Anthropology I

Gergely MOHACSI (Graduate School of Human Sciences)

Cource Objective
   This course introduces students to the key aspects of anthropology. Participants will learn the genealogy of anthropology and its emergence as a discipline. The course is organised around three thematic clusters. The INTRODUCTION aims to give students an overview of the multiple histories and methods of anthropology as a discipline. The second line of inquiry, CONCEPTS: NOW AND THEN, provides an overview of the key concepts that have fostered the anthropological exploration of diverse human and nonhuman worlds. In the third part, TOPICS: HERE AND THERE, we will discuss how such a body of knowledge can continuously provide us with critical insights into contemporary issues. Topics covered will include health and disease, food, environment and migration; one class will be dedicated to the understanding of Japan as a heterogeneous society. The course aims to provide students with a diverse foundation of anthropological knowledge, and skills that are required for further levels of study in anthropology.

Learning Goals
   By the end of this course students should:

1. be familiar with anthropology as a distinctive discipline at the crossroads of the social, human and natural sciences
2. build up a solid knowledge of the broad nature, concepts and theories of anthropology
3. able to apply key theoretical approaches to explain everyday social life, particularly the differences between cultural universalities, generalities, and particularities
4. able to identify the key aspects of fieldwork including research techniques and the awareness of responsibilities anthropologists have when conducting fieldwork and research
5. develop an interest in further comprehension of human and nonhuman multiplicities
6. be able to form new ideas and to discuss compelling questions
7. be able to critically read research literature and present persuasive and reflective analyses
8. be able to participate in collaborative work such as class discussion and and group presentation assignments

Requirement / Prerequisite
   1) introductory course : only for 1st and 2nd year students
   2) purchasing of the textbook is required

Class Plan
   The class will consist of lectures, group discussions, case studies and practical exercises. Everyone is required to read one (occasionally two) chapter(s) of the textbook before each class. To prepare for the weekly WARM-UP QUESTIONS, you will need to take notes on the main themes of the chapter and think about how these points relate to the class topics. From Week #10 to Week #13, everyone will be required to turn in one 5-600 words SYNOPSIS of an academic article and lead a discussion inspired by that text.

	Theme	Content
Week 1	ORIENTATION	Thinking anthropologically
Week 2	GENEALOGIES	The birth of anthropology
Week 3	METHODS I	Ethnographic fieldwork
Week 4	METHODS II	Ethnographic film
Week 5	MAGIC	Symbols, rituals, cosmologies
Week 6	KINSHIP	Difference and relatedness
Week 7	GIFT	Giving and receiving
Week 8	CULTURE	Interpretation and writing
Week 9	Midterm Test
Week 10	EMBODIMENT	Disease and health
Week 11	GLOBALIZATION	NatureCulture
Week 12	INEQUALITIES	Food and nutrition
Week 13	LANGUAGE	Anthropologies of Japan
Week 14	MIGRATION	"Me a Black (Moi, un noir)" (by Jean Rouch, 72 mins)
Week 15	Final Exam

Independent Study Outside of Class
   1) reading one or two chapters of the textbook each week (30 - 60 pages/class)
   2) reading optional literature (50-100 pages/semester)

Textbooks
   Emily Schultz A. and Robert H. Lavenda. 2013. Cultural Anthropology: A Perspective on the Human Condition., Ninth Edition. New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Reference
   Henrietta L. Moore and Todd Sanders. 2006. Anthropology in Theory : Issues in Epistemology. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

Grading Policy

• Class Exercises & Participation (25%)
• Mid term test (25%)
• Final exam (50%)