11292 - Cultural Anthropology (1) (M-Z)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the module, students master the topics and conceptual frameworks that characterise the discipline. They understand the processes of mutual conditioning between nature and culture; the dynamics of the cultural construction of reality, the person, and collective belongings. They know how to problematise the relationships between local dynamics and global processes. They are also able to communicate the learnt content with the appropriate terminology.

Course contents

The course (12 cfu) is composed by two integrated modules that cannot be divided (Cultural Anthropology and History of Anthropology).

The course aims at presenting an introduction to the main concepts and theories that characterize cultural anthropology. Particular attention will be dedicated to the limits and potentialities of different conceptualizations of the concept of culture, to the nature/culture relationship, to the ethnographic method, to the contemporary challenges for anthropological knowledge.

Even though attendance is not mandatory, it is strongly recommended.

Readings/Bibliography

Students will have to study the following four volumes.

For the first module "Cultural Anthropology" (1):

1. Emily A. Schultz e Robert H. Lavenda, 2015, Antropologia culturale, Zanichelli, Bologna (Either Third or Fourth Italian edition). [Orig., Cultural Anthropology. A Perspective on the Human Condition, Ninth/Tenth Edition, 2013/2017, Oxfrod University Press, Oxford].

2. Marco Aime, 2024, Il patto delle colline, Elèuthera, Milano.

For the second module "History of Anthropology" (1):

3. Ugo Fabietti, 2011/2020, Storia dell'antropologia, Zanichelli, Bologna (Either Third or Fourth Edition).

4. Max Gluckman, 2019, Analisi di una situazione sociale nel moderno Zululand, Italian edition by Marco Gardini and Luca Rimoldi, Ledizioni, Milano.

Please note that attending and not-attending students will refer to the same readings, given the extra work required by studying the texts without teaching support.

Teaching methods

Formal lectures with audio-visual support (when appropriate).

In each lecture, students will be engaged in order to verify the proper understanding of the discussed issues.

Assessment methods

Assessment will be done through a written computer-based test in the IT laboratories of the School of Arts, Humanities and Cultural Heritage.

Students will have to answer one open question for each of the four volumes indicated above. The test lasts two hours.

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' contents 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 URL [http://www.unibo.it/Portale/Guida/AlmaEsami.htm]

Exam sessions will be scheduled in the following months: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, September, October.

Exam sessions will include the 2025/2026 program starting from June 2026.

Teaching tools

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 Luca Jourdan