Learning objectives
Particular attention will be paid to topics of greatest interest to "Food Social Design" arising from food anthropology studies such as consumption, gifting, and food-related cultural representations and practices. The tools and methods that characterize anthropological research will also be explored.
Prerequisites
Course unit content
Cultural Anthropology is a social science that investigates human cultures and societies with a qualitative analysis approach, exploring social institutions, knowledge, values and beliefs, daily practices, objects, art and artifacts, lifestyles, etc. As Design is a discipline that actively contributes to the construction and shaping of social reality, Cultural Anthropology can offer valuable input for students to reflect on the sociocultural implications of design actions.
As a discipline with a vocation for social differences and critical science-aimed at recognizing how what seems "natural" to us is actually the result of historical, social and cultural processes-can indeed promote the development of an open and creative view that does not absolutize a single point of view.
Full programme
Bibliography
- De Sardan, J-P. O. (2009). “La politica del campo. Sulla produzione di dati in antropologia”. In: F. Cappelletto (ed.), Vivere l’etnografia, SEID Editori, Firenze.
- Grasseni, C. (2013). ‘La patrimonializzazione del cibo. Prospettive critiche e convergenze “sul campo”’. In: Luigi M. Lombardi Satriani (ed.), VOCI, 10 (1), 2013, Pellegrini Editore, Cosenza.
- Koensler, A., & Meloni, P. (2019). Antropologia dell’alimentazione. Produzione, consumo, movimenti sociali, Carocci Editore, Roma.
- Lai, F. (2017). Antropologia del cibo nella fiction. Rappresentazioni del cibo nelle narrazioni cinematografiche e televisive, Pàtron Editore, Bologna.
- Semi, G. (2010). L’osservazione partecipante. Una guida pratica, Il mulino, Bologna
Additional material will be made available online (notes and bibliography)
Teaching methods
The theoretical part of the teaching is devoted to introducing some of the main reflections of Cultural Anthropology, including ethnocentrism, the relationship between nature and culture, "us and others," material culture and the concept of social stigma.
The practical part of the teaching involves an exercise in which students, divided into groups, will be asked to use the tools and methods of anthropological research by going on to construct qualitative research on a specific case study chosen in accordance with the Public Interest Design teaching.
Assessment methods and criteria
1. An 60-minute individual written test, classroom-based. the test consists of open-ended questions designed to verify the acquisition of the content proposed during the lectures: textbooks indicated, topics discussed in class, any other texts provided. The examination will take place in the classroom, on blank sheets under the supervision of the lecturers. The grade is expressed in thirtieths and is worth 40% of the final grade of the teaching module.
2. A group oral test, in which the outcomes of the practical exercise - carried out by the group during the teaching in collaboration with the teaching of Public Interest Design - should be presented. The oral test assesses the ability to use anthropological tools and concepts with reference to the research case chosen for the exercise, as well as the ability to systematize and communicate the research results. In presence, in the classroom, each group will present the exercise and receive a collective grade valid for each of the components. The evaluation is expressed in thirtieths and is worth 60 % of the final module grade for each individual component.
The final grade for Applied Anthropology for Design will be expressed in thirtieths and is the result of the average of the individual written test grade (40 % of the final grade) and the group oral test grade (60 % of the final grade). The overall grade will also take into account the degree of participation and frequency during the course of teaching. This may influence in approximating over or under the average final grade. The results of written and oral tests are announced on the teaching portal, along with the date by which students can ask clarifications.
Other information
