Regional Studies (Ethnography) I

Study Course Description

Course Description Statuss:Approved

Course Description Version:2.00

Study Course Accepted:12.03.2024 17:09:07

Study Course Information
Course Code:		SZF_107		LQF level:		Level 7
Credit Points:		4.00		ECTS:		6.00
Branch of Science:		Sociology; Social Anthropology		Target Audience:		Political Science; Social Anthropology
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:
Basic knowledge of anthropology.
Objective:
The aim of the course is to provide a framework for an in-depth understanding of the region's history, social and cultural features and relations with other regions.
Topic Layout (Full-Time)
No.	Topic			Type of Implementation		Number	Venue
1	Defining the boundaries of a region. Insights into history and human geography.			Lectures		2.00	auditorium
				Classes		2.00	auditorium
2	Nation-building and popular culture.			Lectures		2.00	auditorium
				Classes		4.00	auditorium
3	Religion and society.			Lectures		2.00	auditorium
				Classes		6.00	auditorium
4	Migration, transnationalism and diaspora.			Classes		6.00	auditorium
Assessment
Unaided Work:
Study the literature on the topics covered in each lesson; prepare one presentation on a specific topic (given by the lecturer). In order to evaluate the overall quality of the course, the student must fill in the course evaluation questionnaire on the Student Portal.
Assessment Criteria:
33% vērtējuma veidos atzīme par iesaisti semināra diskusijā, 33% par prezentāciju un 34% par eksāmena eseju.
Final Examination (Full-Time):		Exam (Written)
Final Examination (Part-Time):
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge:		NB! This description is based on the course "Caribbean Ethnography". Over time, a course on another region may take its place. Knowledge of the geography of the region, the main lines of research and some of the analytical frameworks used to understand the social and cultural life of the region's societies.
Skills:		Will be able to critically evaluate, from an anthropological point of view, the narratives in different media (such as cinema, fiction, music, life history) and various disciplinary approaches (such as ethnography, geography, etc.) devoted to the representation of the region and study of its societies.
Competencies:		Competences to independently acquire new knowledge about the region. The ability to apply critical thinking in evaluating ethnographic sources and theoretical arguments. Ability to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of different approaches to ethnographic research.
Bibliography
No.	Reference
Required Reading
1	NB! This description is based on the course "Caribbean Ethnography". Over time, a course on another region may take its place. // NB! Šis apraksts veidots kā piemērs, pa bāzi ņemot kursu "Karību salu etnogrāfija". Laika gaitā vietā var nākt kurss par citu reģionu. Visa literatūra ir angļu valodā un piemērota gan latviešu, gan angļu plūsmas studentiem
2	In The Caribbean before Columbus. 2017. Eds. Keegan, W. F., Hofman C. L. Oxford University Press:
3	Sued-Badillo, Jalil. 2003. “The Indigenous Societies at the Time of Conquest.” In General History of the Caribbean, 259–91. Palgrave Macmillan, New York.
4	Stone, E. 2018. Chasing “Caribs”: Defining Zones of Legal Indigenous Enslavement in the Circum-Caribbean, 1493-1542., pp. 118 to 147. In Slaving Zones. Cultural Identities, Ideologies, and Institutions in the Evolution of Global Slavery, eds. Fynn-Paul, J. and Pargas, D.A.
5	What Maya Collapse? Terminal Classic Variation in the Maya Lowlands Author(s): James J. Aimers. In Journal of Archaeological Research, December 2007.
6	Trouillot, Michel-Rolph. 1992. The Caribbean Region: An Open Frontier in Anthropological Theory. Annual Review of Anthropology. 21: 19-42.
7	Mintz, Sidney W. 1996. Enduring Substances, Trying Theories: The Caribbean Region as Oikoumene. The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute. 2.2: 289-311.
8	Castaneda, Q. 2008. “We Are Not Indigenous!”: An Introduction to the Maya Identity of Yucatan in Journal of Latin American Anthropology, May 2008. Pp 36 to 63.
9	Gordon, E. T. 1998. Disparate Diasporas: Identity and Politics in an African-Nicaraguan Community. UT Press. (1st chapter)
10	Wheat, D. 2016. Atlantic Africa and Spanish Caribbean, 1570-1640. Pp. 5 to 19.
11	Kempadoo, K. 2017. ‘Bound Coolies’ and Other Indentured Workers in the Caribbean: Implications for debates about human trafficking and modern slavery”. ANTI-TRAFFICKING REVIEW 9: 48-63
12	LeGrand, C. C. 1998. Living in Macondo: Economy and Culture in a United Fruit Banana Enclave in Colombia. In eds. Joseph G.M. et al. ‘ Close Encounters of Empire. Writing the Cultural History of U.S.-Latin American Relations’, Duke University Press.
Additional Reading
1	Marti, S and Grube, N. 2000. Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens: Deciphering the Dynasties of the Ancient Maya.
2	Peterson, R. R. 2020. Over the Caribbean Top: Community Well-Being and Over-Tourism in Small Island Tourism Economies.
3	Video podcast on a general introduction to Maya Civilisation: ‘The Mayans - Ruins Among the Trees’
Other Information Sources
1	Eiropas Sociālo antropologu asociācijas reģionu pētnieku tīklu piedāvātie resursi./Resources offered by the regional researcher networks of the European Association of Social Anthropologists.
2	Sustainability risk analyses Latin American Palm Oil Linked to Social Risks, Local deforestation.
3	The Harder They Come (1972) – dir. Perry Henzell.
4	Documentary on archaeological research in indigenous settlements in the Dominican Republic from the period of early colonial encounters: ‘La Ruta de Colón - Historic Importance and Heritage’