ANTHRO 761

Cultural Worlds in Anthropological Perspective

Please note: this is archived course information from 2020 for ANTHRO 761.

Description

This course is intended to develop familiarity with some significant writers and issues in social and cultural anthropology. In addition to reading some early works, we consider their contemporary influence. Some of the writers covered are not, themselves, anthropologists, but anthropology has always had a broad orientation, and the works we consider have been influential within the discipline.

Although no single moment marks the emergence of contemporary anthropology, we confine ourselves to the theorists of the late nineteenth century and afterwards to provide an understanding of some key intellectual developments in social and cultural anthropology.

Learning Outcomes

• Insight into the nature of theoretical analysis generally
• Understanding of key aspects of the theories covered
• Developed ability to discern complementary and contrasting relationships between theoretical approaches
• Critical insight into the value of different theoretical perspectives and their potential relevance
• A capacity for balanced engagement with contemporary issues and debates in sociocultural anthropology
• Theoretical resources appropriate to the development of Masters-level research in sociocultural anthropology

Availability 2020

Semester 2

Lecturer(s)

Coordinator(s) Dr Christine Dureau

Reading/Texts

Ferguson, James, 1999. Expectations of Modernity: Myths and Meanings of Urban Life on the Zambian Copperbelt. Berkeley: Cambridge University Press.

Points

ANTHRO 761: 15 points