https://studiegids.vu.nl/en/courses/2025-2026/S_CTAKnowledge and insightThe student has acquired knowledge and understanding of the basic concepts in anthropology.The student has acquired knowledge and understanding of the basic theoretical perspectives in anthropology.The student has gained insight in the unique position of anthropology vis-à-vis other disciplines, including an insight in anthropology’s epistemological foundations.ApplicationThe student is able to apply anthropological concepts to new societal issues and new anthropological literature.The student has acquired the competence to observe their own life-world from an anthropological perspective.OpinionThe student is able to formulate a basic opinion grounded in anthropological knowledge and insight.Anthropology is the comparative study of human societies and cultures all over the world. The goal of anthropology is to describe, analyse and explain different cultures, to show how groups have adapted to and modified their environment, and to understand how people try to make sense of their world and give meaning to their lives. The general aim of the course Core Themes in Anthropology is to give students an introduction to the discipline. The course is built around eight central core themes, or recurrent fundamental questions about: 1) the unique position of anthropology vis-à-vis other disciplines; 2) the nature of “culture”; 3) structure and agency; 4) social organisation and the relationships between individuals and society; 5) the relationship between power and economic organisation; 6) social inequalities; 7) defining people’s place in the world and a sense of belonging; 8) the anthropologists’ own positionality.Lectures; guest lectures; documentaries.Mid-term and final exam with open questions.Thomas Hylland Eriksen (2023). Small places, large issues: An introduction to social and cultural anthropology fifth edition. London: Pluto Press. [ISBN 978 0 7453 4819 3, also available as e-book. Do not use earlier editions.]Additional readings will be announced on CANVAS.BSc 1 Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology; Pre-Master students Social and Cultural Anthropology; BSc 2 Religiewetenschappen (Traject Comparatief); Minor Anthropology or Minor Religiestudies; Other (exchange) students are welcome to take this course as an elective.For the first-year bachelor students in Cultural Anthropology and Development Studies, this course is part of a cluster, called “Anthropological Base”. The cluster consists of three courses: Core Themes in Anthropology; History and Theory of Anthropology; and Challenges of the 21st Century. For BSc1 students of Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology, the course will be accompanied with tutorials in the “Academic Skills Lab” (English programme) or “Bachelorwerkgroep” (Dutch programme). For Premaster students, there is no Academic Skills Lab, but a separate tutorial will be organised as part of Core Themes in Anthropology. Attendance of the tutorial is mandatory. A slide-cast will be made of the lectures given on days the Premaster students are not obliged to come to campus; the slide-cast is only available for the premaster students Social and Cultural Anthropology. For other students, please check how this course fits in your curriculum, minor programme, or trajectory (Religiewetenschappen).