Anthropology: special topics

Teacher(s)

Delchambre Jean-Pierre;

Language

French

Prerequisites

The prerequisite(s) for this Teaching Unit (Unité d’enseignement – UE) for the programmes/courses that offer this Teaching Unit are specified at the end of this sheet.

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :

This UE is an extension of the introductory course in Anthropology at BAS1. Conceived in the form of a seminar course (see below), this EU aims on the one hand to clarify and deepen a series of questions and significant issues of contemporary anthropology, and on the other hand to bring students to develop and refine their skills in the reading and appropriation of scientific texts, the ability to problematize and criticize, to understand conceptual and methodological issues in a perspective that is rigorous, broad and multidimensional.

Content

Outline of the theoretical course 1. An overview of hominization, or the evolutionary history of humans leading to Homo sapiens  2. The question of tools and language 3. The question of domestication 4. The question of the relationship between humans and non-humans (plants, animals, “spirits”... even machines) 5. Debates surrounding the “cultural turn” and the “ontological turn” 6. Posthumanism: towards a “superhuman” enhanced by technology? 7. How can we understand the relationship between the social, the psychological, and the biological from the perspective of anthropology (and more broadly, the social sciences)?

Teaching methods

The UE is made up of a theoretical course and an involving activity (AI) in the form of a seminar of readings and presentations of texts.
As part of the IA, group work is expected (reading, appropriation and presentation of texts, including a written summary of the presentation).
For a more detailed presentation, see the "Instructions" document on the EU Moodle page.
In the lecture, the teacher presents the material in a way that is both pedagogically effective and interesting. Students are invited to ask questions and engage in debate, with the size of the audience allowing for interactive teaching.
Students have access to written material (documents, texts, etc.).
Please note that course notes are not exhaustive.
Good note-taking is strongly recommended.

Evaluation methods

This UE is made up of a theoretical course and a seminar section (AI). The distribution of points is as follows: - Theoretical course: 10/20. - Seminar: 10/20. The language of evaluation is French. The seminar is assessed on an ongoing basis during the term, and part of it is also assessed during the oral exam (see below). An oral examination is used to assess the theory part of the course, as well as taking part of the seminar assessment. The assessment of the seminar component focuses on the following tasks: - (1) Presentation of a text or a set of texts during a seminar session. - (2) Knowledge of the texts identified as “key texts” (one per module). Task (1) is completed in a group, while task (2) is individual. Assignment (1), completed in a group, is worth 5 points and is assessed by the teaching assistant during the semester. Assignment (2), that is, knowledge of the key texts, is worth 5 points and is assessed during the oral exam. Attendance at the seminar is mandatory. More than two unexcused absences will result in a score of 0/10 for the participatory component. Please note that only duly reported medical reasons will be accepted as valid justification. Furthermore, a student who skips the seminar will receive a 0/10. (Students are expected to make themselves available to participate in the seminar, regardless of their other commitments.) A student who has been absent (without valid justification) more than twice or who has not participated in a group project during the semester may not be prevented from registering for the exam, but will receive a 0/10 for the participatory component (this applies to the June session as well as the August/September session). The only possible exception: a student who was absent and unable to participate in a group project for medical reasons may be evaluated on the exam based on their knowledge of the various key texts associated with the modules of the participatory component, provided they submitted a medical certificate to the faculty administration and the professor in a timely manner. If a student who completed their coursework during the semester does not register for the June exam session, the grade awarded for their work in the seminar will be carried over to the August session (however, grades are not carried over from one year to the next). The language of assessment is French. The use of generative AI is prohibited in this course, at least with regard to work that is subject to assessment.

Bibliography

Bibliographie indicative : - Emile Benveniste, «Communication animale et langage humain», Diogène 1, 1952, pp. 1-8. - Dominique Bourg, «Les outils et les mots : le fondement technique de l'humanité», in L'homme-artifice. Le sens de la technique, Paris, Gallimard, 1996, pp. 117-178. - Philippe Descola, Par-delà nature et culture, Paris, Gallimard, 2005. - Vincent Descombes, «La psychologie de l'ordinateur», in La denrée mentale, Paris, Minuit, 1995, pp. 151-185. - Alain Ehrenberg, «Le cerveau "social". Chimère épistémologique et vérité sociologique», Esprit, janvier 2008, pp. 79-103. - Henri F. Ellenberger, Médecines de l'âme. Essais d'histoire de la folie et des guérisons psychiques, Paris, Fayard, 1995 (traduit de l'anglais). - E. E. Evans-Pritchard, Sorcellerie, oracles et magie chez les Azandé, Paris, Gallimard, 1972 (traduit de l'anglais; éd. orig. : 1937). - Clifford Geertz, «La description dense. Vers une théorie interprétative de la culture», in Daniel Céfaï (dir.), L'enquête de terrain, Paris, La Découverte / M.A.U.S.S., 2003, pp. 208-233. - Jack Goody, La logique de l'écriture, Paris, Armand Colin, 1995 (traduit de l'anglais). - André G. Haudricourt, «Domestication des animaux, culture des plantes et traitement d'autrui», L'Homme, 1962, tome 2, n° 1, pp. 40-50. - Nastassja Martin, Les âmes sauvages. Face à l'Occident, la résistance d'un peuple d'Alaska, Paris, La Découverte, 2016. - Marcel Mauss, «Une catégorie de l'esprit humain : la notion de personne, celle de "moi"», in Sociologie et anthropologie, Paris, P.U.F., coll. Quadrige, 1991, pp. 333-362. - Marie-Cécile et Edmond Ortigues, Œdipe africain, Paris, L'Harmattan, 1984. - Marshall Sahlins, How Natives Think. About Captain Cook, For Example, Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1995. - Charles Stépanoff, L'animal et la mort. Chasse, modernité et crise du sauvage, Paris, La Découverte, 2021. - Alain Testart, Eléments de classification des sociétés, Paris, Errance, 2005.

Faculty or entity

> ESPB