Veidlapa Nr. M-3 (8)
Study Course Description

Regional Studies (Ethnography) I

Main Study Course Information

Course Code
SZF_107
Branch of Science
Social Anthropology; Sociology and social work
ECTS
6.00
Target Audience
Political Science; Social Anthropology
LQF
Level 7
Study Type And Form
Full-Time

Study Course Implementer

Course Supervisor
Structure Unit Manager
Structural Unit
Faculty of Social Sciences
Contacts

Dzirciema street 16, Rīga, szf@rsu.lv

About Study Course

Objective

The aim of the course is to provide a framework for an in-depth understanding of the region's history, social and cultural features and relations with other regions.

Preliminary Knowledge

Basic knowledge of anthropology.

Learning Outcomes

Knowledge

1.NB! This description is based on the course "Caribbean Ethnography". Over time, a course on another region may take its place. Knowledge of the geography of the region, the main lines of research and some of the analytical frameworks used to understand the social and cultural life of the region's societies.

Skills

1.Will be able to critically evaluate, from an anthropological point of view, the narratives in different media (such as cinema, fiction, music, life history) and various disciplinary approaches (such as ethnography, geography, etc.) devoted to the representation of the region and study of its societies.

Competences

1.Competences to independently acquire new knowledge about the region. The ability to apply critical thinking in evaluating ethnographic sources and theoretical arguments. Ability to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of different approaches to ethnographic research.

Assessment

Individual work

Title
% from total grade
Grade
1.

Individual work

-
-
Study the literature on the topics covered in each lesson; prepare one presentation on a specific topic (given by the lecturer). In order to evaluate the overall quality of the course, the student must fill in the course evaluation questionnaire on the Student Portal.

Examination

Title
% from total grade
Grade
1.

Examination

-
-
An essay that critically examines the representation of a region (or its society) in a particular medium (fiction, theatre, fiction, etc.), drawing on ethnographic research.
2.

Examination

-
-
33% vērtējuma veidos atzīme par iesaisti semināra diskusijā, 33% par prezentāciju un 34% par eksāmena eseju.

Study Course Theme Plan

FULL-TIME
Part 1
  1. Lecture

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Auditorium
2

Topics

Defining the boundaries of a region. Insights into history and human geography.
  1. Lecture

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Auditorium
2

Topics

Defining the boundaries of a region. Insights into history and human geography.
  1. Class/Seminar

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Auditorium
2

Topics

Defining the boundaries of a region. Insights into history and human geography.
  1. Class/Seminar

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Auditorium
2

Topics

Defining the boundaries of a region. Insights into history and human geography.
  1. Lecture

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Auditorium
2

Topics

Nation-building and popular culture.
  1. Lecture

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Auditorium
2

Topics

Nation-building and popular culture.
  1. Class/Seminar

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Auditorium
2

Topics

Nation-building and popular culture.
  1. Class/Seminar

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Auditorium
2

Topics

Nation-building and popular culture.
  1. Class/Seminar

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Auditorium
2

Topics

Nation-building and popular culture.
  1. Class/Seminar

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Auditorium
2

Topics

Nation-building and popular culture.
  1. Lecture

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Auditorium
2

Topics

Religion and society.
  1. Lecture

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Auditorium
2

Topics

Religion and society.
  1. Class/Seminar

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Auditorium
2

Topics

Religion and society.
  1. Class/Seminar

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Auditorium
2

Topics

Religion and society.
  1. Class/Seminar

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Auditorium
2

Topics

Religion and society.
  1. Class/Seminar

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Auditorium
2

Topics

Religion and society.
  1. Class/Seminar

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Auditorium
2

Topics

Religion and society.
  1. Class/Seminar

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Auditorium
2

Topics

Religion and society.
  1. Class/Seminar

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Auditorium
2

Topics

Migration, transnationalism and diaspora.
  1. Class/Seminar

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Auditorium
2

Topics

Migration, transnationalism and diaspora.
  1. Class/Seminar

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Auditorium
2

Topics

Migration, transnationalism and diaspora.
  1. Class/Seminar

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Auditorium
2

Topics

Migration, transnationalism and diaspora.
  1. Class/Seminar

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Auditorium
2

Topics

Migration, transnationalism and diaspora.
  1. Class/Seminar

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Auditorium
2

Topics

Migration, transnationalism and diaspora.
Total ECTS (Creditpoints):
6.00
Contact hours:
48 Academic Hours
Final Examination:
Exam (Written)

Bibliography

Required Reading

1.

NB! This description is based on the course "Caribbean Ethnography". Over time, a course on another region may take its place. // NB! Šis apraksts veidots kā piemērs, pa bāzi ņemot kursu "Karību salu etnogrāfija". Laika gaitā vietā var nākt kurss par citu reģionu. Visa literatūra ir angļu valodā un piemērota gan latviešu, gan angļu plūsmas studentiem

2.

In The Caribbean before Columbus. 2017. Eds. Keegan, W. F., Hofman C. L. Oxford University Press:

3.

Sued-Badillo, Jalil. 2003. “The Indigenous Societies at the Time of Conquest.” In General History of the Caribbean, 259–91. Palgrave Macmillan, New York.

4.

Stone, E. 2018. Chasing “Caribs”: Defining Zones of Legal Indigenous Enslavement in the Circum-Caribbean, 1493-1542., pp. 118 to 147. In Slaving Zones. Cultural Identities, Ideologies, and Institutions in the Evolution of Global Slavery, eds. Fynn-Paul, J. and Pargas, D.A.

5.

What Maya Collapse? Terminal Classic Variation in the Maya Lowlands Author(s): James J. Aimers. In Journal of Archaeological Research, December 2007.

6.

Trouillot, Michel-Rolph. 1992. The Caribbean Region: An Open Frontier in Anthropological Theory. Annual Review of Anthropology. 21: 19-42.

7.

Mintz, Sidney W. 1996. Enduring Substances, Trying Theories: The Caribbean Region as Oikoumene. The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute. 2.2: 289-311.

8.

Castaneda, Q. 2008. “We Are Not Indigenous!”: An Introduction to the Maya Identity of Yucatan in Journal of Latin American Anthropology, May 2008. Pp 36 to 63.

9.

Gordon, E. T. 1998. Disparate Diasporas: Identity and Politics in an African-Nicaraguan Community. UT Press. (1st chapter)

10.

Wheat, D. 2016. Atlantic Africa and Spanish Caribbean, 1570-1640. Pp. 5 to 19.

11.

Kempadoo, K. 2017. ‘Bound Coolies’ and Other Indentured Workers in the Caribbean: Implications for debates about human trafficking and modern slavery”. ANTI-TRAFFICKING REVIEW 9: 48-63

12.

LeGrand, C. C. 1998. Living in Macondo: Economy and Culture in a United Fruit Banana Enclave in Colombia. In eds. Joseph G.M. et al. ‘ Close Encounters of Empire. Writing the Cultural History of U.S.-Latin American Relations’, Duke University Press.

Additional Reading

1.

Marti, S and Grube, N. 2000. Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens: Deciphering the Dynasties of the Ancient Maya.

2.

Peterson, R. R. 2020. Over the Caribbean Top: Community Well-Being and Over-Tourism in Small Island Tourism Economies.

3.

Video podcast on a general introduction to Maya Civilisation: ‘The Mayans - Ruins Among the Trees’

Other Information Sources

1.

Eiropas Sociālo antropologu asociācijas reģionu pētnieku tīklu piedāvātie resursi./Resources offered by the regional researcher networks of the European Association of Social Anthropologists.

2.

Sustainability risk analyses Latin American Palm Oil Linked to Social Risks, Local deforestation.

3.

The Harder They Come (1972) – dir. Perry Henzell.

4.

Documentary on archaeological research in indigenous settlements in the Dominican Republic from the period of early colonial encounters: ‘La Ruta de Colón - Historic Importance and Heritage’