Course content and focus areas
The Faculty of Social and Cultural Anthropology (“Institut für Ethnologie”) at Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main and the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) in Paris provide binational academic training, funded by the German-French University/Université franco-allemande (DFH/UFA).
The master's program “Anthropology and its Franco-German Perspectives” offers students
- a one-year stay at each of the two institutions (Goethe University Frankfurt and EHESS Paris), with financial support during the phase in the partner country (approx. 300 euros per month),
- the acquisition of ethnographic skills in both languages in both countries,
- intensive supervision of individual research topics, and
- a degree certificate from both participating institutions, certifying the excellent quality of the education provided by the German-French University/Université franco-allemande (DFH/UFA).
At Goethe University, the MA in “Anthropology and its Franco-German Perspectives“ is a variant of the MA in “Social and Cultural Anthropology.” In addition to its content and objectives, participants in the German-French program study for two semesters at each of the two participating universities in Frankfurt and Paris, acquire research techniques and ethnographic skills in both languages, and gain in-depth knowledge of the scientific and cultural traditions in Germany and France. At both locations, students receive intensive support in working on their individual research topics.
GU students complete their second and third semesters at EHESS/Paris or conduct their research in the third semester in another foreign country. Students receive a partial scholarship from the Franco-German University for the period of their stay abroad and ongoing support from the program coordinators (Frankfurt: Prof. Dr. Hans Peter Hahn).
Graduates of the program have mastered the scientific content of their discipline from a German-French perspective, are able to apply methods and in-depth knowledge of both anthropological traditions, and have the ability to work independently in order to pursue doctoral studies if desired. Graduates receive a degree certificate from both participating institutions, certifying the excellent quality of the education provided by the German-French University/Université franco-allemande (DFH/UFA).
The program “Anthropology and its Franco-German Perspectives” attaches particular importance to the binational training of young researchers in the field of social and cultural anthropology and sees itself as anthropology embedded in an interdisciplinary context. In this sense, it draws on the cultural and scientific traditions of Germany and France and aims to bring the two master's programs at the respective institutions closer together.