Download SOC7215: Social Anthropology Course Description The course

SOC7215: Social Anthropology
Course Description
The course focuses on the qualitative paradigms in phenomenological analysis, examining the place
of indigenous institutions and belief systems in the development process. The course modules
include, Current Perspectives in Social Anthropology; The Study of East African Social Structure;
Ethnography and the Researcher as an Instrument.
Objective:
This course focuses on the influence of culture in development and the
contribution of Social Anthropology to understanding the development process.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Introduce students to some contemporary debates in Social Anthropology
Discuss the history of Social Anthropology in Africa
Describe the method used by Social Anthropologists
Introduce students to a selection of illustrative ethnographic case studies from eastern
Africa and elsewhere.
Learning outcomes
 An understanding of the influence of culture in development
 An appreciation of the contribution of Social Anthropology to understanding the
development process.
 An understanding of the contemporary debates in Social Anthropology
 An appreciation of the history of Social Anthropology in Africa
 A grasp of the anthropological methods
Course content
Introduction (1 week)
1.
The scope and methods of social Anthropology
Anthropology as a field of enquiry
Social Anthropology and Culture Anthropology
Anthropological methods
Theory and method
Ethnography and Ethnology
Participant observation
Informant Interviews
Field notes
Genealogical Methods
Life histories, Case studies
Photography
Ethical Issues in Research:
Anthropological aspects
2.
Social anthropology in Africa
Social evolution and colonial project
Early days: American and French anthropologists in Africa
The middle colonial period (1920 – 40)
Module 1
Contemporary debates in Social Anthropology (4 weeks)
1.1
Is Social Anthropology a generalized science?
1.2
Is the concept of society obsolete?
1.3
Are human worlds culturally constructed?
1.4
The Ethnographic Present?
Module 2:
Anthropological studies from Eastern and Southern Africa (7 weeks)
Although a thematic approach is adopted in this module, linkages between these themes will be
stressed.
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
2.5
Gender and feminism : A case study of Haya gender relations
Minorities and Marginalized communities: The Masai, The Batwa, Minorities and
the state, and Urban minorities
Urban Anthropology: Rural urban contract, migration, Inter ethnic relations,
marginal / slum, Women in Kamwokya, Kampala
Conflict: The impact of Civil war and violence on the Nuer, Burundi and the
crisis in central Africa
Misfortunes: Anthropological Approaches to African Misfortune: From Religion
to Medicine.
Module 3:
Social Anthropology and Development
3.1
A Critical Analysis of the complexity of the relationship between culture and
development.
3.2
An anthropological critic of the modernization theory (Giddens).
Assessment method
Class participation and attendance (10 percent), weekly assignments (10 percent), research paper
or a midterm test (20 percent), and final exam (60 percent)
Key Readings
 Moore, Sally Falk 1994. Anthropology and Africa Virginia
 Ingolds (ed) 1996. Key debates in Anthropology, Routledge, London.
 Hylland Eriksen Thomas (1993).
Ethnicity and Nationalism: Anthropological
perspective. London
 Sandra Wallman: Kampala Women getting by
Southhall: Town’s men in the making