Socio-cultural anthropology aims to shed light on the ways in which people understand and experience the world, as well as cultural variation in social relations. Anthropology thus gets to the heart of what makes us human through cross-cultural studies of all aspects of life.  This is done by way of long-term fieldwork, followed by ethnographic writing. But ethnographic writing is not simply a description of social life in ‘another’ cultural context; it is also a narrative that involves ‘data’ from interviews and 'participant observation' as well as imagination, and ethnographers draw on literary forms in multiple ways. Anthropological work is also done through the collection of life stories and narratives about specific events, and anthropologists have long used literary tools to construct coherent narratives about people's lives. Conversely, anthropology has shaped fiction writing by providing the literary imagination with ethnographic material and cross-cultural perspectives.            How, then, has the mutual shaping of Anthropology and Literature contributed to both fields? How has social theory benefited from engagement with literary forms? And what insights into ‘writing culture’ may be gained from reading ethnography alongside works of fiction?              The module will address these questions by drawing on works of fiction, film, biography, everyday literacy in diverse cultural contexts, anthropological monographs, and fieldwork memoirs.