21 - 30 of 337 results for: Anthropology

Ethnicity is one of the most compelling and most modern ways in which people - in the midst of considerable global and local uncertainty - all across the world imagine and narrate themselves. This seminar will take an anthropological look at both the modernity and the compulsions of ethnic allegiance, and, why struggles over ethnic identity are so frequently violent. Our questions will be both historical; how, why and when did people come to think of themselves as possessing different ethnic identities - and contemporary; how are these identities lived, understood, narrated, and transformed and what is the consequence of such ethnicisation. We follow this through anthropological perspectives which ask persistently how people themselves locally narrate and act upon their experiences and histories. Through this we will approach some of the really big and yet everyday questions that many of us around the world face: how do we relate to ourselves and to those we define as others; and how do we live through and after profound violence? The seminar will take these larger questions through a global perspective focusing on cases from Rwanda and Burundi, India, Sri Lanka, Northern Ireland, Guatemala, and the countries of Former Yugoslavia among others. These cases cover a broad canvas of issues from questions of historicity, racial purity, cultural holism, and relations to the state, to contests over religious community, indigeneity, minority identities, globalization, gender, and generation.

Is the middle class shrinking? How do people who live at the extremes of American society- the super rich, the working poor and those who live on the margins, imagine and experience "the good life"? How do we understand phenomena such as gang cultures, addiction and the realignment of white consciousness? This class uses the methods and modes of ethnographic study in an examination of American culture. Ethnographic materials range from an examination of the new American wealth boom of the last 20 years (Richistan by Robert Frank) to the extreme and deadlyworld of the invisible underclass of homeless addicts on the streets of San Francisco (Righteous Dopefiend by Phillipe Bourgois and Jeff Schonberg). The experiences of Hispanic immigrants and the struggle to escape gang life in Los Angeles are highlighted in the story of Homeboy Industries a job creation program initiated by a priest working in LA's most deadly neighborhoods (G-Dog and the Homeboys by Celeste Fremon). Finally in Searching for Whitopia: an improbable journeyinto the heart of White America, Rich Benjamin explores the creation on ethnic enclaves (whitopias) as fear over immigration and the shrinking white majority redefine race consciousnessin the 21st century. Each of these narratives provides a window into the various ways in which Americans approach the subjects of wealth and the good life, poverty and the underclass, and theconstruction of class, race, and gender in American society. Students will not be required to have any previous knowledge, just curiosity and an open mind.

How do we talk about Palestine and Palestinian life in the midst of devastation and genocide? Through literature, poetry, visual and material culture, critical theory, and history, this team-taught course will provide context and generate discussion about Palestine's past, present, and future. Each session will be led by a professor with different expertise and disciplinary tools. These diverse perspectives offer students both a wide range of materials and an array of interpretive tools as we consider together how Palestine and Palestinians have figured and figured themselves in global imaginaries and geopolitics. The class covers history, anthropology, education, heritage, ethnic studies, poetry, literature, and film.

Designed as an invitation to explore Anthropology through the theme of placemaking, this course emphasizes the making and un-making of place. The idea of "edgelands" inspires this course design as we explore the spaces beyond economically dynamic areas. Often represented as places outside development and progress, edgelands may once have been the center of an industry. What is the relationship of contemporary cities to these zones of difference? The course readings draw inspiration from dialogues among anthropologists, geographers, environmental humanists, and others whose works detail the changing nature of places, economies, and environments.

In recent decades genes have increasingly become endowed with the cultural power to explain many aspects of human life: physical traits, diseases, behaviors, ancestral histories, and identity. In this course we will explore a deepening societal intrigue with genetic accounts of personal identity and political meaning. Students will engage with varied interdisciplinary sources that range from legal cases to scientific articles, medical ethics guidelines, films, historical works, and contemporary ethnographies (detailed anthropological analyses). We will explore several case studies where the use of DNA markers (as proof of heritage, disease risk, or legal standing) has spawned cultural movements that are biosocial in nature. We will also explore the science of sexing chromosomes and how societal racial and gender beliefs influence genetic research.

This course is specifically designed for social science and humanities students who want to learn how to use art to expand their research questions and/or develop an art practice, and for arts students who want to find ways to deeply engage social science and humanities research in their practice. The course will: 1. Introduce students to the work of artists who used their practice to deeply engage social issues (Ian Rowland, Cornelia Parker, Fred Wilson and many others). These artists will be contextualized with readings including: critical commentaries on their work; theoretical literature; and primary literature on the issues they address (in these examples, slavery, material culture, museum studies). Critical questions will include: Why did the artist select particular media for their work? How does the art provide a different perspective on, engagement with, or relationship to the issues they address? How does the meaning of the art change with or without contextualization? How does this artist draw on and expand art history and other artists' work? Are there critical issues the work raises but is underpowered to address? 2. Provide support for students to work on their own quarter-length independent projects and research based in drawing, photography, creative writing, or other art practice which may shift according to research findings in the duration of the course. Part of the syllabus will be contingent on student projects. Regular group crit/support sessions will be held in class based on clear deadlines. 3. Introduce students to various methods of working with primary and source materials for arts-based projects, such as improvisation, juxtaposition, performance, role-play, "moment work" and scenography. "Makers" workshops will be held to introduce students to arts methods and may include: wax casting, life drawing, graphic art, etc. (The instructor will apply for Maker's funding to support these workshops.) Students will complete the course with a solid introduction to at least 20 contemporary artists and an understanding of how to discuss and contextualize artwork in the context of several disciplines: art, social science theory, and art criticism. They will also have experience in building and completing their own project and learn how to justify their work, understand how different art media impact their exploration and ultimate product, and work through various challenges in the process. They will also gain experience in crit sessions, which will be directed by the profession with a question-based format, in both giving and receiving feedback. They will document their work and learn how to produce a portfolio of the project.

What does it mean to think like an Anthropologist?

Emphasis is on how health, illness, and healing are understood, experienced, and constructed in social, cultural, and historical contexts. Topics: biopower and body politics, gender and reproductive technologies, illness experiences, medical diversity and social suffering, and the interface between medicine and science.

This undergraduate seminar offers students the foundations of theory in social and cultural anthropology. Each section begins with a close reading of the work of a contemporary anthropologist and then traces the intellectual legacies that have shaped it. This is a required course for Anthropology majors. The course also fulfills the requirement for Writing in the Major (WIM). To sharpen students' critical writing skills, there will be several writing and rewriting assignments.