Learning objectives
- To acquire the fundamental concepts and tools of cultural anthropology; to develop scientific and humanistic knowledge and skills in the various fields of the discipline
(first Dublin descriptor).
- To become accustomed to listening to others; to understand how to valorize and concretely promote (second Dublin descriptor)
to concretely promote the understanding of other worldviews and the correct representation of minorities
-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 be divided in two partes. The first part of the course will focus on the concepts, practices and methods of cultural anthropology. After contextualizing the birth of anthropology and changes in the ethnographic perspective from an historical point of view, we will move on to the analysis of some fundamental concepts such as culture, cultural relativism, stereotype, ethnocentrism and cultural translation, highlighting the cultural complexities and specificities of anthropological discourse as a critical tool for reading various social processes. In particular I will focus on some key issues of contemporary society as migration, the concept of "race" and racism, gender, intercultural topics, identities, new parental forms, the changed concept of fieldwork and the relationship between the local and the global.
In the second part of the course, we will pay particular attention to the ways of building and representing the Otherness. We will analyze, in particular, the role of the mass media in the construction of the Otherness and minorities, with particular reference to the Charter of Rome (Deontological Protocol concerning Asylum Seekers, refugees, victims of trafficking and migrants).
The acquired notions will be put into practice through class exercises and seminar meetings.
Bibliography
Bibliography
1) Matthew Engelke, Pensare come un antropologo, Einaudi, Torino, 2018
2) Materiali didattici forniti dalla docente
3) Un libro a scelta tra i seguenti:
- Tosi Cambini S., La Zingara rapitrice. Racconti, denunce, sentenze (1996-2007), Cisu, Roma, 2015.
- Aime M., Classificare, separare, escludere. Razzismi e identità, Einaudi, Torino, 2020.
- Kilani M., L’invenzione dell’altro. Saggi sul discorso antropologico, Dedalo, Bari, 1997.
- Bachis F., Sull'orlo del pregiudizio. Razzismo e islamofobia in una prospettiva antropologica, Aipsa, Cagliari, 2018.
- Giuffrè M. (a cura di), Uguali, diversi, normali. Stereotipi, rappresentazioni e contro narrative del mondo rom in Italia, Spagna e Romania, Castelvecchi, Roma, 2014.
- Giomi E., Magaraggia S., Relazioni brutali. Genere e violenza nella cultura mediale, il Mulino, 2017.
- Gallini C., Giochi pericolosi. Frammenti di un immaginario alquanto razzista, Manifestolibri, 1996.
- Gallissot R., Kilani M., Rivera A., L’imbroglio etnico in quattordici parole-chiave, Dedalo, Bari, 2001.
- L. Piasere, N. Solimano, S. Tosi Cambini, eds, Wor(l)ds which exclude. The housing issue of Roma, Gypsies and Travellers in the language of the acts and the administrative documents in Europe, Fondazione Michelucci Press, Fiesole, 2014 (e-book: http://weproject.unice.fr/publication/e-book-low-resolution)
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. Seminar meetings will be proposed. 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 manual. For attending students there will be the possibility of basing the test on a written report, to be discussed orally, in which space will be given to the rewriting of some newspaper articles in dialogue with the theoretical concepts studied.
The exam will follow the following evaluation: the student will answer the questions correctly using an appropriate language, communication skills, and showing an excellent ability to apply, make connections, autonomy of judgment and critical re-elaboration of concepts (from 28 to 30 e Lode); the student will answer correctly the questions using an appropriate language, communication skills, and showing a good ability to apply, sufficient autonomy of judgment and critical re-elaboration of the concepts (from 25 to 27); the student will answer the questions correctly using a sufficiently appropriate language (from 21 to 24); the student will answer correctly at least a part of the essential questions using a sufficiently appropriate language (from 18 to 20).
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
