This course is an intensive, upper-division Introduction to Cultural Anthropology and Cultural Studies. Concentrators and non-concentrators are welcome; the course is closed to first-year students. This course is about ideas anthropologists have developed to understand human differences and human relationships, from the end of the nineteenth century to the present day. How does anthropology teach us to think about the difference at the sources of human, meta-human, animal, cyborg, and other forms of life? The goal of the course is to show how ethnographic inquiry is a unique and powerful form of thinking, which has developed its own modes of understanding the complexities of social lives in our contemporary world. We explore a rich variety of texts in from different historical periods and regions, including Papua New Guinea, Bali, and the US. Students will develop a basic understanding of some theoretical problems in cultural anthropology, a set of tools for analyzing cultural phenomena, and a stronger appreciation of difference in all its forms. Students will strengthen their analytical skills by learning: (1) to understand and articulate essential arguments and concepts in readings; (2) to trace conceptual relations among readings as a step towards understanding basic theoretical problems in anthropology; and (3) to understand how anthropological theories provide insight into the contemporary world This course fulfills the Upper-Level Writing Requirement.

Intended Audience:

Majors and non-majors are welcome; the course is closed to first year students.