Anthropological theory and practice--following the rest of the world--have been undergoing important restructuring in the past decade. The course is organized to reflect this fact. We will begin by looking at recent debates about the nature and purpose of anthropology. This will provide a starting point for reading a series of classic ethnographies in new ways as well as examining some dimensions of the current research agenda in cultural anthropology.

This seminar explores selected problems in basic social theory, and is designed to be taken after Anthr 240A. It will work through a series of readings organized around the following issues (in the order listed): (1) The relation between language, culture and consciousness as construed by Boas and Sapir; (2) Structure and relationality as developed in French social thought (Durkheim, Mauss, Saussure, Lévi Strauss); (3) Translation as problem and practice (Goodman); (4) Phenomenology of the body (Merleau-Ponty, Schutz); (5) Social action and kinds of social relationships (Weber, Simmel, Schutz); (6) Social practice as object and method (Bourdieu, de Certeau, Giddens); (7) Pragmatism, reflexivity and semiotics (Mead, Peirce); and (8) Ritualization and performativity (Van Gennep, Durkheim, Evans Pritchard, Austin, Goffman). The objective is to engage with a range of different theoretical approaches to constitutive aspects of social life. For each of the eight core issues, the syllabus will have suggested readings in which concepts are brought to bear on ethnographic cases.

Repeat Rules

Course is not repeatable for credit.