SOC2052 Political AnthropologyBahçeşehir UniversityDegree Programs PSYCHOLOGYGeneral Information For StudentsDiploma SupplementErasmus Policy StatementNational QualificationsBologna Commission
PSYCHOLOGY
Bachelor TR-NQF-HE: Level 6 QF-EHEA: First Cycle EQF-LLL: Level 6

Course Introduction and Application Information

Course Code Course Name Semester Theoretical Practical Credit ECTS
SOC2052 Political Anthropology Fall 3 0 3 5
This catalog is for information purposes. Course status is determined by the relevant department at the beginning of semester.

Basic information

Language of instruction: English
Type of course: Non-Departmental Elective
Course Level: Bachelor’s Degree (First Cycle)
Mode of Delivery: Face to face
Course Coordinator : Dr. Öğr. Üyesi AYŞEGÜL AKDEMİR
Recommended Optional Program Components: "."
Course Objectives: The aim of this course on “Political Anthropology: Human Being, Society, Culture, Religion, Power and Security in a Globalized Context” is to investigate the construction of political power through an anthropological perspective. Moving from the most traditional anthropological approach to a more contemporary and critical one in which the main topic of the investigation of anthropology has become the study of all the inhabitants of the Planet Earth, this course want to investigate the relation and the construction of functions and structures among the human beings, their society, their culture and religion, and the consolidation of power through a security narratology in a globalized context. It is in this framework, the global one, in which the classical anthropological matrix of human being-society culture and now environment (not territory) that we find a common ground with the arguments of critical security studies in which the focus of their research as moved from the state, to the individual, and from him, to the idea of International Society and now of the World Society.

Learning Outcomes

The students who have succeeded in this course;
The students who succeeded in this course will be able to:

1)Describe the anthropological approach to studying society, culture, politics and power
2)Able to describe and compare major theories about Political Anthropology
3)Demonstrate the knowledge of the major issues, problems, and findings in Political Anthropology
4)Apply political anthropology perspectives and theories to contemporary problems in relation to the Human Being, Society, Culture, Religion, Power and Security in a Globalized Context
5)Assess the impact of culture, religion, power, and security narratology on the daily life of individuals and various social groups and the impact of globalization on local political organizations discourses
6)Describe inter-sectionality between culture, religion, power and security
7)Develop ability for critical evaluation of written materials on power, security and culture
8)Acquire the ability to discuss the social dynamics of politics, power and security with a degree of objectivity
9)Able to apply qualitative and quantitative research techniques to study state, society and culture
10)Write a research proposal and design research in the field of political anthropology

Course Content

The course is organized in seven modules. The first module of the course, “Methodology”, wants to introduce the student to the most recent methodologies in social science, anthropology, and discourse analysis. The second module on “Identity and Nationalism” analyses the construction of political identity through the concept of imagined community and nationalism. The third module, “Social and Political Anthropology, and Anthropology of Religion”, first aims to introduce the student to the general topic of social anthropology and then examines the field of political anthropology as it was practiced roughly through the 1960s, when anthropologists were primarily concerned with politics in so called primitive societies, institutions of rule in societies in which the state seemed absent, and the evolutionary and historical emergence of the state. It then looks at the implications of anthropologists’ recognition of the importance of colonialism and global capitalism on the societies they studied. In order to understand the construction of structured and political order through religious believes elements of Anthropology of Religion are provided in this part of the course. “Power”, “Security and Insecurity”, and “Globalization and Culture” (fourth, fifth, and sixth module) considers the way anthropologists have rethought the concept of power, influenced by transformations in the societies they studied, security and insecurity concerns, changes in the global political economy, and ideas from thinkers outside the field of anthropology. In doing so, it examines both “formal” politics and everyday forms of power, domination and resistance and how the construction of security and insecurity narratives have contributed to solidify the power of political elites. Then we consider politics, power, and culture in an age of “globalization”- questioning that term even as we examine its implications for identity, the state, and political action, and emphasizing the ways ethnographically grounded anthropological research can shift from the micro level to illuminate large-scale, national, transnational and global processes. The final module of the course examines, and investigates three monographic aspects which summarize the essence of the course on Political Anthropology: the construction of the modern political religion (Emilio Gentile), how human crowds are constructed and manipulated by power (Elias Canetti), and how a narrative has constructed a unique space-temporal dimension in which the Jewish people live (Shlomo Sand).

Weekly Detailed Course Contents

Week Subject Related Preparation
1) Introduction, course outline and Philosophy of Science: Ways of Knowing – Competing Methodologies in Social and Political Research; Thomas Hojrup, 2003, State, Culture and Life Modes, Aldershot: Ashgate, Introduction • Lewellen, Ted. C. 2003. Political Anthropology – An Introduction. London: Praeger. Chapter 1. • Gledhill, John. 2000. Power and its Disguises: Anthropological Perspectives on Politics. London: Pluto. Chapter 1.
2) 1st Module: “Methodology: Life-Modes” State, Culture and Life-Modes Thomas Hojrup, 2003, State, Culture and Life Modes, Aldershot: Ashgate, Chapter 1 • Lewellen, Ted. C. 2003. Political Anthropology – An Introduction. London: Praeger.Chapter 2. • Gledhill, John. 2000. Power and its Disguises: Anthropological Perspectives on Politics.London: Pluto. Chapter 2.
3) 1st Module: “Methodology: Life-Modes State, Culture and Life-Modes Thomas Hojrup, 2003, State, Culture and Life Modes, Aldershot: Ashgate, Chapter 2 • Lewellen, Ted. C. 2003. Political Anthropology – An Introduction. London: Praeger.Chapter 3. • Gledhill, John. 2000. Power and its Disguises: Anthropological Perspectives on Politics. London: Pluto. Chapter 3.
4) 2nd Module: Political Anthropology, and Anthropology of Religion Thomas Hojrup, 2003, State, Culture and Life Modes, Aldershot: Ashgate, Chapter 3 • Lewellen, Ted. C. 2003. Political Anthropology – An Introduction. London: Praeger. Chapter 4. • Gledhill, John. 2000. Power and its Disguises: Anthropological Perspectives on Politics.London: Pluto. Chapter 4.
5) 2nd Module: Political Anthropology, and Anthropology of Religion Thomas Hojrup, 2003, State, Culture and Life Modes, Aldershot: Ashgate, Chapter 4 • Lewellen, Ted. C. 2003. Political Anthropology – An Introduction. London: Praeger. Chapter 5. • Gledhill, John. 2000. Power and its Disguises: Anthropological Perspectives on Politics. London: Pluto. Chapter 5 • Kitap incelemesi teslimi
6) 3rd Module: “Identity and Nationalism Hall, Stuart, and du Gay, Paul. Ed. 2007. Questions of Cultural Identity. London: Sage Publications. • Hobsbawm, E.J.. Ed. 2010. Nations and Nationalism since 1780: Programme, Myth, Reality. Cambridge University Press. Chapter 6 • Lewellen, Ted. C. 2003. Political Anthropology – An Introduction. London: Praeger.Chapter 6. • Gledhill, John. 2000. Power and its Disguises: Anthropological Perspectives on Politics. London: Pluto. Chapter 6.
7) Course review and homework (project proposal) submission Project Proposal 1 : 250-word proposal for major paper is due in this week
8) 3rd Module: “Identity and Nationalism” Hearn, Jonathan. 2006. Rethinking Nationalism: A Critical Introduction. New York: Palgrave Macmillian. • Anderson, Benedict. Ed. 2006. Imagined Communities. London: Verso. 7 • Lewellen, Ted. C. 2003. Political Anthropology – An Introduction. London: Praeger. Chapter 7. • Gledhill, John. 2000. Power and its Disguises: Anthropological Perspectives on Politics. London: Pluto. Chapter 7.
9) 4th Module: “Power” Power in the Global Age Lewellen, Ted. C. 2003. Political Anthropology – An Introduction. London: Praeger. Chapter 8. • Gledhill, John. 2000. Power and its Disguises: Anthropological Perspectives on Politics. London: Pluto. Chapter 8.
10) 4th Module: “Power” Communication Power Lewellen, Ted. C. 2003. Political Anthropology – An Introduction. London: Praeger. Chapter 9. • Gledhill, John. 2000. Power and its Disguises: Anthropological Perspectives on Politics. London: Pluto. Chapter 9.
11) 5th Module: “Security and Insecurity From international to world society? - English school theory and the social structure of globalization; and Security: A New Framework for Analysis Lewellen, Ted. C. 2003. Political Anthropology – An Introduction. London: Praeger.Chapter 10.
12) 5th Module: “Security and Insecurity Lewellen, Ted. C. 2003. Political Anthropology – An Introduction. London: Praeger.Chapter 11. Proje önerisi 2: 500 kelime
13) 6th Module: “Globalization and Culture • Globalization: a critical introduction • Globalization and Culture. Oral defense of final work Vincent, Joan. Ed. 2002. The Anthropology of Politics: A Reader in Ethnography, Theory, and Critique. Malden, MA: Blackwell. Chapter 32.
14) 6th Module: “Globalization and Culture •Fear of Small Numbers: An Essay on the Geography of Anger • The Geopolitics of Emotion – How Cultures of Fear, Humiliation, and Hope Are Reshaping the World? Oral defense of project Vincent, Joan. Ed. 2002. The Anthropology of Politics: A Reader in Ethnography, Theory, and Critique. Malden, MA: Blackwell. Chapter 33

Sources

Course Notes / Textbooks: Philosophy of Science:
Moses, Jonathon W, and Knutsen, Torbjorn. 2007. Ways of Knowing – Competing Methodologies in Social and Political Research. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Methodology:
Thomas Hojrup, 2003, State, Culture and Life Modes, Aldershot: Ashgate.
Political Anthropology, and Anthropology of Religion:
Lewellen, Ted. C. 2003. Political Anthropology – An Introduction. London: Praeger.
Gledhill, John. 2000. Power and its Disguises: Anthropological Perspectives on Politics. London: Pluto.
Bowie, Fiona. Ed. 2006.The Anthropology of Religion. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing
4. Identity and Nationalism:
Hall, Stuart, and du Gay, Paul. Ed. 2007. Questions of Cultural Identity. London: Sage Publications.
Hobsbawm, E.J.. Ed. 2010. Nations and Nationalism since 1780: Programme, Myth, Reality. Cambridge University Press.
Hearn, Jonathan. 2006. Rethinking Nationalism: A Critical Introduction. New York: Palgrave
Macmillian.
Anderson, Benedict. Ed. 2006. Imagined Communities. London: Verso.
Power:
• Beck, Ulrich. Ed 2006. Power in the Global Age. Cambridge: Polity
• Castells, Manuel. 2009. Communication Power. Oxford University Press.
Security and Insecurity:
• Buzan, Barry. 2004. From international to world society? - English school theory and the social
structure of globalization. Cambridge University Press
• Buzan, Barry, Ole Waever and Jaap de Wilde. 1997. Security: A New Framework for Analysis. Lynne
Rienner Publishers Inc
• Campbell, David. Ed. 1998. Writing Security: United States Foreign Policy and the Politics of Identity.
Minneapolis/Manchester: University of Minnesota Press/Manchester University Press.
• Huysmans, Jef. 2006. The Politics of Insecurity: Fear, migration and asylum in EU. London: Routledge.
Globalization and Culture:
• Scholte, Jan Aart. Ed. 2005. Globalization: a critical introduction. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Tomlinson, John, Ed. 2008. Globalization and Culture. Cambridge: Polity
• Appadurai, Arjun. 2006. Fear of Small Numbers: An Essay on the Geography of Anger. Duke
University Press.
• Moisi, Dominique, 2010. The Geopolitics of Emotion – How Cultures of Fear, Humiliation, and Hope
Are Reshaping the World. New York: Anchor Books.
Monographic Textbooks:
• Gentile, Emilio. 2006. Politics as Religion. Princeton University Press;
• Gentile, Emilio. 2008. God's Democracy: American Religion After September 11 - Religion, Politics
and Public Life. Greenwood
• Canetti, Elias. Ed. 1992. Crowds and Power. London: Penguin Books
• Sand, Shlomo, 2010. The Invention of the Jewish People. London: Verso
Fiction:
• Orwell, George. Ed. 2000. Nineteen Eighty-Four. London: Penguin Books

-Additional readings will be announced.
References: "."

Evaluation System

Semester Requirements Number of Activities Level of Contribution
Attendance 14 % 10
Homework Assignments 1 % 10
Presentation 1 % 10
Project 1 % 10
Midterms 1 % 20
Final 1 % 40
Total % 100
PERCENTAGE OF SEMESTER WORK % 50
PERCENTAGE OF FINAL WORK % 50
Total % 100

ECTS / Workload Table

Activities Number of Activities Duration (Hours) Workload
Course Hours 14 3 42
Study Hours Out of Class 14 3 42
Presentations / Seminar 1 10 10
Project 1 20 20
Homework Assignments 1 10 10
Midterms 1 2 2
Final 1 3 3
Total Workload 129

Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes

No Effect 1 Lowest 2 Low 3 Average 4 High 5 Highest
           
Program Outcomes Level of Contribution
1) To develop an interest in the human mind and behavior, to be able to evaluate theories using empirical findings, to understand that psychology is an evidence-based science by acquiring critical thinking skills.
2) To gain a biopsychosocial perspective on human behavior. To understand the biological, psychological, and social variables of behavior.
3) To learn the basic concepts in psychology and the theoretical and practical approaches used to study them (e.g. basic observation and interview techniques).
4) To acquire the methods and skills to access and write information using English as the dominant language in the psychological literature, to recognize and apply scientific research and data evaluation techniques (e.g. correlational, experimental, cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, case studies).
5) To be against discrimination and prejudice; to have ethical concerns while working in research and practice areas.
6) To recognize the main subfields of psychology (experimental, developmental, clinical, cognitive, social and industrial/organizational psychology) and their related fields of study and specialization.
7) To acquire the skills necessary for analyzing, interpreting and presenting the findings as well as problem posing, hypothesizing and data collection, which are the basic elements of scientific studies.
8) To gain the basic knowledge and skills necessary for psychological assessment and evaluation.
9) To acquire basic knowledge of other disciplines (medicine, genetics, biology, economics, sociology, political science, communication, philosophy, anthropology, literature, law, art, etc.) that will contribute to psychology and to use this knowledge in the understanding and interpretation of psychological processes.
10) To develop sensitivity towards social problems; to take responsibility in activities that benefit the field of psychology and society.
11) To have problem solving skills and to be able to develop the necessary analytical approaches for this.
12) To be able to criticize any subject in business and academic life and to be able to express their thoughts.