IB Social and Cultural Anthropology

Real World Issues

Real World Categories

Environment Globalization Human Rights Inequality
Poverty Sustainability Technology Violence

Step One: Find relevant news article from PUBLISHED sources (must be a periodical or daily
publishing source, not random websites). The goal is to find a contemporary issue which can
relate to one or more areas of inquiry key concepts, and at least one or the real world
categories. It must be within the last two years and a specific event or issue, not a general
problem.
**You will have to use on of these on paper 2, section A at the end of 12th grade. I would
recommend choosing issues that will still fit within the two year limit then (May 2023- May 2025)
so you can use these on your actual exam.
● Ex. Violation of UN human rights laws in Israel-Hamas War in 2023: use of tactics by
Hamas and Israel which target civilians and the targeting of medical and educational
facilities
● Non-Example: Violation of war time human rights laws during conflicts
● Ex. Russia’s Supreme Court on November 30th, 2023, upheld a claim by the Ministry of
Justice that the so-called “international LGBT movement” was committing acts of “an
extremist nature” and “inciting social and religious discord”, in violation of the country’s
law on countering extremism
● Non-Example: LGBTQ discrimination and inequality

Step Two: Annotate article. Highlight or underline portions of the article that directly address
key concepts and areas of inquiry. Annotate (add notes explaining the connections to the KC
and AOI)

Key Concepts:
Belief and Knowledge Change Identity Materiality
Power Social Relations Society Symbolism
Areas of Inquiry:
Belonging Classifying the World Movement, Time, and Space
Production, Exchange and Consumption Health, Illness, and Healing Conflict
Development Communication, Expression, and Technology The Body

Step Three: Write a one paragraph analysis of the current event/article explaining how it relates
to the real world category and how you can make meaning of the issue by examining one or
more key concepts and areas or inquiry.

Section A of paper 2 requires you to examine a real world issue category using a key concept
and an area of inquiry by writing a comparative analysis of a contemporary real world issue and
one ethnography you’ve read. This is practice to prepare us for this essay by identifying and
analyzing examples you could use on this section of the exam.