72401 - Anthropology of North and South America (1)

Learning outcomes

The course is aimed at providing the student information regarding the history of anthropological research in the Americas. The course will also provide basic knowledge of the long process that, starting in the early colonial period, led to the creation of an “indigenous” identity that became both the object of anthropological inquiry and the subject of contemporary political dynamics in the American world. The student will acquire anthropological tools useful for a critical reading of both historical and contemporary phenomena. 

Course contents

Being indigenous in a changing world

The course, that will deal with a wide chronological frame ranging from the discovery of the New World by the Europeans to the contemporary epoch, will focus on the multiple meanings that during various centuries were attributed to the “indigenous” category. Born as a colonial creation for the political and religious needs of the colonial powers, it was later object both idealization and contempt by the nationalistic discourses of the independent Latin American states. Today, that same colonial category has been paradoxically appropriated by the Native American peoples, becoming a fictitious and contradictory but still powerful weapon for their political and cultural claims.

Lessons starting: October, 2nd, 2013 

Hours and places:

Wednesday, h. 13-15, Aula III, via Zamboni 38

Thursday, h. 13-15, Aula III, via Zamboni 38

Friday, h. 13-15, Aula V, via Zamboni 38

Readings/Bibliography

For the final exam, students must prepare three books chosen according the following indications: 

Students of Antropologia, Religioni, Civiltà orientali must choose a book from each of the groups listed below.

Students of Storia must choose two books from group 1 and one book from group 2. 

Other students can freely choose  the three books from the three groups.

N.B. There is no difference of readings for students that didn't participated in classwork. Anyway, the participation in classwork is strongly suggested. 

Group 1: Discovering, conquering, knowing: Europe and the New World

Abulafia David, La scoperta dell'umanità. Incontri atlantici nell'età di Colombo, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2010.

Cassi Aldo, Ultramar. L'invenzione europea del Nuovo Mondo, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2007.

Donattini Massimo, Dal Nuovo Mondo all'America. Scoperte geografiche e colonialismo (secoli XV-XVI), Roma, Carocci, 2004.

Livi Bacci Massimo, Conquista. La distruzione degli indios americani, Il Mulino, Bologna 2005.

Morelli Federica, Il mondo atlantico, Carocci, Roma, 2013.

Pagden Anthony, La caduta dell'uomo naturale. L'indiano d'America e le origini dell'etnologia comparata, Einaudi, Torino 1989.

Todorov Tzvetan, La conquista dell'America. Il problema dell'«altro», Einaudi, Torino 1992.

Group 2: Being indigenous today 

Apostoli Cappello, Elena, Tutti siamo indigeni! Giochi di specchi tra Europa e Chiapas, Cleup, Padova, 2013.

Colajanni, Antonino, Le piume di cristallo: indigeni, nazioni e Stato in America Latina, Meltemi, Roma, 2006 (usare questa edizione).

Giraudo Laura, La questione indigena in America Latina, Carocci, Roma, 2009.

Gorza, Piero, Politiche dell'identità nell'«altro Occidente». L'etnicizzazione della politica nell'America indigena (Messico, Ecuador e Bolivia), Il Mulino, Bologna, 2011.

Guarnieri Calò Carducci, Luigi, La questione indigena in Perù, Bulzoni Editore, Roma, 2010.

Ribeiro Corossacz, Valeria, Razzismo, meticciato, democrazia razziale. Le politiche della razza in Brasile, Rubbettino, 2005.

 

Gruppo 3: Etnography

Cecconi, Arianna, I sogni vengono da fuori. Esplorazioni sulla notte nelle Ande Peruviane , Ed.it, Firenze, 2012.

Comba, Enrico, La Danza del Sole. Miti e cosmologia degli indiani delle Pianure . Novalogos, Latina 2013.

Comba, Enrico, Il cerchio della vita. Uomini e animali nell'universo simbolico degli Indiani delle Pianure, Il Segnalibro, Torino 2005.

Franceschi, Zelda Alice (a cura di), Etno-grafie: La scrittura come testimonianza tra i Wichí, Odoya, Bologna, 2008.

Lupo, Alessandro, Il mais nella croce. Pratiche e dinamiche religiose nel Messico indigeno, CISU, Roma, 2009.

Malighetti Roberto, Il Quilombo di Frechal. Identità e lavoro sul campo in una comunità brasiliana di discendenti di schiavi, Milano, Raffaello Cortina, 2004.

Schmidt Donatella e Francesco Spagna (a cura di), Etnografie collaborative e questioni ambientali. Ricerche nell'America indigena contemporanea, CLEUP, Padova, 2012. 

Teaching methods

The frontal lessons, in which discussion of new findings and publication will be stimulated, will be integrated by discussion sessions and speeches aimed to inform the students about the ongoing field researches.

Assessment methods

The final exam will be an oral one, with questions aimed to verify the student's knowledge of the themes discussed during frontal lessons (only for students that participated in classwork) as well as those treated in the program's texts. The questions will deal with general themes, and in his answer the student should show his capacity to go into specific details. Among the elements that concur in the final evaluation there are: detailed knowledge of the book's content, property of language, and especially the capacity of organizing the information – also deriving from different sources – into complex answers showing expositive and critical skills.  

 

To sign up for the exam, please use the Almaesami website.

 

Teaching tools

The frontal lessons will be supported by Power Point presentations in order to visualize elements that, due to their "exotic" character, are scarcely known to the students. The Power Point presentation will be uploaded in the “Didactic materials” section of this website.

Office hours

See the website of Davide Domenici