ITSF 4011A
Summer, 2007
Professor George Bond
Tuesday & Thur. 11:15—1:20
(212) 678-3311 or 678-3309
The Social Context of Education:
Social Anthropology and Education
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to basic anthropological theories,
concepts, and modes of analysis that may be useful in understanding the complex range of
situations in which education occurs. The course will explore different forms of social,
kinship, political, religious, and educational arrangements of populations living in various
environmental contexts. Ethnographic examples will be drawn from different parts of the
world, ranging from the Kalahari Desert in southern Africa to urban areas of the United
States.
The course will consist of lectures and class presentations. The instructor will
lecture for the first part of the course introducing the student to different theoretical
formulations, basic concepts used within the social sciences, and their application.
Requirements
This course includes lectures and films. Lecture materials and required readings
form the basis of the course discussions. Students will be expected to do the required
reading for each class period as well as the readings on the main syllabus. Every student
will be expected to make three class presentations based upon the assigned readings. The
class papers should be no more than five doubled spaced pages using regular 12 point
font with one inch margins. They will be read in class and form the basis for class
discussion together with the selected readings. All students will be expected to attend the
classes, do the required readings, and participate in the discussions. The course grade will
be based on the class papers, class participation and class attendance.
Students who are taking this course for four points must attend the films. The
instructor reserves the right to revise the course as he sees appropriate to the needs of
students and to assign different readings. .
Required List of Readings
Bond, George, C. The Politics of Change in a Zambian Community. University of
Chicago Press: Chicago, 1976. (on Library Reserve)
Bond, George, C. “Social Economic Status and Educational Achievement: A Review
Article” Anthropology and Education Quarterly. Vol. XII, No. 4. Winter 1981.
Bond, Horace Mann. Black American Scholars. Balcamp Publishing Co.: Detroit, 1972.
(Out of PrintOn Library Reserve)
Evans-Pritchard, E. E. “The Nuer of the Southern Sudan”, in African Political Systems,
Oxford University Press, 1969. Pp. 272-296. (On Library Reserve)
Lee, Richard. The Dobe !Kung. Holt Rinehart and Winston: New York, 1984.
Lewis, Oscar. “The Culture of Poverty”. Scientific American. Vol. 215, No. 4 Oct. 1966.
(Library Reserve)
Mauss, M. The Gift. New York: W.W. Norton and Company
Murphy, R. Cultural and social Anthropology: An Overture. Prentice-Hall: New Jersey,
1989. (On Library Reserve)
Stambach, A. Lessons from Mount Kilimanjaro: Schooling, Community, and Gender in
East Africa. New York: Rutledge, 2000.
Steward, J. “The Concept and Method of Cultural Ecology”. Bobbs-Meril, reprint S-516.
(Article also contained in Steward J. Theory of Culture Change, pp. 30-42. University of
Illinois Press: Chicago, 1979.) (On Library Reserve)
Valdez, G. Con Respeto: Bridging the Distances Between Culturally Diverse Families and
Schools. New York: Teachers College Press, 1996.
General Course Outline: Required Readings, Lectures and Student Class Presentations
Lectures and Readings
I. Introduction: Theories and Concepts of Society
The purpose of this section is to present briefly the sub fields of Anthropology and
to introduce different theories of society. A distinction will be drawn between substantivist
and formalist approaches to education. The main characteristics of social evolution,
historical particularism and structural functionalism will be discussed. Through out the
course formulations derived from Emile Durkheim, Max Weber, and Karl Marx will be
briefly explored and their theoretical legacies examined.
Required Readings
Murphy, R. Chapters I, II, III, VI, and IX.
II. Environment and Society
The physical environment affects human activities and the activities of human
beings affect the physical conditions in which they live. Knowledge and learning affect the
manner in which people adapt to and make use of their environments in a creative
interchange. Hunters and gatherers and pastoralists provide examples of the use of
knowledge to overcome environmental constraints where technology is limited. In the
examples we will explore education is part of the fabric of social relationships. Schools are
a very minor aspect of the educational process of hunters, gatherers, and pastoralists.
Required Readings
Steward, J., “The Concept and Method of Cultural Ecology”
A. Hunters and Gatherers: The Substantavist Context
Lee, Richard, The Dobe !Kung.
B. Pastoralist: Substantavist Context
Evans-Pritchard, E. E. “The Nuer of the Southern Sudan”, in African Political
Systems, Oxford University Press, 1969. Pp. 272-296. (On Library Reserve)
III. Social Structure: Kinship, Family and Education
A simple and basic mode of organizing individuals is through kinship. Kinship
provides a mechanism for distributing rights over labor, persons, status, and property.
Marriage implies the exchange of rights and establishes social unions and social networks.
Families provide an important context of education and the setting for transforming
individuals into social persons. They often link the individual into the political order.
Required Reading
Mauss, M. The Gift
Murphy, R., Chapters IV and V.
IV. Social Structure: Exchange and Power
In this section distinctions will be made between concepts such as authority, power,
legality and legitimacy. Max Weber’s three types of authority will be explored as well as
his formulations of rational legal authority in the construction of formal organizations.
Schools are examples of formal organizations.
Required Reading
Murphy, R., Chapter VII
Bond, G., The Politics of Change in a Zambian Community. (all)
V. Problems in Belief: Religion, Ideology and Change.
Required Reading
Murphy, R., Chapter VIII
Stambach, A. Lessons from Mount Kilimanjaro
VI. Complex Societies, Education and Urban Situations
A. Poverty, Its Social Expression and Education
Required Reading
Bond, G. "Social Stratification and Education"
Lewis, O. “Culture of Poverty”
B. Ethnicity and Education
Required Reading
Valdez, G., Con Respecto
C. Race, Social Mobility and Education
Required Reading
Bond, H. M. Black American Scholars (On Library Reserve)
Valdez, G., Con Respecto
FINAL Class Meeting : General Discussion—Tuesday June 26, 2007
The final examination will be inclusive of the materials dealt with in the course. It
will be an in class examination and those unable to attend must have a medical excuse.
Schedule of Class Readings and Class Presentations:
Lectures:
I. General Background: Theory and Methods
Student Presentations:
II. Environment and Society
(Class Presentations 1) Thursday June 8
1. Lee, Richard The Dobe !Kung
Readers:
1.______________________ 2._________________
3.______________________
III. Social Structure and Exchange: Kinship, Politics and Education
(Class Presentations 2) Tuesday June 13
1. Mauss, M. The Gift
2. Murphy, R., Chapters IV, and V.
3. Evans-Pritchard, E. E. “The Nuer of the Southern Sudan”, in African Political Systems,
Oxford University Press, 1969. Pp. 272-296. (On Library Reserve)
Readers:
1.______________________ 2._________________
3.______________________
(Class Presentations 3) Thursday June 15
1. Murphy, R., Chapters VII.
2. Bond, G. The Politics of Change in a Zambian Community (all)
1.____________________2.________________3.__________________
IV. Education and Change
(Class Presentations 4) Tuesday June 20
1. Stambach, A. Lessons from Mount Kilimanjaro
Readers:
1.______________________ 2._________________
3.______________________
V. Complex Societies: Education and Urban Situations
A. Poverty and Achievement
(Class Presentations 5) Thursday June 22
1. Lewis, Oscar “Culture of Poverty”
2. Bond, G. "Social Stratification and Education"
3. Bond, H. M. Black American Scholars (On Library Reserve)
Readers:
1.______________________ 2._________________
3.______________________
B. Educational Situations:
(Class Presentations 6) Tuesday June 27
1. Valdez, G. Con Respeto
Readers:
1.______________________ 2._________________
3.______________________
Professor George Bond
Summer 2007
FILM SCHEDULE FOR TF4011
Films will be shown before and after class in room 317 Russell (Library). The films
need to be picked up on the fifth floor of the library before viewing and then returned
afterwards. The films are open to all students of the course, but are required for those
taking TF4011 for 4 credits.
1. May 30: THE HUNTERS (in color).
75 mins. John Marshall. Life and culture of a group of Kung Bushmen in the northern
Kalahari Desert, emphasizing the quest for food in the harsh environment. The climax of
the film is the 13 days' chase after a giraffe is wounded by a poison arrow. #494c
2. June 1: THE DESERT PEOPLE 51 mins.
Depicts an average day in the lives of two aborigine families of the western desert. Reveals
that a great portion of their time is spent in search of food. #590d
3. June 6: THE NUER 75 mins.
A poetic film which presents evocative images of social life among a group of Nuer living
in Ethiopia. Creates a strong and memorable impression of the people, their artifacts, and
their relationship to their land. English narration is used occasionally to elucidate such
events as a bridge price dispute, a ghost marriage, a revitalistic ceremony intended to
combat a small pox epidemic, and a gar initiation ceremony in which two boys receive the
forehead incisions of manhood. #587d
4. June 8: THE FEAST 30 mins.
Yanomamo tribe of Venezuela. Two villages forge an alliance together trough an extended
feast which includes ritual dancing, chanting, and trading of goods.
5. June 13: THE COWS OF DOLO KEN PAYE 32 mins.
Documents the co-existence of traditional life patterns and Western adaptation in the
Liberian village of Fokele by following the hot-knife trial by ordeal of a Kpelle farmer who
wounded a cow. Includes actual Kpelle speech and music. #491c.
6. June 15: HOLY GHOST PEOPLE 53 mins.
A film account of a four hour meeting of a white Pentecostal religious group in Appalachia
whose members handle poisonous snakes, drinks strychnine, and speak in tongues,
following the literal interpretation of the biblical passage: "In my name they shall speak in
new tongues. They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing it will not hurt
them." #591d.
7. June 20: HIGH SCHOOL 60 mins.
Frederic Wiseman's classic film of a suburban Philadelphia high school. The film is
ethnographic in style and uses the cinema verite method to capture the experiences of
immersion in the situation. #501c.
8. June 22: THESE GIRLS ARE MISSING 62 mins. The educating of girls in African
countries, such as Malawi, where there is HIV/AIDS.
9 June 27 : SEGREGATION IN SCHOOLS 28 mins.
The varied reaction of citizens from two Southern towns to the Supreme court ruling
against segregation in school. Includes interviews with civic leaders, teachers, parents, and
students, both black and white, of Gastonia, NC and Natchitoches, LA. (Problems of
Democracy, produced by Jefferson Production for the CBS Television program, "See It
Now"; 1954) #170c.
Siu Mei Wong-Who Shall I Be? 18 mins.
10. June 29: A LEAP OF FAITH 87 mins. A view of high school students in an Irish
setting.
* Films may be retrieved from the reserve desk for 2-hour intervals at the Milbank
library. *
Revised Course:
I. General Background: Theory and Methods
II. Environment and Society
(Class Presentations 1) Thursday June 8
1. Lee, Richard The Dobe !Kung
Readers:
1.______________________ 2._________________
3.______________________
III. Social Structure and Exchange: Kinship, Politics and Education
(Class Presentations 2) Tuesday June 13
1. Mauss, M. The Gift
2. Murphy, R., Chapters IV, and V.
3. Evans-Pritchard, E. E. “The Nuer of the Southern Sudan”, in African Political Systems,
Oxford University Press, 1969. Pp. 272-296. (On Library Reserve)
Readers:
1.______________________ 2._________________
3.______________________
(Class Presentations 3) Thursday June 15
1. Murphy, R., Chapters VII.
2. Bond, G. The Politics of Change in a Zambian Community (all)
1.____________________2.________________3.__________________
IV. Education and Change
(Class Presentations 4) Tuesday June 20
1. Stambach, A. Lessons from Mount Kilimanjaro
Readers:
1.______________________ 2._________________
3.______________________
V. Complex Societies: Education and Urban Situations
A. Poverty and Achievement
(Class Presentations 5) Thursday June 22
1. Lewis, Oscar “Culture of Poverty”
2. Bond, G. "Social Stratification and Education"
3. Bond, H. M. Black American Scholars (On Library Reserve)
Readers:
1.______________________ 2._________________
3.______________________
B. Educational Situations:
(Class Presentations 6) Tuesday June 27
1. Valdez, G. Con Respeto
Readers:
1.______________________ 2._________________
3.______________________