Learning objectives

Knowledge and understanding 1. Acquire basic knowledge of the fundamentals of socio-cultural anthropology regarding kinship, visions of the world, power relations, economy, social inequalities, and globalization processes to understand comparatively human variation from a social and cultural viewpoint. 2. Possess knowledge of how social and cultural inequalities are reproduced in society to understand the many forms of racism that people face in the contemporary world.

Applying knowledge and understanding 1. Promote cultural decentralization and therefore the affective, cognitive, relational, and socio-cultural autonomy of the people with whom the student will work. 2. Use anthropological knowledge to intervene in situations marked by marginality and integration problems also through the recognition and promotion of different family education models and different cultural styles of learning of the people with whom the student will work. 3. Plan, create and evaluate educational projects from an anti-racist perspective based on social inclusion and intercultural dialogue.

Prerequisites and basic notions

The course is introductory. Therefore no previous knowledge of the topic is required.

Program

The main contents of the course are the following:
- Introduction to the methods and conceptual tools of the cultural anthropologist: the concept of culture, a brief introductory note on the history of the discipline and on the ethnographic method;
- The main acquisitions of anthropology regarding human worldviews and creativity: play, myth, art, rituals, religion, and the cognitive dimension;
- The anthropological perspective on social dimensions of human life such as family, power, politics, economics, and forms of human organization;
- The contribution of the discipline to the study of inequality both on a local and a global scale;
- The applicability of anthropology to local and national policies with special emphasis on migration and refugee issues (illustrated through selected case studies).

Bibliography

Didactic methods

The course is based on frontal lessons generally supported by multimedia content (slides, videos, and photos). The teaching will also be supported by the exploration of specific ethnographic cases in the second part of the course.

Recording of the lectures will be made available until the end of the course.

Note: In the cases provided by the law and/or of particular measures adopted by the University, the teaching activities might be conducted from remote.

Main texts for the final exam:

1. E. A. Schultz e R. H. Lavenda, 2021, Antropologia culturale, Zanichelli, Bologna (4th edition only).
Study only chapters 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, and 13
- of chap. 6, study only from p. 139 to p. 152 and from p. 160 to p. 170
- of chap. 8, study only from p. 201 to p. 216
- of chap. 10, study only from p. 263 to p. 270, from p. 273 to p. 275, from p. 281 to p. 283, from p. 289 to p. 291
- of chap. 11, study only from p. 295 to p. 310, pages 317 and 318, and from p. 321 to p. 329
- of chap. 13, study only from p. 387 to p. 414 and from p. 425 to p. 432

2. Laura Ferrero, 2018, Protagoniste in secondo piano. Femminilità egiziane tra mobilità e immobilità, CISU, Roma.

3. Cristina Notarangelo, 2011, Tra il Maghreb e i carruggi. Giovani marocchini di seconda generazione, CISU, Roma.

Learning assessment procedures

The examination consists of a single written test. There is no difference between attending and non-attending students.

The written examination will consist of:
a) 22 multiple-choice questions (1 correct option only; maximum score: 22 points) on the textbook by E. A. Schultz and R. H. Lavenda. There are no penalties for incorrect answers.
b) 2 open questions, 1 for each of the 2 monographic texts treated. The two open-ended answers will be given a maximum score of 5 points each. The answers must be a maximum of 20 lines each.
The entire examination will last 50 minutes.

Note: In the cases provided by the law and/or of particular measures adopted by the University, the examination might be conducted from remote.

Evaluation criteria

The students will have to demonstrate to:
- have understood and assimilated the key notions and the main theoretical debates of the discipline;
- be able to synthesize and expose rigorously their arguments in a limited time, demonstrating the capacity of selecting the essential elements in the written exposition;
- be able to associate each argument and theoretical synthesis with one or more ethnographic examples among those treated in class and/or illustrated in the monographic texts.

Criteria for the composition of the final grade

The evaluation of the written examination will be in thirtieths.

Exam language

Italiano