ANTH 467/AFST 467
Kinship/Culture/Power/Africa:
Classics and Critiques
Time and Place: Tu. 2:30 – 5:30 p.m., 132 Davenport Hall
Instructor: Alma Gottlieb
Office Hours: Thur. 11:30 - 2:30, or by appointment
Office: 386C Davenport
Office Phone: 244-3515
E-mail: ajgottli@uiuc.edu
ABOUT THE COURSE
Kinship theory in anthropology was in good part developed with reference to Africa. In
recent years, it has come under major assault. To what extent is kinship theory still relevant
to the discipline? Can African societies still contribute to the development of new kinship
models beyond the already known and worn ones? Reciprocally, what can kinship theory--classic
and contemporary--tell us about African societies? Is kinship still relevant to Africa?
This course explores these issues by first looking at lineage theory and related
writings on descent, which were the building blocks of classic (mostly British) models of
kinship. We then go on to look at a variety of critiques of that body of literature, as well as
recent and contemporary approaches (mostly American) that have endeavored to provide
alternative frameworks of analysis. Here we will focus especially on ideological and cultural
foundations of kinship systems; on the relevance of history and political economy in the realm
of kinship; and on feminist approaches to kinship systems. Specific topics to be covered
include: the corporate descent group as an anthropological/African institution; bridewealth and
affinal exchanges; polygyny; divorce and widow(er)hood; patriliny, matriliny, and double
descent; residence forms; ancestor worship; and witchcraft. Case studies will include both
societies well known in the anthropological literature (e.g. Nuer, Ndembu), and those that are
not so famous but nevertheless intriguing; they range over all parts of Africa south of the
Sahara.
As the above implies, this is both a theory course and an area studies course. At the
end of the semester, you should know quite a bit both about kinship theory in anthropology, and
about a foundational aspect of a range of African societies south of the Sahara.
UIUC, Fall 2001
ANTH 467/AFST 467
PREREQUISITES
Graduate standing; for students outside anthropology or African studies, at least one
previous course in cultural anthropology is strongly recommended.
READINGS
The following paperback books, which are listed in the order in which they will be read through
the semester, are on sale at I.U.B.:
-Adam Kuper, Anthropology and Anthropologists: The Modern British School (3rd ed.,
Routledge)
-Jack Goody, The Expansive Moment: Anthropology in Britain and Africa, 1918-1970
(Cambridge U. Press)
-E. E. Evans-Pritchard, The Nuer (Oxford U. Press)
--E. E. Evans-Pritchard, Kinship and Marriage among the Nuer
-Sharon Hutchinson, Nuer Dilemmas: Coping with Money, War, and the State (U. of
California Press)
-Victor Turner, Schism and Continuity in an African Society
-Alma Gottlieb, Under the Kapok Tree: Identity and Difference in Beng Thought (Univ. of
Chicago Press)
-Jan Jansen and Clemens Zobel, eds., The Younger Brother in Mande: Selected Papers
from the Third International Conference on Mande
-Karen Sacks, Sisters and Wives: The Past and Future of Sexual Equality (2nd ed., U. of
Illinois Press)
-Ifi Amadiume, Male Daughters, Female Husbands: Gender and Sex in an African Society
(Zed Press, 1986)
-Richard Werbner, Tears of the Dead: The Social Biography of an African Family
(Smithsonian Inst. Press)
-Susan Reynolds Whyte, Questioning Misfortune: The Pragmatics of Uncertainty in
Eastern Uganda (Cambridge U. Press)
N.B. All these books will also be on reserve in the Education & Social Science Library; journal
articles will be on reserve as well.
2
UIUC, Fall 2001
ANTH 467/AFST 467
EXPECTATIONS
This is a somewhat reading-intensive class; still, I expect all of you to make major
efforts to keep up with the reading. The good news is that there are no quizzes or tests--it's
all just reading and a little writing.
Because this is a small seminar, and because we will devote only one session to each
book or topic, it's vital that we all come to each class. Please let me know if there are
extenuating circumstances that cause you to miss a session.
Out of respect to your seminar-mates I expect you to come to class on time,
and to remain in class until the end. Please avoid scheduling appointments that conflict
with a portion of the class time.
Late work: Please note that I won’t grant extensions of due dates except in
case of DIRE EMERGENCY. Computer/printer failures don't constitute emergencies!
Finish writing early and plan to print out the day before your written work is to be
turned in. Make back-up disks. Identify back-up printers to use in case the one you
usually use fails. Don't count on technology to work!
Disabilities: If you have either a physical or a learning disability that may pose
obstacles to your successful completion of the course, please discuss this with me at the
beginning of the semester so that we may make alternate provisions to accommodate you.
WRITING ASSIGNMENTS
1. Each week, please come to class with one typed page of reading notes. These can
include comments, critiques, confusions, and/or questions. We may use these as discussion
openers.
2. Each of you will choose a topic to develop through research and writing of a term
paper. I encourage you to pick a topic that derives directly from the class readings. This is
mostly for your sake: it will reduce the need for massive amounts of additional readings and
should allow you to keep your attention focused easily on the class. However, if there's a
subject or group of people you're desperate to write about that we won't cover in class, you
are free to do that so long as it relates in one way or another to the general focus of the
course, and you check with me ahead of time. Before writing your outline for the paper (see
below), be sure to talk with me during my office hours at least once early in the semester
about your planned paper topic.
3
UIUC, Fall 2001
ANTH 467/AFST 467
a. On Oct. 2, please bring to class a one-page outline or description of your
research paper. Please include the following: basic statement of the problem or
issue you hope to address; brief discussion of relevant theoretical literature to
your problem (which may or may not be confined to Africanist literature); and
the main ethnographic sources you plan to use so far.
b. On Oct. 23, please bring to class a revised one-page outline or summary of your
term paper, after taking into account my comments on your first outline draft.
c. On Dec. 10, your term paper is due to me--please leave it in my campus mailbox
by 5 p.m.
Suggested length: 15-25 pp. text double-spaced, plus References.
Format: To familiarize yourself with mainstream scholarly practices of this
country, please use whatever citation/reference format is standard for your
discipline in the U.S. (e.g., anthropology students should use the standard
citation/references format used by such American anthropology journals as
American Ethnologist and American Anthropologist).
N.B. If you don't turn in your paper by Dec. 10, you will receive an "EX" for the
course.
N.B. To receive 1 unit of credit, a student must complete all readings, participate actively in
class discussion, and complete all written assignments. To receive 1/2 unit of credit, a student
must complete all readings, participate actively in class discussion, and complete weekly reading
notes (but not the research paper).
Course Grade
25% of your grade for the course will be based on class participation, and 75% of your grade
will be based on written work.
4
UIUC, Fall 2001
ANTH 467/AFST 467
Weekly Readings
AUG. 28—Introductions
SEPT. 4--Descent Theory in Africa: Retrospects and Critiques
Even the dog with a broken paw knows the way back to its house.
-Baule proverb
-A. R. Radcliffe-Brown, "Introduction" in ASKM (esp. Sections: I, II, III, VII, XI,
XII).
-Meyer Fortes, "The Structure of Unilineal Descent Groups," Ch. 3 in his Time and
Social Structure, pp. 67-96.
-Adam Kuper, Anthropology and Anthropologists--esp. Ch. 2; browse through Ch. 5; and
browse through and read any other sections as they fill in portions of
anthropological history with which you're not familiar.
-Jack Goody, The Expansive Moment: Anthropology in Britain and Africa, 1918-1970
(Cambridge U. Press)--browse through and read any chapters as they fill in portions
of anthropological history with which you're not familiar.
-Sally Falk Moore, “Changing Perspectives on a Changing Africa: The Work of
Anthropology,” in Africa and the Disciplines: The Contributions of Research in
Africa to the Social Sciences and Humanities, ed. Robert Bates, V. Y. Mudimbe, and
Jean O’Barr (Univ. of Chicago Press, 1993), pp. 1-57.
-Claude Lévi-Strauss, The Elementary Structures of Kinship, Preface to 2nd edition,
and Chs. 1 and 2 (1949).
-Pierre-Philippe Rey, "Class Contradiction in Lineage Societies," Critique of
Anthropology 4:41-60 (1979).
-Adam Kuper, "Lineage Theory: A Critical Retrospect," Annual Review of Anthropology
(1982):71-95.
SEPT.
11--Patriliny: The Nuer—The Classic Perspective
The teeth musn’t quarrel with the tongue.
-Baule proverb
-E. E. Evans-Pritchard, The Nuer (esp. Chs. IV, V, VI, also III a bit).
-E. E. Evans-Pritchard, “Kinship and the Local Community among the Nuer,” in ASKM.
-E. E. Evans-Pritchard, Kinship and Marriage among the Nuer (1951), pp. 104-123.
-“The Nuer"—film. If you have never seen this film, or have not seen it recently,
please view it before class on your own. It is available for viewing in the
Undergraduate Library Media Center.
Optional:
-Kathleen Gough, "The Nuer: A Re-examination," in The Translation of Cultures (1971),
ed. T. O. Beidelman, pp. 79-121.
(Sept. 11--cont.)
5
UIUC, Fall 2001
ANTH 467/AFST 467
-Ivan Karp and Kent Maynard, "Reading The Nuer," Current Anthropology 24 (4):481503 (1983).
-Raymond Kelly, The Nuer Conquest: The Structure and Development of an Expansionist
System (1985) (browse through/read as your interest is sparked).
-T. M. S. Evens, "The Nuer Incest Prohibition and the Nature of Kinship: Alterlogical
Reckoning," Cultural Anthropology 4 (4):323-346 (1989).
-Michael Kenny, “Trickster and Mystic: The Anthropological Persona of E. E. EvansPritchard,” Anthropology and Humanism Quarterly 12 (1):9-15 (1987).
-T. Free,“The Politics and Philosophical Genealogy of Evans-Pritchard’s The Nuer,”
Journal of the Anthropological Society of Oxford 11:19-39.
-“Strangers Abroad: Sir Edward Evans-Pritchard”—film. Available for viewing in the
Undergraduate Library Media Center.
SEPT.
18--Patriliny: The Nuer Restudied
Tiny dew drops can become a stream, heavy dew turns sometimes to rain...
-Yoruba proverb
-Sharon Hutchinson, Nuer Dilemmas..., esp. Prologue and Chs. 1 and 4-6; browse through
the rest.
-Sharon Hutchinson, "Spiritual Fragments of an Unfinished War" –available on the web.
-Sharon Hutchinson, “Nuer Ethnicity Militarized,” Anthropology Today 16 (2):6-13
(2000).
N.B. Sharon Hutchinson will present a talk in the Dept. of Anthropology on Sept. 21 at 3
p.m. Attendance at this talk is required for all students in this course. I will also try to
schedule a special meeting with Prof. Hutchinson for our course and/or reschedule the
Sept. 18 class to enable Prof. Hutchinson to join us.
SEPT. 25--Matriliny:
The Ndembu
All peanuts are sisters, but those that come from the same shell are better connected.
-Baule proverb
-Victor Turner, Schism and Continuity in an African Society (1957) (esp. Chs.III-XII).
Optional:
-Victor Turner, "Ritual Symbolism, Morality, and Social Structure among the Ndembu"
(Ch. II), in his The Forest of Symbols (1967), pp. 48-58.
OCT. 2—Matriliny, Double Descent, or…? The Asante
Mother is gold, father is mirror.
-Yoruba proverb
-ASKM, ch. by Fortes.
6
UIUC, Fall 2001
ANTH 467/AFST 467
[Oct. 2—cont.]
-Meyer Fortes, "Ashanti Patrilateral Kinship and Its Values," in his Kinship and the
Social Order: The Legacy of Lewis Henry Morgan (1969), pp. 191-216.
-Jack Goody, "The Classification of Double Descent Systems," Current Anthropology
2:3-25 (1961).
-Rodney Needham, "Remarks on the Analysis of Kinship and Marriage," in Rethinking
Kinship and Marriage, ed. Rodney Needham (1971), pp. 8-13.
-Katherine Abu, "The Separateness of Spouses: Conjugal Resources in an Ashanti
Town," in Female and Male in West Africa, ed. Christine Oppong (1983), pp. 156168.
-Takyiwaa Manuh, “Changes in Marriage and Funeral Exchanges in Asante: A Case Study
from Kona, Afigya-Kwabre,” in Money Matters: Instability, Values and Social
Payments in the Modern History of West African Communities, ed. Jane Guyer
(Heinemann, 1995), pp. 188-202.
OCT. 9--Double Descent: Yakö, Beng
Jack Goody, “The Classification of Double Descent Systems,” Current Anthropology 2
(1):3-25 (1961).
-Daryll Forde, “Double Descent among the Yakö,” in ASKM.
-Alma Gottlieb, Under the Kapok Tree, Chs. 1-4.
OCT. 16--Relative Age: Mande Societies
-Jan Jansen and Clemens Zobel, eds., The Younger Brother in Mande...
-Charles Bird and Martha Kendall, "The Mande Hero," in Explorations in African
Systems of Thought, ed. Ivan Karp and Charles Bird (1980), pp. 13-26.
OCT. 23--Feminist Revisions of Kinship Theory I. Deconstructing “Women”
Women are like earthenware plates--not to be thrown in the garbage pit.
-Kongo proverb
-Karen Sacks, Sisters and Wives... (browse through first two chs., read the rest).
OCT. 30--Feminist Revisions of Kinship Theory II. An Igbo Perspective
One who wants to eat corn porridge will play with the child of the woman who is
preparing it.
-Yoruba proverb
-Ifi Amadiume, Male Daughters, Female Husbands..., Chs. 1- 10, 12-13.
NOV. 6 —Historical Revisions of Kinship Theory: Zimbabwe
One just keeps on trying though one is tired every day.
-Yoruba proverb
7
UIUC, Fall 2001
ANTH 467/AFST 467
-Richard Werbner, Tears of the Dead, esp. Chs. 2-6; browse through Ch. 1.
NOV. 13—Medical Revisions of Kinship Theory: Uganda
-Susan Reynolds-White, Questioning Misfortune, selections to be announced.
(NOV. 20--No class--Thanksgiving break)
NOV. 27—Potpourri of New Work: Perspectives from History, Political Economy, the City
-Charles Piot, "Of Slaves and the Gift: Kabre Sale of Kin during the Era of the Slave
Trade,” Journal of African History 37:31-49 (1996).
-Peter Geschiere, "Kinship, Witchcraft and 'The Market,'" in Contesting Markets:
Analysis of Ideology, Discourage and Practice, ed. R. Dilley (U. of Edinburgh, 1992).
-Brigit O'Laughlin, "Missing Men? The Debate Over Rural Poverty and Women Headed
Households in Southern Africa," Contemporary Politics 4 (3) (September 1998):1-48.
-Jessica A. Ogden, “’Producing’ Respect: The ‘Proper Woman’ in Postcolonial Kampala,” in
Postcolonial Identities in Africa, ed. Richard Werbner and Terence Ranger (London:
Zed Press, 1996), pp. 165-192.
-Kiran Cunningham, "Let's Go to My Place: Residence, Gender and Power in a Mende
Community," in Gender, Kinship, Power: A Comparative and Interdisciplinary History,
ed. Mary Jo Maynes, Ann Walter, Brigitte Soland, and Ulrike Strasser (Routledge,
1996), pp. 335-349
DEC. 4--Potpourri of New Work: Humanistic Perspectives
-Paul Stoller, "Signs in the Social Order: Riding a Songhay Bush Taxi," in his
The Taste of Ethnographic Things (U. of Pennsylvania Press, 1989), pp. 6983.
-Martha C. Kendall, "Getting to Know You," in Semantic Anthropology, ed. David
Parkin (1982), pp. 197-210.
-Paul Riesman, "Keeping Society Going," in his Freedom in Fulani Social Life (1977), pp.
161-185.
-Pamela Feldman-Savelsberg, "Cooking Inside; Kinship and Gender in Bangangté Idioms
of Marriage and Procreation,” in Gender, Kinship, Power: A Comparative and
Interdisciplinary History, ed. Mary Jo Maynes, Ann Walter, Brigitte Soland, and
Ulrike Strasser (Routledge, 1996), pp. 177-197.
-Misty Bastian, “Married in the Water: Spirit Kin and Other Afflictions of Modernity in
Southeastern Nigeria,” Journal of Religion in Africa 27 (2):111-134 (1997).
8