SANb1008 Anthropology of Politics and Economy

Faculty of Social Studies
Spring 2021
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 6 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Irena Kašparová, M.A., Ph.D. (lecturer)
PhDr. Patrick Laviolette, PhD. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
PhDr. Patrick Laviolette, PhD.
Department of Sociology – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: PhDr. Patrick Laviolette, PhD.
Supplier department: Department of Sociology – Faculty of Social Studies
Timetable
Tue 10:00–11:40 U35
Prerequisites
! SAN106 Anthropology of Politics and Economy && !NOW( SAN106 Anthropology of Politics and Economy )
Ability to read academic texts in English
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The aim of the course is to introduce students to key themes and debates in economic and political anthropology. The course is designed in two blocks. Firts part cofuses on political anthropology and explains anthropological approach to power and politics. The first part of the course tackles topics lik power and politics in traditional and current societies, colonialism and postcolonialism, ideology, governmentality, symbolic power and biopolitics. The second block focuses on economic anthropology and introduces students to various conceptualisations of economic practices in social anthropology.
Learning outcomes
At the end of the course students shuold be able to understand and explain different patterns of power and of economic behaviour. They should acquire and anthropological approach to economic and political behaviour and organizations ant to their mutual relationships. They should get a knowledge of ethnographic works in these subdisciplines.
Syllabus
  • 1. Introduction. Maximalist and minimalist understanding of what political is. 2. Power and legitimacy; power and social stratification 3. Stateless societies, early and traditional state 4. Genesis of modern state 5. Byrocracy and Gevernmentality 6. Nationalism 7. Reading week. Reading and preparing anotation. 8. Cultural interpretations of economic behaviour, dilemas of economic anthropology 9. Debate of formalists and substantivists 10. Economic anthropology after the debate. 11. Money, market, finances 12.Capitalism and modernity 13. Global capitalism and world system
Literature
    required literature
  • HANN, C. M. and Keith HART. Economic anthropology : history, ethnography, critique. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 2011, x, 206. ISBN 9780745644837. info
    recommended literature
  • A handbook of economic anthropology. Edited by James G. Carrier. Northhampton, MA: Edward Elgar, 2005, xvi, 584. ISBN 1845429524. info
  • WILK, Richard R. Economies and cultures : foundations of economic anthropology. Boulder, Colo.: WestviewPress, 1996, xvii, 189. ISBN 0813320585. info
  • The social life of things :commodities in cultural perspective. Edited by Arjun Appadurai. 1st ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986, xiv, 329 s. ISBN 0-521-35726-8. info
    not specified
  • LEWELLEN, Ted C. Political anthropology : an introduction. 3rd ed. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2003, xii, 262. ISBN 0897898915. info
  • KURTZ, Donald V. Political anthropology : power and paradigms. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 2001, viii, 251. ISBN 0813338042. info
  • BALANDIER, Georges. Politická antropologie : Anthropologie politigue (Orig.). Praha: Dauphin, 2000, 285 s. ISBN 80-86019-90-X. info
  • Political anthropology. Edited by Marc J. Swartz - Victor Witter Turner - Arthur Tuden. 1st pub. Chicago: Aldine publishing company, 1966, viii, 309. info
Teaching methods
Lectures, class discussion, critical readings, group project
Assessment methods
- 2 tests
- written examination
- essay
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2020, Spring 2024, Spring 2025.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2021, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/spring2021/SANb1008