ANTH 360 - Problems in Cultural Analysis

Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)

May be repeated for credit if topic has changed.

Topic for 2026/27a: Belonging and Beyond: Student Experience and Cultures of Education. In socially organized learning communities that are conventionally referred to as ‘high’ school and ‘higher’ education, where youth might expect to be nurtured and flourish, students from many backgrounds struggle to experience a sense of belonging and thriving. When this happens, a common organizational practice is to send or offer the student ‘help’ or ‘support’ in navigating what are perceived to be challenges of the student. What if we viewed the ‘problem’ of belonging as one that did not belong to the student, but was rather a product of the culture and design of the particular learning community?  

In this seminar, students examine different approaches to supporting the life of the student in different educational cultures. We discern features of particular learning communities, explore taken-for-granted concepts such as ‘higher learning’,  and interrogate some of the practices and experiences that may promote student development and a sense of belonging and beyond. We may ask questions such as “How are contributions to belonging and thriving imagined in different learning communities?” “What roles and institutional practices do students view as primary supports to their ability to thrive while in their learning community?” and “What educational cultures are called into existence when thriving lives are at the center of educational practice?”  

Participation in this course involves direct conversations with teachers, students, and alumnae/i in schools that take different approaches to nurturing the lives of students in order to expand our ways of thinking about educational cultures and possibilities. We also draw on ethnography, primary source material, our own experience, and fiction to contribute to our frameworks of analysis. Candice Lowe Swift.

Topic for 2026/27b: Caribbean Voices. (Same as AFRS 360 ) The Caribbean occupies a powerful position within the Western imagination. Foundational to the development of Western political, economic, and ideological hegemony, the Caribbean today is often imagined in the singular, as a tourist paradise of palm trees and resorts. Yet the Caribbean is a diverse region with a complex history and present, seven official languages, and twenty-four-plus nations. This seminar attends to Caribbean peoples and cultures, their migrations and diasporas, rich and diverse artistic and religious traditions, globally circulating music and styles, influential intellectual and social movements, and political formations that challenge prevailing notions of nationalism, transnationalism, and globalization. Through literature, film, poetry, and art, the seminar foregrounds Caribbean perspectives, while musical forms like Calypso, Reggae, and Dancehall familiarize students with Caribbean expressive culture and public performance. Ethnographic studies provide a comparative framework for students’ semester-long research on a particular country or topic. Colleen Cohen.

One 2-hour period plus outside screenings.

Course Format: CLS