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21A.506

The Anthropology of Politics: Persuasion and Power

3-0-9 units. HASS-S · Undergraduate

Introduces the ethnographic study of politics, i.e., what anthropologists understand to be "political" in various social and economic systems, from small-scale societies to liberal democratic states. Examines politics across three contemporary contexts: electoral politics, public spheres, and bureaucracies and humanitarian governance. Students consider and analyze how questions of authority, coercion, and violence have been theorized to relate to the political, and how some aspects of social life are regimented in explicitly non-political ways.

Spring 2019

This course introduces the ethnographic study of politics, i.e., what anthropologists understand to be "political" in various social and economic systems, from small-scale societies to liberal democratic states. It examines politics across three contemporary contexts: electoral politics, public spheres, bureaucracies and humanitarian governance. Students consider and analyze how questions of authority, coercion, and violence have been theorized to relate to the political, and how some aspects of social life are regimented in explicitly non-political ways.

Readings

Fall 2016 · The Anthropology of Politics: U.S. Presidential Election Edition

Topics

  • Introduction
  • Ethnography of Elections (1)
  • Ethnography of Elections (2)
  • Ethnography of Elections (3)
  • Consensus
  • Equality
  • Authority
  • Public Opinion and Consensus (1)
  • Public Opinion and Consensus (2)
  • Consensus by Aggregation
  • Representation and Minorities
  • Consensus and Difference
  • Campaigning for Hearts and Minds
  • The Multimodality of Message
  • Celebrity Politics
  • Popular Politics
  • Microtargeting
  • Ground Wars (1)
  • Ground Wars (2)
  • Ground Wars (3)
  • Controlled Interactivity
  • Presidential Campaigning in the Internet Age
  • Presentations
  • Presentations and Wrap-Up

Readings

Spring 2014 · The Business of Politics: A View of Latin America

Topics

  • What electoral politics say about culture(s)
  • The emergence of marketing, public relations and political consulting in the U.S.: An ecology (Part 1)
  • The emergence of marketing, public relations and political consulting in the U.S.: An ecology (Part 2)
  • Segmenting citizens, reading the public mind: The invention of market research
  • Consumers or citizens? The promises and perils of mass media—The Dewey, Lippmann Debates, and an Interlude by Edward Bernays.
  • Liberalizing Latin America
  • Political consultants abroad
  • Sawyer–Miller goes South
  • Polling for democracy
  • Parables of change
  • Floating signifiers: The Caudillo meets marketing
  • Political marketing: Neo-­populism or democracy at last?
  • Final presentations
  • Wrap-up

Readings

Prerequisites & course information

Prereq: None U (Fall) Not offered regularly; consult department 3-0-9 units. HASS-S

Sources