Social Anthropology of Europe

obligatory courses

Classroom

The aim of the course is to acquaint students with the prospects of social and cultural anthropology as a science offering ways of interpreting any cultural phenomena including law, economics and politics, which enables understanding of interdisciplinary issues studied. The aim is also to develop skills of analysis of cultural phenomena and preparation for analysis of cultural texts.

Issues discussed during the lecture include:

- the main cultural, social, economic, legal and political changes taking place in Europe in terms of diachrony, that led to today's diversity of Europe (north, south, east, west and center and the periphery);

- the common basis of European culture („cradels“ of Europe: Athens, Rome and Jerusalem), pre Greek Lycian traditions (democratic pattern) and pre Roman Etruscan traditions (law);

- languages in Europe (Indo-European basis and main language groups);

- Europe as historical and geographic construction (disputes about borders of Europe e.g. the eastern and south-eastern);

- Anthropogenesis, Neolithic Revolution, the Industrial Revolution;

- migration and demography in Europe.

Presented in this way changing "landscape of Europe" is the basis for further empirical anthropological interpretation.

As a special topic the achievements of Polish anthropology are presented (including major anthropologists, the characteristics of their research, major publications).

Another part of the lecture focuses on the presentation of the main theories, concepts and methods of science:

- evolutionism: Darwin's theory and its transfer to the ground of the social sciences, a new paradigm of research and theory of culture, main representatives, issues that were stuidied, research methods (e.g. comparative and genealogical), the dominance of the concept of race: race and racism. Eugenics. Creationism;

- functionalism: a new approach in cultural theory, theory of needs by Abraham Maslow and Bronislaw Malinowski, basic needs, derivatives and integrative ones, the concept of institution, Malinowski's Trobriand case as a holistic study of cultural institutions (Kula), participant observation as the main research method of social anthropology;

- structuralism: language as a structure; Ferdinand de Saussure and the theory of signification; signifier / signified; language and speech (langue / parole) as the basis of culture and its specific manifestations. Culture as a result of the specific organization of thinking and building cultural categories: binary oppositions. The logic of the concrete: repetition structural anomalies classification, transgression, border rituals, mediation (trickster). Metaphor, metonymy, a myth. The main concepts of structural analysis, problems of interpretation: evaluation lie in the structure: marked and unmarked.

The last part presents a concrete application of theoretical concepts and methods to interpret specific problems (anthropologies: legal, medical, economic, environmental, political, etc.).

- Economic anthropology: history, theoretical background, representatives. The types of economies (gathering, hunting, agriculture, etc.), the economy of immediate and deferred profit, production, distribution and redistribution, consumption, reciprocity, barter, exchange market. Types of reciprocity generalized, balanced and negative, competition and cooperation, model of moral economy. Social and cultural importance of work and money;

- Kinship: matrix for the expressing oneself and referencing to others, ways of organization of kinship (descriptive and classifying systems), social control sexual access (endogamy, exogamy, arranged marriage) parenting and fatherhood, incest taboo. New categories of kinship. The issues of bioethics.

Student workload:

lecture - 30 h

preparation for the lecture - 30 h

exam preparation - 30 h

together - 90 hours

Literature:

Compulsory literature:

1. Barnard Alan, Antropologia, PIW: Warszawa, 2006. 1. Barnard, A., 2006, Antropologia, PIW: Warszawa, str. 31-67, - „Początki religii...“ str. 70-73, - „Neodarwinizm“ str. 78-82, - „Funkcjonalizm“ str. 100-110, - „Strukturalizm“ str. 170-179 oraz 182-183 i 187-189, - „Wnioski“ str. 239-246. 2. Davies, Norman, 1999, Europa, Wyd. Znak: Kraków. Wstęp oraz rozdział 1. 3. Maisonneuve, Jean, 1995, Rytuały dawne i współczesne, Gdańskie Wydawnictwo Psychologiczne: Gdańsk. str. 7- 74. 4. Nowicka Ewa, Świat człowieka – świat kultury (Wydanie nowe), PWN: Warszawa, 2006, str. 45-60 (opcjonalnie).

5. Tönnies Ferdinand, „Teoria Wspólnoty” w: Wspólnota i stowarzyszenie, PWN, Warszawa 1988, str. 27-46 i 66-77.

6. Durkheim Emile, „Solidarność mechaniczna albo oparta na podobieństwie” oraz „Solidarność wynikająca z podziału pracy albo organiczna” w: ” O podziale pracy społecznej, PWN, Warszawa 1999, str. 92-147.

7. Anderson Benedict, Wspólnoty wyobrażone. Rozważania o źródłach i rozprzestrzenianiu się nacjonalizmu, SIW ZNAK i Fund. im. Stefana Batorego: Kraków, 1997 [1991], wstęp, rozdz. 1-2, do str. 57.

8. Szacka Barbara, Czas przeszły, pamięć, mit, Wydawnictwo naukowe Scholar, Warszawa 2006, str. 41-45 (Pamięć zbiorowa) i str. 46-66 (Pamięć zbiorowa – funkcje i drogi przekazu).

9. Ritzer George, MacDonaldyzacja społeczeństwa, rozdz. 1 i 2, WWL MUZA (seria Spectrum): Warszawa, 1997, str. 16-73.

10. Bauman Zygmunt, Globalizacja, Warszawa 2000, wstęp i rozdz. 1-2, str. 5-91.

Educational outcomes:

After completion of the course the student:

KNOWLEDGE:

- Has ordered general knowledge, including terminology and concepts in the field of social anthropology, knows the basic theories in their historical development and research methodologies,

- Has basic knowledge of the place and importance of social anthropology in the system of sciences and knows the specifics of the subject and its methodologies,

- Knows the basic terminology used in social anthropology and its application within the related disciplines,

- Understands the complexity of historical and contemporary issues in Europe

ABILITIES:

- Has basic search skills, can critically asses, analyse, and interpret the specific cultural phenomena,

- Is able to use the basic theories, research paradigms and concepts specific to anthropology to analyze cultural phenomena,

- Has basic research skills including formulation and analysis of the problems of research, choice of methods and tools of research, development and presentation of the results, allowing the solution of the problems in the field of anthropology and European studies,

- Is able to identify the cultural mechanisms of manipulation, simplifications and stereotypes found in social and political life in the country, Europe and the world.

SOCIAL COMPETENCE:

- Is aware of the need for continuous development of competencies and lifelong learning,

- Is aware of the role of the cultural heritage of their own country and other cultural traditions,

- Understands the diversity of cultural perspectives of Others, can work in a multicultural environment.

Methods and criteria of assessment:

The course ends with a written exam, which includes material from lectures and reading content specified in the list.

The exam form consists of a test part (15 closed questions) and descriptive part (6 issues of which students must choose one and answer descriptively). Closed questions are scored 1 point. Open descriptice problem is scored from 0 to 10 points. Scoring: 25-24 very good, 23-22 good plus, 20-18 good, 17-16 sufficient plus 15-14 sufficient, 13 - 0 Fail.