81691 - Political Anthropology (LM)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student is able to develop an anthropological analysis of specific political contexts. He is able to apply this knowledge in critical terms in research and intervention projects aimed at understanding and resolving conflicts.

Course contents

Political dynamics and conflicts in contemporary Africa.

Often considered as backward, sub-Saharan Africa is on the contrary a laboratory of political and social transformations that in many cases anticipate global trends. With the end of the Cold War, the continent was plagued by numerous violent and intricate conflicts, fueled by informal and predatory economies. The result was a profound social crisis and an attempt from below to cope with the absence of the state. At the same time, however, many countries are experiencing a good level of economic growth in a context in which new international powers, China above all but not only, are expanding their influence on the continent.

The course focuses on the parable of the state, on inequality and wars in contemporary Africa. Starting from the analysis of specific crisis (Congo, Somalia, Liberia, Sudan and others), we will explore the etiology of the different conflicts and their social and cultural impacts. Particular attention will be given to the relationship between war and young people and to cultural imaginaries structured by the crisis. In addition, the issues of globalization and the local impact of increasingly intense relations with emerging powers will be investigated. Finally, the specificities of globalization in Africa and the role of humanitarian aid in redefining relations between the North and South of the world and its impact on politics and local conflicts will be explored.

 

Readings/Bibliography

For students with little general knowledge about Sub-Saharan Africa, we recommend a text chosen from:

Jourdan L., Pallaver K., Parlare d’Africa. 50 parole chiave, Carocci, Roma 2021.

Dinucci M., Geostoria dell’Africa, Zanichelli, Bologna 2000.

N. B. this is a recommended reading which therefore does not fall within the calculation of the books for the exam.

 

For the exam, students will have to study 4 books among the following list (there is no difference between students attending classes and students not attending):

BayartJ.-F., Ellis S., Hibou B., The Criminalization of the State in Africa, Oxford, James Currey for the International African Institute 1998.

Beherend H., Alice Lakwena & the Holy Spirits: War in Northern Uganda 1986-97, Oxford, James Currey 1999.

Chabal P., Daloz J.-P., Africa Works. Disorder as Political Instrument, Oxford, James Currey for the International African Institute 1998.

Ciabarri L., Dopo lo stato. Storia e antropologia della ricomposizione sociale in Somalia settentrionale, Milano, Franco Angeli 2010.

De Lauri A., Afghansitan. Ricostruzione, ingiustizia, diritti umani, Milano, Mondadori, 2012

Duffield M., Guerre Postmoderne. L'aiuto umanitario come tecnica politica di controllo, Bologna, Il Ponte 2004.

Ellis, S., The Mask of Anarchy: The Destruction of Liberia and the Religious Dimensions of an African Civil War, New York, New York University Press 1999.

Jourdan, L., Generazione Kalashnikov. Un antropologo dentro la guerra in Congo, Bari-Roma, Laterza 2010.

Jourdan, L. (a cura di), Il Rwanda a vent'anni dal genocido, numero monografico di «Afriche e Orienti», 2014, 3.

Jourdan, L. (a cura di), Etnografie della guerra e del post-guerra, numero monografico di «Antropologia», 2015, 1. (http://www.ledijournals.com/ojs/index.php/antropologia/index).

Lan, D., Guns and Rain: Guerrillas and Spirit Mediums in Zimbabwe, Oxford, James Currey 1985.

Richards, P., Fighting for the Rain Forest: War, Youth and Resources in Sierra Leone, Oxford, James Currey 1996.

Trefon, T. (a cura di), Ordre et désordre à Kinshasa. Réponses populaires à la faillite de l'Etat, «Cahiers Africains», n. 61-62, 2004.

Uvin, P, Aiding Violence. The development enterprise in Rwanda, West Hartford, Kumarian Press, 1998.

Teaching methods

Lessons will be frontal in the main. The teacher will use occasionaly documentaries to give a more concrete idea of the topics treated.  Students will be encouraged to form working groups on specific topics at their choice related to the course. 

Assessment methods

Students who attend at least 75% of the lessons are considered to be attending

Students will have to pass an oral exam, with questions aimed to verify the student's knowledge of the themes treated in the program's texts. They must show to be able to contextualise the books and reconstruct their theoretical frameworks, as well as the the different historical contexts.

Teaching tools

The teacher will use visual sources (documentaris, maps and photos).

Office hours

See the website of Luca Jourdan