Theories and Methods of Anthropoly

Code:

MAF011

Acronym:

TMA

Instance: 2022/2023 - 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	4	MAF Study Plan	1	-	6	54	162

Teaching language

Portuguese

Objectives

Beariing in mind that the UC is part a specialization in Anthropology, integrated in a Master's Degree in African Studies, being therefore possible to accommodate students with very different anthropological backgrounds and degrees, it must meet several needs simultaneously. On the one hand, the UC cannot do without the provision of basic theoretical and methodological foundations of Anthroplogy. On the other hand, it must also be oriented towards contemporary issues of Anthropoloigy, through which it will be able to equip students with the capacity of reflection for a profund understanding of the current sociocultural reality, namely of Africa.       

1.Summarize information on the dominant conceptions of anthropological thought during the twentieth century;
2. Identify critical lines of the main rupture and continuity in the history of anthropological theory;
3. Recognize some force' lines of contemporary anthropology, both from the standpoint of theoretical and methodological; 4. Recognize the place of ethnography in anthropology;
5. Summarize information on the methodology of ethnographic research: their characteristics and potential;
6. Discuss critically the practical exercise of ethnographic and anthropological writing;

Learning outcomes and competences

Students who with success complete the CU, must be able to:

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

2 - Have awareness about the specificity and potential of ethnographic methodology;

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

4 - Have developed learning competences and increased autonomy;

 

 

 

Working method

Presencial

Program

1.The nineteenth century and the Institutionalization of Anthropology

2.The Main Classical Strands: Review and Discussion

3. The 1960': Colonialism and Postcolonialism

4. The Interpretive Theory of Culture

5. Ethnography as intersubjective relationship: contemporary reconfigurations

Mandatory literature

Abu-Lughod, Lila ; “Writing Against Culture”. In Fox, R. (ed.), Recapturing Anthropology. Working in the Present. , Santa Fe: School of American Research Press, 137-162. , (1991).
Appadurai, Arjun ; “The Production of Locality”. In Modernity at Large. The Cultural Dimensions of Globalization. , Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 178-199., (1996).
Birx, H. James, ; 21st Century Anthropology. A Reference Handbook. , London: Sage., (2007).
Boskovic, Aleksandar ; “Socio-Cultural Anthropology Today: An Overview”. , Campos 6 (1-2): 11-26., (2005).
Boskovic, Aleksandar ; Other People’s Anthropologies. , New York and Oxford: Berghahn, (2006).
Denzin, Norman K. & Lincoln, Yvonna S. ; The Qualitative Inquiry Reader. , London: Sage. , (2002).
Erikson, Thomas. H. & Nielson, Finn Sievert, ; A History of Anthropology. , London: Pluto Press., (2001)
Geertz, Clifford ; A Interpretação das Culturas. , Rio de Janeiro: Zahar, [1973] (1989).
Geertz, Clifford ; O Saber Local. , S. Paulo: Editora Vozes., (2006).
Gluckman, Max ; Antropologia das Sociedades Contemporâneas: Métodos. , S. Paulo: Global., (1987).
Gupta, Akhil & James Ferguson ; “Discipline and Practice: ‘The Field’ as Site, Method and Location in Anthropology”. In Gupta. A. & J. Ferguson (eds.), Anthropological Locations. Boundaries and Grounds of a Field Science. , Berkeley: University of California Press, 1-46. , (1987).
Hannerz, Ulf ; “Fluxos, Fronteiras, Híbridos: Palavras-Chave da Antropologia Transnacional”. , Mana 3 (1), 7-39., (1997).
Hulme, Peter & McDougall, Russell (eds.) ; Writing, Travel and Empire: In the Margins of Anthropology. , London: I.B. Taurus., (2007). . ISBN: 9781845113049
Inda, Jonathan & Renato Rosaldo ; “Introduction”. In Inda, J, & R. Rosaldo (eds.), The Anthropology of Globalization. A Reader. , Malden MA-Oxford: Blackwell., (2002).
Kuper, Adam ; Anthropology and Anthropologists: the Modern British School. , London: Routledge., (1996).
Malinowski, Bronislaw ; The Argonauts of the Western Pacific. , London: Routlege., [1922] (1983).
Marcus, George ; “Ethnography in/ of the World System. The Emergence of Multi-Situed Ethnography”. In Ethnography Through Thick & Thin. , London: Routledge, 79-104. , [1995] (1998)
Ortner, Sherry B. ; Theory in Anthropology since the sixties”. , Comparative Studies in Society and History, vol. 26, nº1, pp:126-166., (1984).
Poddar, Prem, Patke, Rajeev S & Jensen, Lars (orgs.); A Historical Companion to Postcolonial Literatures. Continental Europe and Its Empires. , Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press., (2008).
Portes, Alejandro ; “Convergências Teóricas e Dados Empíricos no Estudo do Transnacionalismo Migrante”. , Revista Crítica de Ciências Sociais 69, 73-93., [2003] (2004).
Mead, Margaret ; Coming of Age in Samoa. , Nova Iorque: William Morrow, [1928] (1984).
Sahlins, Marshall ; O “Pessimismo Sentimental” e a Experiência Etnográfica: Porque a Cultura não é Um “Objecto” em Via de Extinção (Parte I). , Mana 3 (1): 41-73., (1997).
Sahlins, Marshall ; O “Pessimismo Sentimental” e a Experiência Etnográfica: Porque a Cultura não é Um “Objecto” em Via de Extinção (Parte II). , Mana 3 (2): 103-150., (1997).
Stocking Jr., George W. ; After Tylor. British Social Anthropology 1888-1951. , Madison: Wisconsin University Press. , (1995).
Stocking Jr., George W. ; Observers observed. Essays on Ethnographic Fieldwork. , Madison: Wisconsin University Press., (1983).
Tsing, Anna L ; Friction. An Ethnography of Global Connection. , Princeton: Princeton University Press. , (2005).

Teaching methods and learning activities

The CU works under articulated lecture / seminar: 1) Lectures (with visual support) by the teacher; 2) Presentation of texts, previously distributed, by the students; 3) Debate and discussion of the texts presented;

Software

Microsoft Office

keywords

Social sciences > Anthropology

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation without final exam

Assessment Components

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

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Designation	Time (hours)
Estudo autónomo	108,00
Frequência das aulas	54,00
Trabalho de investigação	0,00
Total:	162,00

Eligibility for exams

Students should read the reference texts listed for each session. In each session, such texts should be submitted by one or more students. The presentation of each set should not exceed 20 minutes and should be structured according to the model given below. Model Oral Presentation:
1. Introduction: the main theme of the text; the main thesis or theses by the author; three keywords.
2. More developed presentation of the text: internal structure; ethnography support and main ideas defended; link between empirical data and theory, with emphasis on the thesis (or theses) key.
3. Conclusion: overall assessment; merits of the text; (any open issues);
4. Indication of two issues for discussion in the classroom.

Calculation formula of final grade

The oral presentation and discussion of the texts are the elements of the assessment of seminar, with final weight in the evaluation of 20%. At the end of the semester, an individual essay must be submitted with the limit of 10 pages, with a value of 80% in the final evaluation.

Examinations or Special Assignments

Not applicable.

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

The student workers and other students with different statutes will be subject to the same evaluation components of the remaining students.

Classification improvement

To repeat the individual essay (100%). 

Observations

Teaching language: Portuguese