Course Description:

This course will introduce you to the essential concepts, theories, and methods of cultural anthropology, or the comprehensive study of human societies and cultures around the world in all their remarkable complexity and diversity. Topics to be covered include the concept of culture itself; colonialism; cultural relativism; fieldwork and the difficulties and rewards of cross-cultural communication and understanding; the interface between language and culture; economic systems; family organization; gender and sexuality; religion and ritual; bodies and healing; notions of person, self, aging, and the life course; social inequalities; urban life and the tension between structure and agency; as well as processes of globalization and modernity.

One of the main aims of this course (and of cultural anthropology as a whole) is to explore “other” societies as a means of better understanding and even critiquing “our” own ways of life. This will be facilitated through case studies of a range of societies and cultures including Africa, New Guinea, India, the United States, and others. We will investigate the ways that people in societies, cultures, and communities that may sometimes seem quite “other” make sense of and order their lives, respond to common challenges and problems, and search for meaning and purpose in a myriad of different ways. By seeking to “make the strange familiar and the familiar strange,” we will be learning more about both other peoples and ourselves.

Course Goals:

• To acquaint students with the wide range of questions, theories, and perspectives used in the study of cultural anthropology;

• To understand how categories that might seem “natural” or “obvious” such as kinship, gender, or race are culturally and socially constructed;

• To examine how specific cultural beliefs, values, practices, and structures are shaped by broader historical, economic, and political contexts;

• To emphasize the importance and relevance of anthropological concepts for understanding and addressing contemporary global and local problems; and

• To give students first-hand experience putting basic anthropological principles and methodologies into practice through observation and interview exercises.