Course syllabus

Welcome to the course Advanced Study of Anthropological Theory (ASAT), for 7,5 ECTS!

This course is taught and coordinated by Annika Teppo and Ana Chiritoiu. Contact us if you have questions about the course and the teaching. 

The course starts with an introductory lecture on Tuesday, 3 September at 13.15-15 in room 3-2028 (Campus Engelska Parken). The classes are held once a week, mostly on Tuesdays. The teaching ends on 22 October 2024.

The course (1) explores some of the key problems to which modern social and cultural anthropology emerged as a response; it (2) focuses on major theories, themes, and debates that have informed anthropological inquiry; and it (3) exemplifies how anthropologists revisit, engage and reformulate classical theoretical discussions in analytical work today.

Don't forget to register for the course

To start studying, you need to register. Go to Ladok for studentsLinks to an external site. to register. On the Admissions and registrationLinks to an external site. page there are instructions on how to do this. Registration is open from 26 July until August 25, 2024.

Course objectives

By the end of the course, students should have acquired the ability to discuss critically central aspects of the history of anthropological theory and be able to make use of this knowledge in their analyses of contemporary anthropological problems.

Course requirements

Students are required to attend all seminars, complete the seminar assignments, read the course literature, and complete the course assignments on time. Seminars are mandatory, and for a completed course, students may only miss two seminars. Those students who for any reason fail to attend a seminar must complete an extra assignment, and those who miss two seminars must complete two extra assignments.

Required readings

1. Candea, Matei, ed. 2018. Schools and Styles of Anthropological Theory. London: Taylor and Francis. [This book presents an overview of important currents of thought in social and cultural anthropology, from the 19th century to the present.]
2. Moore, Henrietta L. and Todd Sanders, eds. 2014. Anthropology in Theory: Issues in Epistemology. Second Edition. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. [This is a collection of original texts, although mostly given as abridged versions. As such, it enables close readings of relevant classical and contemporary pieces. Together, these texts provide an overview of the history of anthropological theory and of ongoing disciplinary discussions. Please make sure to obtain the second edition, published in 2014.]
3. Engelke, Matthew. 2017. How to Think Like an Anthropologist. London, UK: Pelican, Penguin Books. [A fascinating exploration of anthropological thinking, organized by central themes.]
4. Willerslev, Rane. 2007. Soul Hunters: Hunting, Animism, and Personhood among the Siberian Yukaghirs. Berkeley: University of California Press. [This ethnography revisits classic theoretical debates—not as a return to the past, but to expose the empirical problems to which such discussions sought to respond. Ultimately, it illuminates how epistemological and ontological aspects of these problems in different forms reoccur in anthropological research today.]

Suggested readings for students with limited or no previous background in anthropology

It is assumed that the participants are familiar with the history of the discipline, and the course content is formed around that assumption. Thus, if you want to brush up your knowledge, these undergraduate level course books can be extremely helpful:

• Ingold, Tim. 2018. Anthropology: Why It Matters. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press. [This short book gives you an overview of anthropological key questions and historical trajectory. It is written in a very accessible style and presents important reflections on the future of the discipline.]
• Erickson, Paul A.; Murphy, Liam D. 2017. A History of Anthropological Theory. Fifth Edition. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
• Murphy, Liam D.; Erickson, Paul A. 2017. Readings for a History of Anthropological Theory. Fifth Edition. North York, Ontario, Canada: University of Toronto Press.

Written course work (detailed guidelines are in the Assignments):

• Weekly seminar work: individual paper/peer-reviews/group assignment (guidelines given every week in class and after class in the assignments).
• Learning diary (work on individually after every class, submission 06/11 at 17:00, guidelines in the assignments).
• Final task: Add an extra thousand words at the end of your learning diary. In this extra bit, you sketch the theoretical framework that you have at this point chosen for your master thesis, in light of the course literature. This includes a reflection on your choices and how you expect they will push your analytical thinking forward.
  
  If you, however, are not writing a Master Thesis in Anthropology, or don't know yet what you will write about, you can write about another pair of articles from the list on assignment 6.

Looking forward to meeting you all! Welcome!

Picture credits: Sangoma reading the bones, by Mycelium101 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47645749