ANTH-GEOG 308: CROSS-CULTURAL DYNAMICS: Class Notes
Thursday, January 29: INTRODUCTION
Colonialism and Mapping
 How is colonialism / power reflected in maps/ projections?
o Pros, cons, and purposes of:
 Mercator Projection
 Peters Projection
 Robinson Projection
 Power and Mapping
Colonialism
 Imposition of cultural, political, economic, etc. ideologies
 How might “Islamic Extremism” be viewed as something other than a cultural / religious issue?
o Example: Ireland and Great Britain
o How do these ideas connect to the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris, France?
Tuesday, February 3: Mahmood Mamdani: “Modernity and Violence” and “Culture Talk”
“Culture Talk:” What is it?
What is a “jihad?”
 According to Muslims
 According to many Westerners
 What is the issue with these two differing perspectives?
How can 9/11 be seen an extension of the Cold War?
What is Mamdani’s view about why Adolph Hitler is so vilified for killing other Europeans?
 How does Germany’s invasions of surrounding countries connect to colonialism?
 What makes Germany’s attack on Europeans “different” than colonialism?
What is the connection between modernity, “progress,” and violence?
What is the idea behind the notion that “cultural is historical and non-territorial?”
Orientalism (Edward Saïd):
 What is it?
 How does it relate to colonialism?
 How does it connect to modernity and violence?
 Iran and Israel:
o How does western discourse (e.g. the media) tend to portray Iran?
o Why would the media (and others) do this?
o Why do Arab countries tend to resent the country of Israel?
o How might the fighting in / over Israel be viewed as something other than a religious
issue?
Thursday, February 5: Renato Rosaldo: "Introduction to 1993 Edition;" Preface; and "Introduction:
Grief and a Headhunter's Rage" (pp. ix thru 21)
Issues of “Objectivity” (in the social sciences):
 Why is it that no one can “objectively” study culture / cultural groups?
 How is the inclusion of emotion (e.g. anger) as part of cultural study different than old ways of
engaging cultural study?
 What is the major change that anthropology began several decades ago in terms of the
anthropological study and understanding of culture? In other words, what is the difference
between how anthropology was done early in the 20th century compared to today?
 Why is this significant?
Critiques of Objectivity:
 Limits the analysis
 Draws boundaries around cultures
 Dehumanizing / does not recognize the full humanity of people
 Essentializing

Reflection of Colonial / “White Privilege” / power structures behind the labeling, classifying, and
defining “others”
Ilongot (tribe in the Philippines) and Headhunting
 Why would one (e.g. an anthropologist) want to search for deeper meaning behind the
headhunting?
o Sign of respect
o Nature of science
o Attempts to rationalize an unfamiliar behavior
 What are the connections and challenges of understanding unfamiliar cultural practices / cultures
and one’s own lived experiences?
 What is the connection between the headhunting practice of the Ilongot and colonialism?
 How could one argue that Ilongot headhunting is more “humane” or “justified” than modern,
Western systems of warfare?
Diversity and Multiculturalism:
 How do YOU understand these terms?
 In what ways are they problematic?
 In what ways are they helpful?
 What does Rosaldo mean when he says that “the lower the level in the institutional hierarchies
the greater the degree of inclusion achieved?
o Do you believe this statement is true? Why or why not?
o How might this statement be reflected in American society? (e.g. in politics, the
workforce, the university, the UW-System, etc.)?
Tuesday, February 10 and Thursday, February 12: “Culture / culture / cultures / anti-culture”
(powerpoint): See powerpoint for specific details
General concepts, questions, and understandings to be taken from the Powerpoint:
 What are the differences between the meaning of the culture-related words in the title of this
presentation?
 How / why / when did the “definition” of culture change—and who was behind this?
 What are some of the critiques of this new form of “culture?”
 How / why is ethnocentrism always related to dominance and power?
 What is cultural relativism and why is it essential to think of cultural relativism as an approach /
technique, and not as an answer?
 How does the idea of “universal values” connect to Western thinking and Western colonialism?
 How did colonized people use these “universal values” to help undo colonialism?
 Videos on Honour Killings
o How do they contrast?
o Is this a question solely of human rights or are there other ways to view this?
o How does it show the mixing of cultures?
 What are the key differences between Cultural Relativism and Cultural Determinism—and why
does this matter?
Thursday, February 12: Renato Rosaldo: Chapter I: "The Erosion of Classis Norms”
Key Terms:
 Ethnography
 Monumentalism
 The “Museum and the Garage Sale”
 Cultural “Borderlands”
Tuesday, February 17: Chapter I: "The Erosion of Classis Norms” continued
“The Lone Ethnographer:”
 What does it refer to and why is it significant?
 According to Geertz (page 37), how do the recent “deep” changes in the social science regarding
their conceptions of (a) the object of analysis, (b) the language of analysis, and (c)

the position of the analyst, differ from those of the Lone Ethnographer?
Thursday, February 19: Renato Rosaldo: Chapter II: “After Objectivism:”
General concepts, questions, and understandings to be taken from the Powerpoint:
 How do ethnocentrism and racism connect to the Lone Ethnographer?
 Philippine Exposition:
o What was it?
o How does it connect to the idea of the Lone Ethnographer?
o How was it ethnocentric and racist—and for what purpose?
 Environmental Determinism
o What is the premise?
o What are the zones within and which supposedly led to an advanced civilization—and
why?
o How does it fit within the ideas / project of Western colonialism / imperialism?
 What is the connection between ethnocentrism, race, colonialism / imperialism, and the use of
“science?”
 What hidden power structures are visible in titles such as “First World,” “Third World,” “LDCs,”
“MDCs,” “Developed World,” etc.?
 How is (or is not) the use of “Global North” and “Global South” free of such power structures?
Interplay between media and objectivism:
 Is it possible for the media to be objective?
o How does one determine what information is appropriate and in what contexts?
o What about the use of the term / concept of “terror” in media?
o If the media is subjective, then how can one determine the validity of one media source
over another?
Tuesday, February 24: “After Objectivism” continued
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

What does the phrase “Objectifying Objectivism” mean—and what is the purpose of doing so?
What are some limitations of objectivism?
How does satire and sarcasm perhaps undermine the idea of taking words and phrases
“objectively?”
 If one rejects the idea of objectivism, what are some other options?
o Create a personal narrative (include yourself and your point-of-view)
o Consider and incorporate subjectivity: emotion, feeling, expression
o Include yourself as a “participant” and as part of what is happening
Renato Rosaldo: Chapter III: "Imperialist Nostalgia”
 Imperialist Nostalgia
o What does it mean?
o How does it work?
o What is its purpose?
o Why do people engage in it?
o What are some examples of how it is applied and where it has been used?
o How does it connect to power: colonialism, capitalism, environmentalism, etc.?
o Why and how is it selective?
o How is it continually perpetuated? In other words, why is that it never really ends?
 In what ways did Wilfrid Turnbull embody the act of imperialist nostalgia?
Thursday, February 26:
Frances Moore Lappé and Joseph Collins: “What Can’t People Feed Themselves?”
 Role of Colonialism
 “Underdeveloped” (the adjective) vs. “to underdevelop” (the verb)
 How are hunger and underdevelopment a process—as opposed to simply a state being?
 What connects “development” in some parts of the world to “underdevelopment” in other parts of
the world? What are some examples offered by the authors?
Ivan Illich: “To Hell with Good Intentions:”
 What country did Illich specifically identify for Westerners to avoid their “do gooding?”
 Why is Illich so angry for such good intentions?
 What are some of the issues he has with Westerners coming to “do good” in the developing
world?
 What does he mean by stating “There is no way for you to really meet with the underprivileged,
since there is no common ground whatsoever for you to meet on.”
 What connections can you make between colonialism, capitalism, and “international service
missions” (regardless of whether they are done for religious, economic development,
volunteering, etc. purposes)?”
 How do all of these “missions” tie into colonialism, “civilizing” the “other,” and privilege inherent to
Western culture?