ANT 4274 sec. 7117

Political Anthropology:

Classic Themes & Contemporary Concerns

 

T per. 9 (4:05-4:55pm), R per. 9-10 (4:05-6pm)

Matherly Hall 0113

 

Dr. Brenda Chalfin, bchalfin@anthro.ufl.edu

441 Grinter, 392-2427, Office Hours: Mon 12-2pm and by appt.

www.clas.ufl.edu/users/bchalfin

 

(illustrations: spectraleyes.com, nomadlife.com, newint.org, globalgang.org)

 

Course Description

Political Anthropology is a vast field covering the spectrum of human political organization, past and present. In addition to documenting the organization of political life in small-scale societies, political anthropologists are concerned with the incorporation of such societies into wider political orders via colonialism, capitalism and processes of predatory expansion. The field equally seeks to understand the similarities and differences between indigenous, non-western and non-modern polities, and modern states. As few so-called ‘traditional societies’ remain to be discovered (or have ceased to exist) political anthropologists have become increasingly preoccupied with the nation-state and the challenges and alternatives that follow in its wake.

 

Whatever the specific society, location or time-period at hand, this realm of anthropological inquiry hinges on four fundament concerns. 1. The problem of order: How is political life structured? Through what mechanisms are social relations regulated and power distributed? 2. The problem of inequality: How is the unequal distribution of power and resources achieved and sustained? How are inequalities experienced and how is opposition to them expressed? 3. The problem of culture: In what ways are cultural symbols, beliefs and practices bound up with political life? How do they represent and reinforce systems of domination as well as resistance? 4. The problem of violence: How is violence expressed and contained? How does it contribute to both the constitution and break down of specific political orders?

 

In this class, we bring these perspectives to bear on classic case studies of indigenous peoples and polities of Africa, Asia and Latin America. We also explore their relevance with regard to contemporary political concerns, ranging from the mobilization of rural communities against global capitalism and development interventions, and the persistence of gendered inequality around the world, to the prevalence of ethnic violence within modern nation-states and the sweep of militarization at home and abroad.  The course equally attends to the politics of anthropological practice: the dangers and risks of anthropological research, the role of anthropology in revealing the dynamics of political abuse and political empowerment, and the capacity of anthropology to shed light on our own situation.


This course will be meaningful to students interested in activism and social change,  international issues and careers, engaged interaction with broad spectrum of the American public, or simply a better understanding one’s own context and community. By developing students’ familiarity with the tools and tenets of anthropological inquiry through research, writing, data analysis, discussion and debate, the ultimate goal of the class is to cultivate an informed skepticism with regard to received knowledge so we can all ask better questions about the ‘foreign’ and the ‘familiar.”

 

Course Requirements:

2 Exams (10/2, 11/6): 25% ea.

1 ‘Ethics’ Project (due 9/23): 10%

1 ‘Social Movement’ Library Research Project (due 10/30): 10%

1 ‘War at Home” Field Research Project (due 12/4): 20%

Participation and Attendance: 10%

 

The Exams and are not cumulative and will derive from the separate course Units.  Review sheets and practice questions will be provided for each exam. Students are encouraged to meet out of class and study as a group. Library West group study rooms may be reserved for study sessions

 

The Projects will require 3 short writing assignments and participation in class debates and discussions. Project #1 will address the ethics of anthropological research. Project #2 will require independent library research and taking a side in the debate about the political implications of ‘Social Movements’ and ‘Weapons of the Weak.’ Project #3 is a self-study requiring documentation and analysis of student experiences of the “War at Home.”  For papers, the APA citation format is preferred.

 

Active participation in the class is expected. Students are encouraged to share their ideas, questions and comments in class throughout the semester.

 

Course attendance is required. Excused absence will require documentation from the student’s advisor or physician. Unexcused absence may result in failure as stated in the Undergraduate Catalog. Late papers will not be accepted. No make-up or early exams will be administered. During class meetings, it is forbidden to use cell phones, use computers for anything but taking notes, or read material unrelated to the class.

Students with disability requesting accommodation must provide documentation from the Dean of Students Office.

 

Required Reading Material:

All reading assignments are required. Students are expected to read the assigned material prior to the class designated on the syllabus and to bring the reading material to class with them.

 

Books to purchase:

Available from OBT (309 NW 13th St). You may also purchase books on-line.

1. Yanomamo, Napolean Chagnon, Holt, 5th edition, 1997 ISBN 0030623286

2. Guests of the Sheik, Elizabeth Fernea, Anchor, 1989 or most recent, ISBN 0385014856

3. Homefront, Catherine Lutz, Beacon, 2001, ISBN 0807055093 

Course Pack: A photocopied Course Pack is required and available for purchase at OBT (309 NW 13th St)

Electronic Reserve Reading:

All other course material is available from on the UF Library/WebLuis Home page through Electronic Course Reserve. The material is listed under my name and the author’s name. You may access this from any UF library and other on-campus locations or from home through the Remote Access Log-in. You will need to enter a UF ID # and a library ID #, which can be activated at any UF library. Please print the reading material and bring to class for discussion.

 

The Instructor reserves the right to make minor modifications to the course schedule and reading assignments during the semester.

Academic Honesty:

All students are required to abide by the Academic Honesty Guidelines and Honor Code, which have been accepted by the University. Violations of the Honor Code will be handled according to the guidelines set by Student Judicial Affairs.

 

Academic Honesty Guidelines

The Academic Honesty Guidelines at the University of Florida are designed to develop and engender a community of honor, trust and respect. The academic community of students and faculty at the University of Florida strives to develop, sustain and protect an environment of honesty, trust and respect. Students within the system receive the benefits of the academic pursuit of knowledge, free from the obstacles of lying, cheating and stealing. In return, the Academic Honesty Guidelines demand that students act with integrity in all of their endeavors. Exhibiting honesty in academic pursuits and reporting violations of the Academic Honesty Guidelines will encourage others to also act with integrity. Every student who approaches their studies with honesty and forthrightness suffers when another student attains an unfair advantage by cheating. An academic honesty offense is defined as the act of lying, cheating, or stealing academic information so that one gains academic advantage. As a University of Florida student, one is expected to neither commit nor assist another in committing an academic honesty violation. Additionally, it is the student's duty to report observed academic honesty violations.

On all work submitted for credit the following pledge is either required or implied: "On my honor I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid in doing this assignment."

Violations of this policy will result in disciplinary action according to the judicial process. A student adjudicated responsible for violations of the Code of Student Conduct or the Academic Honesty Guidelines shall be subject to sanctions commensurate with the offense and any aggravating and mitigating circumstances, which may include reduced or failing grade, educational sanction, suspension or expulsion. (For more details go to: http://www.dso.ufl.edu/judicial/academic.htm)

The following actions are examples of violations of the Academic Honesty Guidelines:

Cheating. The improper taking or tendering of any information or material which shall be used to determine academic credit. Taking of information includes, but is not limited to, copying graded homework assignments from another student; working together with another individual(s) on a take-home test or homework when not specifically permitted by the teacher; looking or attempting to look at another student's paper during an examination; looking or attempting to look at text or notes during an examination when not permitted. Tendering of information includes, but is not limited to, giving your work to another student to be used or copied; giving someone answers to exam questions either when the exam is being given or after taking an exam; giving or selling a term paper or other written materials to another student; sharing information on a graded assignment.

Plagiarism. The attempt to represent the work of another as the product of one's own thought, whether the other's work is published or unpublished, or simply the work of a fellow student. Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to, quoting oral or written materials without citation on an exam, term paper, homework, or other written materials or oral presentations for an academic requirement; submitting a paper which was purchased from a term paper service as your own work; submitting anyone else's paper as your own work.

Misrepresentation. Any act or omission with intent to deceive a teacher for academic advantage. Misrepresentation includes using computer programs generated by another and handing it in as your own work unless expressly allowed by the teacher; lying to a teacher to increase your grade; lying or misrepresenting facts when confronted with an allegation of academic honesty.

Fabrication. The use of invented or fabricated information, or the falsification of research or other findings with the intent to deceive for academic or professional advantage.

Course Schedule:

1. T 8/26 Introduction

 

UNIT 1: COMPARATIVE POLITICAL SYSTEMS

 

2. R 8/28 The Fundaments of Political Anthropology and Human Political Organization

 

R. Lavenda and E. Schultz, Core Concepts in Cultural Anthropology, McGraw Hill, 2007, pp. 112-124

 

T. Lewellen, Political Anthropology, Bergin & Garvey, 1992, pp. 22-30

 

3. T 9/2 Band Societies: Kalahari Case Study

 

G. Silberbauer, “Political Process in G/wi bands,” in E. Leacock and R. Lee (eds), Politics and History in Band Societies, Cambridge, 1982, pp. 23-35.

 

4. R 9/4 Band Societies: Kalahari Case Study

 

R. Lee, “Conflict, Politics and Exchange,” in The Dobe !Kung, Holt, 1979, pp. 87-102

 

FILM

 

5. T 9/9 Violence and Political Order in Tribal Societies: Yanomamo Case Study

N. Chagnon, Yanomamo, Holt, Rhinehart and Winston, 1997, Ch. 1, 5, 6. B

 

6. R 9/11 Violence and Political Order in Tribal Societies: Yanomamo Case Study

 

N. Chagnon, Yanomamo, Holt, Rhinehart and Winston, 1997, Ch. 6, 7. B

 

FILM

 

7. T 9/16 Predatory Expansion and Tribal Societies: Yanomamo Case Study

 

B. Ferguson, 'A Savage Encounter: Western Contact and the Yanomami War Complex', in R. Brian Ferguson and Neil L. Whitehead (eds.) War  in the Tribal Zone: Expanding States and Indigenous Warfare, SAR, 1992,pp. 199-227. (read carefully!)

 

S. Davis, “Highways and the future of the Yanomamo,” in Spradley & McCurdy eds., Conformity and Conflict, 1980, Little, pp. 379-388.

 

7. R 9/18 Ethical Dilemmas in Political Anthropology

 

American Anthropological Association Code of Ethics”

on-line:  www. aaanet.org

 

P. Tierney, “The Fierce Anthropologist,” The New Yorker, Oct. 9, 2000. e-reserve

 

Borofsy, R. (ed), Yanomami: The Fierce Controversy and what we can learn from it, California, 2005, pp. 22-34, 61-71. 

 

8. T 9/23 : Debating the Ethics of Yanomamo Research

 

CLASS DEBATE

 

PROJECT #1 DUE: “ETHICAL DILEMMAS IN CHAGNON’S YANOMAMI FIELD WORK”

 

9. R 9/25 Political Ritual and Indigenous States: Indonesian Case Study

 

C. Geertz,   Negara: The Theatre State in Nineteenth Century Bali,Princeton, 1980, pp. 11-25, 121-136

 

FILM

 

10. T 9/30    Exam Review

 

11. R 10/2   1st Exam (25%)

 

UNIT 2: DIFFERENCE & INEQUALITY; DOMINATION & RESISTANCE

 

12. T 10/7 Gender and Power: Theory

 

M. Rosaldo “Women, Culture and Society,” in M. Rosaldo, ed. Women Culture and Society, Stanford, 1974, pp. 17-42, 97-12

 

13. R 10/9  Gender and Power Case Study: Women and Islam in Iraq, part 1

Guests of the Sheik, Elizabeth Fernea, Anchor, 1989 B

 

FILM

 

14. T 10/14 Gender, Power Case Study: Women and Islam, part 2

 

Guests of the Sheik, Elizabeth Fernea, Anchor, 1989 B

 

15. R 10/16 Domination and Resistance: Weapons of the Weak

 

R. Robbins, R. Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism, Allyn & Bacon, 1999, pp. 305-316

 

P. Farmer, “On Suffering and Structural Violence,” in N. Scheper-Hughes ed., Violence in War and Peace, Blackwell, 2004.

 

16. T 10/21 Social Movements, Popular Protests and Democratization

 

M. Edelman, Introduction, Peasants Against Globalization, Stanford, 1999, pp. 17-21

 

M. Edelman, “When they took the ‘Muni’: Political Culture and Anti-Austerity Protest in Rural Northwestern Costa Rica,” American Ethnologist, Nov. 1990, v. 17, n. 4, pp. 736-757

e-reserve

 

17. R 10/23 Social Movements, Popular Protests and Democratization

 

J. Paley, “The Paradox of Participation: Civil Society and Democracy in Chile,” POLAR: Political and Legal Anthropology Review, May 2001, v. 24, n. 1. pp. 1-12 e-reserve

 

N. Peluso, “Whose woods are these?” in M. Edelman and A. Haugerud, eds., Anthropology of Globalization and Development, Blackwell, 2005, pp. 273-281

 

FILM or LIBRARY SESSION

 

18. T 10/28 Social Movements Research Session

 

Independent Library Research

 

19. R 10/30 Social Movements Student Presentations

 

PROJECT #2 DUE

Student Presentations

 

20. T 11/4 Review Session for Exam 2

 

In-class review session

 

21. R 11/6  EXAM #2

 

22. T 11/11 NO CLASS: VETERANS DAY

 

UNIT #3: THE NATION STATE AND VIOLENCE

 

23. R 11/13 Making War at Home-part 1

 

Catherine Lutz, Making War at Home in the United States : Militarization and the Current Crisis. American Anthropologist , 2002, 104 (3): 723-35.

 

C. Lutz, Homefront: A Military City and the Amercian 20th Century. Beacon, 2001. 1-10 B

 

24. T 11/18 Making War at Home-part 2

 

C. Lutz, Homefront: A Military City and the Amercian 20th Century. Beacon, 2001. 214-253, 171-194 B

 

Catherine Lutz, “Ethnography at the War Century’s End,” Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, Dec99, Vol. 28 Issue 6, pp. 610-619.

 

25. R 11/20 National Order, Ethnicity and State-Sponsored Violence

 

Robert Hayden, “Imagined Communities and Real Victims: Self-Determination and Ethnic Cleansing in Yugoslavia,” American Ethnologist, Nov 1996, Vol. 23, No. 4, pp. 783-801 .

 

26. T 11/25 – Documenting the War at Home Research (No Class Meeting)

 

Bartlett, Lesley and Lutz, Catherine, “Disciplining Social Difference: Some Cultural Politics of Military Training in Public High Schools,” Urban Review, Jun98, Vol. 30 Issue 2, pp.119-136.  

 

Stephen Silliman, “The Old West in the Middle East,” American Anthropologist, v. 110, issue 2, pp. 237-247

 

No Class Meeting

 

Begin Independent RESEARCH FOR PROJECT #3 “Documenting the War at Home”

 

27. R 11/27  ***NO CLASS: THANKSGIVING BREAK***

 

28. T 12/2 Documenting the War at Home (Review)

 

Bartlett, Lesley and Lutz, Catherine, “Disciplining Social Difference: Some Cultural Politics of Military Training in Public High Schools,” Urban Review, Jun98, Vol. 30 Issue 2, pp.119-136.  

 

Stephen Silliman, “The Old West in the Middle East,” American Anthropologist, v. 110, issue 2, pp. 237-247

 

29. R 12/4 CLASS PRESENTATIONS PROJECT #3 “Documenting the War at Home” DUE

 

31. T 12/9 LAST CLASS