Anthropology 3310A
Anthropology of Ethnicity and Nationalism
Spring Semester 2003
Instructor: Hülya Demirdirek
Office: TH 216
Phone: 329 - 2599
E-mail: hulya.demirdirek@uleth.ca
Office hours: MWF 11-12, MW 3-4
Class Times: MWF 2:00 - 2:50
Room: TH 303
Mailing list: anth3310a@uleth.ca
class web: http://classes.uleth.ca/
Course description:
"Ethnic food", "ethnic music" - what do we mean by these terms? Is what social scientists refer to
the same as the lay usage of the word? The aim of this course is to introduce the anthropological
literature and major debates relating to the conceptualization of ethnicity and nationalism.
The course will examine the emergence of and increasing engagement with ethnicity and
nationalism in an academic historical perspective as well as the historical processes which have
influenced the formation of ethnic groups. We will not focus on race in particular, but it will be
considered as it relates to our main topics.
A review of the various approaches to race, ethnicity and nation will be our point of entry to the
course. The areas of tension between social scientists who pay closer attention to the boundaries
between ethnic groups as opposed to others who focus on such groups' intrinsic characteristics
will be one of the main problems we will be dealing with. Through various case studies we will
learn about the different theoretical perspectives from which the emergence of ethnicity and
nationalism may be analyzed. The relationship between culture, ethnicity, race, gender, religion
and class will be explored in the light of 20th and 21st century identity politics. The role of the
nation state will be examined both in relation to ethnic minorities and in terms of the creation of its
own populace. We will discuss the extent to which ethnicity matters in the contemporary world.
This will entail reading and thinking about various expressions of ethnic and cultural difference
which can be reflected in wars, identity politics, migration and multiculturalism. We will look at the
variety of ways in which ethnic difference is communicated and contested, including our own
conceptions of ourselves and others.
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Learning objectives:

learn the main anthropological approaches to ethnicity and nationalism,

apply and evaluate these approaches,

think critically in anthropological terms about examples of ethnic conflicts and identity
politics

connect and locate theoretical approaches along a historical trajectory

exchange knowledge and ideas in written and oral forms
Course requirements:
This course is a combination of lectures, films and five weeks of student presentations and
discussions. Attendance will influence your performance indirectly since there are several small
tasks - rather than any single major one - to be accomplished. There will be three in-class
quizzes, two discussion questions to be submitted on seven occasions (the best five pairs
of questions will be counted), two discussion questions to be submitted on each of the five
case studies (i.e. on three occasions: 2+2+1), library work, group work and a paper. The
library work, group work and paper are all related and contribute to one other. The details of each
task are explained below.
Grading:
A+ = 100 - 95 %
A = 94 - 90 %
A- = 89 - 85 %
B+ = 84 - 80 %
B = 79 - 75 %
B- = 74 - 70 %
Weighting:
C+ = 69 - 65 %
C = 64 - 60 %
C- = 59 - 55 %
D = 54 - 53 %
F: 49 % and
below
Marking:
Quizzes (3 x 10 % each)
3 quizzes, each 10 points (Total 30 points)
Paper (25 %)
Paper 100 points (Total 100 points)
Group work (10 %)
Group presentation 10 points (Total 10 points)
Library work a. (15 %)
Library work a: 15 points
Library work b. (5 %)
Library work b: 5 points (Total 20 points)
Question production a. (10 %)
Question production a: 10 points
Question production b. (5 %)
Question production b: 10 points (Total 20 points)
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Evaluation will be based on
Three in-class quizzes (each 10 %)
Quizzes will be comprised of very short answer questions and/or definitions. The questions will
test your knowledge of the main points of the readings and films and are intended to help you
formulate your knowledge (in one or two sentences) on the basis of the readings/films.
Group presentation and discussion (10%):
The preparation period will help you to accomplish your own individual assignments and at the
same time contribute to the group work. There will be five groups, the size of which will depend
on the size of the class. This task will involve intensive library research. All the members of a
group will read one of the five books in its entirety and find reviews, other books or articles which
refer to that book extensively as well as books and articles which are produced about the same
geographical area and/or topics. The aim is to learn about the case study, examine the way in
which the author(s) present(s) and analyze(s) the case, place the author(s) within the theoretical
map of schools of thought and examine the debate the book has created. An oral presentation
will then be made to the rest of the class. You need to make a division of labour: all members of
the group must work on the presentation of an aspect or section of the book; clearly, however,
responsibility for the final oral presentation of each aspect/section must be assigned to one
person. The presenters' task is to introduce the key arguments and lead a discussion. Those of
the students who form the audience for each presentation will find and read in advance one book
review only of the book in question. It is not mandatory for them to read the book. The audience
will be encouraged to challenge the presentation group in a constructive manner, both in terms of
what they covered and how they presented their arguments.
This group work does not require a great deal of work outside of the class time. We will allocate
one chat room to each group on WebCT. In this way you will not need to struggle to organize
meetings. Marking will be on the basis of the collective outcome. Under normal circumstances all
group members will get the same grade. However, if there are significant discrepancies in the
contributions made by various members, they will be given individually adjusted marks. Please
keep in mind that group work facilitates learning and, furthermore, most of the world outside of
university life involves some form of group cooperation.
Individual paper based on group work (25%):
You should begin your paper by outlining the section or aspect of the book which you were
responsible for presenting (e.g. the historical context of ethnic relations in the former Yugoslavia,
the Quebec nation as a collective individual, the reconstruction of history in Scotland, etc.). After
this first section of your paper (at most four pages in length), you should then develop a critical
reading in the second part. You can choose a particular theoretical problem and discuss it by
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making a comparison with other approaches and case studies; alternatively, you can examine the
ethnography presented by the author from a different perspective. I am willing to advise further in
this regard. The outline sections of individual papers by members of the same group will surely
have some common features due to the nature of the group work, but you are expected to
incorporate the insights you gained during class discussions and our readings into your paper
individually. Clearly, how you develop your arguments in the second section is entirely individual.
Question production (15%):
a. (10%) Weekly submission of two questions: You should come to the classes with the assigned
readings and having prepared two discussion questions every week about the topic of the
day/week based on your readings. You have to make sure that you have submitted questions in
seven different weeks of lecture classes. The five best marks will count.
b. (5%) After each of the three case study presentation weeks (Quebec, Yugoslavia etc.), you
should submit two discussion questions on each case study (including your own). This means
producing a total of ten questions for five case studies.
Library work (20%):
a. (15%) You have to find five scientific journal articles (anthropological or sociological journals
only) and two books which discuss the same region and/or phenomena as the one(s) you have
chosen. They should be written by authors other than the author of your particular case study.
Please see the WebCT information on how to format the list of references. Your formal
assignment is to make a list of these references and submit them to me, but you will benefit from
reading or skim-reading some of them to improve your paper and group work.
b. (5%) You have to find, copy or print and read one book review for each of the five books which
will be presented in the class. Only hard-copy journals or the online versions of hard-copy
journals to which our library subscribes will be accepted. You cannot present a book review from
an exclusively online source such as Amazon.com. Those of you who are in the same group
should make sure that there will be variation in the book reviews. All five book reviews are to be
brought to the class on 24 February.
Extensions for late submissions can only be given under extraordinary circumstances. Please
either contact the instructor in advance or provide documentation (medical or other). Essays
which are turned in late without prior approval will have five points deducted per day (here, a day
means 24 hours; if the submission deadline is March 27, 12:15, an essay which is submitted after
12:25 on March 27 but before 12:15 March 28 will have five points deducted). Essays which are
submitted late are to be handed to the Anthropology Department Secretary (TH 210).
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Textbook:
Eriksen, Thomas Hylland, 1993 Ethnicity and Nationalism, Anthropological Perspectives,
London: Pluto Press.
Other reading materials are available on reserve at the library.
Schedule and deadlines:
January 27
Quiz 1
February 24
Bringing the five book reviews
March 3
QUE. 1. Submission of Bosnia and Rwanda questions
March 17
Quiz 2
March 10
QUE. 2. Submission of Scotland and Quebec questions
March 19
QUE. 3. Submission of First Nations questions
March 24
Submission of paper
April 11
Quiz 3
Discussion questions: Seven of the following weeks: (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13, 14)
Library work: At the start of each group's scheduled presentation day (24, 26 Feb., 3, 5, 10
March)
Please note:
1. Assignments are to be submitted at the start of the class on the due day.
2. If you are unable to attend the class that day please make sure that you submit your
assignment either through a classmate or to the anthropology secretary. She has to
confirm your submission by noting the time and date on your assignment.
3. ASSIGNMENTS which are pushed UNDER MY DOOR will NOT be ADMITTED unless
you speak to me in advance.
4.
Uncollected quizzes or assignments can be picked up from the anthropology office.
5.
Quizzes are not cumulative and each will cover only material presented since the last
quiz.
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*Tentative Schedule of Lectures, Films and Readings
(* Depending on the progress we make during the classes, we may spend more time on certain topics
than on others. This may alter the course schedule to some extent.)
WHAT IS ETHNICITY?
Week 1
January 6
Overview of the course and introduction
January 8
Ethnicity, race and nation, preliminaries
Reading: THE ch.1
January 10
Race and its discontents
Reading: THE ch.1
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/science/jan97/bones_1-3.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/first/
http://www.aaanet.org/stmts/racepp.htm
Week 2
January 13
Colonialism and slavery
Reading: THE ch.5
January 15
Colonialism and slavery
Reading: THE ch.5
January 17
Ethnicity in time
Reading: Renan, "What is a nation?"
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/jefferson/
http://www.victorianweb.org/science/race.htm
Week 3
January 20
Ethnic groups and boundaries
Reading: Barth "Introduction".
January 22
Ethnic groups and boundaries
Reading: TH ch. 2
January 24
Ethnic groups and boundaries
Reading: TH ch. 3-4
Week 4
January 27
QUIZ 1
January 29
Boundaries at "home"
Reading: Tagg, "Teaching American history in Canada"
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January 31
Film: Cross Cut Alberta
I. ETHNICITY AND NATIONALISM
Week 5
February 3
National consciousness
Reading: Anderson "Imagined communities" ch.1-3
February 5
Modernity and nationalism
Reading: Gellner, "Nations and Nationalism", ch.4
February 7
Modernity and nationalism
Reading: Gellner ch. 5
Week 6
February 10
Nationalism and communalism
Reading: Dumont, "Nationalism and communalism"
February 12
Nationalism
Reading: THE ch. 6
II. ETHNICITY AND VIOLENCE
February 14
Film: We are all neighbours
Week 7
February 17-21 - Reading Week (no classes)
Week 8
February 24
Ethnic conflict
Case: Bosnia
Presentation and discussion
Reading: Book review
February 26
Case: Rwanda
Presentation and discussion
Reading: Book review
February 28
Bosnia & Rwanda cont.
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III. ETHNICITY AND SELF-DETERMINATION
Week 9
March 3
Nations without a state/ Language and ethnicity
Case: Highland Scotland
Presentation and discussion
Reading: Book review
March 5
Nations without a state/ Language and ethnicity
Case: Quebec
Presentation and discussion
Reading: Book review
March 7
Highland Scotland and Quebec cont.
Week 10
March 10
First Nations
Case: Canada in Rosen's presentation
Presentation and discussion
Reading: Book review
March 12
First Nations
Case: Canada in Rosen's presentation
Presentation and discussion
Reading: Book review
March 14
First Nations
Case: Canada in Rosen's presentation
Presentation and discussion
Reading: Book review
Week 11
March 17
QUIZ 2
Submission of paper
VI. MIGRATION, MINORITIES AND ETHNICITY
March 19
Minorities
Reading: THE ch. 7
March 21
Identity politics in a multicultural and plural society
Discussion
Week 12
March 24
Multiculturalism
Reading: THE ch. 8-9
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March 26
Identity politics in a multicultural and plural society
Discussion
March 28
Film: Promises
Week 13
March 31
Urban ethnicity
Reading: Cohen, "The Lessons of Ethnicity"
April 2
Migration
No reading.
April 4
Diaspora
No reading.
Week 14
April 7
"I am not a racist but"
Reading: Brodkin "Global capitalism: What's race got to do with it?"
April 9
Back to otherness
April 11
Quiz 3
Have a great summer!
Books:
Bringa, Tone 1996 Identity and Community in a Central Bosnian Village: The Symbolic
Construction of Community, Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Handler, Richard 1988 Nationalism and the Politics of Culture in Quebec. Wisconsin:
University of Wisconsin Press.
Malkki, Lissa 1995 Purity and Exile: Violence, Memory, and National Cosmology Among
Hutu Refugees in Tanzania, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Macdonald, Sharon 1997 Reimagining Culture, Histories, Identities and the Gaelic
Renaissance, Oxford, NY: Berg.
Rosens, Eugene 1989 Creating Ethnicity: The process of Ethnogenesis, London: Sage.
Periodicals such as Ethnic and Racial Studies, Nationality Papers, Nations and
Nationalism, Theory and Society, Annual Review of Anthropology would be useful to browse
for relevant topics.
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Full reference of the readings:
Anderson, Benedict 1983 Imagined Communities, chap. 1, 2 London: Verso, pp.10-16.
Barth, Fredrik 1969 "Introduction" in F. Barth (ed.), Ethnic Groups and Boundaries, Oslo:
Universitetsforlaget, pp.9-38.
Brodkin, Karen 2000 "Global capitalism: What's race got to do with it?", American Ethnologist,
27 (2): pp.237-256.
Cohen, Abner 1974, "The Lesson of Ethnicity" in A. Cohen. (ed.) Urban Ethnicity. London:
Tavistock
Dumont, Louis 1970 "Nationalism and Communalism", in L. Dumont, Religion, Politics and
History in India, Paris: Mouton, pp.89-110.
Gellner, Ernest 1983 Nations and Nationalism, Oxford: Blackwell, pp. 39-87.
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