2021/2022
Political Anthropology
Code: 101266 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2500256 Social and Cultural Anthropology | OB | 2 | 2 |
The proposed teaching and assessment methodology that appear in the guide may be subject to changes as a result of the restrictions to face-to-face class attendance imposed by the health authorities.
Contact
- Name:
- Silvia Graciela Álvarez Litben
- Email:
- Silvia.Alvarez@uab.cat
Use of Languages
- Principal working language:
- spanish (spa)
- Some groups entirely in English:
- No
- Some groups entirely in Catalan:
- Yes
- Some groups entirely in Spanish:
- Yes
Teachers
- Sílvia Gómez Mestres
Prerequisites
It is recommended that students have studied the Basic Concepts and Anthropology History.
Objectives and Contextualisation
The aim of the subject is to understand the basic concepts of political anthropology linked to the field of social relations and the construction of power in all areas of society. Starting from a maximalist perspective of the concept of politics, including the gender perspective, we will advance the different contributions that anthropology offers us from its most classical theories to contemporary ones, and we will review interpretations of various cases.
Competences
- Apprehending cultural diversity through ethnography and critically assessing ethnographic materials as knowledge of local contexts and as a proposal of theoretical models.
- Developing critical thinking and reasoning and communicating them effectively both in your own and other languages.
- Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
- Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
- Students must demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the history of anthropological theory and the genesis of its basic concepts.
- Using the discipline's ethnographic and theoretical corpus with analytical and synthesis skills.
Learning Outcomes
- Applying the basic concepts of the anthropological theory.
- Assessing critically the explicit and implicit theoretical models in the ethnographic materials.
- Establishing historical connection between ethnographic and theoretical development.
- Identifying main and supporting ideas and expressing them with linguistic correctness.
- Identifying the transcultural variability of economic, kinship, political, symbolic and cognitive, educational and gender systems as well as their corresponding anthropological theory.
- Interpreting the cultural diversity through ethnography.
- Knowing and understanding the culture's influence in the various institutional systems of social action.
- Summarising acquired knowledge about the origin and transformations experienced in the several fields of anthropology.
- Summarizing the characteristics of a written text in accordance to its communicative purposes.
- Theoretically analysing ethnographic examples of cultural diversity in the fields of kinship, economy, politics and religion.
Content
- From the definition of "the political" to the specificity of Political Anthropology.
- Historical approach to the origin and development of the anthropological analysis of "the political".
- Critics and supporters of the British school. Contributions of French ethnology. Political systems and legal modes of regulation.
- Hegemony and resistance processes in historical and contemporary contexts. Towards a dynamic and historical anthropology. Social movements, globalization and new forms of political relationship.
Methodology
During the course there will be: theoretical and practical presentations of the teacher, which may also include talks by occasional guests. It will include the reading of texts, the screening of documentaries and the participation with debate in classes. Presentation of practical experiences from a guide for analysis. Reading, analysis and writing of written works. The teaching methodology and assessment proposed in the guide may be subject to change depending on the attendance restrictions imposed by the health authorities.
Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Activities
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Theoretical classes and documentary viewing | 50 | 2 | 2, 3, 5, 6, 1 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Supervision of the professor through individual tutorials, discussions in class of texts, cases, documentaries. | 25 | 1 | 10, 2, 7, 3, 5, 4, 6, 1 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Personal study, text reading, organization and analysis of annotations and diagrams of classes, virtual campus, writing of works, preparation of comments for debates, bibliographical search. | 75 | 3 | 10, 2, 7, 3, 5, 4, 9, 1 |
Assessment
The evaluation of the subject will be carried out in a procedural way, through various tests based on classes, compulsory readings, lectures or videos. The elaboration of individual works will have a total value of 50%. The elaboration of a group work and its oral presentation will have a value of 40%. Participation in individual or group class discussions will have a value of 10%. To pass the subject you must pass 60% of the scheduled written activities. All suspended written tests may be retaken in the re-assessment. A student who has not presented 2/3 of the parts (60%) of the written tests, without justified cause, is considered "Non-Evaluable".
At the time of carrying out each evaluation activity, the teacher will inform the student (Moodle) of the procedure and date of revision of the grades.
In the event that the student commits any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade of an assessment act, he / she will be graded with 0 this assessment act, regardless of the disciplinary process that may be instructed. In the event that several irregularities occur in the evaluation acts of the same subject, the final grade for this subject will be 0.
In the event that the tests cannot be done in person, their format will be adapted (maintaining the weighting) to the possibilities offered by the UAB virtual tools. Homework, activities and class participation will be carried out through forums, wikis and / or discussions of exercises through Teams, ensuring that all students can access them
Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Individual or group written tests based on lectures, videos and texts from the program. | 50 | 0 | 0 | 10, 7, 4, 6, 9, 8 |
| Participation in individual or group discussions will be evaluated. | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10, 7, 5, 8, 1 |
| The elaboration of group work. | 40 | 0 | 0 | 2, 7, 3, 5, 4, 9, 8, 1 |
Bibliography
MANUALES RECOMENDADOS:
BALANDIER, George, Antropología Política, Ed. Península, Barcelona, 1968.
BALANDIER, George, El poder en escenas. De la representación del poder al poder de la representación, Paidos Studio 106, Barcelona 1994.
GELLNER, Ernest, Antropología y Política. Revoluciones en el bosque sagrado, Gedisa editor, Barcelona, 1997.
GLEDHILL, John, El poder y sus disfraces, Perspectivas antropológicas de la política, edicions bellaterra, 2000. (RECOMENDADO PARA COMPRAR).
GONZÁLEZ ALCANTUD, José A., Antropología (y) política. Sobre la formación cultural del poder, Anthropos, Biblioteca A Sociedad 29, Barcelona, 1998.
LEWELLEN, Ted C, Antropología Política, Edicions Bellaterra 2000, Barcelona,
LEWELLEN, T.C. 2010. Antropología política. Barcelona: Bellaterra. (edición revisada)
LLOBERA, José R, Antropología Política, Anagrama, Barcelona, 1979.
LUHMANN, Niklas, Poder, Anthropos-Universidad Iberoamericana, Biblioteca A Sociedad 20, Barcelona, 1995.
Beatriz Pérez Galán y Aurora Marquina Espinosa (eds.) Antropología Política. Textos teóricos y etnográficos, edicions bellaterra SGU, 115, Bellaterra, 2011.
Montserrat Cañedo Rodríguez y Aurora Marquina Espinosa (eds.), Antropología Política. Temas contemporáneos, edicions bellaterra SGU, 122, Bellaterra, 2011.
Montserrat Cañedo Rodríguez (editora). Cosmopolíticas. Perspectivas antropológicas. Colección: Estructuras y Procesos.Ciencias Sociales ISBN: 978-84-9879-382-6. Año de edición: 2013.
Software
It is not necessary to use any specific software. However, a basic knowledge of a bibliographic database manager such as Mendeley is recommended. There are no specific programs.