Theory 2: Anthropology of Time
ANTH 296
Spring 2020
| Section:
01
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| This course may be repeated for credit. |
| Certificates: Social, Cultural, and Critical Theory |
| Course Cluster: Social, Cultural, and Critical Theory Certificate |
Theory 1 and Theory 2 are core courses for the major, designed to elucidate historical influences on contemporary anthropological theory. While precise topics may vary from year to year, the overall goal of the courses remains the same: to familiarize students with the main traditions from which the discipline of anthropology emerged and to explore the diverse ways in which contemporary anthropological practice defines itself both with and against them.
In this course, we will examine anthropology's integral (and often fraught) relationship with time. The course is divided into two major segments. In our first half, we will explore the philosophical backstory of time as a particular--and, perhaps, foundational--category of human perception and experience. We will then trace how classic anthropology attempted to pick up these debates via core anthropological concerns with relativism, with cultural particularity, and with the social origins of perception.
With these canonical foundations in place, we will turn in our second segment to the myriad ways in which the concern with time infuses contemporary anthropology. Here we will move from questions of anthropological representation--especially the notorious critique of the "ethnographic present"--to recent anthropological attempts to discuss the cultural, social, and political work inherent in the production of different pasts, presents, and futures. As we will explore, though it may seem intimate and inherent, the production of time cannot be separated from ongoing histories of colonial domination, violence, resilience, innovation, and transformation. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS ANTH |
| Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: ANTH101 |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (ANTH)(CSCT) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: 75% - 89% |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Munn, Povinelli, Kant, Durkheim, Derrida, Koselleck, Dawdy, Benjamin, Deleuze, and more
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Examinations and Assignments:
Two take-home exams, one research paper, weekly journal entries. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
Students must attend the first day of class or will be disenrolled. |
| Instructor(s): Weiss,Joseph Times: ....R.. 01:20PM-04:10PM; Location: ZLKA202; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 15 | | SR major: 6 | JR major: 9 | | |
| Seats Available: -8 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: X | JR non-major: X | SO: X | FR: X |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 0 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
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