Ateneo - UPO

Cultural anthropology

A) MILLER Barbara, Antropologia culturale, terza edizione, a cura di Alessandra Broccolini, Milano, Pearson, 2025.
N.B. 1: Barbara Miller’s textbook is jointly adopted with the ethnology module held by Professor Davide Porporato as part of the integrated course “Anthropology: Memories and Contemporaneity”.
N.B. 2: those who have already taken an exam in demo-ethno-anthropological disciplines will have to replace the manual of Barbara Miller with: Matthew ENGELKE, Pensare come un antropologo, Torino, Einaudi, 2018. In any case, those who find themselves in this situation, must contact the teacher well in advance to verify the program and agree upon a substitution”.
B) Simonetta GRILLI, Antropologia delle famiglie contemporanee, nuova edizione, Roma, Carocci, 2025.

C) 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.

• 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 – 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.
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 data.
• 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 the main theoretical and methodological concepts of the discipline 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.
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.

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.
Attending students will have a seminar or other integrative activities organized, jointly with Ethnology A teaching course held by Professor Davide Porporato. Non-attending students will be provided with additional information and instructions for exam preparation on the DIR platform
Students will also be given the opportunity to carry out small ethnographic research to be presented through a written report, which will grant them the 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. The exam is structured in two parts that can be taken on a single day or in two consecutive or non-consecutive calls, at student’s discretion.
FIRST PART A MILLER Barbara, Antropologia culturale, terza edizione, a cura di Alessandra Broccolini, Milano, Pearson, 2025 (only the chapters listed in the document “ESAME ANTROPOLOGIA CULTURALE - MANUALE MILLER - PARTI DA STUDIARE.PDF” available on DIR) and slides presented during course. The knowledge of the program will be evaluated by an e-test consisting in 30 multiple-choice questions. The e-test lasts 30 minutes. 1 point is given for each correct answer. This part of the exam will be considered successful with a minimum of 18 correct answers.
SECOND PART B) Simonetta GRILLI, Antropologia delle famiglie contemporanee, nuova edizione, Roma, Carocci, 2025. An oral or written presentation, depending on student’s preference, on two themes of the program determined by the teacher. During the exam the candidate will be tested on a topic decided by the teacher. Answers will also enable to test communication skills. The written test lasts 90 minutes; the oral test lasts approximately 25 minutes. The mark is expressed in thirtieths. The second part of the exam will be considered successful with a minimum score of 18 points. The final 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:
The notion of culture.
The notion of ethnicity.
Ethnocentrism and cultural relativism.
Globalization.
Gender and kinship.
Family and kinship studies in Euro-American Societies.
Demographic transitions and transformations of the kinship.
Single mothers and child-free couples.
The grandparenting: the century of grandparents.
The invention of the married couple.
Marriage’s evolution from the system’s keystone to a reversible commitment.
Kinship in the age of divorce and family recomposition.
Practices of co-residence and parental relationality.
Families with caregivers.
Kinship in the age of its technical reproducibility.

INTEGRATION OF THE GENDER DIMENSION:
The course will also explore in depth the gender dimension using several examples drawn from ethnographic observation. This will encompass both the cultural construction of the body and the role of women within the processes of building family models.

Knowledge and comprehension: knowledge of some of the essential theoretical concepts related to the subject. Knowledge of the anthropological investigation fields. The Anthropology of Family and Kinship.
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 family and kinship. 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.