Anthropology 531a
Ethnography and the futures of
anthropology
Fall term, 2001
Mondays 3:30-5:20 in Room 1, 158 Whitney Avenue
Instructor: William
Kelly
Ethnographic
writing, as our disciplined forms of composition and communication, is at the
core of anthropology. This seminar offers a forum for critical readings and
discussion of recent ethnographies. Its aim is to allow advanced students to
assess the possibilities for our core representational form in light of the
many serious challenges to its politics, efficacy, ethics, and rhetoric. Is
ethnography still worth writing? Is it still possible to write ethnography?
Should we contemplate anthropology without ethnography?
The seminar is
only open to graduate students and advanced undergraduate anthropology majors
who have already completed one of the following courses: Anthropology 500a;
Anthropology 500b; Anthropology 415/515 (Culture and Political Economy); and/or
Anthropology 424/536 (Classics in Ethnography) . There are no exceptions to
this requirement. Because of the structure of the seminar, enrollment is
limited to five students. First preference given to second-year students in the
Department's doctoral program. Second preference is given to first-year
students in the doctoral program and to senior undergraduate majors with
appropriate background.
Our focus in the
seminar is on intensive reading and appraisal of ten
recent ethnographies that represent some of the world regions, analytical
topics, theoretical orientations, and expository forms that are of current
significance and debate in anthropology.
Among other considerations, the seminar assesses how far they differ
from earlier "classical" ethnography and how they self-consciously or
implicitly grapple with some of the skepticism and criticism that ethnography
has faced in the last twenty years.
The format of
each session will be as follows:
a. One
student will offer a twenty-minute presentation of the session ethnography,
following the guidelines that I have
made available. Preparation for this presentation is to be taken seriously.
Consider it as if you are delivering a paper at an anthropology meeting--as a
formal oral presentation. Indeed, I intend these presentations to serve not
only as a framework for the session's consideration of the text but also as
professional training in delivering talks. The presentation will be recorded by
digital camera and later critiqued by the instructor and the class.
b. A second
student will then offer a ten-minute commentary on this presentation. This too
will be recorded for later critique.
c. The
balance of the session will be devoted to discussion of the text. I expect
every student to contribute actively and responsibly to our collective efforts.
Students' final grades will be reduced by one-third of a full letter grade for
every session to which they make no contribution.
d. Both
presentations will be recorded with a digital camera, and after the seminar
both students wil meet with the instructor to review the recordings and discuss
and evaluate the presentations.
All of the books
are available in paperback versions in the Textbook Section of the Barnes and
Noble Yale Bookstore.
Note:
Presentations from Fall Term 2001 can now be viewed at this site. Please note that they are very large
QuickTime ".mov" files and can only be accessed via ethernet or a
high-speed DSL or cable connection.
Fall Term, 2001: readings
and session schedule
schedule of
presentations for Fall Term, 2001
guidelines for
session presentations
schedule of
presentations for Spring Term, 2001
syllabus for Spring Term,
2001: readings and session schedule