Anthropology

Teacher(s)

Delchambre Jean-Pierre; Schmitz Olivier (compensates Delchambre Jean-Pierre);

Language

French

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :

- The course is an introduction to social and cultural anthropology, which is one of the two main disciplines of the SOCA program. Addressing an audience of POLS students (+ options), it aims to familiarise with the main issues and questions of this discipline, in a way that is also beneficial to students who do not intend specifically to do anthropology in a professional way. - To situate (social and cultural) anthropology in relation to other disciplines of the human and social sciences, specifically sociology (to which the students have been introduced in the first term). - To present the emblematic methods of anthropology or ethnology (field survey, ethnographic description, participant observation, extended or multi-site case studies...) in relation to the model of knowledge in the social sciences. - To introduce to some learnings from the main fields of anthropology (about the study of myths rites, symbolic exchange, kinship systems, different types of societies or cultural models...). - To develop critical abilities: to distinguish the analytic and the normative register, to refer in an informed (or documented) way to historical contexts, to avoid the double pitfall of ethnocentrism and relativism.

Content

- Opening n ° 1: presentation of a classic object of anthropology and reflection on the transformations and appropriations of this object in the contemporary world - the case of shamanism and neochamanism.
- Opening n ° 2: diversity of models of society, reflection on the comparison criteria.
- The situation of anthropology or ethnology in the context of the emergence of this discipline (second half of the 19th century) and in the contemporary world. Comparison between a context marked by nation-states affirmation and colonialism, and a context now postcolonial, characterised by both globalisation and cultural diversity.
- Insights into the knowledge model and methods of anthropology.
- Evolutionism and its critics (culturalism and the recognition of specific cultural identities, structuralism and the rehabilitation of "wild thought", dynamic anthropology considering actors and conflicts...).
- Introduction to three major fields of anthropology: 1) the study of myths and rites (including the drivers of "symbolic efficiency"); 2) the symbolic exchange through the study of ceremonial mutual gift such as kula or potlatch (comparison with the economic or merchant exchange); 3) the kinship field (incest prohibition, the rules governing alliance and ancestry, different types of kinship systems...).

Teaching methods

The UE Anthropology consists of a theoretical course (30 hours) and a guided reading seminar (6 sessions of 1.5 hours). Description of the theoretical course : During the lecture, the teacher exposes the subject in a lively but also rigorous and pedagogical way, taking into account that students have written materials (plan + course notes, not exhaustive). Students are encouraged to make complementary use of written materials and oral presentations. Indeed, the oral presentations do not consist of reading lecture notes but of accompanying the students in the discovery and appropriation of the subject (which supposes to highlight certain aspects related to structure, articulation, hierarchy, explicitation, etc.). In some parts of the lecture, an "inverted class" pedagogy may be applicable (the teacher brings a different light on the subject on the base of a previous reading of the notes by the students). The way of teaching aims to promote the empowerment of students, while allowing them to clarify and deepen the issues that must be acquired and mastered. The teacher may also introduce and discuss examples related to current events, giving the students the opportunity to intervene and ask questions during the lecture. Description of the guided reading seminar: This part of the course includes 6 guided reading sessions. These reading sessions (lasting 1.5 hours) are supervised by an assistant. The aim of these sessions is to complement the lectures, encourage active appropriation of the material and support students in their learning (on a formal level: analytical reading of scientific texts, and on a more informal level: understanding the expectations and requirements of university training). Students will work on a selection of texts considered to be part of the EU subject matter, and which will be assessed in the exam (see below). These texts will relate to various themes and issues addressed in the theoretical course. Participation in the directed reading seminar is compulsory (this is not a practical course or a tutorial, but an integral part of the UE).

Evaluation methods

Assessment will take the form of a written examination, covering both the lecture and the guided reading seminar. The exam assesses students' knowledge of the subject matter, as well as their understanding and appropriation of the texts read. With regard to the material covered in the course, students must be able to summarize the main points, as well as answering comprehension questions, which presupposes a thorough and personal synthesis, as well as the ability to relate different elements of the course to each other. For the guided reading seminar, students are expected to have a thorough knowledge of the texts studied in the sessions. Whether or not they have attended the seminar sessions, students are expected to have a thorough knowledge of these texts. The assessment method is the same for the June and August/September sessions. There is no supervision by the teaching assistant outside the scheduled sessions during the four-month period in which the course is given.

Bibliography

Voir syllabus.

Faculty or entity

ESPB