Prospective anthropology seminar

Teacher(s)

Laurent Pierre-Joseph; Mazzocchetti Jacinthe;

Language

French

Main themes

First part: As an introduction, the first sessions of the seminar are devoted to a kind of propaedeutics initiation about the history of the discipline, its schools and its concepts (structuralism, functionalism, symbolism, cul-turalism, néo-Marxism, constructivism, perspectivism...) and on its relationship with close disciplines (such as sociology, biology, the ethology, the history, psychology, hermeneutics...). Second part: Each year a relatively circumscribed field is chosen and introduced by the two persons in charge for the seminar (and possibly by invited specialists); then the students prepare, starting from the provided bibli-ographies, their own contributions (either on a purely individual basis, or in group). This choice of a concrete topic - such as the gift, the capacity, the system of belief, social change -, allows at the same time empirical thickening by the case study and the interpretative interpellation or the compared contextualisation and theoreti-cal engagement.

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	The seminar, while targeting the browsing of a precise topic, aims the assimilation, upstream, and the application of the grids of basic analysis of the social anthropology, the opening to the approaches of close, even remote, disciplines and, downstream, would like to support the exchanges between the team of the anthropologists members of the Laboratory of Prospective anthropology and the students, to encourage the blossoming of a year or a team spirit. To the occasion, guests anthropologists will present their practice in the field within the framework of an initiative entitled "Words of Anthropologist". Some visits to exposures or museum will be organized (Tervuren and/or Quai Branly, for example). The seminar works thus like the backbone of the Master in anthropology, by inculcating an identity intentionality specific to the Prospective anthropology developed in Louvain.

Content

The purpose of the seminar is to collectively explore themes and key authors in anthropology (for example, donation, kinship, etc.). It is organized as a role play. The seminar is based on the work of groups whose members study, analyze and present in public a particular point of view on a given anthropological theme. Throughout the seminar, each group must relay and defend during the specific presentation of a group the point of view of the authors for whom it is responsible. While the readings can be distributed among the members of the subgroup, it is important that each subgroup can coordinate and speak with one voice.

Evaluation methods

The professors will take into account:
1) the quality of the presentation, both in terms of its scientific character (precision of the contribution) and the form and pedagogy (use of power point, internet, creativity, etc.) (40%);
2) the quality of the groups' interventions in the debates (20%);
3) the good performance of the summary report (40%)

Faculty or entity

PSAD