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Anthropology 417/517:B1
Anthropology of Modernity
Jean DeBernardi
HM Tory 14-18
492-0131
Second Term 2013
Office hours: Wednesday 12:10-1
and by appointment
jean.debernardi@ualberta.ca
website: http://jeandebernardi.squarespace.com
The Course
In this seminar class, we will analyze the ways in which anthropology as a discipline
can contribute to an understanding of modernity. We will do so through consideration of
recent works that rework traditional anthropological concepts and research methods in their
analyses of globalization, cultural heritage, and the local impact of new technologies and
mass media. In their research papers, students will consider ways in which people refashion
aspects of culture regarded as traditional in contemporary contexts.
Requirements for the course include two take-home midterm examinations due on
February 12th (30%) and March 26th (30%), a two paragraph research paper proposal and
preliminary bibliography due on March 12th, and a final research paper due on April 11th
(30%), and several short analytical papers and in-class presentations (short papers +
presentations + participation are together worth 10%). The research topic is subject to
approval, and requirements include a meeting with me to discuss your proposal and topic
between March 12th and March 19th. If you wish you may make an appointment with me to
review a draft of your paper before the deadline.
Texts
The following book has been ordered at the bookstore:
John L. and Jean Comaroff. 2009. Ethnicity Inc. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Readings also include a number of articles that will be available as electronic resources.
Week 1
Modernity Defined
January 8 – 10
Kwame Anthony Appiah. 1997. "Cosmopolitan Patriots" Critical Inquiry 21: 617-639. Electronic
resource
Appiah Cosmopolitan Patriots
Ulf Hannerz. 1996. Chapter 9 "Cosmopolitans and Locals in World Culture." In Transnational
Connections: Culture, People, Places. Electronic resource
Assignment 1: For Thursday's class, use the Internet to find at least three general or popular definitions
of modernity. To be handed in and discussed on January 10th.
Week 2
Multiple Modernities
January 15 - 17
Anthony Giddens. 1999. "Runaway World," BBC Reith lectures, 1999. Electronic resource
Schmuel N. Eisenstadt. 2000. "Multiple Modernities" Daedalus 129(1): 1-29. Electronic resource
Eisenstadt Multiple Modernities
Marshall Sahlins. 1999. “What is Anthropological Enlightenment? Some Lessons of the Twentieth
Century.” Annual Review of Anthropology, 28:i-xxiii. Electronic resource
Sahlins Anthro Enlightenment
Francis M. Deng, "The Cow and the Thing Called "What": Dinka Cultural Perspectives on Wealth and
Poverty," in Journal of International Affairs, Fall 1998, Vol. 52 (1): 101-129. Electronic resource
Deng Wealth Poverty
Week 3
The Global Ecumene
January 22 - 24
Marshall Sahlins, "The Sadness of Sweetness: The Native Anthropology of Western Cosmology"
Current Anthropology Vol. 37 No. 3, June 1996. Electronic resource
Sahlins Sadness of Sweetness
Ulf Hannerz, "Diversity is our Business," American Anthropologist 112 (4): 539-551. Electronic resource
Hannerz Diversity
Ulf Hannerz, 1996. Transnational Connections: Culture, People, Places. Electronic resource:
Hannerz Transntl connections
Chapter 2 "The Local and the Global: Continuity and Change"
Chapter 4 "The Global Ecumene as a Landscape of Modernity"
Chapter 6 "Kokoschka's Return, or, The Social Organization of Creolization"
Chapter 11 "The Cultural Role of World Cities" and one additional chapter chosen from the chapters on
Amsterdam, Stockholm, and Sophiatown
Week 4
Globalization and Localization
January 29 - 31
Arjun Appadurai. 1996. Modernity at Large: Cultural Dimensions of Globalization. Minneapolis:
Minnesota. Electronic resource:
Appadurai Modernity
Chapter 2 "Disjuncture and Difference in the Global Cultural Economy," 27-47.
Chapter 5 "Playing with Modernity: The Decolonization of Indian Cricket," 89-113.
Chapter 9 "The Production of Locality," 178-199.
"The Thing Itself" Public Culture 18(1): 15-21. Electronic resource
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Appadurai Thing Itself
Fanny Wonu Veys, "Materialising the King: The Royal Funeral of King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV of Tonga."
Australian Journal of Anthropology 20: 131-149.
Veys Tongan King
Week 5
The Business of Cultural Heritage
February 5 – 7
John and Jean Comaroff, "Prologue"; "Three or Four Things About Ethnofutures" "Commodifying
Descent, American-Style" in Ethnicity Inc.
Amanda Stronza, 2001. "Anthropology of Tourism: Forging New Ground for Ecotourism and Other
Alternatives." Annual Review of Anthropology 30: 261-183. Electronic resource
Stronza Tourism
Alexis Celeste Bunten, "Sharing Culture or Selling Out? Developing the Commodified Persona in the
Heritage Industry." American Ethnologist Vol. 35 No. 3: 380-395, August 2008. Electronic
resource.
Bunten Selling out
Sabine Marschall, "Zulu Heritage Between Institutionalized Commemoration and Tourist Attraction"
Visual Anthropology Vol. 21: 245-265. 2008. Electronic resource.
Marschall Zulu
David Geary, "Destination Enlightenment: Branding Buddhism and Spiritual Tourism in Bodhgaya,
Bihar." Anthropology Today Vol 24 No. 3: 11-14, June 2008. Electronic resource.
Geary Bodhgaya
Week 6
Midterm 1; Reinventing Traditions
February 12 - 14
February 12: Take-home midterm due in class;
The research paper and research strategies
February 14 Fran Liebowitz
Week 7
READING WEEK: NO CLASS
February 19 – 21
Week 8
Mass Media and its Impacts
February 26 - 28
Lila Abu-Lughod and Brian Larkin, Media Worlds: Anthropology on New Terrain. Berkeley: University
of California Press, 2002. Electronic resource.
media worlds
All please read: Faye Ginsburg, Lila Abu-Lughod, and Brian Larken, "Introduction" to Media Worlds
As a class we will select which articles to read and discuss in Media Worlds.
For details on the Frucht lecture (February 27th) and related events (including the department
lecture on March 1st) see: Frucht
Week 9
Ethnicity Inc. Reinventing Traditions
March 5 – 7
John and Jean Comaroff, "Questions of Theory,""A Tale of Two Ethnicities," in Ethnicity Inc.
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March 7th: Find an example of a cultural performance or product that draws on traditional materials in
new ways. Please write a 2-3 page analysis of your case, and bring it to class for discussion on March 7h.
Week 10
Technology and Culture Change
March 12 - 14
Mayfair Yang, 2004. "Goddess Across the Taiwan Strait: Matrifocal Ritual Space, Nation-State, and
Satellite Television Footprints." Public Culture 16(2); 209-238. Electronic resource
Mazu
Robin Jeffrey and Assa Doron. 2012. "The Mobile Phone in India and Nepal: Political Economy, Politics,
and Society." Pacific Affairs 85(3): 469-481. Electronic resource
Mobile phone
"Introduction" and Chapter 1 in Beyond Globalization: Making New Worlds in Media, Art, and Social
Practices, edited by A. Aneesh, Lane Hall, and Patrice Petro. New Jersey: Rutgers University
Press.. Electronic resource.
Beyond Globalization
Fred Turner. 2009. "Burning Man at Google: A Cultural Infrastructure for New Media Production." New
Media and Society 11(1/2): 73-94. (Also Chapter 2 in Beyond Globalization) Electronic resource.
Google
Thomas Malaby. 2012. "These Great Urbanist Games: New Babylon and Second Life," pp. 72-85. In
Beyond Globalization: Making New Worlds in Media, Art, and Social Practices, edited by A.
Aneesh, Lane Hall, and Patrice Petro. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press.. Electronic
resource.
Beyond Globalization/Second Life
****Proposal for research paper is due this week. In addition to providing a short description of
your topic, please provide a preliminary bibliography of sources. Please make an appointment to
discuss your topic with me after turning in your proposal, ideally between March 12th and March
19th.
Week 11
Reinventions of Tradition: Chinese Tea Culture and the Modernization of
Daoism
March 19 – 21
Tan Chee-Beng and Ding Yuling, "The Promotion of Tea in South China: Re-Inventing Tradition in an
Old Industry." Food and Foodways, 18:121-141. Electronic resource
Tea
Shuenn-der Yu. "Social Life and the Taste of Aging: Material Culture and the Puer Tea Craze" Electronic
resource [PDF]
Jean DeBernardi, "On Daoism and Religious Networks in a Digital Age" [PDF]
Week 12
Wrapup discussion; In-class presentations
March 26 - 28
Midterm 2 is due on Tuesday March 26th.
For midterm 2, I will ask you to write two essays. For one of these, please review the readings for the
course and write a 3-4 page paper in which you identify key points that you consider to be crucial as a
foundation for an anthropological understanding of modernity. This question will be the basis for in-class
discussion on March 26th.
March 28th
In-class presentations
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Week 13
In-class presentations
April 2 - 4
If you wish to have a draft of your paper reviewed for comments, please arrange to meet with me.
Week 14
In-class presentations
April 9 – 11
Research papers are due on April 11th.
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