This course dives into the world's oceans amidst the contemporary Anthropocene, analysing the relationship between anthropological research and the multiplicity of the oceans. Although earlier anthropological investigations may have touched upon maritime matters, their primary emphasis was on territorial-based exploration, the study of indigenous island communities, or the administration of resources derived from the sea. Nevertheless, as a consequence of persistent human-induced effects, most notably global warming and the subsequent disruption of ecological systems, the underwater environment of the ocean becomes a vital ecological system contending with these phenomena.

This course, based on my underwater ethnographic fieldworks, aims to investigate posthumanist anthropology by addressing the emerging multispecies and neo-material waterscapes, particularly the entanglements of the current ecological crisis and concerns. In particular, the course attempts to provide a critical perspective on the interactions and shifting dynamics between humans, technology, underwater species, submerged objects, and the environmental imagination via underwater exploration.

This course explores the city not simply as a built environment, but as a dense field of relations among climate, infrastructure, materials, technologies, ecologies, and everyday forms of life. The course approaches urban dwelling as an ongoing practice of inhabiting uncertain and unequal worlds, especially under conditions of heat, flood, pollution, ecological disturbance, and infrastructural transformation.

Drawing from anthropology, STS, urban studies, and more-than-human thought, it asks how cities are assembled through human and nonhuman agencies, and how design might be reimagined beyond conventional models of control, optimisation, and development. The course invites students to think with pluriversal urban futures, where multiple ways of living, sensing, adapting, speculating, and co-existing can become the basis for more careful and situated forms of urban design.

This course investigates anthropological possibilities through experimental thinking and imaginative illustration in films and fiction. We will focus on the intertwined processes of world-breaking and world-making, in which humans encounter a plethora of agents and changes brought about by climate, species, technology, extraterrestrials, human’s own alienation, and other living and nonliving "social" beings. We will be watching and reading selected sci-fi and cli-fi, some of which feature anthropologist as a protagonist, while others may employ anthropological debates as a backdrop or inspiration.

This module explores the emerging field of ontological politics within political anthropology. Over four weeks, students will examine how different cultures conceptualize reality and the political implications of these diverse worldviews. The course delves into how ontological differences shape our understanding of nature, personhood, and technology, as well as their impact on political conflicts and social movements.

Key topics include multiple realities and the politics of nature, bodies and personhood in various ontological frameworks, and the role of ontological conflicts in contemporary political struggles. Through engagement with seminal texts by leading scholars, students will develop a critical understanding of how multiple realities coexist and compete in our interconnected world.

This seminar explores the significant theoretical shift in contemporary anthropology known as the ontological turn. This course delves into the methodological and epistemological reorientation that places ontological questions at the heart of anthropological inquiry. The course will cover the contributions of key figures such as Roy Wagner, Marilyn Strathern, and Eduardo Viveiros de Castro, and how their works exemplify the ontological turn's emphasis on reflexivity, conceptualization, and experimentation. 

Throughout the seminar, students will be encouraged to critically engage with the text and supplementary readings, participate in discussions, and develop their analytical skills by applying ontological perspectives to their research interests. The course aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the ontological turn and its significance in reshaping anthropological and social theoretical paradigms.