21A.00
Introduction to Anthropology: Comparing Human Cultures
Through the comparative study of different cultures, anthropology explores fundamental questions about what it means to be human. Seeks to understand how culture shapes societies, from the smallest island in the South Pacific to the largest Asian metropolis, and affects the way institutions work, from scientific laboratories to Christian mega-churches. Provides a framework for analyzing diverse facets of human experience, such as gender, ethnicity, language, politics, economics, and art.
Spring 2022 · Introduction to Anthropology
Through the comparative study of different cultures, anthropology explores fundamental questions about what it means to be human. It seeks to understand how culture shapes societies, from the smallest island in the South Pacific to the largest Asian metropolis, and affects the way institutions work, from scientific laboratories to Christian megachurches. This course will provide a framework for analyzing diverse facets of human experience, such as gender, ethnicity, language, politics, economics, and art.
Readings
- [G] Chapter 1: Farewell to Humanity’s Childhood.
- [G] Chapter 2: Wicked Liberty.
- [G] Chapter 3: Unfreezing the Ice Age In and Out of Chains: The Protean Possibilities of Human Politics.
- [G] Chapter 4: Free People, the Origin of Cultures, and the Advent of Private Property.
- Durkheim, Emile. “Origin of These Beliefs (Conclusion): Origin of the Notion of Totemic Principle, or Mana.” Chapter 7 in Elementary Forms of the Religious Life . Translated by Karen E. Field. Free Press, 1995. ISBN: 9780029079379.
- [G] Chapter 5: Many Seasons Ago.
- [G] Chapter 8: Imaginary Cities.
- [G] Chapter 12: Conclusion.
Spring 2013 · Introduction to Anthropology
Topics
- What is culture?
- What do anthropologists do?
- What is a family?
- Is “love” a universal?
- How does society manage human crises?
- Is gender biologically determined?
- Film: “World without Fathers or Husbands”
- What is modernity?
- How does culture change?
- Should culture be preserved?
- Film: “The Future of Mud”
- What are art and performance universal?
- Is race real?
- What is a ritual?
- Film: “Nothing Rhymes with Ngapartji”
- What is art?
- How is culture learned?
- What is the purpose of play?
- Is magic irrational?
- Is rationality magical?
- How does culture shape the body?
- Film: “Ilé Aiyé: The House of Life”
- What are the limits of intercultural communication?
Readings
- Downey, Greg. Learning Capoeira: Lessons in Cunning from an Afro-Brazilian Art . Oxford University Press, 2005. ISBN: 9780195176971.
- SES #: Lec 1 · TOPICS: What is culture? · READINGS: [No readings for this lecture.]
- SES #: Lec 7 · TOPICS: Film: “World without Fathers or Husbands” · READINGS: A World Without Fathers or Husbands . Directed by Blavier, Eric and Thomas Lavachery. Produced by RTBF. Filmakers Library, 51 min. 2001. [16mm/DVD]
- SES #: Lec 8 · TOPICS: What is modernity? · READINGS: [No readings for this lecture.]
- SES #: Lec 9 · TOPICS: How does culture change? · READINGS: Kulick, Don. “Anger, Gender, Language Shift and the Politics of Revelation in a Papua New Guinean village.” In Language ideologies: Practice and theory (Oxford Studies in Anthropological Linguistics) . Oxford University Press, 1998, pp. 87–102. ISBN: 9780195105629.
- SES #: Lec 12 · TOPICS: Review · READINGS: [No readings for this lecture.]
- SES #: Lec 14 · TOPICS: What are art and performance universal? · READINGS: Downey, Greg. Chapters 1–3 in Learning Capoeira: Lessons in Cunning from an Afro-Brazilian Art . Oxford University Press, 2005. ISBN: 9780195176971.
- SES #: Lec 15 · TOPICS: Is race real? · READINGS: Downey, Greg. Chapters 4–6 in Learning Capoeira: Lessons in Cunning from an Afro-Brazilian Art . Oxford University Press, 2005. ISBN: 9780195176971.
- SES #: Lec 16 · TOPICS: What is a ritual? · READINGS: Durkheim, Emile. “Origin of the Notion of Totemic Priciple, or Mana.” In The Elementary Forms of Religious Life . Free Press, 1995, ISBN: 9780029079379.
- Gusterson, Hugh. “Nuclear Weapons Testing: Scientific Experiment as Political Ritual.” In Naked Science: Anthropological Inquiry into Boundaries, Power and Knowledge . Edited by Laura Nader. Routledge, 1996, pp. 131–47. ISBN: 9780415914659.
- SES #: Lec 19 · TOPICS: How is culture learned? · READINGS: Ochs, Elinor, and Bambi Schieffelin. “Language Acquisition and Socialization: Three Developmental Stories.” In Culture theory: Essays on mind, self and emotion. Edited by Richard A. Shweder and Robert A. LeVine. Cambridge University Press, 1984. ISBN: 9780521318310.
- SES #: Lec 20 · TOPICS: What is the purpose of play? · READINGS: [No readings for this lecture.]
- SES #: Lec 23 · TOPICS: How does culture shape the body? · READINGS: Downey, Greg. Chapters 10–12 in Learning Capoeira: Lessons in Cunning from an Afro-Brazilian Art . Oxford University Press, 2005. ISBN: 9780195176971.
- SES #: Lec 26 · TOPICS: Review · READINGS: [No readings for this lecture.]
Prerequisites & course information
Prereq: None U (Spring) 3-0-9 units. HASS-S
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗2026–2027
- MIT OpenCourseWare ↗Spring 2022
- MIT OCW calendar ↗
- MIT OCW readings ↗
- MIT OCW syllabus ↗
- MIT OpenCourseWare ↗Spring 2013
- MIT OCW syllabus ↗
- MIT OCW calendar ↗
- MIT OCW readings ↗
- Historical MIT OpenCourseWare offering. Named reading entries and schedule topics are automatically extracted from the linked source pages.
- Historical MIT OpenCourseWare offering. Named reading entries and schedule topics are automatically extracted from the linked source pages.