Anthropological Theory

This course aims to give a broad outline of how anthropologists use theory in their work, and how we can apply theory for ourselves to gain a better understanding of society and culture. The disciplinary basis on which anthropology was founded ¿ the study of primitive peoples ¿ began to disappear once we realized that societies did not simply evolve from simpler to more complex states, and ¿modernity¿ was not an endpoint for all peoples. So what is anthropology now? The study of society? Of culture? Of human difference? What are we actually spending our degrees studying? The 1970s and 80s saw a broad attack on the idea of grand theories in all parts of the humanities and social sciences. Scholars increasingly came to see truth as relative, multiple, dependent on perspective and politics. At the same time, the collapse of old colonial orders undercut certainties about what society and culture: the world began to seem much more fluid and transient, and idea of an objective, impartial ethnographer came to be viewed with suspicion. Our knowledge of the world no longer seemed separate from our political and historical engagement. We still need theory if we are to understand the world around us, and this course will explore how anthropologists today are rethinking our concepts of culture and society in our ongoing efforts to make sense of things. We will focus on a few key questions: what is the relationship between society/culture and nature? What is the relationship between theories of society and political events in the world? Can anthropology ever be objective, or should we try to be engaged and active participants in the world we study? Credit Level: 11 Year Taken: Postgraduate