27309 - Social Anthropology (1) (M-Z)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course students will have mastered the main lines of the history of social anthropology thanks to a critical knowledge of the anthropological paradigms relevant to studying social relations in towns. They will apply such knowledge to the anthropological study of migratory phenomena and acquire the methodological tools needed for ethnographic research in towns. Students will be able to apply the main models of critical analysis to cultures, ethnic populations, gender and generations, and be able to focus on socio-cultural issues to do with migratory processes, globalization and the knowledge society. They will have learnt to listen, understand and debate respectfully with different viewpoints, and acquired judgment on a professional, human and ethical level.

Course contents

Drawing on the study of the production, circulation and consumption of objects and commodities, this course aims to sketch an anthropological analysis of our late capitalist present and its ways of structuring relations of power and knowledge. We will begin with the study of Caribbean plantations based on slave labor, which, according to Sidney Mintz, constitute an earlier form of industrial organization, and will go on to reflect on contemporary forms of information economy, logistics industry, and platform capitalism and thus further our understanding of the current articulations of new forms of domination and resistance.

The first module will be devoted to understanding some fundamental mechanisms of the capitalist modus operandi and the social relations it generates. First, we will chart out the history of sugar and its fundamental role in forging forms of global interconnectedness between the colonial metropolis and its peripheries (Mintz), we will then move on to analyze the evolution of U.S. capitalism by exploring the intersection of railroads, the meat-packing industry and real estate speculation to understand the illogical logics of profit and the relentless struggle of capital against the tyranny of fixed costs (D'Eramo). Finally, we will examine the forms of life and exit strategies from capitalism adopted by illegal Southeast Asian immigrants and U.S. war veterans who roam the forests of Oregon in search of prized matsutake mushrooms to resell in Japan from where they disappeared due to the ecological transformations of the Anthropocene (Tsing).

Drawing on James Scott's reflections on the relationship between colonial, racial, and patriarchal domination and the forms of insubordination of the powerless, the second module will be devoted to the ethnographic study of urban contexts, the role of media in the production of new forms of collective subjectivity and political rationality. We will examine the role of language in the financialization of the economy to achieve a critical appreciation of the economics of brands and the processes of commodification of places, experiences, and individuals. We will use ethnographic methods to further our understanding of the contemporary dynamics of social exclusion and inequality, the forms of exploitation and alienation inherent in capitalist globalization (Sopranzetti), and the asymmetric division of labor between manufacturing poles located in the Global South and centers of immaterial labor, located in Euro-American metropolitan hubs (Nakassis. Students will also acquire the methodological tools used in research in urban contexts and learn to analyze, from an ethnographic and semiotic perspective, the ways in which brands circulate and produce meaning.

The course is reserved exclusively and without exception to students whose surname initials are comprised between the letters M and Z.

Although the course is divided in two thematic sections, the program cannot be split and students can only take the exam for 12 CFU (Credito Formativo Universitario). Overall, students will have to study a total of four books: the two mandatory texts and two of the four optional texts (one from each part). The only exception are students whose major is History may take the exam for 6 Credits and choose one of the two parts.

 

Classes will be held in the Second Semester and will begin on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025.

Attendance is not mandatory, but is strongly recommended.

Readings/Bibliography

There is no difference between attending and non-attending students. 

Part One (two books):

• Mintz, Sidney W. 2020. Storia dello zucchero. Giulio Einaudi Editore. ("The Sweetness of Power”)
  (Mandatory)

One book to be chosen between:

• Tsing, Anna Lowenhaupt. 2021.Il fungo alla fine del mondo: la possibilità di vivere nelle rovine del capitalismo. Keller. (“The mushroom at the end of the world.”)
  
  
• D’Eramo, Marco. 2020. Il maiale e il grattacielo. Chicago: una storia del nostro futuro. Feltrinelli. (“The pig and the skyscraper.”)

Part two (two books):

• Scott, James C. 2006. Il dominio e l'arte della resistenza: i" verbali segreti" dietro la storia ufficiale. Elèuthera. ('Domination and the art of resistance.”) (Mandatory)
  

One book to be chosen between:

• Nakassis, Constantine, V. 2022. Fare Stile: Culture giovanili e mass media nell'India del Sud. Raffaello Cortina Editore. ("Doing Style")
  
  
• Sopranzetti, Claudio. 2020. La fragilità del potere: Mobilità e mobilitazione a Bangkok. Mimesis. ("Owners of the Map")
  

Teaching methods

Teaching will be performed through frontal lectures. Occasionally the instructor will use audiovisual material to give more tangibility to the topics under discussion. Students will be encouraged to ask questions and open up debates on the issues addressed in the course.

Assessment methods

Students will have to study a total of four books: the two mandatory texts and two of the four optional texts (one from each part).

Students will have to demonstrate their ability to contextualize the texts, place them within the history of discipline and to reconstruct their theoretical frameworks. The program is the same both for students attending classes and for the non-attending ones.

Students will have to answer one question for each of the four volumes indicated above.

Proper language and the ability to make connections between the books' content will lead to a good/excellent final grade.

Acceptable language and the ability to resume the books' content will lead to a sufficient/fair grade.

The exam is failed if students:

- do not demonstrate to master the "learning outcomes" of the course;

- show insufficient linguistic proficiency and fragmentary knowledge of the books' content;

- do not answer all the exam questions.

Students with special needs are kindly invited to contact the lecturer in order to define together the proper assessment method.

Students can consult Exams dates and register at the following URLhttp://www.unibo.it/Portale/Guida/AlmaEsami.htm

During the 2024-2025 academic year, oral exams sessions for both attending and non-attending students will be held in the following months

April (reserved for students who enrolled in previous academic years and are “in debt of exam” and for 6 credit students in the HISTORY PROGRAM)

May

June

early July

September 

December

February

Teaching tools

The instructor will occasionally use audio-visual sources (documentaries, maps and photos)

Students who attend class are requested to subscribe to the following mailing list (“Teachers-students” distribution list) through which they can receive any urgent communications about changes to the timetable or location of the lectures:

aurora.donzelli.Social_Anthropology

To register: go to https://www.dsa.unibo.it/default.aspx
Go to SDA, log in and look for "teacher-student lists" on the left drop-down list, then write aurora.donzelli.Antropologia_Sociale and register

Students who require specific services and adaptations to teaching activities due to a disability or specific learning disorders (SLD), must first contact the appropriate office: https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students .

Office hours

See the website of Aurora Donzelli