Anthropology Syllabus
Anthro. 3: Introduction to Social/Cultural Anthropology
x. liu
Fall 2013: MWF: 1-2pm, 155 Dwinelle
Office Hours: Weds., 2-5pm; 301 Kroeber Hall (Tel.: 2-0705)
E-mail: xinliu@berkeley.edu
This course introduces anthropological topics in the subfield of social/cultural anthropology, with a particular aim for students to learn a lesson about the idea of culture and its relevance for our global struggles today. For such a goal to be achieved, there is no way for us to avoid a historical perspective on the field, which has changed as the world has changed in time. What is culture? What is anthropology or anthropological knowledge? What is ethnography or field research? The class will begin with those basic questions and end with a view on the future shape of our cultural knowledge for a fast changing world.
No prerequisite is needed. Students must attend three hours per week for lecture, plus one hour per week for discussion section.
Required Books (available at the Student Bookstore)
Montesquieu, The Persian Letters (Tr. J. Robert Loy). Meridian (1961).
Frazer, J. The Golden Bough. Macmillan (1963 abridged; or Touchstone 1996).
Lienhardt, G. 1961. Divinity and Experience. Clarendon.
Douglas, M. 1986. How Institutions Think. Syracuse University Press.
Miller, D. 2011. Tales from Facebook. Polity.
Evaluation: 1) A final paper, 10-12 pages, double space (30%). Note: the paper is due on the 16th of December. 2) Five assignments, which, dependent on the progress of the class, may take the form of a quiz (take-home or in-classroom) or a report (two pages) on the readings and lectures, will count for 10% (50% in total). 3) An in-classroom, open-book test on the last day of class (10%). 4) Participation in lectures and section discussions (10%). Note: if you do not show up or rarely in either, you will fail the class, i.e. not only the ten percent being taken away—which is an additional reward for participation.
Week 1-2. Introduction: scope and
x. liu
Fall 2013: MWF: 1-2pm, 155 Dwinelle
Office Hours: Weds., 2-5pm; 301 Kroeber Hall (Tel.: 2-0705)
E-mail: xinliu@berkeley.edu
This course introduces anthropological topics in the subfield of social/cultural anthropology, with a particular aim for students to learn a lesson about the idea of culture and its relevance for our global struggles today. For such a goal to be achieved, there is no way for us to avoid a historical perspective on the field, which has changed as the world has changed in time. What is culture? What is anthropology or anthropological knowledge? What is ethnography or field research? The class will begin with those basic questions and end with a view on the future shape of our cultural knowledge for a fast changing world.
No prerequisite is needed. Students must attend three hours per week for lecture, plus one hour per week for discussion section.
Required Books (available at the Student Bookstore)
Montesquieu, The Persian Letters (Tr. J. Robert Loy). Meridian (1961).
Frazer, J. The Golden Bough. Macmillan (1963 abridged; or Touchstone 1996).
Lienhardt, G. 1961. Divinity and Experience. Clarendon.
Douglas, M. 1986. How Institutions Think. Syracuse University Press.
Miller, D. 2011. Tales from Facebook. Polity.
Evaluation: 1) A final paper, 10-12 pages, double space (30%). Note: the paper is due on the 16th of December. 2) Five assignments, which, dependent on the progress of the class, may take the form of a quiz (take-home or in-classroom) or a report (two pages) on the readings and lectures, will count for 10% (50% in total). 3) An in-classroom, open-book test on the last day of class (10%). 4) Participation in lectures and section discussions (10%). Note: if you do not show up or rarely in either, you will fail the class, i.e. not only the ten percent being taken away—which is an additional reward for participation.
Week 1-2. Introduction: scope and