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Academic Year 2000/2001

Global Perspectives in Anthropology
ANTH 389 SP
Crosslistings:
WMST 389

This course will examine anthropological approaches to the concept of globalization that has increasingly become a part of social science as well as popular discourses. We begin by taking a global perspective on culture, anthropology's foundational concept, by asking: Do the economic, political, cultural, and technological links between nations in the late 20th century necessitate a new concept of culture? Does global culture exist? Is there a place for cultural relativism in the global village? We then turn to several anthropological case studies that examine processes typically associated with globalization: tensions between transnational social movements (e.g., feminism, antiwar, and environmental) and nationalist political and economic agendas; the spread of rights discourse and corresponding assertions of cultural rights and religious fundamentalisms; patterns of global zoning that marginalize less developed regions; the effects of transnational tourism and prostitution on constructions of gend er and sexuality; the growth of refugee populations; and the global circulation and reception of media images. By directing attention to specific contexts, these case studies use ethnography to highlight the local effects of global processes, including locally generated resistances and transformations of the global.

MAJOR READINGS

Lutz, READING NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC Malkki, PURITY AND EXILE: VIOLENCE, MEMORY AND NATIONAL COSMOLOGY AMONG HUTU REFUGEES IN TANZANIA Sutton, Constance, (ed.) FEMINISM, NATIONALISM, AND MILITARISM Wilson, SPEAKING TO POWER: GENDER AND POLITICS IN THE WESTERN PACIFIC Also selections by Abu-Lughod, Appadurai, Basu, Gilroy, Hannerz, Mies, Ong, and Rouse.

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Several writing assignments, class participation, and a final exam.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS and/or COMMENTS

Admission by interview. Unless preregistered students attend the first class meeting or communicate directly with the instructor prior to the first class, they will be dropped from the class list. NOTE: Students must still submit a completed Drop/Add form to the Registrar's Office.

COURSE FORMAT: Lecture

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Level: UGRD    Credit: 1    Gen Ed Area Dept: SBS ANTH    Grading Mode: Student Option   

Prerequisites: NONE Links to Web Resources For This Course.

Last Updated on MAR-26-2001

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