Introduction to Cultural History and Anthropology

Teacher(s)

Sappia Caroline;

Language

French
> English-friendly

Main themes

This unit introduces students to the field of cultural history and to the questions raised by the different approaches of the anthropological discipline to the humanities.

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	situate chronologically the different anthropological approaches;
2	identify the issues at stake;
3	make links between these approaches and the historical approach;
4	understand how anthropological thought has influenced the historical approach, particularly in the emergence of cultural history.

Content

This teaching unit aims to introduce students to cultural and anthropological history. "Cultural history is understood as the set of collective representations specific to a society".
This year, 2022-2023, the course will focus specifically on cultural history, based on the works of the English historian Peter Burke ( Qu'est-ce l'histoire culturelle?, 2022 [1st edition, 2004]) and Pascal Ory ( L'histoire culturelle, 2019 [1st edition, 2004]).
The course will be divided into two parts: firstly, a presentation on what cultural history is, its definitions, its historiography, its debates and their evolution; and secondly, various specific dossiers, including one on the history of sexuality around May 1968 and the other on Indian Subaltern Studies. Conceptual insights from the social sciences will enrich the reflections on what cultural history is. 

Teaching methods

The course is taught on-site. A reading portfolio and various teaching resources (videos, podcasts) will be made available to students via the course Moodle. Assignments or tasks may be requested from one course to another.
Some courses may be given online.
If we switch to code red, the entire course will be delivered online.

Evaluation methods

Oral examination based on the course, the reference texts posted on Moodle and the work submitted by the student.
Depending on the year, an assignment could be due at the end of the term and defended at the final exam.
These conditions are applicable for January and September.

Other information

Depending on the year, the organisation of an activity linked to the course and as an integral part of the course is possible: visit of an exhibition, conference, debates or screening of a film or documentary.

Online resources

• The pdf files of the Powerpoint slideshows presented in class
  
• The authors' reference texts are shared online.  
  
• Online videos
  

The teaching material is available on Moodle.

Bibliography

Le cours est basé notamment sur les ouvrages suivants / The course is based in particular on the following books:

• Peter Burke, What is Cultural History?, Polity, New York, 2008.
• Peter Burke, Qu'est-ce que l'histoire culturelle?, Belles Lettres, Paris, 2022.
• Peter Burke, Varieties of Cultural History, Polity, New York, 1997.
• Pascal Ory, L'histoire culturelle, PUF, 5e édition corrigée, Paris, 2019 (Que sais-je, n°3713).
• Philippe Poirrier, Les enjeux de l'histoire culturelle. L'histoire en débats, Éditions du Seuil, Paris, 2004.
• Laurence van Ypersele (dir.), Questions d'histoire contemporaine. Conflits, mémoires et identités, PUF, Paris, 2006.
• Jay Winter, The Cultural History of War in the Twenthieth Century and After, Cambridge Universtiy Press, Cambridge, 2022.

(Voir sur la page Moodle du cours pour une bibliographie plus développée / See the Moodle page of the course for a more extensive bibliography)

Faculty or entity

EHAC