Learning objectives
- To acquire the fundamental concepts and tools of cultural anthropology; to develop scientific and humanistic knowledge and skills in the field of cultural heritage
(first Dublin descriptor).
- To become accustomed to listening to others; to understand how to valorize and concretely promote material culture, heritage and cultural heritage (second Dublin descriptor)
-To broaden their horizons and vision of the world; to learn to deconstruct stereotypes and question the assumptions of common sense; to develop reflexivity; to develop critical thinking; to expand their humanistic knowledge (third and fifth Dublin descriptors);
- To acquire the ability to communicate information, ideas, and anthropological and ethnographic issues to specialist and non-specialist interlocutors (fourth Dublin descriptor)
Course unit content
The course will focus on the concepts, practices and methods of cultural anthropology granting particular attention to ways of constructing the Other as well as the dimension of ethnographic research and methodology, about which I will provide multiple examples. After historically contextualizing the birth of anthropology and changes in both the ethnographic perspective and the observer/observed relationship over the time, I will lead students in analyzing several fundamental concepts such as culture, cultural relativism, stereotype, identity, gender, kinship, ethnocentrism and cultural translation, highlighting the cultural complexities and specificities of anthropological discourse as a critical tool for reading various social processes. A part of the course will be dedicated to the anthropology of heritage and museums.
Bibliography
1)Teorie, metodi e pratiche dell’ antropologia, dispense di Antropologia Culturale 2016/2017 a cura della docente
2)Fabio Dei, Antropologia Culturale, il Mulino ( cap. 1,2,3,4,5,6, 7 10, 12, 15)
3) A monograph chosen from the following:
- Ciminelli M.L., D’incanto in incanto. Storia del consumo di arte primitive in Occidente, CLUEB, 2018.
-Rossi E., Passione da museo. Per una storia del collezionismo etnografico. Il museo di antropologia di Vancouver, Edifir, 2008
- Shostak M., Nisa. La vita e le parole di una donna !Kung, Meltemi, 2002.
- Geertz C, Opere e vite. L’antropologo come autore, il Mulino, 1990-Clifford J., I frutti puri impazziscono.Etnografia, Letteratura e Arte, Bollati Boringhieri, 2010.
- Karp I.-Lavine D.( a cura di), Culture in mostra, Bologna, Clueb, 1995.
- Clifford J, Marcus G.E., Scrivere le culture. Poetiche e Politiche dell’Etnografia, Booklet, 1997.
- Strauss L., Tristi tropici, il Saggiatore, 2008.
- Turner V., Dal rito al teatro, Il Mulino, 1986.
- Turner V.,Antropologia dell performance, il Mulino, 1993.
- De Martino E., La fine del mondo, Einaudi, 2002.
- Bateson, G. (1988) Naven, Torino, Einaudi.
- Giuffrè M. (a cura di), Essere madri oggi tra biologia e cultura. Etnografie della maternità nell’Italia contemporanea, Pacini, 2018.
- Mead M., Maschio e femmina, il Saggiatore, 2016
- Mead M., L’adolescenza in Samoa, Giunti, 2007.
- Giuffrè M., Donne di Capo Verde, CISU, 2007.
- Giuffrè M., L'Arcipelago Migrante. Eoliani d'Australia, Cisu 2010.
Fassio G., L'Italia non basterebbe,Cisu, 2014.
- Zinn D., Migrants as Metaphor, Cisu, 2018.
Ferrero L., Protagoniste in secondo piano, Cisu, 2018.
- Giuffrè M. (a cura di), Uguali, diversi, normali. Stereotipi, rappresentazioni e contro narrative del mondo rom in Italia, Spagna e Romania, Castelvecchi, 2014.
- Tallè C., 'Scuola, Costumbre, Identità', CISU, 2009.
-Lelli, S., 2007, 'Trasformazioni guaranì. Tra paradigma sciamanico e scuola', CISU
-Benadusi, M., 2012, 'Il segreto di Cybernella', Euno Edizioni
-Gomes, A.M., 1998, 'Venga che te fago scriver. Etnografia della scolarizzazione in una comunità Sinti', CISU
Aime M., Gli uccelli della solitudine, Bollati Boringhieri, 2010
- Crapanzano V., Thuami. Ritratto di un uomo dal Marocco, Booklet, 2007.
- Wacquant L., Anima e corpo, DeriveApprodi, 2002.
-Duranti A., Antropologia del linguaggio, Booklet, Milano
-Duranti A. Etnografia del parlare quotidiano, Carocci 2002.
In addition to the texts indicated, non-attending students must also study:
Descola P., Diversità di Natura , diversità di Cultura, Book Time, 2011
Teaching methods
The course will consist of in-class lectures during which the teacher will explain in detail the content of the exam texts and provide insights and examples with the aid of PowerPoint. I will also lead the students in group discussions on specific topics and exercises, to be decided on together with students.
Assessment methods and criteria
Oral examination. The exam will focus on the entire exam program indicated, including both the theoretical and monographic components. Students are invited to engage with the materials in a way that connects their chosen monograph with the theoretical component of the lecture and the manual.
Other information
Availability to also provide tutoring (e.g. office hours, explanations in the classroom) in a foreign language for Erasmus students or those on the move: English Availability to also hold exams with the aid of a foreign language, for written and oral exams: English
