Cultural and Social Anthropology in Africa

Code:

MAF043

Acronym:

ACSA

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Anthropology

Instance: 2024/2025 - 2S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Department of History, Political and International Studies
Course/CS Responsible:	Masters in African Studies

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
MAF	0	study plan	1	-	6	41	162

Teaching language

Portuguese

Objectives

1.To summarize information on classic anthropological approaches about African sociocultural realities;

2. To critically discuss the place of ethnography in the production of anthropological knowledge;
3. To recognize the main lines of problematization of the relationship between Anthropology and colonization;
4. To summarize information on some works that discuss the coloniality of anthropological knowledge;
5. To summarize critical information about the dominant epistemological model and the relevance of alternative epistemologies;
6. To critically discuss the need/possibility of an African Anthropology.

Learning outcomes and competences

At the end of the CU, students should have:

1 - Domain of the main problematics of the disciplinary field of anthropology

 2 - Awareness about the specificity and potential of ethnographic methodology

3 - Developing capacities for reflection and critical analysis about the socio-cultural realities; 

4 - Development of learning skills and increased autonomy

Working method

Presencial

Pre-requirements (prior knowledge) and co-requirements (common knowledge)

Not applicable.

Program

1.The Ethnographic Revolution of 1930s in Africa

1.1 Atomized and Tribalized Analyses

1.2 Disregard for the “colonial situation”

2. Anthropological problematization of Colonialism

2.1 The Colonial Situation of G. Balandier

2.2. The Colonial Encounter of T. Asad

2.3 Colonialists, Africanists and Africans by A. Schwarz

2.4 Postcolonial Studies in Africa

3.Epistemologies of the South

3.1 Decolonize the Thought

3.2 The Persistent Political Dimension of Knowledge

3.3 For an African Anthropology?

Mandatory literature

Writing Against Culture. In R. Fox (ed.), Recapturing Anthropology. Working in the Present.; Abu-Lughod, L. (1991). , Santa Fe: School of American Research Press, 137-162.
Carvalho, J. (2001). ; O Olhar Etnográfico e a Voz Subalterna. , Horizontes Antropológicos, 7 (15): 107-147.
Celarent, B. (2010).; Facing Mount Kenya by Jomo Kenyatta., American Journal of Sociology, 116 (2): 722-728. URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/658069
Clifford, J. (2011). ; A experiência etnográfica: antropologia e literatura no século XX., Rio de Janeiro: UFRJ.
Duarte, A. (2022). ; African cinemas: Decolonizing the gaze. , Porto: CITCEM/FLUP/DCTP.
Lander, E. (ed.) (2005).; A Colonialidade do Saber: eurocentrismo e ciências sociais. , Buenos Aires: Consejo Latinoamericano de Ciencias Sociales.
Hountondji, Paulin (2009).; Conhecimento de África, Conhecimentos de Africanos: duas perspetivas sobre os Estudos Africanos. In B. S. Santos e M. P. Meneses (eds.), Epistemologias do Sul, p.119-131., Coimbra: Edições Almedina.
Hountondji, Paulin (1990).; Scientific Dependence in Africa Today., Research in African Literatures, 21 (3): 5-15.
Hountondji, Paulin (1995). ; Producing Knowledge in Africa Today. , African Studies Review, 38 (3): 1-10.
Mbembe, A. (2017). ; Crítica da razão Negra. , Lisboa: Antígona.
Mignolo, W. & Walsh, C. (2018).; On Decoloniality. Concepts, Analytics, Praxis., Durham and London: Duke University Press.
Peatrik, A-M. (2014). ; Le singulier destin de Facing Mount Kenya. The Tribal Life of the Gikuyu (1938) de Jomo Kenyatta, L’Homme, 212: 71-108.

Comments from the literature

More references will be provided in class.

Teaching methods and learning activities

The CU works in an articulated system of lectures and seminars: the first, taught by the teacher; the second, involving the presentation of texts by the students (individual or group) and their discussion with the class. The texts are pre-made available by the teacher.

Evaluation is distributed without a final exam.

Evaluation components: Presentation and Debate of pre-made texts (20%); Individual Report (80%).

Software

Microsoft Office

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation without final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Apresentação/discussão de um trabalho científico	20,00
Trabalho escrito	80,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Designation	Time (hours)
Estudo autónomo	61,00
Frequência das aulas	41,00
Trabalho escrito	60,00
Total:	162,00

Eligibility for exams

Students should read texts indicated for each seminar session. In each session, a text is presented by one or more students; Text presentation should not exceed 20 m and should adopt a structure in accordance with the model provided by the lecturer. At the end of the semester, one must presents individual report with a maximum of 10 pages, discussing a topic related to the program. The frequency of CU is mandatory given the adopted operating mode, where are central the seminars and the debates.

 

Calculation formula of final grade

Evaluation Elements:

Presentation and oral discussion of texts (20%)
Individual report (80%)

Examinations or Special Assignments

Not applicable

Internship work/project

Not applicable.

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

Not applicable.

Classification improvement

Exclusive repetition of the written Individual Report.

Observations

Teaching language: Portuguese.