Robert L. Canfield, Professor,  Office Hours: Wed 1-4 or by appointment.  McMillan 326.  Phone: 935-5282 [o], 721-1279 [h].  canfrobt@wustl.edu 
Meghan Ference, Teaching Assistant, Office Hours:  ??? or by appointment.    McMillan 301, meferenc@artsci.wustl.edu 

General Requirements

1) Reading.  Below is a schedule of lectures and readings to guide you in course preparation.  You should stay on schedule and come prepared for class discussions.  (Changes in the reading schedule may be announced in class; please stay alert for such changes).  As the details in the assigned readings are important, you should come to class with the assigned readings in hand so that you can follow the lectures and participate in the discussion.Much of the time we will work directly from the assigned readings. The textbooks are the following:

 Available at the Book Store: 
McGee and Warms [eds], Anthropological Theory, 4rd edition. Boston:  McGraw-Hill  [referred to as MW on the reading schedule] 

 Available through Erez: 
 A set of additional readings [selections from this set are marked * on the schedule below]. 

2) Attendance:  You will be expected to attend every class period and to be prepared to discuss the material assigned for that day.  Class attendance will definitely help in writing assignments and examinations.  There is virtually no chance of doing well without consistent exposure to what happens in class.  A record of attendance will be kept.  To facilitate that, you will be asked to sit in the same place every class period.  If you expect to miss class, please notify me first, or as soon afterward as possible.  If you miss more than 3 classes [unless excused] you should not expect to earn an A or A-; if you miss more classes than that please see me about the terms of continuing in the course. 

3) Class participation.  You will be expected to participate in discussions of the required material.  There will be a number of lectures, but the success of the course will depend heavily on your participation.  In class sessions I plan to ask questions about the assigned readings in order to elicit comments from you.  Your responses are important to me because they will help me track what you are actually getting out of the assigned readings. 

4) Examinations and papers.  There will be three in-class exams.  They will all be weighed more or less equally; there will be no comprehensive examination.  The readings and my lectures will focus on one unit or topic at a time, and when I have finished two units I will ask you to write a exam on those units.  The lectures and class discussions should help you grasp the assigned readings and prepare you to write the necessary exercise.  The dates of exams are indicated on the schedule below. 
 

Schedule outline

List of additional readings on erez 

*Isaiah Berlin,  1974.  “The Counter Englightenment”.  Dictionary of the History of Ideas. [110-112]
*George Stocking, 1982 [195-233]:  "Franz Boas and the Concept of Culture," pp. 195-233] in  Race, Culture and Evolution [UChic 0226774945]
*Derek Freeman, 1983 [pp 34-61] Ch 3, "The Lauching of Cultural Determinism"; Ch 4 "Boas Proposes and Intractable Problem," Margaret Mead and Samoa. [HarvISBN 0-674-54830-2]
*John W. Bennett, 1998 [pp. 219-256], "Psychology and Anthropology:  Modes of Interface ..." in Classic Anthropoology  [Transaction Press 1-56000-333-2]
*George Stocking, 1995 [pp. 304 -338] "Anarchy Brown in the Andamans and Australia ...; etc.", in After Tylor.  [UWis 0299145840]
*Robert Redfield.  1941.  [pp. ix-xxi; 1-18] "Preface", "Table of Contents", "The Peninsula of Yucatan," in Folk Cultures of Yucatan. 
*Edmund Leach.  1954.  "Introduction," Political Systems of Highland Burma. 
*Fredrik Barth.  1959.  “Segmentary Opposition and the Theory of Games.”  J of the Royal Anthropological Institute 89:5-21.
*Fredrik Barth.  1969.   "Introduction" [9-18],  from  Ethnic Groups and Boundaries; 
*Abner Cohen.  1969.   "Introduction" from Custom and Politics in Urban Africa [1-28]
*Julian Steward.  1955.  Selections [pp. 18-29, 36-42] from Theory of Culture Change. 
*Elman Service.  1962. Selections from Primitive Social Organization. 
*Marvin Harris. 1968.  "Introduction", from Rise of Anthropological Theory. 
*Marvin Harris.  1979. "Theoretical Principles of Cultural Materialism," from Cultural Materialism.
*Eric R. Wolf.  1956.  "Aspects of group relations in a complex society." 
*Eric R. Wolf.  1979.   "Introduction" and selections from Ch 3, Europe and the People without History. [UCalif 0520048989]
*Anthony Wallace, “Revitalization Movements” AA [1956] 58: 264-281.
*Malcomb Crick. 1976:  "The Structuralism of Claude Levi-Strauss," from Explorations in Language and Meaning. 
*Clifford Geertz.  1973.  “Thick description” [3-30], from The Interpretation of Culture.
*Clifford Geertz.  1973.  "Religion as a Cultural System" from The Interpretation of Culture.
*Clifford Geertz.  1973.  "Ideology as a Cultural System" from The Interpretation of Culture.
*Marshall Sahlins.  1976.  “Preface” and Ch 1:  "Marxism and Two Structuralisms" [pp vii - ix, 1-23], in Culture and Practical Reason. 
*Marshall Sahlins.  1981.  [Selections] Historical Metaphors and Mythical Realities. ISBN: 0472027212
*Pierre Bourdieu.  1972.  Selections [pp 1-9, 72-87, 171-174], from Outline of a Theory of Practice. 
*Raymond Williams.  1977.  “Selections from Marxism and Literature” [585- 608] from A Reader in Contemporary Social Theory.
*David Harvey.  1990.  Selections [pp 39-53, 356-359] from The Condition of Post-modernism [Blackwell 0631162941]
*James Clifford.  1986.  "Introduction:  Partial Truths."  Writing Culture  [pp 2-11] [UCalif 0520057295]
*Michael Fischer.  “Postmodernism,” pp 368b – 372a, in, Dictionary of Anthropology.
*Harvey, [pp. 356-369]; 
*Charles Lindholm "Logical and Moral Problems of Postmodernism"  JRAI 1997. Vol 3(4): 747-760. 
*Benedict Anderson, pp. 37-46, "Origins of National Consciousness," Imagined Communities. [Verso 0860915468].
*M-R Trouillot, “An unthinkable history” from Silencing the Past. Pp. 70-108.

==========
 AN3700 Course Schedule: [spring 2009]
 * = in the course packet; MW = in McGee and Warms

1/12/2009 M M  Syllabus, Introduction.  Importance of cultural theory for anthropological interpretation generally. 
  Unit I:  Pre-professional and early professional anthropology
1/13/2009 Tu 
1/14/2009 W Pre-professional period: Age of Discovery; Enlightenment, Counter Enlightenment. Reading assignment:  *“Counter-Enlightenment” by Isaiah Berlin 
1/15/2009 Th 
1/16/2009 F Century materialism and mechanism: Marx  Reading assignment: MW [53-66]: Marx-Engels, "Feuerbach: Opposition of the Materialist and Idealist Outlook"; 
1/17/2009 S 
1/18/2009 X 
1/19/2009 M M L KING DAY 
1/20/2009 Tu 
1/21/2009 W Beginning of the professional period: Civilization and Evolution in the Nineteenth Century: Morgan  Reading assignment: MW3 [56-67]:  Morgan: "Ethnical Periods." 
1/22/2009 Th 
1/23/2009 F Beginning of the professional period:  Civilization and Evolution in the Nineteenth Century:  Spencer and Tylor Reading Assignment: MW[5-11]  Nineteenth Century Evolutionism; MW [41-56] Tylor: Science of culture. 
1/24/2009 S 
1/25/2009 X 
1/26/2009 M Classic formulations: Functionalism: Durkheim  Reading assignment:  MW [82-85] "Foundations of Sociological Thought"; MW 6 [85-92]:   Durkheim: "What is a Social Fact?" 
1/27/2009 Tu 
1/28/2009 W Weber: "The Social Psychology of the World Religions,"
    Unit II American cultural determinism 
1/29/2009 Th 
1/30/2009 F *Stocking: "Franz Boas and the Concept of Culture," 
1/31/2009 S 
2/1/2009 X 
2/2/2009 M *Freeman:  "The Launching of CulturalDeterminism" ; *Freeman:  "Boas Proposes an Intractable Problem" 
2/3/2009 Tu 
2/4/2009 W Benedict: "Psycholo-gical Types." 
2/5/2009 Th 
2/6/2009 F Bennett on M. Mead; Freeman on “Margaret Mead and Samoa” 
2/7/2009 S 
2/8/2009 X 
2/9/2009 M *Redfield:  Folk Culture of Yucatan 
2/10/2009 Tu 
2/11/2009 W Review 
2/12/2009 Th 
2/13/2009 F Exam  I 
2/14/2009 S 
2/15/2009 X 
    Unit III British social anthropology 
2/16/2009 M *Malinowski:  “The Group and the individual in functional analysis” 
2/17/2009 Tu 
2/18/2009 W *Radcliffe-Brown: “Mother’s Brother in South Africa” 
2/19/2009 Th 
2/20/2009 F *Evans-Pritchard:  “The Nuer” 
2/21/2009 S 
2/22/2009 X 
2/23/2009 M *Leach:"Introduction," Political Systems of Highland Burma. 
2/24/2009 Tu 
2/25/2009 W *Barth: “Segmentary Opposition and the Theory of Games” 
2/26/2009 Th 
2/27/2009 F *Barth: “Ethnic Groups &Boundaries”
2/28/2009 S 
3/1/2009 X 
   Unit IV Materialist reactions
3/2/2009 M *White:  "Energy and the Evolution of Culture" 
3/3/2009 Tu 
3/4/2009 W Steward:  “Patrilineal band” 
3/5/2009 Th 
3/6/2009 F *Steward:“Multilineal Evolution” 
3/7/2009 S 
3/8/2009 X 
3/9/2009 M  BREAK 
3/10/2009 Tu 
3/11/2009 W   BREAK 
3/12/2009 Th 
3/13/2009 F    BREAK 
3/14/2009 S 
3/15/2009 X 
3/16/2009 M *Harris:  "Introduction" Rise of Anthropological Theory.  *Harris: "Theoretical Principles of Cultural Materialism" 
3/17/2009 Tu 
3/18/2009 W *Wolf:  "Aspects of group relations in a complex society." 
3/19/2009 Th 
3/20/2009 F *Wolf:  Selections, Europe and the People without History” 
3/21/2009 S 
3/22/2009 X 
3/23/2009 M *Wallace:  “Revitalization Movements” 
3/24/2009 Tu 
3/25/2009 W Review 
3/26/2009 Th 
3/27/2009 F EXAM II 
3/28/2009 S 
3/29/2009 X 
   Unit V.  Anti-materialist reactions
3/30/2009 M Levi-Strauss:  “On Language”; optional, *Crick:”Structural-ism of Levi-Strauss” 
3/31/2009 Tu 
4/1/2009 W *Sahlins: selections, Culture + Practical Reason 
4/2/2009 Th 
4/3/2009 F *Sahlins:  Ch 1, 2, Historical Metaphors and Mythical Realities 
4/4/2009 S 
4/5/2009 X 
4/6/2009 M *Geertz: “Thick Description" 
4/7/2009 Tu 
4/8/2009 W *Geertz: “Religion as Cultural System” 
4/9/2009 Th 
4/10/2009 F Turner:  “Symbols in Ndembu Ritual” 
4/11/2009 S 
4/12/2009 X 
   Unit VI Modern issues
4/13/2009 M *Raymond Williams, “Selections from Marxism and Literature” 
4/14/2009 Tu 
4/15/2009 W *Bourdieu:[selections] Outline of a Theory of Practice 
4/16/2009 Th 
4/17/2009 F *Harvey: [selections] The Condition of Post-Modernity.  *Clifford:  Intro:  Writing Culture.  *Fischer:  ‘Postmodernism”; *Friedman:  "Post-Modernism" 
4/18/2009 S 
4/19/2009 X 
4/20/2009 M  Responses to the post-modernists. Reading assignment: *Harvey, [pp. 356-369]; *Lindholm "Logical and Moral Problems of Postmodernism"  JRAI 1997. Vol 3(4): 747-760. 
4/21/2009 Tu 
4/22/2009 W *Anderson,“Immagined Community” 
4/23/2009 Th 
4/24/2009 F *Bailey, “Do what you will?”
4/25/2009 S 
4/26/2009 X 
4/27/2009 M Appadurai, "Grassroots Globalization and Research ..." 
4/28/2009 Tu 
4/29/2009 W Ong: "Anthropology, China and modernities:  the geopolitics of cultural knowledge."
4/30/2009 Th