Cultural Anthropology 2
Cultural Anthropology 2
Cultural Anthropology 2
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY
E-mail address:takundachabata@gmail.com
Course Description:
This course is a continuation of issues taught in cultural anthropology 1. It however, goes deeper in terms
of analysis of the structuring of different societies and cultures. Having dealt with basic concepts in
cultural anthropology 1, in cultural anthropology 2 we shall focus on the systematic and comparative
study of human institutions and behavior in an endeavor to understand cultural diversity. As
anthropologists, we seek to understand and appreciate the wide array of cultural differences that have
developed throughout the world and to gain new insights into the patterns and dynamics of different
traditions.
Student Assessment:
Grades are determined on the following: Course work 30% and exam mark 70%. All essays must be
properly written with regard to grammar and sentence construction. Students are encouraged to type all
their assignments unless the student has some genuine challenges. All assignments must be handed in not
later than the due date given. If the student has some challenges that may downplay his/her efforts to
submit the assignment on time, s/he must alert me in time. Electronic versions are not welcome unless
accompanied by a hard copy. Plagiarism or and duplication of someone’s assignment is prohibited and
must be avoided at all cost lest a stern penalty is levied against the assailant.
COURSE CONTENT
POLITICS
What is Politics?
The basis of Political Power
Authority
Ideas
Political Symbols
Political Organisation
1
Kinds of Political Systems
Uncentralised Political Systems
Centralised Political Systems
Case studies of Political Organisation in Africa
Production
Foraging
Pastoralists
Horticulture
Intensive Agriculture
Land tenure and land rights
Feudal Systems
Lineage based tenurial system
Village based systems
Land reform and redistribution
Consumption
Distribution and Exchange
Types of reciprocity
Redistributive exchanges
Commerce between small scale societies
LEADERSHIP
Leadership Defined
Key tenets of transactional theory
Bailey on leadership and followers
Bailey on bureaucracy
Leadership as an enterprise
Leaders task
Judicial task
Mediation
Arbitration
Normative rules
Pragmatic rules
APPLIED ANTHROPOLOGY
Coursework
2
1st assignment (Individual Assignment – an average of 1500 words)
With the aid of case material, examine the characteristics of an acephalous society. (Due on the 17th of
March 2018)
Using case studies, assess the link between a people’s beliefs and their preferred mode of production.
(Due on the 13th of April 2017)
Prescribed texts
Kottak, Conrad Phillip. 1996. A Concise Introduction to Cultural Anthropology. New York: McGraw Hill
Mambo Press
Reading list
Bordly J H 1994. Cultural Anthropology Tribes States and the Glo- systems
Brokensha D and Glazier J. Land Reform among the Mbeere of Central Africa – Africa 1973
Shostak, Marjorie. 1981. Nisa: The Life and Words of a! Kung Woman. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press
Benedict, Ruth. 1989. “The Individual and the Pattern of Culture.” Boston: Houghton Mifflin,
Geertz, Clifford. 1973. “Thick Description.” Interpretation of Cultures. New York: Basic Books,
Williams, Raymond. 1983. “Culture” and “Society.” In Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society. New York:
Oxford University Press.
Stack, Carol. 1997. All Our Kin. New York: Basic Books (Chps Introduction - 4)
3
Lewis, Oscar. “Culture of Poverty”
Stack, Carol. 1997. All Our Kin. New York: Basic Books (Chps 4 &5)
Scheper-Hughes, Nancy. 2001. Saints, Scholars and Schizophrenics. Chps: Intro – 3,4&5
Petryna, Adriana. 2002. Life Exposed: Biological Citizens after Chernobyl. Princeton: Princeton University Press
Kleinman, Arthur, Veena Das and Margaret Lock. 1997. “Introduction.” Social Suffering. Berkeley: University of
California Press.