Political Anthropology

Code:

MFIL023

Acronym:

AP

Instance: 2010/2011 - 1S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Department of Philosophy
Course/CS Responsible:	Masters in Philosophy

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
MFIL	10	MFIL - Study Plan	1	-	10	-

Teaching language

Portuguese

Objectives

a) To identify and critically explore the knowledge of classic topics that are part of the corpus of political anthropology; to develop the main theories that form it.

b) To analyze different political systems with markedly diverse types of political organizations and structures, in order to show both the diversity of political organizations and structures and the principles related to that diversity.

c) To deepen the understanding of political relations and important powers that are peculiar to the creation of the State.

d) To give a well-grounded thought about different socio-cultural phenomena, such as use of power, social action, violence, social movements.

Program

1. To enclose the “field” of Political Anthropology: goals and fields of study.

1.1. Theoretical, geopolitical and epistemological connections and divisions: politics, power and authority.

1.2. Connections between Political Anthropology and other political sciences: sociology, political philosophy and political science.


1.3. The “Political” in Anthropology: to enclose and define the political field. The evolution of politics in social thought. The power and authority in different types of society. Politics and the concept of nation. The State issue.


2. Theoretical paradigm of Political Anthropology. Main theories and tendencies in Political Anthropology

2.1. The different investigation tendencies in Political Anthropology: functional, structural and dynamic-conflictual guidelines.


2.1.2. The emergence of “Political Anthropology” in the midst of the British Anthropology.
The functional analysis of the political systems: Radcliffe-Brown, Evans- Pritchard and Malinowski’s influence. The importance of the work “African political systems”.

2.1.3. “French Anthropological School”.
French structuralism and politics. Durkheim as forerunner (solidarity, work division and totetism). Lévi-Strauss and Marcel Mauss’s influence.

2.1.4. The political minimalism as possible reason for other constitution of Political Anthropology. Procedural-conflict theory. Critics to structural-functionalism.

3. Political Anthropology in a current perspective. Investigations and topics of political anthropology.

TOPIC 1. Analysis of Symbolic Systems
Study of semantic ratings and symbolic representation systems. The relationship between symbolic, cultural and political processes. Symbolisms and identities. The symbolism in daily life.

TOPIC 2. Tradition and modernity
The constitution of modernity. The debate about post-modernity. Ways to represent appertains to political, economical, cultural and social unities: the local, the regional, the national and international. The constitution of Nation-states. Identities and Migrations. Global culture.

TOPIC 3: Nations and nationalism. Nationalism as a way of ethnicity. The confusion of nation-state. Colonial movements, ethnical minorities, regionalism and nationalism. Territory and sovereignty at the origin of nationalists movements. Multinational states and ethnical minorities.

TOPIC 4: Culture between centre and periphery: a new world order. The globalization of political decisions. The creation of supranational political institutions. Hegemonic centres of political, cultural and economical power.

TOPIC 5: Marxism and neo-Marxism. Marx and Engels: the origins of the family, private property and state. The Marxist orientation of the current Political Anthropology.

Mandatory literature

ABÉLÈS, M. Anthropologie de l'État. París, Armand Colin, 1990
AUGÉ, M. Pouvoirs de vie, pouvoirs de mort : introduction à une anthropologie de la répression, Paris, Flammarion, 1977
BALANDIER, Georges. Antropologia política. Editorial Presença, 1987
DEBRAY, R., Critique de la raison politique. Paris, Gallimard, 1981
FERNANDES, António Teixeira, O campo político, Separata da revista da Faculdade de Letras, Sociologia, Porto, 16, 2006
FERNANDES, António Teixeira, Os fenómenos políticos : Sociologia do poder 2ª ed. - Porto : Afrontamento, 1998
GELLNER, Ernest. Antropología y política. Barcelona, Gedisa, 1997
GONZALEZ ALCANTUD, J.A. Antropología (y) política, Barcelona,Anthropos,1998
KRADER, L. y ROSSI, I. Antropología Política. Barcelona. Anagrama. 1982
LEWELLEN, Ted C. Introducción a la antropología política, Barcelona,Bellaterra, 1995
LLOBERA, J.R (ed.). Antropología Política, Barcelona, Anagrama, 1995
LUQUE, E. Antropología Política , Barcelona, Ariel, 1996

Complementary Bibliography

BALANDIER, Geoges. Le pouvoir sur scènes. París, Balland, 1980
CLASTRES, Pierre. Recherces d’Anthropologie Politique, Éditions du Seuil, 1980
FERNANDES, António Teixeira, A sociedade e o estado : sociologia das formações políticas, Porto : Edições Afrontamento, 1997
GLEDHILL, John. El poder y sus disfrases. Barcelona, Bellaterra, 2000.
SANTOS, Boaventura de Sousa. Pela mão de Alice. O social e o político na Pós-modernidade. Edições Afrontamento, 1994
SOVERAL, Eduardo Abranches de, Ensaio sobre a justiça, Sep. da Revista da Faculdade de Letras, Série de Filosofia, Nº 7, 2ª Série - Universidade do Porto, 1990
SOVERAL, Eduardo Abranches de, Educação e cultura, Instituto de Novas Profissões, 1993
WOLF, Eric R. Figurar el poder: ideologías de dominación y crisis. México,CIESAS, 2001

Teaching methods and learning activities

Theoretical presentation of the program, textual analysis, presentation and debate about research works, as individual and/or group guided by the lecturer on one of the topics proposed in topic 3 of the program.

keywords

Humanities > Philosophy
Social sciences > Political sciences > Policy studies

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation without final exam

Assessment Components

Description	Type	Time (hours)	Weight (%)	End date
Attendance (estimated)	Participação presencial	45,00
	Trabalho escrito	120,00		2010-02-19
	Total:	-	0,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Description	Type	Time (hours)	End date
	Estudo autónomo	105	2010-02-01
	Total:	105,00

Eligibility for exams

Students are required to attend at least 75% of classes, except in cases foreseen in the Assessment Regulations.

Calculation formula of final grade

The final mark is the result of the average of all aspects of evaluation:
Participation in the debates (25%)
Critical reviews of proposed literature (25%)
Final research work (50%)