Intro to Soc & Cultural Theory · Anthropology
This course focused on exploring key concepts within social and cultural anthropology.
Normal amount of reading, weekly (graded) response paper, in-class midterm (30% of grade) and take-home final (50% of grade)
Pretty laid back, do the readings, we had like 2 pretty easy essay assignments, and you had to go to a TA discussion at least once a month. Mandatory attendance. 1 midterm (IDs and essay questions), and a creative writing-style final essay.
Sept. 15 SIGNIFICATION AND THE SOCIAL Ferdinand de Saussure, Course in General Linguistics, pp. 7-17, 65-70, 111-117. Sept. 20 SAUSSURE CONTINUED Saussure, same plus Course in General Linguistics, pp. 23-32. Franz Boas, "Unconscious Character of Linguistic Phenomena," excerpt from "Introduction," The Handbook of American Indian Languages, 1911, pp. 63-69. Ella Deloria, "Introduction" and "Iktomi Conquers the Iya," in Dakota Texts, American Ethnological Society, 1932, pp. IX-X and 1-8. Sept. 22 THE "I" OF THE SOCIAL Emile Benveniste, "The Nature of Pronouns," pp. 217-222 in Benveniste, Problems in General Linguistics. Black Hawk, "Farewell Speech at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, at the End of the Black Hawk War, August, 1835," in Great Documents in American Indian History, pp. 154-155. Sept. 27 SOCIAL FACTS, SOCIAL PHANTASMS Emile Durkheim, "What is a Social Fact?" in Durkheim, The Rules of Sociological Method, pp. 1-13. Emile Durkheim, selections from The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life, as excerpted in Lessa and Vogt, Reader in Comparative Religion, pp. 29-36. Emile Durkheim, excerpt from “The Positive Cult,” Chapter 3, The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life, pp. 393-405. Sept. 29 BOASIAN RESONANCES WITH THE SOCIAL Franz Boas, "The Emotional Associations of Primitives," in The Mind of Primitive Man, [1911] pp. 226-252, and the “Preface” to the 1938 edition of The Mi…
Professor Chatterjee is brilliant and a fantastic lecturer. The readings could be at times a bit dense, but Prof Chatterjee coherently explains the material in his lectures. He relies heavily on powerpoint in class, which are extremely helpful in writing your weekly response paper. The in-class midterm is very easy if you attend the lectures. The take-home final is 50% of the grade which is a little nerve-racking, but it is pretty straight forward--choose two essay questions (1200words each) out of five. His grading is also a bit deflated (e.g. A+=100-98, A=97-95, A-=94-92, etc.), but staying in the A-range isn't very difficult. TA Guangtian Hs is an angel. He's approachable, coherent, and really wants everyone in the class to do well. His sections before the midterm and final are especially helpful. Overall, great class, great professor, great TA!
I took this class in the fall of 2012. Professor Ivy was great, very approachable, and made the readings interesting and fun. She expects you to have completed the readings, and to contribute something to the class discussion, whether through volunteering to read or approaching her after class with questions/comments. The structure of the class may have been a little disorganized, and sometimes you were required to read a large portion of a reading in a short amount of time, but they were always interesting, and the TAs were very helpful when it came to answering questions. Overall, this was a great way to fulfill any anthro-related requirements, and also a good way to supplement an interest in philosophical works.
Anthologies of socio-cultural-philosophical thinkings centering on the formulation and exchange of signs.
Reading, midterm, papers, final paper: all enjoyable and fair.
Manifestations of "the social force" as depicted and created by Western thinkers across disciplines and times.
Beneath clear lectures on anthropological and social theory, Professor Ivy has very interesting viewpoints. In terms of class lectures, she does her job, mapping out the ideas of Levi-Strauss, Foucault, and even contemporary anthropologists. Yet, sometimes you get a glimpse of her interest in critical and literary theory, and how anthro approaches these disciplines. I enjoyed writing papers for this course. There was much room for creativity as well as theory. More than providing answers, she asks questions, revealing the contradictions within anthropology. You will want to follow the Interpretations of Culture course with this one. Some prior knowledge is helpful. All in all, Ivy's a cool professor.