ANTH 500E

Critical Book Summaries: Each student will read two classic works in and will prepare a three-page summary of each work read. A list of major works is provided at the end of this syllabus. Your choice of two books must be turned in to me in class on September 7. The first summary is due September 21. The second summary is due October 21. See booklist here

Theorist Papers: Each student will select two theorists, one from the 19th century (or earlier) and one from the 20th, and produce two ten-page papers on their works and their contribution to developments in anthropology. You must submit your theorist choices to me in class on September 7. Papers should conform to the AAA Style Guide. (http://www.aaanet.org/pubs/style_guide.htm). You are advised to read as widely as possible including a review of all the available work by the theorist in question as well as commentaries on their work. The final written version of the first paper is due on October 14. The second paper is due on November 30. See list of thinkers, with their birth and death dates

ASSIGNMENTS AND EXAMS—GRADING CRITERIA

Assignment	Percent of grade
Discussion Participation	10%
Book Summaries	10% (5% each)
Theorist Papers	20% (10% each)
First Exam	20%
Second Exam	20%
Third Exam	20%
Total	100%

ANTH 500E—History of Anthropology

READINGS AND ASSIGNMENT CALENDAR

I. SOCIAL EVOLUTION AND VICTORIAN ANTHROPOLOGY

August 23

Introductory meeting

August 25

· “Introduction” Bryan S. Turner. In: The Blackwell Companion to Social Theory (Bryan S. Turner ed.) Malden, Mass: Blackwell Publishers. 2nd edition. 2000 (1-18)

· “The Foundations of Social Theory: Origins and Trajectories” Gerard Delanty. In: The Blackwell Companion to Social Theory (Bryan S. Turner ed.) Malden, Mass: Blackwell Publishers. 2nd edition. 2000 (21-46)

· “Anthropology and Social Theory.” James Faubion. In: The Blackwell Companion to Social Theory (Bryan S. Turner ed.) Malden, Mass: Blackwell Publishers. 2nd edition. 2000 (245-269)

August 30

· “On the Limits of ‘Presentism’ and ‘Historicism’ the Historiography of the Behavioral Sciences.” George Stocking. Race, Culture, and Evolution

· “The Hierarchy.” Jonathan Marks. Human Biodiversity.

· “Physical Anthropology as the Study of Human Variation.” Jonathan Marks. Human Biodiversity.

September 1

· “The Social Organism.” Herbert Spencer. Anthropological Theory.

· “The Science of Culture” Edward Burnett Tylor. Anthropological Theory.

· “Matthew Arnold, E. B. Tylor and the Uses of Invention.” George Stocking. Race, Culture, and Evolution.’

· “‘Cultural Darwinism’ and ‘Philosophical Idealism’ in E. B. Tylor.” George Stocking. Race, Culture, and Evolution.

September 6

Book Summary choices and Theorist Paper choices due

· “The Dark-Skinned Savage: The Image of Primitive Man in Evolutionary Anthropology.” George Stocking. Race, Culture, and Evolution.

· “The History of Biology and the Biology of History.” Jonathan Marks. Human Biodiversity.

· “The Eugenic Movement.” Jonathan Marks. Human Biodiversity.

· “Racial and Racist Anthropology.” Jonathan Marks. Human Biodiversity.

II. AMERICAN CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY

September 8

· “From Physics to Ethnology.” George Stocking. Race, Culture, and Evolution.

· “The Critique of Racial Formalism.” George Stocking. Race, Culture, and Evolution.

· “The Methods of Ethnology.” Franz Boas. Anthropological Theory.

September 13

· “Franz Boas and the Culture Concept in Historical Perspective.” George Stocking. Race, Culture, and Evolution.

· “Lamarckism in American Social Science.” George Stocking. Race, Culture, and Evolution.

· “The Scientific Reaction Against Cultural Anthropology 1917-1920.” George Stocking. Race, Culture, and Evolution.

September 15

· “Eighteen Professions” Alfred Kroeber. Anthropological Theory.

· “Right and Wrong.” Paul Radin. Anthropological Theory.

· “Psychological Types in the Cultures of the Southwest.” Ruth Benedict. Anthropological Theory.

· “Introduction to Sex And Temperament in Three Primitive Societies.” Margaret Mead. Anthropological Theory.

· “Southern Trauma: Revisiting Caste and Class in the Mississippi Delta” Jane Adams and D. Gorton. American Anthropologist 106(2):334-345, 2004. [available on course web site]

September 20

First Critical Book Summary Due

Video: Margaret Mead in Samoa

September 22

Review for First Exam

September 27

First Exam Due

Discussion

III. FOUNDATIONS OF SOCIAL THEORY

September 29

· “Feuerbach, Opposition of the Materialist and Idealist Outlook” Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Anthropological Theory.

· “Marx.” Anthony Giddens. Capitalism and Modern Social Theory.

· “Modes of Production.” Eric Wolf. In Europe and the People without History. University of California Press. 1982 (73-100)

October 4

· “What is a Social Fact?” Emile Durkheim. Anthropological Theory.

· “Durkheim.” Anthony Giddens. Capitalism and Modern Social Theory.

· “The Cosmological System of Totemism and the Idea of Class” Emile Durkheim. Anthropological Theory.

October 6

· “Class, Status and Party.” Max Weber. Anthropological Theory.

· “ Max Weber” and “Capitalism, Socialism and Social Theory.” Anthony Giddens. Capitalism and Modern Social Theory.

· Excerpts from “The Gift.” Marcel Mauss. Anthropological Theory.

October 11

· “Introduction.” Paul Connerton. The Tragedy of Enlightenment: an Essay on the Frankfurt School. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1980 (1-26)

· “Horkheimer’s Critical Theory.” Paul Connerton. In: The Tragedy of Enlightenment: an Essay on the Frankfurt School. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1980 (28-41)

· “The Genesis of Critical Theory.” Martin Jay. In: The Dialectical Imagination: A History of the Frankfurt School and the Institute of Social Research, 1923-1950. Berkeley: University of California Press. 1996 (41-85)

· “Hegemony.” Raymond Williams. In: Marxism and Literature. Oxford University Press. 1977 (108-114)

IV. BRITISH SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY

October 13

First Theorist Paper due

· “Malinowski.” Adam Kuper. Anthropology and Anthropologists.

· “Essentials of the Kula.” B. Malinowski. Anthropological Theory.

October 18

· “Radcliffe-Brown.” Adam Kuper. Anthropology and Anthropologists.

· “The 1930s and 1940s -From Function to Structure.” Adam Kuper, Anthropology and Anthropologists.

· “The Mother’s Brother in South Africa.” A. R. Radcliffe-Brown. Anthropological Theory.

October 20

Second Critical Book Summary Due

· “The Nuer of the Southern Sudan.” E. E. Evans-Pritchard. Anthropological Theory.

· “Anthropology and Colonialism.” Adam Kuper. Anthropology and Anthropologists.

· “From Charisma to Routine.” Adam Kuper. Anthropology and Anthropologists.

October 25

Review for Second Exam

October 27

Second Exam Due

Discussion

V. POST-WAR THEORISTS

November 1

· “The Patrilineal Band.” Julian Steward. Anthropological Theory.

· “Energy and the Evolution of Culture.” Lesley White. Anthropological Theory.

November 3

· “Structural Analysis in Linguistics and in Anthropology.” Claude Lévi-Strauss. Anthropological Theory.

· “Four Winnebago Myths: A Structural Sketch.” Claude Lévi-Strauss. Anthropological Theory.

· “Lévi-Strauss and British Neo-Structuralism.” Adam Kuper. Anthropology and Anthropologists.

November 8

· “Leach and Gluckman.” Adam Kuper. Anthropology and Anthropologists.

· “Genesis as Myth.” Edmund Leach. Anthropological Theory.

· Michael Jackson. “Introduction.” In: Paths Toward a Clearing. Indiana University Press. 1989. (1-18)

· “Introduction.” And “Merleau-Ponty’s Situated Subject.” Nick Crossley. In: The Politics of Subjectivity: Between Foucault and Merleau-Ponty. Aldershot, England; Brookfield, Vt: Avebury. 1994 (8-40)

November 10

· “The Morality of the Gene.” Edward Wilson. Anthropological Theory.

· “Human Traits.” Jonathan Marks. Human Biodiversity.

· “Genetics and Evolution of Behavior.” Jonathan Marks. Human Biodiversity.

· “Conclusions.” Jonathan Marks. Human Biodiversity.

VI. BEYOND THE ‘SIXTIES

November 15

· “On the Evolution of Social Stratification and the State.” Morton Fried. Anthropological Theory.

· “The Cultural Ecology of India’s Sacred Cattle.” Marvin Harris. Anthropological Theory.

· “Ritual Regulation of Environmental Regulations Among a New Guinea People.” Roy Rappaport. Anthropological Theory.

November 17

· “Hanunóo Color Categories.” Harold Conklin. Anthropological Theory.

· “Introduction to Cognitive Anthropology.” Stephen Tylor. Anthropological Theory.

· “What is The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis?” Paul Kay and William Kempton. American Anthropologist. Vol: 86, No: 1. 1984 (165-179)

· “Language As in U.S. Anthropology: Three Paradigms.” Alessandro Duranti. Current Anthropology. Vol: 44, No: 3. 2003 (323-347)

Thanksgiving Break

November 29

Second Theorist Paper Due

· “External Boundaries.” Mary Douglas. Anthropological Theory.

· “Symbols in Ndembu Ritual.” Victor Turner. Anthropological Theory.

· “Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight.” Clifford Geertz. Anthropological Theory.

December 1 PowerPoint Lecture

· “Woman the Gatherer: Male Bias in Anthropology.” Sally Slocum. Anthropological Theory.

· “Is Female to Male as Nature Is to Culture?” Sherry Ortner. Anthropological Theory.

· “Grief and a Headhunter’s Rage.” Renato Rosaldo. Anthropological Theory.

· “Hermes’ Dilemma: The Masking of Subversion in Ethnographic Description.” Vincent Crapenzano. Anthropological Theory.

December 6

· “Theory in Anthropology Since the Sixties.” Sherry B. Ortner. Comparative Studies in Society and History. Vol: 26, No: 1. 1984 (126-166)

December 8

Review for Final Exam

December 15

Final Exam due

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

THEORIST PAPERS

Each student will select two theorists, one from the 19th century and one from the 20th, and produce two ten-page papers on their works and their contribution to developments in anthropology. You are advised to read as widely as possible including a review of all the available work by the theorist in question as well as commentaries on their work.

The questions below provide guidelines for the questions you should seek to answer in your presentation. You need not limit yourself to these questions but you should attempt to answer all of them..

What facts about the biography of the theorist are most important for understanding their theories, concepts and knowledge? .

What were the major historical antecedents, both acknowledged and implicit, which influenced the development of the theorist’s ideas? .

What were the “state of the art” theories and understandings of empirical topics at the time the researcher began research? .

What was the social and historical context in which the theorist lived? Were the theorist’s ideas popular, or unpopular? Were they revolutionary for their time? How so? How did the theorist’s ideas relate to broad social, political and economic trends of the time?

What new methods and concepts did the theorist contribute?

.What new empirical knowledge did the theorist contribute? .

What scientific status did the theorist claim for her/his theories and concepts? .

In what kind of language and terminology did the theorist express ideas? Have anthropologists retained the terms introduced by the theorist? .

What specific debates or controversies did the theorist’s ideas generate? Were these truly productive or merely intellectual ‘hair-splitting’? .

What were the major strengths and weaknesses of the theorist’s approach to the topics (s)he addressed?

Format for papers should follow the AAA Style guide that can be found on the web at http://www.aaanet.org/pubs/style_guide.htm

For more detailed discussion on how to cite electronic sources see: The Columbia Guide to Online Style:

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cup/cgos/idx_basic.html

Plagiarism (i.e. representing the work of another as one’s own work) is a violation of the SIUC student conduct code and will result in a failing grade. For more information about what constitutes plagiarism see: http://mccoy.lib.siu.edu/explorer/lessons/plagiarism/index.html

BOOK SUMMARIES

Each student will paper on two works that were important to the historical development of anthropological thought.

The next page includes a list of such books that can be found in Morris Library. Students are encouraged to select from the list but if you want to propose a book not listed then present me with a brief written argument as to why this your chosen book “qualifies.” The list is divided into six sections. Do not choose more than one book from a single section. A sign up list for these books is posted next to my office door — those who sign up early will have their choice of books, latecomers will have to choose from what is left. Each paper should consist of a three page written paper. While these summaries are to be based on specific works you are strongly advised to look at commentaries on these works by other scholars. This may enhance your understanding of the intellectual milieu in which they were produced and their relevance to the history of anthropology.

SUGGESTED BOOKS FOR SUMMARIES

I. Foundations

A. Enlightenment Social Philosophy

Ferguson, A. Essay on the History of Civil Society

Hume, D. Treatise on Human Nature

Hobbes, T. The Leviathan Kant, E. Critique of Pure Reason

Locke, J. Two Treatises on the Government

Machiavelli, N. The Prince

Montesquieu, Spirit of the Laws

Rousseau, J. J. Discourse on the Origins of Inequality and

Social Contract

Smith, A. Wealth of Nations

Vico, G. B. The New Science

B. Early 19th Century Social and Evolutionary Theory

Comte, A. Auguste Comte and Positivism

Darwin, C. The Origin of Species

De Gobineau, The Inequality of Races

Hegel, G. Phenomenology of Spirit

Malthus, T. Principles of Population Growth

Spencer, H. The Evolution of Society

II. Late 19th Century Social Evolutionary Theory

Morgan, L. H. Systems of Consanguinity and Affinity

Morgan, L. H. Ancient Society

Tylor, E. Primitive Society

Foustel de Coulanges, The Ancient City

Darwin, C. The Descent of Man

McLennan, Primitive Marriage

Maine, H Ancient Law

Frazer, J. The Golden Bough

Bachofen, Mother Right

Westermarck, History of Human Marriage

III. Foundations of 20th Century Social Theory

Durkheim, E. Suicide

Durkheim, E. The Division of Labor in Society

Durkheim, E. Rules of the Sociological Method

Durkheim, E. The Elementary Forms of Religious Life

Durkheim & Mauss, Primitive Classification

Freud, S. Civilization and Its Discontents

Freud, S. Totem and Taboo

Freud, S. The Interpretation of Dreams

Marx, K. The German Ideology

Marx, K. Capital

Levy-Bruhl, L. Primitives and the Supernatural

Levy-Bruhl, L. How Natives Think

Mauss, M. The Gift

Mauss, M. General Theory of Magic

Mauss, M. Seasonal Variation of the Eskimo Weber, M. The

Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism

Weber, M. From Max Weber: Essays on Sociology (Gerth &

Mills eds.)

Weber, M. The Sociology of Religion

Van Gennep, A. The Rites of Passage

IV. American Cultural Anthropology

Bateson, G. Naven

Benedict, R. Patterns of Culture

Boas, F. Primitive Art

Boas, F. The Mind of Primitive Man

Kroeber, A. Style and Civilizations

Kroeber, A. Configurations of Culture and Growth

Linton, R. The Study of Man

Lowie, R. Primitive Society

Lowie, R. Primitive Religion

Lowie, R. The Origin of the State

Mead, M. Coming of Age in Samoa

Radin, P. The Trickster

Sapir, E. Language

V. British Social Anthropology

Evans-Pritchard, E. E. Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic among the

Azande

Evans-Pritchard, E. E. The Nuer

Evans-Pritchard, E. E. Nuer Religion

Evans-Pritchard, E. E. Social Anthropology and Other Essays

Evans-Pritchard, E. E. and Meyer Fortes, African Political Systems

Firth, R. We, The Topeka

Firth, R. Elements of Social Organisation Fortes, Meyer, The Dynamics

of Clanship among the Tallensi

Fortes, Meyer, Oedipus and Job in West African Religion

Fortes, Meyer, Time and social structure and other essays.

Fortes, Meyer, Religion, morality, and the person

Malinowski, B. Argonauts of the Western Pacific

Malinowski, B. Coral Gardens and their Magic

Malinowski, B. Crime and Custom in Primitive Society

Malinowski, B. A Scientific Theory of Culture

Radcliffe-Brown, A. R. The Andaman Islanders

Radcliffe-Brown, A. R. Structure and Function in Primitive Society

VI. Post-World War II Social Theory

Adorno & Horkheimer, Dialectics of Enlightenment

Adorno, T. Negative Dialectics

Adorno, et al. The Authoritarian Personality

Barth, F. Indus and Swat Kohistan

Lévi-Strauss, C. The Elementary Structures of Kinship

Lévi-Strauss, C. The Savage Mind

Leach, E. Political Systems of Highland Burma

Merleau-Ponty, M. Phenomenology of Perception

Steward, J. Theory of Culture Change

White, L. The Science of Culture

VII. The Sixties and Beyond

Conklin, H. Hanunóo Agriculture

Douglas, Mary, Purity and Danger.

Fried, Morton, The Evolution of Political Society.

Geertz, Clifford. The Interpretation of Cultures.

Goodenough, W. Property, Kin and Community in Truk

Harris, Marvin, Cultural Materialism.

Marcus, George and J. Fischer, Anthropology as Cultural Critique.

Ortner, Sherry and Harriet Whitehead, Sexual Meanings.

Rappaport, Roy, Pigs for the Ancestors.

Rosaldo, Michelle and Louise Lamphere, Women, Culture and Society.

Sahlins, Marshall, The Use and Abuse of Biology.