Ancient History and Social Anthropology

Ancient history and social anthropology is a combination that brings together two profoundly different but complementary ways of understanding human societies. Ancient history examines the civilisations of Greece, Rome, and neighbouring peoples such as the Persians and Carthaginians, tracing the period from the emergence of Greek writing and urbanism in the eighth century BCE through to the collapse of the western Roman empire in the fifth century CE. Social anthropology, by contrast, is primarily concerned with living societies, using fieldwork, observation, and theory to understand cultural diversity, social organisation, kinship, religion, and power across the world as it exists today.

At the University of St Andrews, this four-year programme allows you to develop rigour in both disciplines. In the ancient history strand you will engage with primary sources in translation, archaeological evidence, and the historiographical debates that surround the classical world, studying a Mediterranean civilisation that at its height spanned from the Persian Gulf to Britain and from the Crimea to the Sahara. In the social anthropology strand you will encounter the theoretical traditions of the discipline, from its foundational figures to contemporary debates about culture, inequality, globalisation, and identity, developing ethnographic sensibility and comparative thinking.

The programme includes a year abroad, giving you the experience of studying in a different academic and cultural environment. The combination of historical depth and anthropological breadth develops an unusually versatile analytical mind.

Graduates go on to careers in research, academia, heritage and museums, journalism, international development, diplomacy, the civil service, law, teaching, and cultural organisations. The critical and comparative thinking the degree cultivates is applicable wherever complex human questions need to be understood. Further study at postgraduate level in ancient history, social anthropology, classical studies, or archaeology is a common path for those wishing to pursue research or specialist academic careers.