Anthropology and Sociology

Ever wondered why the world is the way it is? The joint discipline of Anthropology and Sociology offers ways of understanding the complex social dimensions of challenges the world is facing. It examines the human experience and social relationships comparatively across cultures, places and time.

Our course provides valuable skills for living and working in a globalising and interconnected world by exposing students to different systems of beliefs, values and practices found among the world's cultures. But it’s not just about other cultures – we focus on understanding Australian society and its relationship to the world.

At a personal level, it offers a perspective on challenges in your everyday life, and encourages you to question your taken-for-granted beliefs. We teach skills in critical thinking, careful observation and record-keeping, oral, visual and written expression, and research skills such as interviewing.

Graduates pursue careers in the public service, with non-government organisations (such as those working with migrants, Indigenous peoples, young people and environmental groups), social welfare, community development locally and internationally, and the broader health field. As a graduate, you may proceed to specialised training in professions (law, psychology, education, strategic communication), or develop your skills as a social researcher or policy maker in the Master of Social Research Methods or Master of Public Policy.

Our staff are all active social researchers, working on a wide range of projects in the areas of migration, social inclusion and inequality, health, the environment, education, Indigenous knowledges, religion, ageing and more. We work within Australia and internationally, including Europe, Africa, Asia and extending into the Pacific and Antarctic, using a range of methods. The lead for the Discipline of Anthropology and Sociology is Associate Professor Dr Richard Vokes.