GLOBAL ASIAN STUDIES 2: ANTHROPOLOGY

The course offers a methodological and conceptual introduction to cultural anthropology, with particular reference to the understanding of contemporary Asian societies.

Knowledge and understanding:
- knowledge of the mail theoretical bases of anthropology and of the salient features of the ethnographic method;

Judgment skills:
- elaborate critical judgments on the cultural and social phenomena examined during the course;

Communication skills:
- critically re-elaborate the contents of the program without resorting to purely mnemonic preparation.

Learning ability:
- take notes, summarizing, in a clear way, the main topics covered during the lessons;
- integrate independently the study of different teaching materials;
- independently analyze topics not dealt with during lectures;
- study on texts in English;
- use the online teaching platform.

An intermediate level of English (B2) is required to deepen the topics covered in class, using the reference texts.

The course will illustrate the main themes that characterize the discipline: the concept of culture, field research, economic systems, language, identity, kinship, control of resources, political systems, symbols, rituals, religious beliefs, cultural creativity, anthropology in the global world. During the course will be taught some seminars with experts on cultural, political and economic issues of contemporary Asia.

Recommended readings (not mandatory for the final exam):

B. Miller, 2015, Antropologia culturale, Milano-Torino, Pearson.
D. Miller, 2014 Cose che parlano di noi, Bologna, Il Mulino.
Emily A. Schultz, Robert H. Lavenda, 2014, Anthropology: What Does It Mean to be Human?, Oxford University Press.
Marco Aime, 2008, Il primo libro di antropologia, Torino, Einaudi.
Alan Barnard, 2000, History and Theory in Anthropology, Cambridge University Press.
Thomas Hylland Eriksen, 2004, What is Anthropology?, Pluto Press.
Aleksandar Bošković, 2008, Other People's Anthropologies: Ethnographic Practice on the Margins, Bergahan Books.
Peter Just and John Monaghan, 2000, Social and Cultural Anthropology: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press.

The exam will consist of a written paper (10000 characters, including spaces) in English or Italian on a topic agreed with the teacher, to test the methodology and the basic vocabulary in anthropology. The editorial guidelines and the dissertation module can be found in I.s.a. materials.

Lectures, also with the help of power-point.

written