ANTH 240 - Cultural Localities

Semester Offered: Fall and Spring
1 unit(s)

Detailed study of the cultures of people living in a particular area of the world, including their politics, economy, worldview, religion, expressive practices, and historical transformations. Included is a critical assessment of different approaches to the study of culture. Areas covered vary from year to year and may include Europe, Africa, North America, India and the Pacific.

May be repeated for credit if the topic has changed.

Topic for 2019/20a: Atlantic Worlds. (Same as AFRS 240 ) To speak of the Atlantic World is to speak of the peoples who inhabit the shores of the Atlantic Ocean and its marginal seas, and who are interconnected by histories of imperial expansion, enslavement, commerce, and migration. Imperial conquest led to the displacement and decimation of indigenous peoples, while slavery, indenture, and trade led and the creation of African, European, and Asian Diasporas in the Americas. These processes gave rise to the very idea of globalization, as well as the ideals of freedom, decolonization, and universal rights. This course introduces the diasporas, networks, and economic flows that integrate the Caribbean, Africa, the Americas, and Europe. Using ethnographies, histories, narratives, music, and film, we explore the processes of migration, imperial expansion, and economic integration that continue to shape the peoples, languages, and cultures of the Atlantic World. We also critically examine the strengths and limitations of concepts and theoretical frameworks used to produce knowledge about the peoples and histories of the Atlantic world. Topics include imperialism and its legacies, (de)colonization, capitalism, slavery, indenture, marronage, piracy, revolution, abolition, creolization, race, class, and gender. Louis Römer.

Topic for 2019/20b: The Making of Postcolonial India. (Same as ASIA 240 ) The processes which went into the formation of distinct modernities in the Indian subcontinent continue to inform and instigate present societies in that region. The first half of this course is a historical and anthropological introduction to some of the events and imaginations which were crucial to the formation of modern India (approximately the period of 1818-1947). Central to these were debates about religious reform, nationalism, caste hierarchies and the question of women in modernity. This part of the course uses primary texts (autobiographies, speeches, dialogues) as well as use literary, ethnographic and historical writings and films. The second half of the course brings the understanding of this earlier crucial period to bear on some of the key processes of contemporary India, including the rise of Hindu nationalism, caste and indigenous social movements, environmental challenges and the question of the Indian diaspora. Kaushik Ghosh.

Two 75-minute periods.

Course Format: CLS