Ateneo - UPO

Cultural anthropology

A) KOTTAK Conrad Phillip, Antropologia culturale, terza edizione, a cura di Laura Bonato, Milano, McGraw Hill, 2020 (those who have already taken an exam in demo-ethno-anthropological disciplines will have to replace the manual with another text, contacting the teacher).
B) AIME Marco, Classificare, separare, escludere. Razzismi e identità, Torino, Einaudi, 2020.
C) Non-attending students must prepare, in addition to the two texts indicated above, a text chosen from the following:
- LE BRETON David, Il tatuaggio o la firma dell’io, Madrid, Casimiro, 2017 (ISBN: 978-84-16868-65-0);
- AUGÉ Marc, Nonluoghi. Introduzione a una antropologia della surmodernità, Milano, Elèuthera (qualsiasi edizione).
Alternatively, it is possible to agree with the teacher to read another text based on your interests.
D) A seminar on Cesare Lombroso will be organized for attending students, starting from the reading of SANSONE Livio, La Galassia Lombroso, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2022.
E) Slides used during the module, which will be available online on DIR platform - www.dir.uniupo.it.

• Mission – knowledge and comprehension: deepening and understanding of theoretical concepts, methodologies, and research fields. Acquisition of the critical thinking skills required to deconstruct the most common stereotypes. Comprehension of world vision’s multiplicity through notions such as: body, family and kinship, globalization, race and racism.
• Mission – capacity 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.
• Mission - issuance of opinions: acquisition of the ability to analyze and express judgements on the learned notions as well as to compare anthropological data.
• Mission – communication skills: ability to communicate orally or in writing the topics covered with an appropriate terminology.
• Mission – study skills: ability to conduct bibliographical investigations based on knowledge acquired in the course. Ability to combine the theoretical and methodological concepts through the observation of ethnographic data.
The course aims to let the student know the main theoretical and methodological concepts of the discipline and, in the most advanced cases, to use the acquired theoretical and methodological knowledge critically. The measurement of these goals will be possible when it is checked what the student has actually learned.

Objectives and contents of the course fulfil the criteria required for the teaching in the first and second level secondary schools.

Background knowledge are not required. The course provides basic and advanced knowledge.

Frontal and seminar lessons supported by slides and ethnographic videos. Students will be involved in moderated discussions on specific themes covered in the teaching module.
Seminar lessons will focus on the topics presented in the course; as an example: reading and discussion of SANSONE Livio, La Galassia Lombroso, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2022.
It is planned to organize, as part of the course, an educational trip to a place of ethnographic interest.
Students will also be given the opportunity to carry out a small ethnographic research to be presented through a written report, for which they will be granted exemption from studying some chapters of the manual (detailed information will be provided in class and through the Dir platform ).

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. It consists of a oral test. The oral test lasts about 25 minutes. The mark is given based on 30 possible points. The exam will be considered successful with a minimum score of 18 points. The mark is assessed 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:
The notion of culture;
The notion of ethnicity;
Ethnocentrism and cultural relativism;
Globalization;
Ethnographic methods;
Gift practices;
The body;
Family and kinship, with particular attention to the gender dimension;
Race: the ethnic stereotypes – races invention;
Race: the classification of human-beings from anthropometry to the anthropology of deviance;
Race: from race to identity – new faces of racism;
Anthropology as a resource for a thoughtful teaching.

Knowledge and comprehension: knowledge of some of the essential theoretical concepts related to the subject. Knowledge of the anthropological investigation fields. Emergence and development of the concepts of race and racism.
Ability to apply knowledge and comprehension: skill to identify, interpret and critically locate some of the anthropological culture traits, with reference to the concepts of race and racism. Critical reading skills.
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.