Classical Theories of Anthropology

Study Course Description

Course Description Statuss:Approved

Course Description Version:7.00

Study Course Accepted:20.03.2024 08:47:43

Study Course Information
Course Code:		KSK_120		LQF level:		Level 7
Credit Points:		4.00		ECTS:		6.00
Branch of Science:		Sociology; Social Anthropology		Target Audience:		Social Anthropology; Political Science; Sociology
Study Course Supervisor
Course Supervisor:		Agita Lūse
Study Course Implementer
Structural Unit:		Faculty of Social Sciences
The Head of Structural Unit:
Contacts:		Dzirciema street 16, Rīga, szfrsu[pnkts]lv
Study Course Planning
Full-Time - Semester No.1
Lectures (count)		6	Lecture Length (academic hours)		2	Total Contact Hours of Lectures		12
Classes (count)		18	Class Length (academic hours)		2	Total Contact Hours of Classes		36
Total Contact Hours								48
Study course description
Preliminary Knowledge:
Background in history of the modern and late modern era is required. Knowledge of cultural history is desirable.
Objective:
Gain insight into the issues raised by social and philosophical theories that have shaped anthropological research topics in the period up to the 1st half of the 20th century; understand the main concepts and categories used by anthropologists in this period to describe the phenomena under study.
Topic Layout (Full-Time)
No.	Topic			Type of Implementation		Number	Venue
1	Introduction. Anthropology as a discipline. Theory, power and knowledge relations			Lectures		0.50	auditorium
				Classes		1.00	auditorium
2	Anthropological concepts in the era of Renaissance, Enlightenment and Romanticism			Lectures		0.50	auditorium
				Classes		1.00	auditorium
3	16th-18th centuries the European view of the "other".			Lectures		0.50	auditorium
				Classes		1.00	auditorium
4	The beginnings of ethnography in the 18th-19th centuries. J.G. Herder's Anthropology. Development of the concept of race.			Lectures		0.50	auditorium
				Classes		1.00	auditorium
5	Representatives of evolutionism: Mayne, Morgan, Bachofen, Spencer. Functionalism and structure functionalism.			Lectures		0.50	auditorium
				Classes		2.00	auditorium
6	Cultural relativism and historicism in US anthropology.			Lectures		0.50	auditorium
				Classes		1.00	auditorium
7	Evolutionism, diffusionism, functionalism.			Lectures		0.50	auditorium
				Classes		2.00	auditorium
8	Culture and Personality Studies in the United States. Points of contact between anthropology, psychology and linguistics.			Lectures		0.50	auditorium
				Classes		2.00	auditorium
9	1) The first generation of British social anthropologists. 2) E. Sapirs and M. Moss on anthropology and psychology			Lectures		0.50	auditorium
				Classes		2.00	auditorium
10	The second generation of British social anthropologists			Lectures		0.50	auditorium
				Classes		1.00	auditorium
11	Societies as moral systems and discussions of rationality.			Lectures		0.50	auditorium
				Classes		2.00	auditorium
12	M. Weber's understanding sociology. E. Evans-Pritchard's turn to "understanding anthropology". How to study the meaning and rationality of action.			Lectures		0.50	auditorium
				Classes		2.00	auditorium
Assessment
Unaided Work:
Students independently study the required readings for each lesson topic, using the university's online databases or visiting the library. They write an argumentative essay (700-900 words) on one of the assigned topics on early anthropological theories (covered in topics 2-4). For each seminar session (topics 3, 7, 9, 12), prepare a discussion on the general issues of the topic and make a presentation (10-15 min) on one of the relevant texts by anthropological theorists. At the end of the course, they write a 1000-word paper (see "Course Examinations") on one of the course topics. More specific assignments are specified each year and outlined on the e-learning platform (e-studijas.rsu.lv). In order to assess the overall quality of the course, the student should complete the course evaluation questionnaire on the Student Portal.
Assessment Criteria:
1) Presentation (presentation, answers to questions, justification of answers) in seminars (40%), 2) Argumentative essay (30%), 3) Report (30%).
Final Examination (Full-Time):		Exam (Written)
Final Examination (Part-Time):
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge:		Discerns the main theoretical trends in social anthropology from the emergence of the discipline to the first half of the 20th century; is able to compare the methods and concepts that characterise them. Identifies and is able to criticise the theses and arguments of the authors of classical anthropological theories; is able to compare the positions of different authors on specific issues. Explains the cultural, historical and sociological context of the views of the authors of classical anthropological theories.
Skills:		Analyses socio-anthropological and ethnographic texts from different periods and compares different theoretical approaches. Discusses classical anthropological theories, positions and methods orally and in writing; evaluates authors' arguments and justifies their positions.
Competencies:		Critically evaluates the theories covered in the course, applies the theoretical insights gained in analysing and interpreting empirical data, including in other courses and research. Formulates and justifies his/her own views on the issues covered; reflects on newly acquired knowledge; is able to relate the views of the authors covered to contemporary observations, interpretations and examples.
Bibliography
No.	Reference
Required Reading
1	Barnard, A. (2021). History and Theory in Anthropology. In History and Theory in Anthropology. Cambridge University Press. Ch.1-5. Pp.1-79. (Piemērots arī angļu plūsmas studentiem).
2	Moore, H. L., & Sanders, T. (Eds.). (2014). Anthropology in Theory. Hoboken Wiley-Blackwell. Section I-II. Pp. 1-86. (Hrestomātisku nozares tekstu krājums ar sastādītāju veidotu ievadu). (Šo cerams, spēs izlasīt arī angļu plūsmas studenti).
3	Stocking, G. W. (1995). Delimiting Anthropology: Historical Reflections on the Boundaries of a Boundless Discipline. Social Research 62:933-966. (Akceptējams izdevums; ievērojama antropoloģijas teoriju vēsturnieka teksts). (Piemērots arī angļu plūsmas studentiem).
4	Todorov, T. (1999). The Conquest of America. University of Oklahoma Press. Pp.127-145, 168-182. (Hrestomātisks nozares avots). (Piemērots arī angļu plūsmas studentiem).
5	Fabian, J. (2014). Time and the Other : How Anthropology Makes Its Object. Columbia University Press. Chapter 2, Pp.37-69. (Daudzkārt atkārtoti izdots, fundamentāls nozares teksts). (Piemērots arī angļu plūsmas studentiem).
6	Montesquieu, Charles. (1748). Complete Works, Vol. 1 The Spirit of Laws. T. Evans. Book XIV. OF LAWS AS RELATIVE TO THE NATURE OF THE CLIMATE. Pp. 292-310. (Hrestomātisks nozares avots). (Piemērots arī angļu plūsmas studentiem).
7	Boas, F. (1887). The study of geography. Science, 10(240), 131–132. (Hrestomātisks nozares avots). (Piemērots arī angļu plūsmas studentiem).
8	Handler, R. (1986). VIGOROUS MALE AND ASPIRING FEMALE. Poetry, Personality, and Culture in Edward Sapir and Ruth Benedict. In G. W. Stocking (Ed.), Malinowski, Rivers, Benedict and Others : Essays on Culture and Personality). Wisconsin University Press, Pp. 127–155. (Akceptējams avots, apskata divu izcilu 20.gs. 1. puses ASV antropologu dzīvi un darbu). (Piemērots arī angļu plūsmas studentiem).
9	Radcliffe-Brown A. R. (1940). On Social Structure. The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 70(1): 1–12. (Hrestomātisks nozares avots). (Piemērots arī angļu plūsmas studentiem).
10	Stocking, G. W. (1984). Dr. Durkheim and Mr. Brown: Comparative Sociology at Cambridge in 1910. In Functionalism historicized : essays on British social anthropology . University of Wisconsin Press. Pp. 106–130. (Ievērojama antropoloģijas teoriju vēsturnieka teksts). (Piemērots arī angļu plūsmas studentiem).
11	Weber, M. (2013). The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Routledge. Chapter 5. Pp. 155-183. (Hrestomātisks nozares avots). (Piemērots arī angļu plūsmas studentiem).
12	Evans-Pritchard, E. E. (1950). Social Anthropology: Past and Present. Man 50:118-124. (Hrestomātisks nozares avots). (Piemērots arī angļu plūsmas studentiem).
13	Eriksens, T. H. (2010). Mazas vietas - lieli jautājumi. Ievads sociālantropoloģijā. LU Akadēmiskais apgāds. 1.-2. nodaļa. 25.-66. lpp. (Vienīgā latviešu valodā tulkotā sociālantropoloģijas mācību grāmata, līdz ar to - vienīgā iespēja lasot iepazīties ar nozares terminoloģiju latviešu valodā).
14	Eriksen, Thomas Hylland. 2015. Small Places, Large Issues : An Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology. Pluto. Ch. 1-2. (Piemērots arī angļu plūsmas studentiem).
Additional Reading
1	Eriksen, T. H. (2015). Small Places Large Issues. An Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology. Pluto Press, London.
2	Sperbers, D. (2002). Interpretatīvā etnogrāfija un teorētiskā antropoloģija. Kentaurs XXI 27:53-80. (latviešu plūsmai)
3	Vēbers, Makss. (2004). Reliģijas socioloģija. R. Kūļa tulkojums Rīga: LU Filozofijas un socioloģijas institūts. (latviešu plūsmai)
4	Giddens, A. (1971). Capitalism and modern social theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
5	Stocking, G. W. (1987). Malinowski, Rivers, Benedict and Others : Essays on Culture and Personality. University of Wisconsin Press.
6	Layton, R. (1997). An Introduction to Theory in Anthropology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
7	Kuper, A. (1996). Anthropology and Anthropologists: the modern British school. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
8	Benedict, R. (1961). The Patterns of Culture. Boston & New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.
9	Līčs, E. R. (2002). Antropoloģijas dažādība. Kentaurs XXI 27:13-38. (latviešu plūsmai)
10	McGrane, B. (1989). Beyond Anthropology: Society and the Other. New York: Columbia University Press