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Regional Ethnology I

Code: 101242 ECTS Credits: 6
2024/2025
Degree Type Year
2500256 Social and Cultural Anthropology OT 3
2500256 Social and Cultural Anthropology OT 4

Contact

Name:
Montserrat Ventura Oller
Email:
montserrat.ventura@uab.cat

Teaching groups languages

You can view this information at the end of this document.


Prerequisites

Students must finished the 1st and 2nd years of a degree on Social and Cultural Anthropology


Objectives and Contextualisation

Deepening in the classic fields of Anthropology through the ethnographic case of the indigenous peoples of the lowlands of South America, to provide a holistic approach to cultural diversity, concrete examples of application of the theoretical approaches studied in the core subjects, and a deepening in emerging issues of the anthropology of indigenous peoples, focused on the professional development of students.

Students must recognize and identify the complex and changing reality of the indigenous peoples of the lowlands of South America, from the pre-colonial past to the current social situation, marked by globalization processes.
Students must be able to detect and analyze the central sociocultural dimensions, as well as the main changes and continuities of indigenous societies in the economic, ecological, political, social, and ritual spheres. From here on, case studies will be presented, and tools will be offered to analyze this area from a dynamic point of view, considering the permanent tension between the fight for the conservation of particularity and what makes it possible par excellence, the territory and language, as well as insertion in a global world.

 

Competences

    Social and Cultural Anthropology
  • Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and duties, diversity and democratic values.
  • Apprehending cultural diversity through ethnography and critically assessing ethnographic materials as knowledge of local contexts and as a proposal of theoretical models.
  • Carry out effective written work or oral presentations adapted to the appropriate register in different languages.
  • Demonstrate skills for working autonomously or in teams to achieve the planned objectives including in multicultural and interdisciplinary contexts.
  • 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.
  • Take sex- or gender-based inequalities into consideration when operating within one's own area of knowledge.
  • Use digital tools and critically interpret specific documentary sources.
  • Using the discipline's ethnographic and theoretical corpus with analytical and synthesis skills.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Analysing the complementarity and incongruities of several ethnographic reports from the same area.
  2. Applying the knowledge of cultural variability and its genesis to avoid ethnocentric projections.
  3. Apprehending cultural diversity through ethnography and critically assessing ethnographic materials as local context knowledge.
  4. Assessing critically the explicit and implicit theoretical models in the ethnographic materials.
  5. Assessing the positive and negative aspects of the dialectic between specific ethnographics and comparisons of transcultural scope.
  6. Communicate using language that is not sexist or discriminatory.
  7. Consider how gender stereotypes and roles impinge on the exercise of the profession.
  8. Critically analyse the principles, values and procedures that govern the exercise of the profession.
  9. Critically assessing ethnographic materials as a proposal for theoretical models.
  10. Critically identify and compose a basic bibliography for the field opf study.
  11. Express ideas with a specific vocabulary appropriate to the discipline.
  12. Identify main and secondary ideas and express them with linguistic correctness.
  13. Identifying the sociocultural variability in specific ethnographic contexts.
  14. Identifying the sociocultural variability through ethnographic texts and audiovisual resources.
  15. Identifying the transcultural variability of economic, kinship, political, symbolic and cognitive, educational and gender systems as well as their corresponding anthropological theory.
  16. Integrating holistically the progress from the classical fields of Anthropology.
  17. Interpreting the cultural diversity through ethnography.
  18. Knowing the acculturation effects of the colonial expansion.
  19. Plan work effectively, individually or in groups, in order to fulfil the planned objectives.
  20. Summarising acquired knowledge about the origin and transformations experienced in the several fields of anthropology.
  21. Weigh up the impact of any long- or short-term difficulty, harm or discrimination that could be caused to certain persons or groups by the actions or projects.

Content

PART I: Regional Ethnology in the Amazon: Classic Fields

1.History, ethnic categories and cultural classifications

2.Ecology, economy, social and political organization

3. Person, body, shamanism and symbolism

PART II: Regional Ethnology in the Amazon: Emerging Fields

4. Museums, films and society

5. Collaborative Anthropology

6. Language, culture, indigenous forms of knowledge

7. Ethnoecology, Local technology, climatic change

8. Territory, nature rights, non contacted people

9. Peace, conflict resolution and mediation

10. Anthropology, development and tourism


Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Discussion on emerging issues 3 0.12 3, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 17, 18, 20, 21
Teacher's master classes 30 1.2 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21
Watching and discussing documentaries 3 0.12 2, 3, 4, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17
museum visit or similar 5 0.2 2, 3, 8, 13, 17, 18, 20
Type: Supervised      
Tutorials for comprehension of texts and contents and preparation of written work 2 0.08 2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 16, 19, 20, 21
Type: Autonomous      
Individual Study 20 0.8 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21
Reading texts and ethnographic documentation 25 1 1, 3, 4, 5, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21
Writing papers 20 0.8 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 17, 19, 20

Training activities and teaching methodology

Directed theoretical and practical classes: master classes with audio-visual support

Reading texts and analyzing audiovisual products with ethnographic content, including a visit to a museum or similar: reading texts and viewing ethnographic documentaries

Writing and presentation of works; individual study: writing of synthesis and analysis works based on a guide that will be published during the course in the Virtual Campus, and public presentation.

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.


Assessment

Continous Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Practical Essay 30% 10 0.4 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 10, 11, 13, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20
Public presentation 10% 2 0.08 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, 19, 20, 21
Research Essay 30% 20 0.8 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21
Synthesis and Reflexion Exam 30% 10 0.4 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20 

The student will have to answer a written essay, from of the contents of three thematic blocks, and from the proposed readings with a weight of 30%.

The student will have to deliver a practical work, after a visit to a museum or equivalent,  related to the cours subjects, with a weight of 30%

The student must submit a research essay on an emerging topic on the area from readings and other sources, with a weight of 30%

The student will participate in a presentation session, with a weight of 10%.

Compulsory, optional readings and work guidelines will be published on the Virtual Campus throughout the cours.

All papers must be submitted within the time limit set for evaluation.

In order to be assessed with continuous assessment, you must present 2/3 of the assessment activities.

Students who have failed one (or more) of the tests with a grade lower than 5, may recover it by submitting it again on the date set by the Faculty for re-evaluation.

Single assessment: Students who choose the single assessment must communicate it by the date proposed by the Faculty. The single assessment will consist of a written test based on the contents of three thematic blocks and the proposed readings, with a weight 30%. In addition, students must deliver a research paper related to the analysis of cultural areas and the knowledge taught in the classroom, with a weight of 30%; and a research on an emerging topic based on reading texts and other sources, which will be presented orally, with a weight of 40%. This written test, the oral test and the delivery of the work will be dated the first day after the end of teaching. The guideline will be published on the virtual campus.

-Recovery in the case of a single assessment: The same system of recovery will be appliedas for the continuous assessment - Review of the final qualification: The review of the final qualification follows the same procedure as for the continuous assessment.

 

 


Bibliography

Reference Books

ALBERT, B. & A. R. RAMOS (ORG) 2000 Pacificando o Branco. Cosmologias do contato no Norte-Amazônico, Sao Paulo: Editores UNESP.

BERGMAN , R .1990(1980) Economia Amazónica Lima: CAAP.

CALAVIA, O. 2020 Tierras bajas de América del Sur. Ensayos de Etnografía teórica, Madrid: Nola Editores.

CANALS, R, CELIGUETA, Gemma. Y Gemma OROBITG (Eds.) 2012 La paz desde abajo. Perspectivas antropológicas sobre la paz en contextos indígenas y afroamericanos, Barcelona: UBe.

CARNEIRO DA CUNHA, Manuela, 1986 Antropologia do Brasil, Sao Paulo: editora brasiliense.

CHAUMEIL, J.-P. 1983 Voir, savoir, pouvoir. Le chamanisme chez les Yagua du Nord-Est péruvien, Paris: Ed. de l'E.H.E.S.S.

CLASTRES, P. 1986(1972) Crónica de los indios Guayaquis, Barcelona:Alta Fulla.

1981(1980) Investigaciones en antropología política, Barcelona:Gedisa.

CLUA, Montserrat, VENTURA, Montserrat, Josep Lluis Mateo (eds) 2022 Áreas culturales. Antropología en un mundo de fronteras, Barcelona: Bellaterra

CORREA, F.(ed) (?) La selva humanizada. Ecología alternativa en el trópico húmedo colombiano, Bogotá: instituto Colombiano de Antropología / Fondo FEN de Colombia / Fondo Editorial CEREC.

DECLARACIÓN DE LAS NACIONES UNIDAS SOBRE LOS DERECHOS DE LOS PUEBLOS INDÍGENAS

DESCOLA, Ph. 1986 La nature domestique: symbolisme et praxis dans l'écoloqie des Achuar, Paris: Fondation Singer-Po1ignac / Editions de la Maison des Sciences de l'Homme. Trad:  La selva culta, Quito: IFEA/ Abya-Ya1a.

ERIKSON, Ph. 1996 La griffe des Aïeux. Marquage du corps etdémarquages ethniques chez les Matis d’Amazonie, Paris: Éd. Peeters.

GORDON, C. 2006 Economia selvagem. Ritual e mercadoria entre os índios Xikrin-Mebêngôkre, Sao Paulo: UNESP

HALBMAYER, E. (ed.) 2020 Amerindian Socio-cosmologies between the Andes, Amazonia and Mesoamerica, London & New York: Routledge.

HAMES, R.B. &,VICKERS, W.T.(eds.) 1983 Adaptive Responses of Native Amazonians, N.Y.:Academic Press.

KENSINGER, K.M. (ed) 1984 Marriage Practices in Lowland South America, Urbana & Chicago: University of Illinois Press.

KOHN, E. 2021 [2013] Cómo piensan los bosques. Hacia una antropología más allá de lo humano, Quito: Abya-Yala.

KOPENAWA, D. & B. ALBERT 2010 La chute du ciel. Paroles d'un chaman yanomami, Paris: Plon.

L'HOMME, Avril-Décembre 1993 La remonté e de l'Amazone.  Anthropologie et Histoire des Sociétés Amazoniennes, nums.126-128.

LATHRAP, D.W. 1970 The Upper Amazon, London: Thames and Hudson.

LEVI-STRAUSS, C. 1955 Tristes Tropiques, Paris: Plon. Trad: 1969 Tristos Tròpics, Barcelona: Anagrama.

1985 La potière Jalouse, Paris: Plon. Trad: 1986 La alfarera celosa, Barcelona, Buenos Aires:Paidos.

LÓPEZ GARCÍA, J. y P. PITARCH (eds.) 2006 Lugares indígenas de la violencia en Iberoamérica, Madrid, Madrid: AECI

McCALLUM, Cecilia 2001 Gender and Sociality in Amazonia. How real People are Made, Oxford & New York: Berg.

MEGGERS, Betty 1971 Amazonia: Man and Culture in a Counterfeit Paradise, Chicago: Aldine. Trad: 1984 Amazonía. Un paraíso ilusorio, Mexico: Siglo XXI.

METRAUX, A. 1967 Réligions et magies indiennes d'Amérique du Sud, Paris: Gallimard.

MORÁN, E. 1993 La ecología humana de los pueblos de la Amazonía, México: FCE.

NUGENT, S. Amazonian Caboblo Society. An Essay on Invisibility and Peasant Economy, Providence / Oxford: Berg.

PERRUCHON, Marie 2003 I am Tsunki. Gender and Shamanism among the Shuar of Western Amazonia, Uppsala: Acta Universitatis Uppsaliensist, Uppsala Studies in Cultural Anthropology n.33.

REICHEL-DOLMATOFF, G. 1968 Desana. Simbolismo de los indios Tukano del Vaupés, Bogotá: Universidad de los Andes.

1978(1975) El chamán y el jaguar, Mexico:Siglo XXI.

RENARD-CASEVITZ, France-Marie, SAIGNES, Th. TAYLOR, Anne Christinne. 1986 L'Inca, l'espagnol et les sauvages, Paris: Recherches sur les civilisations. Trad: 1988 Al este de los Andes, Quito:Abya-Yala.

REYES-GARCÍA, Vicky. Y T. HUANCA (Eds.) 2014 Cambio global, cambio local. La sociedad Tsimane' ante la globalización, Barcelona: ICaria/ICA.

RIVERA ANDÍA, J.J. (ed.) 2019 Non-Humans in Amerindian South America, New York and Oxford: Berghahn.

RIVIERE, P. 1984 Individual and Society in Guiana. A comparative Study of social organization, N.Y., Cambridge U.P.

SANTOS, F. (ed.) 1996 Globalización y cambio en la Amazonía indígena, Quito: Abya-Yala.

SANTOS, F. (ed.) 2012 La vida oculta de las cosas. Teorías indígenas de la materialidad y la personeidad, Quito: Abya-Yala 

STEWARD, J. (ed) 1948 Handbook of South American Indians, Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution.

SURRALLÉS, A. 2009 [2003] En el corazón del sentido. Percepción, afectividad, acción en los candoshi, Alta Amazonía, Lima: IFEA / IWGIA.

SURRALLÉS, A. y P. GARCÍA HIERRO (eds) 2004 Tierra adentro. Territorio indígena y percepción del entorno, Copenhague: IWGIA.

VARGAS CANELOS, L. 2022 La posición achuar: la corriente de mi vida, Quito: Abta-Yala

VENTURA I OLLER, Montserrat 2009 Identité, cosmologie et chamanisme des Tsachila de l’Équateur. À la croisée des chemins, Paris: L’Harmattan.

VIVEIROS DE CASTRO, E. 1993 From the Enemy’s Point of View. Humanity and Divinity in an Amazonian Society, Chicago & London: The University of Chicago Press.

A list of texts by thematic blocks will be delivered at the beginning of the course, with the specific and compulsory bibliography.


Software

Microsoft Word, PowerPoint


Language list

Name Group Language Semester Turn
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 1 Catalan first semester morning-mixed