LARTS 350 — Seeing like an Anthropologist: Examining Culture, Power, and Meaning

This introductory course will expose students to the fundamentals of Cultural Anthropology and the colonial history of the discipline. Students will develop their capacity to see social life and human experience through an anthropological lens attuned to issues of culture, power, language, race, gender, and history. Each class will build upon previous discussions and readings, providing a textured and complex understanding of what constitutes meaning and agency in people’s lives. Students will learn to write ethnographic notes and use them to look for patterns that might deepen their understanding of themselves and the world around them. They will also be encouraged to examine cultural assumptions and look at social life through multiple points of view. Overlapping with themes pertaining to Art, Society, and Politics (ASP), this class will incorporate museum visits, as museums and anthropology share a long and sordid history. 

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