Doctoral Program Courses

Foundations of Sociocultural Anthropology

This course aims to deepen students’ understanding of the scope and fundamental concepts of sociocultural anthropology. Topics include the history and subfields of anthropology, with an emphasis on the study of culture, ethnicity, religion, social and political organization, kinship, arts, technology, media, and other sociocultural domains, as well as the relevance of anthropology in contemporary life.

Anthropological Paradigms A

This course introduces foundational concepts that define the scope of research in social anthropology. The term “social” here refers to the development of concepts such as society, social structure, and social processes within anthropology, which both influence and are influenced by the broader social sciences. Key perspectives discussed include traditions from British, French, and German anthropology, reflected in paradigms such as structural-functionalism, functionalism, structuralism, exchange/transactionalism, power (Marxism–Foucault), practice theory, and actor-network theory (Latourian perspective).

Anthropological Paradigms B

This course introduces key concepts that shape the scope of research in cultural anthropology. The notion of culture here is strongly influenced by hermeneutic and semiotic approaches, with a focus on culture as a process of meaning-making and interpretation underlying social action. Core concepts discussed include symbol, sign, meaning, value, experience, and affect, as developed within the American tradition of cultural anthropology.

Anthropological Research Methods (Principles and Practice Overview)

This course focuses on ethnography as the primary research method in anthropology. Students are introduced to ethnographic perspectives and methods, along with recent developments such as multi-sited ethnography, autoethnography, collaborative ethnography, and visual and virtual ethnography. The course also covers stages of conducting ethnographic research, various techniques, and data sources, combined with hands-on practice. By the end of the course, students are required to prepare a statement of intent (SOI) aligned with their thesis or dissertation topic.

Selected Topics: Introduction to Specialization Clusters

This course introduces the scope, approaches, and key concepts of specialization courses.

Academic Writing

This course helps students understand the process of preparing manuscripts for publication in academic journals based on their research topics.

Colloquium

This course is designed to equip students with essential skills in developing and presenting research effectively, as well as engaging in critical discussion. It adopts a participatory approach, encouraging active involvement through discussions, group work, and idea exchange. The course fosters an open and productive academic environment, promoting collaboration and intellectual exploration. Students are required to deliver at least two presentations.

Dissemination

This course encourages students to develop the ability to communicate their research ideas or anthropological work to relevant audiences, both academic and public. It equips them with skills to present ideas effectively while expanding the reach of their research. Activities include presenting papers in academic forums such as seminars, symposia, and workshops organized by academic institutions, government bodies, or civil society organizations. Publications may take the form of accredited national journal articles, popular scientific articles, or book chapters.

Ethnographic Thesis / Literature-Based Thesis

This course guides students in developing their research or anthropological work. Students undertake independent projects under supervision and support. Upon completion, their work is evaluated through presentation and assessment. This process not only measures academic quality but also provides constructive feedback to support their development as researchers and scholars, preparing them to become independent and critical thinkers.

Seminar on Anthropological Research Methods

This course further explores ethnography as the primary research method in anthropology. Students gain a deeper understanding of ethnographic approaches and contemporary developments, including multi-sited, autoethnographic, collaborative, visual, and virtual ethnography. The course also covers research stages, techniques, and data sources, combined with practical application. Students are required to prepare a statement of intent (SOI) aligned with their thesis or dissertation topic.

Research Proposal Seminar

A continuation of the Research Methods course, this seminar facilitates students in preparing and developing their dissertation research proposals. Key components of the proposal are refined through discussions with supervisors.

Research Proposal Examination

An examination of the prepared research proposal.

Research Progress Examination 1

An evaluation of the research conducted, aimed at guiding the development of dissertation writing and analysis.

Scientific Publication

Dissemination of research findings through academic publication.

Research Progress Examination 2

A further evaluation aimed at refining writing and analytical depth.

Doctoral Defense (Promotion Examination)

The final examination to determine eligibility for graduation and the awarding of a doctoral degree in anthropology.

Politics, Culture, and Environment

The scope of this course includes, among others: the historical development of political ecology approaches within environmental anthropology; key concepts shaped by neo-Marxian, post-structuralist, and STS (Science and Technology Studies) paradigms; the plurality of perceptions, interests, and positions of various actors both within and beyond state institutions; competing interests and conflicts among actors over access to and control of natural resources; the social, political, and cultural implications of control over production processes and the use of knowledge about nature and the environment; the roles and positions of practitioners and scholars in shaping power relations among actors in the context of resource control and utilization; as well as broader issues related to the commodification of nature and its impact on human–environment relations. Case studies are drawn from Indonesia as well as other parts of the world.

Critical Studies in Anthropology and Development

This course aims to provide an overview of various approaches in the social sciences, particularly anthropology, in addressing issues of economic development in the Global South. The readings are selected to explore two key questions:
(a) How have theories, policies, and practices of development evolved in Asia, Africa, and Latin America since their emergence as international programs in the early 1940s up to the present?

Development: Space and Power

Why did Foucault theorize power through prisons, and Tania Li through the “tribal slot”? This course examines the role of spatial politics in the practice of power and development. Issues discussed include how villages are defined and redefined as spaces of development, how domestic space is constructed in support of patriarchal power, and how development facilitators navigate their positions within the state–society dichotomy. The class explores the anthropology of development from classical approaches (modernization perspectives) to critical ones (including decolonial and plural approaches).

Politics: Signs and Values

This course focuses on politics as a process of valuation mediated through systems of meaning. Why is a forest categorized as “state forest” or “social forest”? Why might a mass murderer be labeled a “terrorist” if Muslim, but a “psychopath” if Western or Caucasian? Why is healing distinguished between scientific medicine and mystical practice? The course examines political anthropology from classical (state-centered) perspectives to contemporary approaches that emphasize value and mediation.

State, Society, and Market: An Anthropological Perspective

This course introduces theoretical frameworks and key concepts used in contemporary social sciences, particularly anthropology, to study the nation-state, society, and the market. A central question explored through course readings is whether clear boundaries exist among these three domains—state, society, and market—within contemporary anthropological analysis.

Anthropology of Southeast Asia

This course aims to cultivate an appreciation of Southeast Asia as a distinct ethnological region. The region is understood as one marked by cultural diversity, yet sharing sufficiently consistent underlying features that make comparative study possible. The comparative method (rather than statistical methods) is a fundamental approach in anthropology for generating broader generalizations.

Organizational Culture

This course is designed to provide an understanding of how culture develops within organizations, particularly in corporate settings. Organizations, as structured systems composed of frameworks, procedures, and processes, actively shape and engineer their own cultures. The course focuses on how these three elements influence the formation of organizational culture. Students are introduced to the structural, procedural, and systemic aspects of organizations, which form the basis for classifying different types of organizations commonly discussed in organizational theory.

Technology and the Public

This studio-based course centers on students designing and producing independent research-artistic projects related to technology and the public. Students are encouraged to explore technology not merely as a tool, but as an ideological articulation within a socio-technical-material matrix. One key challenge in technological development lies in its relationship to the increasingly complex processes of defining “the public” and “publicness” in contrast to the private sphere. By understanding the public not as a fixed political landscape but as a narrative and performative construct, students are expected to produce projects that critically engage with technological and innovative practices across various domains—from environment to archiving, education to surveillance—with the aim of initiating discussions on social ethics, creativity, and power.

Media and Mediation Stories: Seminar

This course focuses on both classical and contemporary studies in the anthropology of media and mediation. While critically examining simplistic dichotomies such as analog–digital, old–new, or offline–online, class discussions are driven by narratives not only from anthropologists but also from scholars in related fields, particularly proponents of Actor-Network Theory (ANT).

Health, Care, and the Body

This course examines changing experiences of health and well-being, sexual identities and bodily regimes, as well as the social and cultural factors shaping the use of scientific knowledge in clinical settings. It also looks at care practices, self-care, and the ways biomedical power operates, including patterns of resistance to and acceptance of medical regimes, scientific knowledge, and technology. Topics discussed include research on HIV/AIDS, the body and food, morality, sexual and reproductive health, pharmaceuticals, medical technologies and practices, and plastic waste.

Medical Anthropology and Global Health

This course explores the field of medical anthropology and global health. Why and how do people become ill? How are illnesses interpreted and treated across cultures? How do health and well-being change over the life course? What inequalities exist between groups in terms of health and illness, and how do medical systems, political economy, and anthropology help explain these issues? How can recent events be understood through the lens of medical anthropology?

These are some of the questions addressed in this course. Students will be introduced to biocultural, critical, medical, anthropological, and social justice perspectives to approach these questions. The course places particular emphasis on denaturalizing biomedicine and understanding health and illness from medical, anthropological, and biocultural viewpoints.

Cultural Psychology

This course examines the field of psychological anthropology and its development. Presented under the title Cultural Psychology, it covers:

1. The scope of psychological inquiry,
2. Key concepts, theories, and methods in cultural psychology,
3. Personality in cultural context and processes of human development,
4. Cultural change—its challenges, transformations, and continuities in shaping individual and group psychology,
5. and the development of cultural psychology in the contemporary era.

Health Anthropology

This course aims to provide an understanding of the scope of health anthropology, focusing on the interaction between biological and cultural factors related to health. It also equips students to identify, understand, and analyze the relationship between behavior and disease, as well as the socio-cultural factors that support or hinder the implementation of health programs in the context of public health development.

Culture and Mental Health

This course examines:

1. socio-cultural factors influencing the mental health of individuals and groups across different settings,
2. examples of mental health classifications and the socio-cultural responses to them in various cultures,
3. cultural approaches used by different communities to achieve and maintain mental well-being, and
4. mental health development in Indonesia.

Gender, Sexuality, and Health

This course explores how sexuality, gender, and health are experienced, interpreted, and socially constructed. The materials provide an overview of key concepts and theoretical approaches related to these themes. More established areas include the body, heteronormativity and gender, sexual and reproductive health practices, and health and healing in postcolonial contexts.

More recent topics include sex and gender among LGBTIQ+ communities, biotechnology and the redefinition of life and death, structural and symbolic violence, and the ethical and emotional challenges of fieldwork. Students will develop foundational theoretical and methodological skills, along with a critical awareness of how health is experienced, embodied, and shaped by broader economic, political, gendered, and sexual dynamics.