Draft/test for ANTH326 Meeting 8
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This document outlines the topics and themes that will be covered in an anthropology course on the peoples and cultures of Sub-Saharan Africa. It discusses two main themes: identity and ethnography. For the identity theme, it explores concepts like social and cultural identity, indigenousness, and otherness. For the ethnography theme, it examines the disciplines of ethnography, typical ethnographic methods, cultural translation, and the role of language in ethnographic work. It also provides an overview of upcoming student projects focused on social groups in African societies.
![Early Ethnographers Foundation African studies “ [H]ectic anthropological activity Then-contemporary ethnography European audience Colonial context Useless as useful Cross-cultural comparisons “ Sacred cows” ( ad hominem )](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/drafttest-for-anth326-meeting-8-1193689596488563-5/85/Draft-test-for-ANTH326-Meeting-8-19-320.jpg)
![Romanticism Assumed logic (Real/Wise Africa?) American and European anthropologies Hunches as accepted Vogues “ [T]ribal Bible” “ Segmentary societies”](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/drafttest-for-anth326-meeting-8-1193689596488563-5/85/Draft-test-for-ANTH326-Meeting-8-21-320.jpg)
Draft/test for ANTH326 Meeting 8
- 1. ANTH326 Peoples and Cultures of Sub-Saharan Africa Meeting 8, October 29, 2007
- 2. Business Media Critique (due next Monday) Final Examination: Dec. 7, 14:00-17:00, H433 Owusu and Diop Themes (teams) Identity and Ethnography Owusu and Diop Discussion Project Plans
- 3. Themes Team reporter Explain theme Active reading Links with course
- 4. Identity
- 5. Social Identity Core of social sciences Insiders/outsiders Belonging/contrasting “ We-ness” (Sch ü tz) / Distinction(Bourdieu)
- 6. Nativeness Born on site Indigenous Territory Ancestors Native-speakers As ethnographers
- 7. “ Is African” / “Is Western” Origins? Representative? Typical? Traditional?
- 8. Otherness in ethnography Differences and similarities Diversity and universality Constructing wholes Crisis of representation
- 9. Configuration Fit together Fluidity Other possibilities Appiah at Pop!Tech on “Golden Nugget”
- 10. Ethnography
- 11. Ethnographic Disciplines Ethnology Cultural anthropology Social anthropology Folkloristics Linguistic anthropology Ethnomusicology Ethnomethodology (sociology)
- 12. Ethnographic Methods Review of literature Language learning Preliminary fieldwork Extensive field stay Participant-observation Open-ended interviews
- 13. Insight Understand Grok “ Got it” Possible predictive value Alexis de Tocqueville on America
- 14. Cultural Translation Get others to understand “ Spirit/letter of the culture” Implied otherness
- 15. Building Models Testing models Empiricism Forest, not trees “ Two Crows denies it” (Dorsey's disclaimer) All Grammars Leak (Sapir 1921:39) Dialogue
- 16. Language in ethnography Fluency No use for interpreter Could translate Proust? Length of stay
- 17. Ngolo Diarra Enters the Field Ethnomusicology, linguistic anthropology Interest in “griots” Bamanan learning Hunter-musician Madou Diarra Thesis on proper names Preliminary field trip Establishing rapport
- 18. Owusu
- 19. Early Ethnographers Foundation African studies “ [H]ectic anthropological activity Then-contemporary ethnography European audience Colonial context Useless as useful Cross-cultural comparisons “ Sacred cows” ( ad hominem )
- 20. Science Objectivity, bias Informant bias Sampling (opportunistic or random) Accuracy or significance Briggs Learning How to Ask
- 21. Romanticism Assumed logic (Real/Wise Africa?) American and European anthropologies Hunches as accepted Vogues “ [T]ribal Bible” “ Segmentary societies”
- 22. Owusu on Language Language, dialects Acculturation, contact languages “ Translation of cultures” “ Separate worlds” Hale on linguistic anthropologists
- 23. Uses of Ethnography Insight (Tocqueville) Generalisable science Government Dialogue between Africanists (Native-speaking) African ethnographers
- 24. Post-Owusu Context Post-/Neo-Colonial Post-/Neo-National Rise in African interest (parallel Keim) Crisis of representation ( Writing Culture ) Journalists, audiences, responsibility
- 25. What Now? Self-assurance (“much better now”)? Acknowledge bias Privilege dialogue Reporting discourse “ Snowball” sampling Data cheapness Emic/etic
- 26. Project Plans
- 27. Project Plans Focus on improving work Aim at insight Connect with course Learning experience Strong suggestions Similarities between projects
- 28. Social Groups
- 29. Beyond Kinship Defining social groups Support systems Solidarity Communitas Ethnicity as super-kinship Kindreds (selected kins) “ Sodalities” Associations
- 30. Age Sets and Age Grades Age Set as Cohort “ Oldboy” «Promotionneur» Age Grades as Steps Rites of passage (van Gennep) Separate genders
- 31. Secret societies Initiation societies Muslim brotherhoods (sufism) Tijaniyya Freemasons
- 32. Voluntary Associations Social networks Urban life Local "Ethnic“ Cosmopolitan networks Political parties
- 33. Media Coming to America Soul Man Videoclips
- 34. Westernization Cultural Contacts Cultural change Coerced or voluntary Western-like but typically African Networks Manage change Other partners
- 35. Education School types (Koranic, Missionary, National) Networks Formal education “ Western-style” Obsession with literacy Power of orality Gender Generation gap