This course is concerned with the application of anthropological theory to particular ethnographic problems. The main objective is a survey and critical evaluation of comparison as one of the key methodological tools in social anthropology. Through their engagement with a selection of literature, ranging from classical texts to more recent ethnographic case studies, students will be introduced to some of the key theoretical concepts and debates in anthropology and assess the assumptions and limitations of different comparative approaches. Some of the topics that have been the traditional focus of comparison and that are going to be covered in the course are: history, kinship, ethnicity and identity, the anthropology of the state, as well as contemporary social practices, such as consumption, mass communication and the role of digital media.
By the end of the course, students will be able to grasp key debates in social and cultural anthropology, to critically reflect on the merits of comparison as a mode of anthropological enquiry and to understand the relationship of theory and ethnography in the construction of anthropological knowledge.
