Unit CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY

Course
Philosophy and ethics of relationships
Study-unit Code
35080606
Curriculum
World religions and philosophy
Teacher
Pietro Meloni
Teachers
  • Pietro Meloni
Hours
  • 36 ore - Pietro Meloni
CFU
6
Course Regulation
Coorte 2021
Offered
2022/23
Learning activities
Caratterizzante
Area
Discipline classiche, storiche, antropologiche e politico-sociali
Academic discipline
M-DEA/01
Type of study-unit
Opzionale (Optional)
Type of learning activities
Attività formativa monodisciplinare
Language of instruction
Italian
Contents
In the first part of the course, the theoretical foundations and the main concepts of the discipline, with brief notes on the history of Anthropology – as well as classic and contemporary ethnographic cases – will be illustrated. In the second part, referring to the key concepts of the scientific debate, we will try to reflect – opening the discussion in the classroom – on complex issues such as: culture, economy, religion, family, gender, tradition, transmission of knowledge, heritage. In the third part attention will be paid to studies on everyday life and consumption.
Reference texts
1. Ugo Fabietti, Elementi di antropologia culturale (terza edizione), Milano, Mondadori, 2015.

2. Pietro Meloni, Antropologia del consumo. Doni, merci, simboli, Carocci, Roma, 2018.
Educational objectives
Expected learning outcomes: knowledge and comprehension skills; analysis, synthesis and argumentation skills; critical and interdisciplinary connecting skills; autonomy of judgment; ability of diachronic data organization, personal evaluation and synchronic use of the acquired skills. Communication skills: ability to communicate knowledge in an appropriate anthropological language.
Learning skills: acquisition of a critical learning method.
Prerequisites
No
Teaching methods
Lectures
Other information
No
Learning verification modality
oral verification and/or test
Extended program
In the first part of the course, the theoretical foundations and the main concepts of the discipline, with brief notes on the history of Anthropology – as well as classic and contemporary ethnographic cases – will be illustrated.
Specifically we will address the following topics:
- Introduction to the anthropological perspective
- cultural anthropology in the frame of human sciences
- Origins of Anthropology
- The anthropological definition of the “concept of culture”.
In the second part, referring to the key concepts of the scientific debate, we will try to reflect – opening the discussion in the classroom – on complex issues such as: culture, economy, religion, family, gender, tradition, transmission of knowledge, heritage.
Specifically we will address the following topics:
- The construction of “race” concept.
- The deconstruction of the concept of “race”.
- The notion of relativity: questions of method and ethics.
- The concept of culture: definitions and etymology. Essentialist conceptions and processual conceptions. Some anthropological definitions of the concept of culture.
- The relational notion of “identity”: “us” and “them”.
- New forms of separation. Forms of racism. Institutional racisms. Cultural relativism and ethnocentrism. Critical ethnocentrism.
- “Biological” and “socio-cultural”: gender, gender and sexuality. Family-families. Contextualization of the family concept.
Specifically we will address the following topics:
- Ethnography; anthropological research methodologies and looks on the world.
- The relationship between food and culture.
- The common sense.
- Theories of consumption.
- Media and digital culture.
Condividi su