Logic of Inquiry in Anthropology (Cultural) (401-3-1)
Instructors
Jessica Winegar
847/491-4831
1819 Hinman Ave, #204, EV Campus
Jessica Winegar is a sociocultural anthropologist who has conducted extensive ethnographic fieldwork in Egypt. She specializes in the visual arts and popular culture. She is the author of the award-winning book Creative Reckonings: The Politics of Art and Culture in Contemporary Egypt, and is a founding member of the Task Force on Middle East Anthropology, dedicated to increasing the relevance, visibility, and application of anthropological perspectives on the region.
Meeting Info
ANTHRO Sem Rm 104 - 1810 Hinmn: Wed 2:00PM - 4:50PM
Overview of class
This course focuses on the key themes, concepts and debates that have characterized cultural anthropology's logic of inquiry. We pay careful attention to the historical precedents of the sub-field's mode of questioning, both within the broader discipline and in the social sciences and humanities, more generally. We will also inquire into how cultural anthropology articulates with the other sub-fields of the discipline as it changes in the broader social fields of academe and American political economy. Examining these core dimensions of the sub-field will provide a strong understanding of how cultural anthropologists conceptualize their subjects/objects of study in relationship to the shifting terrains in academia and national and global political economic processes. Throughout, we will address the larger stakes—both ethical and political—of taking particular ethnographic and theoretical approaches. We will both cultivate a critical approach to the readings, and try to understand them on their own terms in the circumstances of their production. Key concepts we will investigate include: culture/society; self/other; structure/agency; time; nature/science; economy; materiality; emotion/affect; institutions.
Key concepts we will investigate include: culture/society; self/other; structure/agency; time; nature/science; economy; materiality; emotion/affect; institutions.
Registration Requirements
Department Majors Only
Graduate Students Only
Class Materials (Required)
Article pdfs to be provided
Enrollment Requirements
Enrollment Requirements: Reserved for Anthropology Graduate Students.