-Henrietta Moore and Todd Sanders, Anthropology in Theory: Issues in Epistemology, McGraw

___________________________________________________________

█∫■▪☼□?Ω!℮↕↔∆≈•♫♦◊≤↓↑☻☼♀≠♂⌂☼?▬↕∩∞☺♀≠♂▲→↑←©♫♦◊○◘≡◙◦?Ω!□☼▪■∫█

Anthropology 225:

Anthropological Theory

___________________________________________________________

█∫■▪☼□?Ω!℮↕↔∆≈•♫♦◊≤↓↑☻☼♀≠♂⌂☼?▬↕∩∞☺♀≠♂▲→↑←©♫♦◊○◘≡◙◦?Ω!□☼▪■∫█

Professor Jeanne L. Shea, Ph.D

Class Meetings:

Tuesdays and Thursdays

2:00-3:15 pm, Williams 511

Contact Information

Office hours: Tuesday and Thursday, 3:30-4:30, in Williams 515

Email: jeanne.shea@uvm.edu (best way to reach me outside class)

Phone: 802-656-3181, in Williams 515 (leave message if not in)

Dept. secretary: Cindy Longwell, 802-656-3884, clongwel@uvm.edu

Snail mail: 515 Williams Hall, 72 University Pl., UVM, Burlington, VT 05405

Website: www.uvm.edu/~jlshea

Course Description

This upper level seminar provides an introduction to anthropological theory and the main approaches that social and cultural anthropologists have taken in analyzing culture and society from the birth of the discipline in the mid-1800s up to the present day. The course introduces a wide variety of theoretical approaches in sociocultural anthropology, including evolutionism, historical particularism, functionalism, culture and personality, critical theory, interpretivism, feminism, and postmodernism, among others. It explores the key features of these theoretical approaches, the historical context of their emergence, key scholars instrumental in their development, and the issues and debates on which they have focused their analytical efforts.

Class meetings are based around critical analysis of assigned readings through student presentations and interactive class discussion. Coursework centers on readings, discussion, presentations, an analytical essay, and a term paper. This work is designed to help students gain the knowledge and skills necessary to: identify key anthropological theories, describe the context of their historical development, identify their epistemological orientation and analytical focal points, assess their strengths and weaknesses, and weigh their compatibility with various types of research questions and methodologies.

Familiarity with anthropological theory furnishes the tools needed for more informed evaluation of the anthropological texts we read, the images we watch, and the dialogue we hear. It also provides a wealth of ideas upon which to draw as we ourselves join discussions, write papers, frame images, conduct research, and live our lives. Knowledge of the insights and missteps of those who came before us can help prevent recreating the wheel, allow for a more refined starting point, and provide common ground for communicating the scholarly significance of our ideas and research.

While often a challenging rite of passage, studying theory can be eye-opening and thought-provoking. Every time a new person comes in contact with a theory, they make new connections, add new perspectives, introduce different contexts, and apply theory in different ways. Once you’ve mastered the classic forms, theories become yours to apply, adjust, react against, or improvise into new formulations – whatever is helpful in a given situation to better understand and communicate about people and their cultures.

Prerequisites: Anthropology major or minor. Anth 21 and one 100-level course.

Professor Profile

Jeanne Shea has been a faculty member at the University of Vermont since 1998. She is a cultural anthropologist with research and teaching interests focusing on medical and psychological anthropology, gender, culture, ethnicity, health, the lifecycle, Chinese culture, Mainland China, and North America. She received her Ph.D. (1998) and M.A. (1994) in Anthropology from Harvard University and her B.A. (1989) in Asian Studies from Dartmouth College. She has conducted multiple years of fieldwork in China and Montréal and speaks Mandarin Chinese and some French. She grew up in rural northern Vermont. She and her husband live in Essex Junction with their two-year-old daughter.

Assigned Work

Assignments, Due Dates, and Grade Distribution

Class Participation (c.p.) each class session 20%

Presentation on Readings as assigned, Sept. 12-Oct. 26 10%

Response Paper I Sept. 28, in class 15%

Topic Memo for LR/RP Project Oct. 10, in class part of c.p.

Annotated LR/RP Bibliography Oct. 24, in class part of c.p.

Response Paper II Oct. 31, in class 15%

Outline for LR/RP Paper Nov. 7, in class part of c.p.

Draft of LR/RP Paper as assigned, Nov. 28-Dec. 7 part of c.p.

Presentation of LR/RP Project as assigned, Nov. 28-Dec. 7 10%

LR/RP Paper Dec. 15, 3:30 pm, Williams 511 30%

Finals Session Dec. 15, 3:30-6:30 pm, Wms 511 part of c.p.

Assigned Readings

Henrietta Moore and Todd Sanders, Anthropology in Theory: Issues in Epistemology, Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2006 (ISBN 0-631-22915-9).

Christopher Hart, Doing a Literature Review : Releasing the Social Science Research Imagination, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1999 (ISBN: 0761959750).

Reserve Readings TBA.

Description of Assignments

Class Participation

Completion of readings and assignments prior to class. Class attendance, prompt arrival, active informed contribution of questions and comments, attentive listening and respectful acknowledgement of others’ points of view, interactive dialogue striving to include all members of the class, and respectful treatment of others and their points of view. Turning in LR/RP Project materials in a well-formulated manner throughout the semester when they are due (topic memo, annotated bibliography, project outline, and paper draft). Collaborating with classmates by giving presentations together and providing each other with feedback on each other’s work in progress.

Presentation on Readings

2-3 students will present together with a total of 20 minutes to present a summary of the main points from the readings for that day (1/2) and an analysis of the readings culminating with suggested questions for class discussion (1/2). Presenters should coordinate with each other and with the Professor to divide up the work and decide on an approach to presenting the materials. Each presenter should email a two page handout on their part of the presentation to the class list at least 8 hours before class. The handout can be divided into two sections (summary/analysis), or it can intersperse summary and analysis throughout -- whichever works best as long as the two modes of expression are clearly delineated. Analysis involves going beyond mere summary to respond to, contextualize, tease apart, compare, or synthesize material. This can be done in a variety of ways, such as: identifying parts of the readings that you found particularly interesting or confusing or convincing or unconvincing and stating why, relating aspects of the readings to other material in the course and/or to your previous coursework or other experiences, considering the role of historical context or personal biography or social interests in shaping theoretical arguments, pointing out strengths and weaknesses in the theories presented, suggesting how an aspect of the theory discussed could be useful or limited for analyzing a contemporary social issue, identifying contradictions in or points neglected by the readings, and suggesting possible questions for discussion. In presenting to the class, you and your partner(s) might want to present separately on different aspects of the readings, or you might both present simultaneously through some interactive format (taking turns summarizing and analyzing, debate format, role play, etc.). Feel free to bring audiovisual aids or props in addition to your handout, if you would like.

Response Paper I

Response paper critically analyzing assigned readings and class discussions with reference to at least two outside peer-reviewed sources. Choose a topic from the Moore and Sanders readings and class discussions covered in the first part of the course involving content covered on two or more days. Critical analysis involves various ways of taking ownership of the information you encounter by registering your active engagement with that information. This can be done in various ways, including breaking it down into underlying assumptions, relating it to other information or experiences from outside the class, comparing and contrasting two ideas that were presented, synthesizing different pieces of the puzzle into a new combination, offering new examples that illustrate a theory or concept, questioning the logic or evidential support of points that were made, questioning the way in which an idea or theory or theorist or culture was represented, finding contradictions between different statements made, tracing the broader significance or implications of a concept or idea, and/or raising additional related questions, etcetera. You probably can’t do all of these sorts of critical analysis in one paper, and you are not expected to. Doing a few of these kinds of analysis is fine. In writing your paper, you need to discuss and cite assigned readings, in-class materials, and at least two relevant, high-quality outside scholarly sources. Paper should be 7-8 pages, typed, double-spaced, in 12-point font with one-inch margins. In addition, you need to turn in a cover page, thesis and outline page, and annotated bibliography. See Guidelines for the Evaluation of Papers handout and AAA Style Guide.

Topic Memo for Literature Review/Research Proposal (LR/RP) Project

2-page brainstorm on what topic you would like to do your LR/RP and why it is important from a scholarly, practical, and personal perspective. If you are still deciding, weigh the pros and cons of the ideas you are considering in terms of their importance. Consider challenges you might encounter and what you will need to do to complete this project within the scope of this semester.

Annotated Bibliography for Literature Review/Research Proposal (LR/RP) Project

2-page bibliography with at least ten scholarly peer-reviewed books or articles, plus assigned course readings and class discussions. Annotations should follow each source stating in one to two sentences how it is important to your paper. Use format from AAA Style Guide which follows Chicago Style.

Response Paper II

Response paper critically analyzing Moore and Sanders readings and class discussions covered in the second part of the course and synthesizing across them with reference to at least two outside peer-reviewed sources. You may also include content from the first part of the course, as long as it does not comprise more than half of the paper. Compare and contrast the main features of two major theoretical approaches in terms of the sociohistorical context of their emergence, their paradigmatic orientation, their main analytical focus, and their approach to research. Compare and contrast their main strengths and weaknesses in contemporary perspective, with regard to their internal logic, their ability to address important sociocultural issues today, and their compatibility with various research methodologies. In writing your paper, you need to discuss and cite assigned readings, in-class materials, and at least two outside scholarly peer-reviewed sources. Paper should be 7-8 pages, typed, double-spaced, in 12-point font with one-inch margins. In addition, you need to turn in a cover page, thesis and outline page, and annotated bibliography. See Guidelines for the Evaluation of Papers handout and AAA Style Guide.

Outline for Literature Review/Research Proposal (LR/RP) Project

2-3-page outline with thesis statement summarizing the main point of your paper, major topical sections of paper, main topic sentences carrying the steps in the argument of the paper, indicating the main examples and sources of evidence used to back up your statements, and indication of the content for each part of the literature review and research proposal.

Draft of Literature Review/Research Proposal (LR/RP) Paper

Rough draft of your paper as complete as possible. Please include a note on your assessment of the paper as it stands and what you would most like me to focus on in giving you feedback.

Presentation of Literature Review/Research Proposal (LR/RP) Project

Each student has 5 minutes to present the main findings from their literature review and summarize the project they would like to propose, followed by 3 minutes of question and answer session with the class. See handout on LR/RP Presentations. Each student should email a two-page handout on their presentation to the class list at least 8 hours before class.

Literature Review/Research Proposal (LR/RP) Paper

Term paper with the first two-thirds of the paper comprising the literature review and the last third of the paper composed of the research proposal.

Critical literature review of anthropological theories that scholars have applied to a particular sociocultural issue and topic that interests you (for example, the issue of social change in gender roles in China, or the issue of the meaning of symptoms among Gulf war veterans). Based on your literature review, choose, describe, and justify a research question, theoretical approach, and research methodology that you would (hypothetically or actually) propose to pursue in further research concerning this issue and topic. In writing your paper, you need to discuss and cite assigned readings, in-class materials, and at least ten outside scholarly peer-reviewed sources. Paper should be 15-16 pages, typed, double-spaced, in 12-point font with one-inch margins. In addition, you need to turn in a cover page, abstract/thesis/outline page, annotated bibliography, and other materials. See Hart 1999 readings and handouts on LR/RP Paper, Guidelines for the Evaluation of Papers, and AAA Style Guide.

Finals Session

Bring your final paper and a posterboard of text and visuals presenting your main findings from your literature review and the research project you propose. We will have a poster session, and take turns being presenters and audience.

Class schedule

Tues., Aug. 29 Course Introduction

Thurs., Aug. 31 Theory in Anthropology: History, Epistemology, and Paradigms

Readings due: Moore and Sanders, Table of Contents through Anthropology and Epistemology, pp. v-21.

Tues., Sept. 5 Interactions of Theories, Topics, Methods, and Persons:

Creative Encounters in Literature Reviews and Research Proposals

Readings due: Hart, The literature review in research, p. 1-25, and

Reviewing and research imagination, pp. 26-43.

Thurs., Sept 7 Culture and Behavior, and Society and Social Patterns

Readings due: Moore and Sanders, Culture and Behavior, pp. 23-56, and Society and Social Patterns, pp. 57-86.

Tues., Sept. 12 Discussion: Function and Environment

Readings due: Moore and Sanders, Function and Environment, pp. 87-120. ☼Students presenting readings:

_________________ _________________ _________________

Thurs., Sept 14 Discussion: Structure and System

Readings due: Moore and Sanders, Structure and System, pp. 121-146. ☼Students presenting readings:

_________________ _________________ _________________

Tues., Sept. 19 Discussion: Methods and Objects

Readings due: Moore and Sanders, Methods and Objects, pp. 147-178. ☼Students presenting readings:

_________________ _________________ _________________

Thurs., Sept. 21 Discussion: Biology and Ontogeny

Readings due: Moore and Sanders, Biology and Ontogeny, pp. 179-232. ☼Students presenting readings:

_________________ _________________ _________________

Tues., Sept. 26 Discussion: Meanings as Objects of Study

Readings due: Moore and Sanders, Meanings as Objects of Study, pp. 233-266. ☼Students presenting readings:

_________________ _________________ _________________

Thurs., Sept. 28 Discussion: Language and Method

Readings due: Moore and Sanders, Language and Method, pp. 267-298. ☼☼Response Paper I Due

Tues., Oct. 3 Discussion: Thinking and Believing

Readings due: Moore and Sanders, Thinking and Believing, pp. 299-320. ☼Students presenting readings:

_________________ _________________ _________________

Thurs., Oct. 5 Discussion: Bodies and Knowledge

Readings due: Moore and Sanders, Bodies of Knowledges, pp. 321-356. ☼Students presenting readings:

_________________ _________________ _________________

Tues., Oct. 10 Discussion: Coherence and Contingency

Readings due: Moore and Sanders, Coherence and Contingency , pp. 357-422, and Independent research.

☼☼LR/RP Topic Memo Due

Thurs., Oct. 12 Discussion: Universalisms and Units of Analysis

Readings due: Moore and Sanders, Universalisms and Domain Terms, pp. 423-456. ☼Students presenting readings:

_________________ _________________ _________________

Tues., Oct. 17 Discussion: Perspectives and Logics

Readings due: Moore and Sanders, Perspectives and their Logics, pp. 457-492. ☼Students presenting readings:

_________________ _________________ _________________

Thurs., Oct. 19 Discussion: Objectivity, Morality, and Truth

Readings due: Moore and Sanders, Objectivity, Morality, and Truth, pp. 493-536. ☼Students presenting readings:

_________________ _________________ _________________

Tues., Oct. 24 Discussion: Western Modes of Thought

Readings due: Moore and Sanders, Anthropology of Western Modes of Thought, pp. 537-566, and Independent research.

☼☼LR/RP Annotated Bibliography Due

Thurs., Oct. 26 Discussion: Objects of Enquiry and their Definition

Readings due: Moore and Sanders, (Re)defining Objects of Enquiry, pp. 567-606. ☼Students presenting readings:

_________________ _________________ _________________

Tues., Oct. 31 Discussion: Epistemology, Ontology, Meta-Theory, Methodology, and Personal/Professional/Political Commitments

Readings due: Moore and Sanders, Imagining Methodologies and Meta-things, pp. 607-633.

☼☼Response Paper II Due

Thurs., Nov. 2 Preparing a Literature Review and Research Proposal

Readings due: Hart, Classifying and reading research, p. 44-78, and Argumentation analysis, p. 79-108, and Independent research.

Tues., Nov. 7 Discussion: Assessing Term Paper Outlines

Readings due: Hart, Organizing and expressing ideas, p. 109-141, and Mapping and analyzing ideas, p. 142-171, and Independent research. ☼☼Outline for LR/RP Paper Due

Thurs., Nov. 9 No class à Independent work (Prof. at academic conference)