The School of Philosophy, Anthropology and Social Inquiry Anthropology

Postgraduate Research programs

Anthropology staff provide specialised supervision in socio-cultural anthropology. Strong emphasis is given to ethnographic research, comparative research and theory-building. Current teaching staff engage in research and consult on projects in diverse areas of interest. They are able to provide specialist ethnographic expertise on Australia and the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, North America, South Asia and Southeast Asia.

The program ensures that students are presented with an anthropological perspective on contemporary issues and problems relevant to future careers in both the public and private sectors. Some graduates pursue careers as professional anthropologists, either within an academic institution or employed in government or non-government bodies concerned with overseas aid and development. Others continually draw on their anthropological background as teachers, writers, journalists, administrators, and within the increasing array of professions and positions in both government and private enterprise that require an understanding of and sensitivity to cultural difference.

The Faculty of Arts administers the Master of Arts in Anthropology (thesis only). The Master of Arts degree is designed for students to develop advanced skills in carrying out independent and sustained research. Students produce a 30,000 word thesis dealing with an area of socio-cultural anthropology and demonstrating the ability to present a coherent hypothesis on an issue in that discipline, supported by research and analysis.

The School of Graduate Research administers the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) program. This is the major research degree offered by the University of Melbourne and requires the completion of a thesis of about 80 000 words.

Supervision is currently available in a broad range of substantive and theoretical fields. As a indication of this, current PhD thesis topics include:

Australia

  • Wine growers and the politics of taste
  • Immigration and individuality amongst Jewish and Chilean immigrants in Australia
  • The production and reproduction of class in playgroups and mothers groups in Australia
  • Identity construction amongst animal rights and animal welfare activists
  • Discourses of environmental degradation and belonging
  • The lifestylization of home in urban and suburban Australia
  • Australian women’s experiences of conversion to Islam

    • Europe

  • On ‘Yugonostalgia’
  • An ethnographic study of displaced Bosnians and Bosnian translocalisms
  • Violence talk in urban Ireland
  • The role of media in the collapse of former Yugoslavia
  • Cultural clichés of difference amongst diasporic Ukranians

    • Latin America and the Caribbean

  • An ethnography of the Uruguayan ‘new urban poor’
  • Statecraft, subjectivity and the construction of nationhood amongst the urban poor in post-Sandanista Nicaragua

    • Asia Pacific and Southeast Asia

  • An ethnography of pyramid schemes in PNG
  • Ritual, education and the ecology of mind in an Indonesian community
  • Yogyakarta’s street children redefine their culture

    • South Asia

  • Kerala Gold: a critical analysis of materiality in the works of Appadurai, Deleuze and Miller
  • Perceptions of change amongst nomads, reincarnate lamas and development workers in East Tibet

    • Comparative and Global

  • Socio-cultural change and multiculturalism in Buddhist nuns’ communities in North India and South Korea
  • An ethnography of international aircrew
  • An ethnography of professional ballet dancers

    • More information

    Please consult the following websites for important information about the application requirements specific to our programs:

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