Ateneo - UPO

Introduction to some classic texts of twentieth-century cultural anthropology

A) Complete reading of a "classic" text of twentieth-century cultural anthropology, chosen from:
Margaret Mead, L'adolescenza in Samoa, Firenze, Giunti, 2021.
Margaret Mead, America allo specchio. Lo sguardo di un'antropologa, Milano, Il saggiatore, 2008.
Margaret Mead, Maschio e femmina, Milano, Il saggiatore, 2016.
Bronisław Malinowski, La vita sessuale dei selvaggi nella Melanesia nord-occidentale, Milano, Raffaello Cortina, 2005.

B) Slides used during the lectures, which will be available online on DIR platform - www.dir.uniupo.it. Students are reminded that for the exam preparation slides do not replace the study of the required textbooks.

The course aims to deepen knowledge of the works of two key figures in twentieth-century cultural anthropology: Bronisław Malinowski (1884-1942) and Margaret Mead (1901-1978), leading exponents of the British and American schools of anthropology, respectively.

• Mission – knowledge and comprehension: deepen your knowledge of some classic texts of cultural anthropology.
• Mission – ability to implement knowledge and comprehension: ability to identify, interpret and critically locate some of the anthropological culture characteristics, as well as the acquisition of the ability to read and critically review scientific texts and documents, starting from the reflections of classic authors of international anthropology.
The course aims, at a basic level, to transfer to students:
• Mission - issuance of opinions: acquisition of the ability to analyze and express judgements on the learned notions as well as to compare anthropological texts.
• Mission – communication skills: ability to communicate the covered topics with an appropriate terminology, orally or in a written paper.
• Mission – study skills: ability to conduct bibliographical investigations based on knowledge acquired during the course. Ability to combine the theoretical and methodological concepts through the observation of ethnographic data.

At a more advanced level, the aim of the course is to acquire:
- the ability to express critical judgements on the topics discussed, also as the result of a personal re-elaboration;
- the ability to illustrate the contents and topics of the course through a fluent and precise presentation, using the specific terminology learnt.

The course aims to make the student aware of some among the main theoretical and methodological concepts of the discipline starting from the ethnographic and theoretical reflection of some classical authors and, in the most advanced cases, to critically use the acquired theoretical and methodological knowledge. The measurement of the aforementioned goals will be possible during the learning assessment.

The course will alternate between lectures and interactive sessions, starting with shared readings of texts from the works of the authors being analyzed.

It is recommended that students have already taken an exam in a anthropological discipline (e.g., Cultural Anthropology, Ethnology,...) during their university studies. Students who have not taken exams in this subject area are required to read M. Aime, Il primo libro di antropologia, Torino, Einaudi, 2008, to familiarize themselves with the fundamental concepts and vocabulary of anthropology.

Lectures and seminar lessons supported by slides and ethnographic videos. Students will be involved in moderated discussions on specific themes covered in the teaching module.

The slides used during the course, and other teaching materials will be provided on the DIR website.
Students are required to register on the DIR website (www.dir.uniupo.it).
Students with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Education Needs can request specific services and tools via the Staff Sviluppo e Coordinamento Carriere e Servizi alle Studentesse e agli Studenti, consulting the University webpage: https://www.uniupo.it/en/services/services-students-physical-or-learning-disabilities
Students with disabilities, learning disabilities or special education needs, once they have contacted the University Staff, can refer to the tutor in charge of the course to define the examination modalities, concerning academic aspects.

The exam is aimed at verifying the achievement of the learning objectives. The oral test lasts approximately 25 minutes.
Answers will also enable to test communication skills.

The assessment is given by the average of the two partial marks and it is expressed according to the following criteria:
- from 18 to 21/30: acceptable knowledge and comprehension of the basic concepts of the books indicated in the bibliography; sufficient critical reasoning skills and ability to make mental association; fair ability to organize and present the acquired knowledge clearly and effectively and to communicate the issues by using an appropriate terminology; fair ability to acquire new skills; - from 22 to 25/30: the same items with a satisfactory performance;
- from 26 to 28/30: the same items with a good performance;
- from 29 to 30/30 (with possible honors): the same items with an excellent performance.

In particular, the course will address the following topics:
Knowledge of the life and main works of some exponents of the British and American anthropological school:
Bronisław Malinowski
Franz Boas
Margaret Mead
Ruth Benedict

INTEGRATION OF THE GENDER DIMENSION:
The course will also explore in depth the gender dimension using several examples drawn from readings of the texts chosen for the program, which specifically address the gender dimension (e.g. M. Mead, Coming of Age in Samoa (1928), Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies (1935) and Male and Female (1949); B. Malinowski, The Sexual Life of Savages in North-Western Melanesia (1929)).

Knowledge and comprehension: knowledge and comprehension of some classic texts of contemporary cultural anthropology

Ability to apply knowledge and comprehension: critical reading skills of an anthropological text.
Autonomy of judgement: ability to critically communicate the acquired notions by means of an appropriate terminology. Ability to learn/study: ability to deepen the topics covered during the course approaching anthropological readings; ability to draw on bibliographical resources aimed at acquiring new competences.
In order to achieve an advanced level, students must prove as follows:
An organic vision of the themes covered during the course, summary and analysis ability;
Personal elaboration and review of the covered topics, with excellent expressive command;
Ability to independently deepen particular topics.
The mentioned results are consistent with the SUA of the Course of Study.