ANTH 390: History of Anthropological Thought

ANTH 390-002: Hist Anthropological Thought
(Fall 2022)

01:30 PM to 02:45 PM TR

Horizon Hall 2017

Section Information for Fall 2022

This course brings students into the key debates of the discipline by surveying anthropological thought and practice from the mid-19th century to the early 1970s. We start with the European roots of anthropology, when cross-cultural engagement with the world was largely happening through Europeans’ roles as explorers, missionaries, and colonizers. We examine how their ideas about race, culture, and what it meant to be civilized formed the basis for a scientific, comparative understanding of humans and non-Western cultures. We then consider three titans of modern social theory – Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx, and Max Weber – to assess how grand theories of modernity, social cohesion, and social change impact and relate to anthropological theory and practice. In the second half of the semester, we track the formation of American Anthropology and the tradition of Franz Boas alongside the ideas of American sociologist W.E.B. Dubois, British functionalists, and French structuralists to learn how the discipline shifted focus in the twentieth century. Throughout, we analyze issues regarding the categories of the human, the social, and the individual, as well as the development of ideas about reason, culture, and human nature; exchange, class, and capital; race, ethnicity, and difference; interpretation and symbolism; and the hallmark method of fieldwork. By the semester’s end, we consider the extent to which interpretive anthropology, feminist anthropology, and the anthropology of colonialism create a break from past traditions and methods. How does anthropology come to critique its own enterprise and re-direct its interests toward a post-colonial, neo-liberal, and globalized world? Notes: Required for Anthropology majors, and for students applying to the Accelerated Master's program in Anthropology. Offered by Sociology and Anthropology. Limited to three attempts.

Course Information from the University Catalog

Credits: 3

Overview of the major theoretical traditions and schools of thought in anthropology. Limited to three attempts.
Recommended Prerequisite: ANTH 114 and 60 credits, including 6 credits of ANTH 300-level (or above) courses, or permission of instructor
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.

The University Catalog is the authoritative source for information on courses. The Schedule of Classes is the authoritative source for information on classes scheduled for this semester. See the Schedule for the most up-to-date information and see Patriot web to register for classes.