GENERAL
| SCHOOL | School of Economics and Political Science |
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| DEPARTMENT | Sociology |
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| Level of Study | Undergraduate |
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| COURSE CODE | 431061 |
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| COURSE TITLE | Social and Cultural Anthropology (S) |
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| Independent Teaching Activities |
Weekly Teaching Hours |
CREDIT UNITS |
| Lectures |
3 |
6 |
| TOTAL |
3 |
6 |
| Course Type | General Background |
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| Prerequisite Courses | No |
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| Teaching and Examination Language | Greek |
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| THE COURSE IS OFFERED TO ERASMUS STUDENTS | Yes |
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| Course Webpage (URL) | https://eclass.uoa.gr/courses/SOC170/ |
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(2) LEARNING OUTCOMES
The objectives of the course are for students:
- to learn about the subject matter studied by social/cultural anthropologists
- to learn the basic principles of ethnography, which is the central research method of social and cultural anthropology
- to understand the political dimensions of ethnocentrism in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of ethnographic data
- to get to know the main theoretical currents in the history of anthropological thought
- to understand the relationship between culture and individual behavior
- to come into contact with examples of different lifestyles and understandings of the world in Western and non-Western cultures
- to realize how much of what they ‘know’ about people and their lives is shaped by their own culture and is not always applicable in their relationships with people from other cultures
- to understand what is universal and what is particular in human cultures
- to critically approach the relationship between local and global processes and issues
- to come into contact with key research issues of social/cultural anthropologists, such as identities (e.g., national/ethnic, gendered), the human-technology relationship, social hierarchies
General Capabilities
- Adaptation to new situations
- Independent work
- Teamwork
- Working in an international environment
- Generation of new research ideas
- Respect for diversity and multiculturalism
- Respect for the natural environment
- Demonstration of social, professional, and ethical responsibility and sensitivity to gender issues
- Exercise of criticism and self-criticism
- Promotion of free, creative, and inductive thinking
(3) COURSE CONTENT
The course includes an overview of the history of anthropologists« thought and practice, from the nineteenth century to the present, in their attempt to understand the variety of human existence and experience. The study of different social and cultural groups constitutes a fascinating endeavor, as it reveals the historical and cultural dimension of both familiar and unfamiliar ways of life, worldviews, traditions, hierarchies, belief systems, and value systems. Centered around fundamental anthropological questions, such as the relationship between ethnocentrism and cultural relativism and the relationship between the universal and the particular in »human nature," the course emphasizes the contribution of anthropology to the investigation of contemporary social, economic, and political issues.
(4) TEACHING & LEARNING METHODS – EVALUATION
| DELIVERY METHOD | Face to face |
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| Information and Communication Technologies |
- In teaching, by posting educational material in the e-class for study
- When communicating with students (e-class, e-mail)
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| Activity |
Semester Workload |
| Lectures |
39 |
| Literature study and analysis |
20 |
| Writing an interim assignment or (alternatively) in-class exercise presentation |
21 |
| Unsupervised study |
70 |
| Course Summary |
150 |
Student Evaluation
| Process Description Evaluation | Methods:
- Written final exam consisting of essay questions (70%)
- Midterm written assignment or (alternatively) in-class presentation of exercises (30%)
The evaluation criteria (analytical/synthetic ability in developing a topic and ability to utilize the material learned during the lectures and through autonomous study) are announced in class during the lessons and are stated in the course syllabus, which is posted on the e-class platform.
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(5) RECOMMENDED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Suggested Bibliography
- Barley, Nigel. 2005. The Innocent Anthropologist. Athens: Aiora.
- Gefou-Madianou, Dimitra. 2011. Culture and Ethnography. Athens: Patakis
- Gefou-Madianou, Dimitra (Ed.). 2011. Anthropological theory and ethnography. Contemporary trends. Athens: Patakis.
- Colleyn, J.-P. 2005. Elements of Social and Cultural Anthropology. Athens: Plethron.
- Hendry, J., 2011. An Introduction to Social Anthropology: Other People's Worlds. Athens, Kritiki.
- Kuper, Adam. 1999. Anthropology and Anthropologists: The Modern British School.
Athens: Kastaniotis
- Seremetakis, C. Nadia. 2017. Introduction to Cultural Anthropology. Athens: Pedio.
- Abu-Lughod, Lila. 2002. “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving? Anthropological Reflections on Cultural Relativism and Its Others”. American Anthropologist 104 (3):783-790.
- Boellstorff, T. 2003. “Dubbing Culture: Indonesian “Gay” and “Lesbi” Subjectivities and Ethnography in an Already Globalized World.” American Ethnologist 30(2): 225-242.
- Bourgois, Philippe, and Jeffrey Schonberg. 2009. Righteous Dopefiend. Berkeley: University of California Press
- Clifford J., George E. Marcus (Eds). 2010. Writing Culture. The Poetics and Politics of Ethnography. University of California Press.
- Douglas, Mary. 1966 [2006]. Purity and Danger: An Analysis of Concepts of Pollution and Taboo. Translated by Aigli Chatzouli. Polytropon.
- Evans-Pritchard, E.E. 1987 [1951]. Social Anthropology. Athens: Kardamitsas.
- Geertz, Clifford. 2003. The Interpretation of Cultures. Translated by Th. Paradellis. Athens: Alexandreia.
- Horst, Heather A., and Daniel Miller, eds. 2012. Digital Anthropology. London: Routledge.
- Ingold, Tim. 1997. «Eight themes in the anthropology of technology.» Social Analysis: The International Journal of Anthropology 41(1): 106-138.
- Ortner, Sherry B. (1973). «On Key Symbols.» American Anthropologist 75(5): 1338-1346
- Turner, Victor. 1967. «Betwixt and Between: The Liminal Period in Rites de Passage.» In The Forest of Symbols: Aspects of Ndembu Ritual. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Related Scientific Journals
- American Anthropologist
- Annual Review of Anthropology
- Current Anthropology
- Cultural Anthropology
- HAU: Journal of Ethnographic Theory
- Anthropological Theory
- Social Anthropology
- Ethnology
- The Review of Social Research
