72401 - Anthropology of North and South America (1)

Learning outcomes

The course is aimed at providing the student the basic elements of the history of anthropological research in the Americas. It will also analyse the long process that, starting in the early Colonial period, led to the construction of an “indigenous” identity that came to be not only the object of anthropological research but also the subject of the complex political and cultural dynamics that today characterize the American continent. The student should thus acquire anthropological tools useful to look at both historical and contemporary phenomena.

Course contents

The indigenous peoples of the Americas. Historical and ethnographic issues.

The course aims to provide students with a general overview of indigenous America and the tools to begin an ethnographic analysis of the indigenous Americas.

The first lessons will deal with the theme of colonisation, define the category of “indigenous”, and discuss issues of indigenous rights, indigenous feminism, craftsmanship and “indigenous art”. Particular attention will be paid to the issues and problems that currently occupy and concern anthropologists conducting fieldwork in indigenous Americas.

The second part of the course will present some contemporary ethnographies, particularly from the South American Lowlands. Particular attention will be paid to the theme of “nature as a subject of rights” as it is currently being investigated and analysed by jurists and anthropologists.

Readings/Bibliography

1 Zelda Alice Franceschi, Etnografia del Chaco argentino. Una storia di vita, Milano Franco Angeli, 2023.

2 In alternative:

-  Zelda Alice Franceschi, Diego Villar, Antropología en singular. Historias menores de las tierras bajas sudamericanas [https://cris.unibo.it/handle/11585/1018538], Paris, Éditions de l’IHEAL, 2025, pp. 270.

ON LINE: https://books.openedition.org/iheal/15551

- THE FOLLOWING ARTICLES AVAILABLE ON THE VIRTUAL PLATFORM:

Vanhulst J., & Beling A.E., El Buen vivir: una utopía latinoamericana en el campo discursivo global de la sustentabilidad, Polis. Revista Latinoamericana, 2013, pp. 1-22.

Cammarata R., Indigeno a chi? Diritti e discriminazioni allo specchio, Torino, Giappichelli, 2012 (PRIMI 5 CAPITOLI, PP. 151).

Bauger S.E., Feminismo interseccional en Argentina: Pluriculturalidad y derechos humanos de las mujeres indígenas, Revista de la Facultad de Derecho de México, Tomo LXXI, Número 281, Septiembre-Diciembre 2021, 415.455.

Mancuso A., Il diritto di autodeterminazione dei popoli indigeni, in Archivio Antropologico Mediterraneo, ANNO XVI, 2013, pp. 103-125.

Gnerre M., "La natura è soggetto di diritti": intraducibili e riflessività di un proposizione, in Cuturi F. (a cura di), La Natura come soggetto di diritto. Prospettive antropologiche e giuridiche a confronto, Torino, Edit Press, 2020, pp. 61-107.

 

Teaching methods

The course will consist of lectures supported by audio visual material (when required).

At the end of each lecture there will be a concept checking session to ensure students’ understanding of the themes and issues covered, which will also allow active student participation.

Assessment methods

Students will be evaluated through an oral exam.

30 cum Laude: exceptional exam, solid knowledge, articulate discursive skills, expressive competence, and ability to synthesize.

30: outstanding result, adequate and appropriate knowledge, well-articulated and correctly expressed notions. Good ability to synthesize.

29-27: good exam, more than adequate knowledge, good capacity for expression. Fair ability to synthesize

26-24: fair exam, basic but not exhaustive knowledge, and or not consistently well articulated. Sufficient ability to synthesize.

23-21: passable exam, general but superficial knowledge; limited capacity for expression and confused discourse management. Passable ability to synthesize.

20-18: barely passable exam, discourse management and expressions demonstrating inadequate knowledge. Modest ability to synthesize.

<18: inadequate exam, deficient or severely inadequate knowledge, lack of bearing as regards the subject matter.

During the academic year, exams are scheduled for the following months: October 2025, December 2025, February 2026, April 2026, May 2026, July 2026, and September 2026.

Teaching tools

1. 
   The frontal lessons will be supported by Power Point presentations. The Power Point presentation will be uploaded in the “Teaching materials” section of this website.
2. Students with learning disorders and\or temporary or permanent disabilities: please, contact the office responsible (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students ) as soon as possible so that they can propose acceptable adjustments. The request for adaptation must be submitted in advance (15 days before the exam date) to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of the adjustments, taking into account the teaching objectives.

Office hours

See the website of Zelda Alice Franceschi