 Feedback on dissertations and capstone projects will normally be provided within four term weeks of the final mark being made available to students.
2.7 For any summative assessment which is failed, students will have the opportunity to receive feedback in time to prepare for the resit or resubmission. For summative assessment failed in Summer Term, feedback may take the form of general guidance on how to have approached that assessment.
51 52 Campus map
SERLE STREET 5LF
32L
LINCOLN’S INN FIELDS 35L
LINCOLN’S INN FIELDS CAREY STREET
PORTUGAL STREET
MAR QUE 50L LRB NAB PORTSMOUTH ST JOHN WATKINS POR LCH PLAZA
SAR SHEFFIELD ST LAK COW GRANGE COURT SHF KGS ST CLEMENT’S LANE SARDINIA ST SAW ST CLEMENT’S LANE PAR STC CLEMENT’S INN CLARE MARKET KINGSWAY HOUGHTON ST PAN FAW PEL
PEA PORTUGAL ST CBG OLD KEMBLE ST KSW 95A CLM LSE MAIN ENTRANCE ALD COL STRAND CON ALDWYCH
1KW ALDWYCH Key 95A 95 Aldwych LAK Lakatos Building PAN Pankhurst House ALD Aldwych House LCH Lincoln Chambers PAR Parish Hall CBG Centre Building 5LF 5 Lincoln’s Inn Fields PEA Peacock Theatre CLM Clement House 32L 32 Lincoln’s Inn Fields PEL Pethick-Lawrence House COL Columbia House 35L 35 Lincoln’s Inn Fields POR 1 Portsmouth Street CON Connaught House MAR The Marshall Building QUE Queens House COW Cowdray House (44 Lincoln’s Inn Fields) SAR Sardinia House FAW Fawcett House 50L 50 Lincoln’s Inn Fields SAW Saw Swee Hock KGS King’s Chambers LRB Lionel Robbins Building, Student Centre Library and The Womens Library 1KW 1 Kingsway SHF Sheffield Street NAB New Academic Building KSW 20 Kingsway STC St Clement’s OLD Old Building
Cycle Hire LSE LSE Building Information Building Development Station All buildings have wheelchair access and lifts, except , 95A, KGS, KSW*, 5LF, 50L, POR* and SHF. *KSW 20 Kingsway (Language Centre only), *POR 1 Portsmouth Street (Shop only).
C lse.ac.uk/anthropology Department of Anthropology The London School of Economics and Political Science Houghton Street London WC2A 2AE
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Design: LSE Design Unit (lse.ac.uk/designunit) Photography: Nigel Stead, LSE School Photographer, members of the Department of Anthropology, cover: Sofia Cangiano (unsplash)