04718 - Social Anthropology (M-Z)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the student will master the main lines of the history of social anthropology and he will acquire a critical knowledge of the anthropological paradigms aimed at studying inequality and social exclusion. Besides, he will master the anthropological debate on Anthropocene.

Course contents

The goal of this course is to provide an introduction to social anthropology and to the study of the present moment—a cultural-historical conjuncture marked by the primacy of speculative and financial capitalism and by the erosion of the longstanding certainties that once used to bind work to wealth, production to national economies, and virtue to value. Particular attention will be given to the ethnographic exploration of urban contexts, to the role of mass media in the production of new forms of collective subjectivity (publics) and political rationality, to the interplay between language and the financialized economy, and to fostering a critical understanding of the rise of brand economy, whereby the status of commodity is extended to places, experiences, and individuals. We will analyze, from a theoretical and ethnographic perspective, the contemporary dynamics of social exclusion and inequality, the forms of exploitation and alienation inherent to global capitalism, the uneven distribution of labor between manufacturing  hubs located in the Global South and headquarters of creative and immaterial work situated in Euroamerican metropoles, the role of financial derivatives in crafting the forms of risk and temporality structures that characterize our present. Throughout the course, students will also develop the methodological expertise to undertake fieldwork in urban contexts and will learn how to use ethnographic and semiotic tools to analyze how brands circulate and produce meaning.

Classes will take place in the Second Semester and will start on Wednesday February 1, 2023.

Although not mandatory, attendance is highly recommended.

Overall, the course is aimed at exploring our late capitalist moment.

The course is divided into 2 parts but the exam consists in one single oral colloquium, both for the students who wish to earn 12 CFU (Credito Formativo Universitario) and for students (whose major is History) who may take the course for 6 CFU (Credito Formativo Universitario).

The first part focuses on the post-industrial transformation of contemporary cities and on the ensuing forms of injustice, racial apartheid, and social exclusion (in particular New York City and Chicago).

The second part is devoted instead to the analysis of post-Fordist modes of consumption, production, and circulation based on the fusion of media and capital and on the circulation of commodities as messages and messages as commodities. Particular attention will be paid to the processes of the information economy and to financial and cognitive capitalism: from the circulation of financial products (such as futures and derivatives) to the branding of places and institutions.

By the end of the course, students will achieve a deeper grasp ofthe transformations of social relations in post-industrial urban contexts and of the dynamics of inequality and exclusion triggered by the re-branding of cities and neighborhoods and will gain an better understanding of the ongoing transition from material production to a new form of semiotic capitalism pivoting on information commodities, brands, and advertising.

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.

Readings/Bibliography

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

Part One (two books):

• Zukin, Sharon. 2013. L' altra New York. Alla ricerca della metropoli autentica. Il Mulino. (Mandatory)
  

One book to be chosen between:

• Bourgois, Philippe. 2005.Cercando rispetto: drug economy e cultura di strada, Derive Approdi.
  
  
• D’Eramo, Marco. 2020. Il maiale e il grattacielo. Chicago: una storia del nostro futuro. Feltrinelli.
  

Part two (two books):

• Nakassis, Constantine, V. 2022. Fare Stile: Culture giovanili e mass media nell'India del Sud. Raffaello Cortina Editore.(Mandatory)
  

One book to be chosen between:

• Arvidsson, Adam. 2010. La marca nell'economia dell'informazione. Per una teoria dei brand: Per una teoria dei brand. FrancoAngeli.
  
  
• Appadurai, Arjum, Neta,  Alexander.2020. Fallimento. Raffaello Cortina Editore.

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

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

Office hours

See the website of Aurora Donzelli