Veidlapa Nr. M-3 (8)
Study Course Description
Theory in Contemporary Anthropology: Trends and Debates
Course Code
SZF_261
Branch of Science
Social Anthropology; Sociology and social work
ECTS
6.00
Target Audience
Social Anthropology
LQF
Level 7
Study Type And Form
Full-Time
Study Course Implementer
Course Supervisor
Agita Lūse
Structure Unit Manager
Ieva Puzo
Structural Unit
Faculty of Social Sciences
Contacts
SZF, Kuldigas Street 9C, szf@rsu.lv
About Study Course
Objective
To give students the opportunity to gain a comprehensive overview of the most significant discussions that have emerged on the anthropological agenda since the second half of the 20th century, examining issues at a theoretical level, including in dialogue with the social and philosophical theories of the time.
Preliminary Knowledge
Prior knowledge of anthropological theories up to the mid-20th century is required. Knowledge of cultural history and/or sociology is desirable.
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge
1.Students are familiar with the main theoretical trends in social and cultural anthropology from the mid-20th century to the present day and are able to compare their characteristic viewpoints and concepts.
Individual work and tests
Independent assignment • Task - defend a thesis on one of the course topics
2.Capable of showing both succession and novelty in different directions.
Individual work and tests
Completion of individual assignments
3.They are able to demonstrate both continuity and novelty in different trends.
4.They identify, compare, and are able to critique the theses and arguments of representatives of theoretical positions, as well as the impact of these positions on ethnographic practice.
Individual work and tests
Task - defend a thesis on one of the course topics • Completion of individual assignments
5.They explain the cultural-historical and sociological context of the views of the authors discussed.
Individual work and tests
Completion of individual assignments
Skills
1.Analyzes anthropological texts written since the mid-20th century and recognizes various theoretical approaches in them.
Individual work and tests
Completion of individual assignments
2.Discusses the theoretical positions and methods of anthropologists orally and in writing; defends his/her own position by reflecting on the theses of the authors discussed and evaluating their arguments, including references to ethnographic examples from the sources covered in this course and other courses in the program.
Individual work and tests
Completion of individual assignments
Competences
1.Students interpret social relationships, practices, and processes observed in various contexts of modern life through the prism of the theoretical approaches discussed in this course.
Assessment
Individual work
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Title
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% from total grade
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Grade
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1.
Independent assignment |
20.00% from total grade
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10 points
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Students independently study the required literature on the topic of each class, using resources available in the university's online databases or visiting the library. They practice discussing what they have read by questioning AI and critically evaluating the answers they receive. For each seminar class, they prepare for a discussion on the central issues of the topic. More specific tasks are specified each year and posted on the e-learning platform. In order to evaluate the overall quality of the study course, students must complete a study course evaluation questionnaire on the Student Portal. |
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2.
Completion of individual assignments |
30.00% from total grade
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10 points
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Students write position papers or create short presentations on the topic studied. They present their arguments in debates. |
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Examination
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Title
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% from total grade
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Grade
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|---|---|---|
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1.
Task - defend a thesis on one of the course topics |
50.00% from total grade
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10 points
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Students must write a short essay and then defend their thesis orally in front of the class. |
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Study Course Theme Plan
FULL-TIME
Part 2
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Lecture
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On site
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2
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Topics
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Anthropology, philosophy and social theory
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Anthropological theory and public space
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Collaborative epistemologies
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Postmodernism and post-structuralism
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The researcher's position and objectivity of knowledge
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Positionality and “situated knowledge”
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Topics
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Feminism in anthropology
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Anthropology, critical theory and political economy
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Topics
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Edward Said and the reception of his ideas
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Symbolic anthropology
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Topics
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Interpretative anthropology I
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Interpretative anthropology II
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Topics
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Michel Foucault and the reception of his ideas in anthropology I
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Michel Foucault and the reception of his ideas in anthropology II
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Debates on "Writing Culture"
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Theory of practice I
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Theory of practice II
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Cognitive anthropology I
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Cognitive anthropology II
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Phenomenological anthropology I
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2
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Topics
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Phenomenological Anthropology II
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2
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Moral anthropology
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2
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Topics
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Ontological turn
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On site
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2
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Topics
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Anthropology and Anthropocene
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Test
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On site
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2
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Topics
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Exam
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Total ECTS (Creditpoints):
6.00
Contact hours:
48 Academic Hours
Final Examination:
Exam
Bibliography
Required Reading
1.
Brown, Penelope. 2006. “Cognitive Anthropology.” In Language, Culture, and Society : Key Topics in Linguistic Anthropology, edited by Christine Jourdan and Kevin Tuite, 96–114. Cambridge University Press. (akceptējams avots)
2.
Candea, Matei, ed. 2018. Schools and Styles of Anthropological Theory. London. Chapters 7-14.Suitable for English stream
3.
Clifford, J., and G. Marcus. Editors. 2010. Writing Culture. The Poetics and Politics of Ethnography. Berkeley: University of California Press. (akceptējams avots)
4.
Csordas, Thomas J. 2015. “Toward a Cultural Phenomenology of Body-World Relations.” In Phenomenology in Anthropology: A Sense of Perspective., edited by Kalpana Ram and Christopher Houston, 50–67. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. (akceptējams avots)
5.
Douglas, Mary. 2003. Natural Symbols. London: Routledge. (akceptējams avots)Suitable for English stream
6.
Dzenovska, Dace, Volodymyr Artiukh, and Dominic Martin. 2023. “Between Loss and Opportunity.Th e Fate of Place After Postsocialism.” Focaal 2023(96):1–15
7.
Eriksen, Thomas Hylland. 2016. Overheating: An Anthropology of Accelerated Change. Pluto Press.
8.
Foucault, Michel. 2001. Uzraudzīt un sodīt : cietuma rašanās / Mišels Fuko. Rīga: Omnia mea. (akceptējams avots)
9.
Haraway, Donna. 1988. “Situated Knowledges: The Science Question in Feminism and the Privilege of Partial Perspective.” Feminist Studies 14 (3): 575–99. (hrestomātisks avots)Suitable for English stream
10.
Jackson, Michael, ed. 1996. Things as They Are : New Directions in Phenomenological Anthropology. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Introduction (hrestomātisks avots)
11.
Ortner, Sherry B. 1984. “Theory in Anthropology since the Sixties.” Comparative Studies in Society and History 26 (1): 126–66. (hrestomātisks avots)
12.
Ortner, Sherry B. 2016. “Dark Anthropology and Its Others.” HAU: Journal of Ethnographic Theory 6 (1): 47–73.Suitable for English stream
13.
Tsing, Anna Lowenhaupt, Andrew S Mathews, and Nils Bubandt. 2019. “Patchy Anthropocene: Landscape Structure, Multispecies History, and the Retooling of Anthropology: An Introduction to Supplement 20.” Current Anthropology 60 (S20): S186–97.
14.
Račevskis, Kārlis. 2003. Mišels Fuko, Apziņa un valodas esamība, Rīga: Zinātne. (akceptējams avots)
15.
Moore, Henrietta L, and Todd Sanders, eds. 2014. Anthropology in Theory. Issues in Epistemology. Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell. Chapters 15,16,21,26,33,40,43,49,57. (akceptējams avots)
Additional Reading
1.
Latour, Bruno. 1993. We Have Never Been Modern. Harvard University Press.
2.
Throop, C Jason un Keith M Murphy. 2002. "Bourdieu and phenomenology: A critical assessment". Anthropological Theory 2 (2): 185–207.Suitable for English stream
3.
Leonard, Douglas. 2020. Anthropology, Colonial Policy and the Decline of French Empire in Africa. 1st ed. London: London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. Chapter 6.
4.
Sheridan, Alan. 1990. Michel Foucault: The Will To Truth. London: London Routledge.Suitable for English stream
5.
Barnard, Alan. 2021. History and Theory in Anthropology. History and Theory in Anthropology. Cambridge University Press.
6.
Boyer, Dominic, James D Faubion, and George E Marcus, eds. 2015. Theory Can Be More than It Used to Be: Learning Anthropology’s Method in a Time of Transition. Cornell University Press.
7.
Bourdieu, P. 1990. The Logic of Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Chapters 3 & 4.
8.
Gīrcs, Klifords/Clifford Geertz. 1998. Kultūru Interpretācija. Rīga: AGB. 1., 15. nod.
Other Information Sources
1.
Carrithers, Michael, Matei Candea, Karen Sykes, Martin Holbraad, and Soumhya Venkatesan. 2010. “Ontology Is Just Another Word for Culture: Motion Tabled at the 2008 Meeting of the Group for Debates in Anthropological Theory, University of Manchester.” Critique of Anthropology 30 (2): 152–200.Suitable for English stream
2.
McGee, R (Reece) Jon. 2013. Theory in Social and Cultural Anthropology : An Encyclopedia. Edited by Richard L Warms. Sage Publications, Inc.Suitable for English stream