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| ANTH0001-1 | Social and cultural antropology 1
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| Duration : | 30h Th |
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| Credits/ECTS : |
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| Holder(s) : | Benjamin Rubbers |
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| Language : | Langue française |
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| Course contents : | This introduction to anthropology will cover the discipline's formative years. After having discussed that which distinguishes anthropology from other social sciences, we will identify the conditions that influenced the emergence of reflection on cultural diversity in the West between the 15th and 18th centuries. Then, we will voyage to England, America and France to encounter various theoretical currents that were influential in anthropology up to 1960. We will return to the fundamental questions posed in these currents: what is the meaning of history? what are the consequences of contact between different societies? to what extent is personality influenced by culture? etc. We will also present ethnographic studies that these schools have produced in answer. Finally, the last part of the class will attempt to demonstrate in what ways this work is still applicable to the present day, before we speak of a rupture in this discipline caused by the theories that will be covered in the second part of the course in social and cultural anthropology |
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| Course objective : | To introduce students to the questions, conceptual tools, and methodological tools of anthropology. Thanks to these tools, students will be able to look at the world of today in a new way, both critical and rigorous. |
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| Prerequisites : | Minimal knowledge of French, a taste for reading, and above all a healthy curiosity about the world around us. |
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| Workshops : | Practice sessions, based on readings, will be organized during the term. |
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| Organization : | The course will meet during the first term, Mondays from 15h30 to 17h30, in De Méan. Here is a provisional sketch of class meetings and their topics:
1. Introduction : what is anthropology?
2. The appearance of reflection on human diversity in the West.
3. Evolution theory: L.H. Morgan
4. British anthropology: the invention of the ground
5. Exchange, sex and fatherhood: B. Malinowski
6. Structure, function and history: R. Radcliffe-Brown and E. Evans-Pritchard
7. Anthropology and colonialism: the Rhodes Livingstone Institute
8. American anthropology: F. Boas
9. Diffusion and acculturation: M. Herskovits
10. Culture and personality: E. Sapir, R. Benedict, M. Mead and R. Linton
11. French anthropology: M. Mauss, R. Hertz et M. Griaule
12. Conclusion : anthropology's classical period |
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| Written notes : | A copy of PowerPoint presentations used in class will be posted on the MyULg portal. Students will also receive a file of readings. |
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| Assessment : | The examination will consist of a series of multiple-choice questions (including degrees of certainty) during the first and second sessions. The arrangements for the 3rd term examination will depend on the number of students. Grading will depend partly on the course, and partly on the readings. |
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| Contacts : | Office hours by appointment (brubbers@ulg.ac.be). My office is located : R.94, niveau 0, bâtiment B.31 in Sart-Tilman. |
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| Remarks : | Students who received a grade of 12/20 for the Introduction to anthropological theories course in 2007/2008 do not have to take this class. |
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