Anthropology

Teacher(s)

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

Course Outline (for informational purposes only)
Introduction
- Terminology: anthropology, ethnology, ethnography; social anthropology and cultural anthropology...
- Initial Overview: Three Keys to Understanding the State of Anthropology:
1) Context of Emergence
- Distinction between anthropology and sociology.
- The problematic legacy of 18th- and 19th-century naturalistic anthropology.
- The context of 19th-century colonization.
- The problem of evolutionism.
2) Changing Context
- Decolonization, the “postcolonial” world, globalization...
- Criticism of evolutionism.
- The disappearance of anthropology’s original subject matter: from “primitive” societies to exchanges, intermingling, tensions, and reconfigurations in an increasingly globalized, interdependent, and complex world.
- Broadening of research questions in the Anthropocene era.
3) Anthropology and the Scientific Mindset
- Emblematic methods of anthropology (fieldwork, participant observation, ethnographic description...).
- The model of knowledge in anthropology (and, more broadly, in the social sciences).
- The range of anthropological approaches today.
Part 1 – Introduction: Shamanism, Neoshamanism, and “Shamanic Tourism.” A Classic Issue Examined Through the Lens of Its Contemporary Transformations
- The shaman as a “specialist in the symbolic” (see R. Hamayon, Ch. Stépanoff...).
- The relationship with nature and animals.
- Animism vs. naturalism (see Ph. Descola).
- Techniques for “traveling into the invisible.”
- Questions raised by neo-shamanism and “shamanic tourism.”
Part 2: The Diversity of Societies and Cultures—Some Questions and Issues
- What criteria for comparison exist from a post-evolutionary and non-ethnocentric perspective? Some distinctions and models related to power and the economy.
- Marshall Sahlins (subsistence or abundance?) and Pierre Clastres (societies versus the state?).
- The distinction between chiefdom societies and “big man” societies.
- A case of a “stateless” tribal and kinship-based society: the Nuer (South Sudan) studied by E.E. Evans-Pritchard.
- A scenario for the emergence of the state: sacred kingdoms.
- The three models of property and wealth according to Alain Testart.
- Social morphologies and value systems: a comparison between the traditional caste system in India (a hierarchical society with “holistic” values) and modern Western societies (often described as “individualistic”).
Part 3: The “gift/counter-gift” concept and the distinction between symbolic exchange and commercial exchange
- Classical contributions (see Franz Boas, B. Malinowski, Marcel Mauss, etc.) and current debates surrounding the concept of “ceremonial reciprocal exchange.”
- A historical anthropology of the concept of debt (see David Graeber, etc.) .
Part 4: Insights into Myth and Ritual
- Myth as a structuring narrative transmitted orally. The temporality of myth.
- Orality (oral traditions) vs. writing (written traditions).
- Cosmogony (myths of origins...) / cosmology (the ordering of meaning...).
- The classificatory function according to Durkheim and Mauss (see also Mary Douglas...).
- Lévi-Strauss and structuralism (an approach based on totemism...).
- Ritual action and symbolic efficacy (the power of speech + institutional context).
- Illustrations drawn from rites of passage (see Arnold Van Gennep, Victor W. Turner...) and rites of possession (the case of Haitian voodoo and the figure of the “zombie”...).
- Animism and witchcraft. Good and bad spells (“power of life / power of death”), sorcerers and healers...
- “Instrumental” action and “magical” action (see Malinowski, Evans-Pritchard...).
- How can we account for the effects of a ritual practice (see symbolic efficacy)?
Part 5: The Domain of Kinship
- Kinship as a social institution (rules and practices).
- The incest taboo.
A universal taboo? The issue of variations and exceptions.
Hypotheses regarding the origin and function of the incest taboo.
- Filiation.
Societies based on kinship systems.
Concepts of clan and lineage.
Different systems of filiation.
- Alliance.
Lévi-Strauss’s thesis (see *The Elementary Structures of Kinship*).
Elementary / semi-complex / complex structures.
Restricted exchange / generalized exchange.
The case of marriage between cross-cousins.

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 professor presents the material in a lively, rigorous, and pedagogically appropriate manner, taking into account the fact that students have written materials (outline + lecture notes).  Students are encouraged to make complementary use of written materials and oral presentations.  The teaching method aims to encourage students to take responsibility for their own learning, while enabling them to clarify and deepen their understanding of the elements of the subject that must be acquired and mastered. In addition, the professor may introduce and discuss examples related to current events, and students have the opportunity to participate and ask questions during the course.  It is strongly recommended that students: 1) attend class, 2) take good personal notes, 3) write their own summaries or syntheses (beware of the illusion of relying on AI: the goal is to acquire basic skills, not to be replaced by a machine!). Description of the guided reading seminar: This part of the EU consists of six guided reading sessions (for practical details, see the announcements that will be communicated at the beginning of the course).  These reading sessions are supervised by an assistant. The aim of these sessions is to complement the lectures, encourage active engagement with the subject matter, and support students in their learning (at a formal level: analytical reading of a number of scientific or popular science texts, and at a more informal level: understanding the expectations and requirements of university education).  Students will work from a selection of texts considered to be part of the course material 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 guided reading sessions is recommended. In order for the exercise to be beneficial, students must have read the texts covered in the guided reading beforehand (bearing in mind that these texts, as mentioned above, form part of the exam material).

Evaluation methods

Assessment will take the form of a written exam covering both the lecture and the guided reading seminar (involving activity).  The exam assesses knowledge of the subject matter as well as understanding and assimilation of the texts that are part of the involving activity.  With regard to the material covered in class, students must be able to recall the key points, but also answer comprehension questions, which requires in-depth personal synthesis work and the ability to connect different elements of the course.  For the guided reading seminar, students must have a thorough knowledge of the texts studied during the sessions.  The assessment method is the same for the June and August/September sessions.  There is no supervision by the teaching assistant outside of the sessions scheduled during the four-month period in which the course is given.  The language of assessment is French. The use of generative AI is prohibited in this course. This is not merely a technicality. Feedback from the past two or three years shows that relying on AI-generated summaries—or on summaries written by other students—is not enough to pass the exam. Personal engagement with the course, as well as a level of commitment that meets expectations (as a reminder, 5 credits = 150 hours, including in-person class time), are essential.

Bibliography

Voir syllabus.

Faculty or entity

> ESPB