Anthropology 280

Jonathan Andelson

Fall 2003

Harry Hopkins House 104

MWF 3:15-4:05

x3139 (O), 236-8530 (H)

Fine Arts 242

andelson@grinnell.edu

Theories of Culture

It has been claimed that anthropology’s main contribution to modern knowledge and discourse is the concept of “culture.”  In this class we will study the emergence and development of the culture concept, the varying (and sometimes conflicting) views of what culture means and how best to study it, and the processes that shaped the history of this idea.  Allow me to draw your attention to other features of course material.

First, this course is about Western ideas concerning society and culture.  Like other academic disciplines, anthropology is the product of particular features of Western experience and Western mentality.  Non-Western anthropologies are beginning to develop and soon will bear the same scrutiny.  You might think of this course as a study of a limited domain within Western cosmology and epistemology.

Second, course materials are arranged historically.  In this way we see that ideas do not form in a vacuum but develop and unfold out of the matrix of pre-existing ideas and the social milieu.  This may seem like an obvious point, but it is so often forgotten.  The department’s decision to approach this material historically is quite intentional.  We found in the past that students in upper-level seminars experienced difficulty contextualizing, and therefore in comprehending, current approaches in anthropology because they did not understand how current approaches developed, what they were reacting against, and what they were carrying over from the past.  At the request of students, we developed this course in the history of anthropology to better prepare them for developing an overall grasp of the discipline.

Finally, this is not a course about “what theory (or theories) is (or are) true.”  Truthfulness is not a good criterion by which to judge theories.  Knowledge is always tentative and partial in any case, and theories are simply ways to try to expand and order knowledge.  As such, they can be more or less useful, and we will be asking in what ways particular theories are useful for helping us to see or understand something about society and culture.  We will encounter differences of opinion about the usefulness of particular theories, and we will examine why such differences of opinion exist.  Sometimes new knowledge or understandings render old theories or approaches obsolete.  Sometimes different theories are useful for thinking about different problems.  Sometimes theories fall out of favor for a time and later return in new attire.  Sometimes egos are involved, and sometimes the world simply looks different to different people.  Whatever the reason, I have always found it useful to have several theories on hand with which to think.

We will cover a substantial amount of intellectual territory, and at times names, dates, and theories will seem to fly by rather quickly.  But we will “spiral” through the material, first taking a quick overview with Erickson and Murphy’s short history of anthropological theory, then going back to read original articles by major scholars in the field.  In conjunction with the latter, we will read brief reviews of the main contributions of those scholars.  the succession of authors will gradually begin to “make sense,” and you will see how every author built on the work of predecessors.

The pre-requisites for this course are Anthropology 104 and one 200-level course in anthropology, or permission of instructor.

TEXTS

Paul A. Erickson and Liam D. Murphy, A History of Anthropological Theory (2003ed)

Jerry D. Moore, Visions of Culture (2003ed)

R. Jon McGee and Richard L. Warms, Anthropological Theory: An Introductory

Reader (2nd ed., 2000)

REQUIREMENTS

  Three hour-long examinations or 5-page papers, 9/22, 10/13, 11/8 (20% each)

  Final Examination (30%)

  Oral participation, including co-leading two discussions (10%)

How best to do the reading: The readings you will need to do most carefully are the original essays.  The best way to cover them is first to skim each essay quickly to get a general view of its contents, then go back and read it more carefully, trying to identify the author's main argument, how it reflects a theoretical perspective, and how it resembles or differs from those you have read before.  I will occasionally prepare questions in advance to help guide your reading.  The introductions to the sections and McGee and Warms’ footnotes are essential reading.  Read the Moore book to set the general stage.  Do not dwell on specifics, but rather read it quickly.  One other thing: it is not advisable to leave the reading go until just before class.  In some cases, a fair amount of material is assigned for a particular class, some of it rather dense.  Plan ahead.

Participation in class discussion: Hearing yourself talk about what you are studying with others who are studying the same thing is an important part of the learning process in this class.  Ideally, you should prepare for participation in discussion.  Jot down questions and ideas that occurred to you as you read, and make a few notes about connections among the ideas we are studying.  If I have distributed study questions in advance, consider them as you read and have something to say about them.  This should only require five to ten minutes after you have finished the readings.  Once in class, listen to what others say, build on it when you can, and stay on the topic unless a topic shift is indicated.  Try to push yourself to participate.  I try to create an environment where everyone feels comfortable to participate, although I also have no hesitation about calling on people.

ASSIGNMENTS

date

topic & readings

8/29

I. The Map Is Not the Territory...But It Can Be Useful

Erickson and Murphy, Preface

II. A Synoptic Historical Overview of Anthropological Theory

9/1

A. Erickson and Murphy, Chapter 1

9/3

B. Erickson and Murphy, Chapter 2

9/5

C. Erickson and Murphy, Chapter 3

III. Historical Foundations

9/8

A. McGee and Warms, Selection 1 (Spencer)

9/10

B. Moore, Chapter 1 (Tylor)

McGee and Warms, Selection 2 (Tylor)

9/12

C. Moore, Chapter 2 (Morgan)

McGee and Warms, Selection 3 (Morgan)

9/15

D. McGee and Warms, Selection 4 (Marx and Engels)

9/17

E. Moore, Chapter 4 (Durkheim)

McGee and Warms, Selections 6 & 7 (Durkheim)

9/19

F. Max Weber “The Pure Types of Legitimate Authority” (handout)

9/22

*** FIRST EXAMINATION/PAPER ***

IV.  Culture Theory in the Early Twentieth Century

A. Historical Particularism

9/24

1. Moore, Chapter 3 (Boas)

McGee and Warms, Selection 10 (Boas)

Franz Boas, “Classification of the Languages of the North

Pacific Coast” and “Instability of Human Types” (handout)

9/26

2. Moore, Chapter 5 (Kroeber)

Alfred Louis Kroeber, “The Nature of Culture” (handout)

9/29

3. Moore, Chapter 7 (Sapir)

Benjamin Lee Whorf, “The Relation of Habitual Thought and Behavior to Language” (handout)

B. Functionalism

10/1

1. Moore, Chapter 10 (Malinowski)

McGee and Warms, Selection 13 (Malinowski)

10/3

2. Moore, Chapter 11 (Radcliffe-Brown)

McGee and Warms, Selection 14 (Radcliffe-Brown)

10/6

3. Moore, Chapter 12 (Evans-Pritchard)

McGee and Warms, Selection 15 (Evans-Pritchard)

C. Culture and Personality

10/8

1. Moore, Chapter 6 (Benedict)

McGee and Warms, Selection 16 (Benedict)

10/10

2. Moore, Chapter 8 (Mead)

McGee and Warms, Selection 17 (Mead)

10/13

*** SECOND EXAMINATION/PAPER ***

 V. Theory at Mid-Century

A. Cultural Ecology and Neo-evolutionary Thought

10/15

1. Moore, Chapter 13 (White)

McGee and Warms, Selection 19 (White)

10/17

2. Moore, Chapter 14 (Steward)

McGee and Warms, Selection 18 (Steward)

*** FALL RECESS ***

10/27

3. McGee and Warms, Selection 20 (Murdock)

Information about HRAF

10/29

B. Structuralism

1. Moore, Chapter 17 (Lévi-Strauss)

McGee and Warms, Selection 25 (Lévi-Strauss)

10/31

2. McGee and Warms, Selection 26 (Leach)

Gary Gossen, “Temporal and Spatial Equivalents in Chamula

Ritual Symbolism” (handout)

C.  Neo-materialism

11/3

1. Moore, Chapter 15 (Harris)

McGee and Warms, Selection 22 (Harris)

11/5

2. McGee and Warms, Selection 23 (Rappaport)

D.  Ethnoscience and Cognitive Anthropology

11/7

McGee and Warms, Selection 28 (Conklin)

Charles Frake, “A Structural Description of Subanun ‘Religious

Behavior’” (handout)

11/8???

*** THIRD EXAMINATION/PAPER ***

I would like to find a time in this weekend to schedule the third

paper/exam, a time that would take the place of a class meeting on

November 26th, the day before Thanksgiving, when there will be no class.

VI. Recent Trends in Anthropological Theory

A. Symbolic and Interpretive Anthropology

11/10

1. Moore, Chapter 20 (Douglas)

Mary Douglas, “Deciphering a Meal” (handout)

11/12

2. Moore, Chapter 19 (Turner)

McGee and Warms, Selection 36 (Turner)

11/14

3. Moore, Chapter 19 (Geertz)

McGee and Warms, Selection 37 (Geertz)

B.Sociobiology/Evolutionary Psychology

11/17

1.  McGee and Warms, introduction to section (pp.393-5)

Napoleon Chagnon and Paul E. Bugos, Jr., “Kin Selection and

Conflict: An Analysis of a Yanomamo Ax Fight” (handout)

11/19

2. McGee and Warms, Selection 31 (Barkow)

C. istorical Approaches

11/21

1. Eric Wolf, “Introduction,” Europe and the People Without History

McGee and Warms, Selection 24 (Bourgois)

11/24

2. Marshall Sahlins, Chapter 5, “Structure and History,” Islands of

History (handout)

11/26

3.  Have a nice Thanksgiving!!

D. Feminist Approaches

12/1

1.  McGee and Warms, Selections 27 (Ortner) & 32 (Slocum)

12/3

2. McGee and Warms, Selection 33 (Leacock)

E. Post-Modernism and Its Critics

12/5

1. McGee and Warms, Selections 38 (Rosaldo)

12/8

2. McGee and Warms, Selection 39 (Crapanzano)

12/10

3. McGee and Warms, Selection 40 (d’Andrade)

F.  A Critical Over (re)view

12/12

Philip Salzman, “Reflections on Anthropological Theory” (handout)

*** FINAL EXAMINATION ***