POLITICAL ANTHROPOLOGY ANTH 423, 2013
Course Coordinator: Dr. Maximilian C. Forte Dept. of Sociology & Anthropology, Concordia University Office: H-1125-11 Office Hours: Tuesdays & Thursdays: 11:45am-12:45pm, 4:30-6:00pm Contact: [email protected]
Winter Semester, 2012-201303 credits
10 January – 11 April, 2013 Meeting days and times:
Thursdays: 1:15pm—4:00pm Campus: SGW, Room: H-529
Course Website:http://politicalanthro.wordpress.com/
“An anthropology that takes cultures to be collective creations, that reifies them into texts and objectifies their meanings, disguises and even mystifies the dynamics of knowledge and its uses [is problematic]…. cultures do not simply constitute webs of significance….They constitute ideologies, disguising human political and economic realities as cosmically ordained. Even in classless societies, cultural ideologies empower some, subordinate others, extract the labour of some for the benefit of those whose interests the ideologies serve and legitimate. Cultures are webs of mystification as well as signification. We need to ask who creates and who defines cultural meanings, and to what ends.”
—Roger M. Keesing (1987: 161-162) “Each agent, wittingly or unwittingly, willy nilly, is a producer and reproducer of objective meaning. Because his actions and works are the product of a modus operandi of which he is not the producer and has no conscious mastery, they contain an ‘objective intention’...which always outruns his conscious intentions”
—Pierre Bourdieu (1977: 79) A. OUTLINE OF PROBLEMS Up until the 1950s, political anthropology was preoccupied with politics in non-Western societies, typically focusing on small-scale, local and regional social bodies, with an interest in questions of the relationships between power and politics, and debated whether one could even find either politics or power in non-state societies. In contrast to characterizations of stable, local social formations, seen as homogeneous wholes that seemingly existed free of the impact of forces such as colonialism, slavery and the world market, anthropologists have argued in recent decades for different ways of conceptualizing power and its presence. One way to reinterpret the presence of power in shaping local politics was to recognize the fact that the “remote” communities anthropologists had been studying had been incorporated into a global system of unequal power relations. Anthropologists became more explicit in their theorizing that they had never actually studied any non-state society ethnographically, because by the time they encountered these societies they had long been incorporated by local states, colonial administrations, and the broader forces of empire.
In addition, anthropology was itself critiqued, both from within the discipline and from without, as itself being the product of empire, a discipline that experienced its fruition in colonial settings, often seemingly collaborating with colonialism itself. The anthropology of politics began to cross over into the politics of anthropology in new and interesting ways. A second way to rework the anthropology of politics and power was to take another look at the relationships structuring these local societies that typically were at the centre of their ethnographic studies. Some anthropologists began to argue that communities once portrayed as egalitarian, instead possessed some degree of internal inequalities in decision-making and unequal access to resources. Questions emerged as to which societies tended to be more egalitarian than others, especially by reference to the role of women, the sexual division of labour, and access to resources. From the 1970s onward, certain concepts came to dominate political anthropology. The most prominent have been ideology, hegemony, class, and power. Anthropologists now seek to uncover the ideological and social means by which some groups seek to attain or assert power as well as the resistance faced by such groups. Recognizing power operating at all levels is not necessarily an analytical panacea. Arguable we ought to be wary of overly conspiratorial notions of power as absolute, of institutions exercising total control, of persons as pawns or dupes. On the other hand, the other extreme might not be better, that being a view of persons as self-determining free actors, as all-knowing subjects that master their own destinies. The notion of cultures as unceasingly contested, rife with conflict, unable to achieve stability and consensus might also be one that is sometimes problematic. Therefore given the various positions we will encounter on culture, power and anthropological understandings, you should be most alert and critical. In this course we will investigate various sources and expressions of power, as well as the ways in which anthropologists have sought to theorize and study power in ethnographic and theoretical terms. B. SOME RECURRING QUESTIONS These are some of the key questions among the many that this course will raise. While we will encounter or produce many more questions in the course of our discussions, the questions below often tend to recur. • What are the key meanings of “power” as utilized by anthropologists? • What are the diverse sources and manifestations of power? How do they interrelate? • How do we theorize the agency of the individual in light of structures of power? • What are the relationships between colonial power and anthropological knowledge? • What does anthropology really have to offer in understanding power and politics? • In which ways does political anthropology provoke us to question our own understandings of
democracy, liberty, and equality? • Can there be politics without power?
C. COURSE REQUIREMENTS, GRADING, AND POLICIES Overview of Graded Course Components The principle behind the assignments is a simple one: course content matters a great deal, but often needs to be complemented by outside sources, with the most successful students being those who take the initiative to engage in independent learning. There are therefore three separate take-home essay exams. Each one is structured by the course content, but also invites you to do additional reading of your choosing outside of what is assigned but that is still directly relevant to course content. Your choice matters, and the choice of additional sources will itself be the product of independent research. To some extent, each exam is in fact a cross between a traditional essay exam and a research paper, with a heavy focus however on reviewing the relevant literature more than uncovering new research topics. The additional challenge in writing these papers is that you will be required to not exceed a maximum number of words (these will vary with each assignment). This will mean that you have to choose to write what you think is most important and relevant, to be focused and coherent, and to structure your paper effectively. Knowing that you cannot just say everything, that is, to essentially dump all your notes into an essay, should cause you to ask yourself: “Then what should I say, and why?” Whenever you write, ask yourself, by reference to the exam question, “So what?” and “How does this address the question?” One more challenge that is a part of these writing exercises is that they require you to have kept up with the assigned readings and to have attended the lectures and discussions. Leaving the readings for when you are about to write the exam will obviously leave you with too little time—and there are no extensions, except in extreme and unusual cases. More details on these exams will follow in class and through circulated announcements. Each exam carries a different weight in terms of the final course grade: Exam #1: 35% — assigned on February 7, 2013 — due February 28, 2013 (in class) Exam #2: 30% — assigned on March 14, 2013 — due March 28, 2013 (in class) Exam #3: 20% — assigned on April 11, 2013 — due April 25, 2013 (by email) The first two exams will be submitted in class, at the start of class, on the due date assigned. Please be on time for that class, and do not expect to submit it at the end of class, or during class. Please anticipate that you will have difficulty in printing your paper, and that your computer will likely crash just as you are finishing your paper, and add to that massive traffic congestion just as you personally begin to make your way to campus—especially as none of these are acceptable reasons for lateness. Do not submit your papers by placing them on the desk at the front of class when the course director is not in the room—any lost papers will be the responsibility of the
student. Participation in class is strongly encouraged: you should routinely have questions to ask, points to which you would like to add, as well as commentaries on assigned readings. “Not liking to speak” is an excellent reason to not earn any points for this part of the course. I will tend to assist students who feel excluded by the course of discussions, by personally inviting their input, so that ideally everyone will earn some points. Questions on assigned readings will be circulated in advance of when the readings are due. Participation: 15% Useful resources for effective papers All students in the course should invest some time in studying the following resources, some of which are mandatory for this course. How to Find Research Articles: http://library.concordia.ca/help/howto/perindex.html Avoiding plagiarism: http://library.concordia.ca/help/howto/citations.html#citing Info Research 101 – Interactive Tutorial: http://library.concordia.ca/help/tutorial/# APA Citation Style Guide - *the mandatory way to cite sources in this course*: http://library.concordia.ca/help/howto/apa.php All Concordia Library “How To” Guides: http://library.concordia.ca/help/howto/ Course Policies No late work is accepted in this course. Any work that is late is automatically assigned a grade of zero. Only in extreme cases will late work be accepted, pending full and original documentation, and the final decision rests with the instructor. Students are responsible for acquiring course content. Therefore, if a class is missed, no independent tutorial will be provided by the professor to brief the student on what transpired in the class the student missed. Students are responsible for getting their assignments in on time. No exceptions are allowed, except in extreme cases, restricted to those situations discussed here. In all cases, precise, original documentation will be required before any extension can be granted, and only in the case of a death in one’s immediate family (i.e. parents, siblings), or the student’s serious illness. In such cases, the illness or death must cover most of the period during which given work has been assigned. Otherwise, in all cases, late papers receive an automatic grade of zero.
If you enter the course with a pre-existing medical condition that will impede you from completing the course, then please speak to the instructor about your ability to successfully complete the course. This is to avoid any requests for late completion: students asking this professor for an “incomplete” [INC] have tended for the most part to not complete course requirements on time, inevitably seeing their final grade converted to a failing one. Arrangements for Late Completion should be negotiated and arranged with the instructor before final work is due for the end of the course. Only the most compelling reasons, with convincing documentation, can be considered. Please keep in mind that the instructor will most likely not accept requests for late completion. There is one major exception to these policies: in the event of a major public health crisis, or events beyond the University’s control, alternative course requirements and grading policies will be developed and used. Please do not call the Department’s main office for course-related inquiries. How work is graded For all work done in this course you will receive a numerical grade which will be converted to a letter grade when final grades are processed. To translate numbers into letter grades, please consult the following chart, copied directly from a faculty handbook in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. It is vital that you understand that the characterizations below (i.e., “excellent”) are central in guiding the instructor’s evaluation of the quality of a paper. Work that covers all of the basics, in a reasonably competent fashion, without major flaws, is deemed “satisfactory.” Work that has few flaws, and shows an advanced understanding, writing and research ability is deemed “very good.” Work that leaves little room for improvement (within the context of expectations of a 400 level course), demonstrating that the student has taken considerable initiative, showing sophisticated understanding and ability, is deemed “excellent.” A+ 90-100 A 85- 89 A- 80- 84 B+ 77- 79 B 73- 76 B- 70- 72 C+ 67- 69 C 63- 66 C- 60- 62 D+ 57- 59 D 53- 56 D- 50- 52 F or FNS 40 (30-49)
R 20 ( 0-29) Academic Regulations & Plagiarism Issues Section 16 (Academic Information: Definitions and Regulations) of the Undergraduate Calendar will be strictly administered – particularly on deadlines, Failing Grades, Administrative Notations, Late Completions=‘INCompletes’ (Grade/INC), ‘Failed No Supplementals’ (FNS), ‘Did Not Writes’ (Grade/DNW). Students must familiarize themselves with Concordia University’s Academic Integrity Website (http://provost.concordia.ca/academicintegrity/), and in particular its page devoted to plagiarism (http://provost.concordia.ca/academicintegrity/plagiarism/). Announcements, E-Mail Use In the event of an unscheduled cancellation of a class, the appropriate notice is posted by the University on its website. See the “Class Cancellations” link on www.concordia.ca. In addition, digital billboards on campus will announce the cancellation. You will also be notified by email. For the duration of this course, please check your email at least once each week, and look for any messages that begin with the course number. Having said that, please ensure that you have the right email address entered in your MyConcordia student profile. That is the same email address to which course messages are sent. Disclaimer In the event of extraordinary circumstances beyond the University’s control, the content and/or evaluation scheme in this course is subject to change. Improving Students’ Academic Experience The University offers many services that can help students. To improve students’ ability to succeed in their courses, get the most out of the university experience, and ensure their success in completing their degree, it is strongly recommended that you make a note of the following list of services:
• Concordia Counseling and Development offers career services, psychological services, student learning services, etc. http://cdev.concordia.ca/
• Advocacy and Support Services: http://supportservices.concordia.ca/ • Student Transition Centre: http://stc.concordia.ca/ • New Student Program: http://newstudent.concordia.ca/ • Access Centre for Students with Disabilities:
http://supportservices.concordia.ca/disabilities/
• Student Success Centre: http://studentsuccess.concordia.ca/ or http://cdev.concordia.ca/our-services/resources-and-drop-in-centres/
• The Academic Integrity Website: http://provost.concordia.ca/academicintegrity/ • Financial Aid & Awards: http://web2.concordia.ca/financialaid/ • Health Services: http://www-health.concordia.ca/
D. REQUIRED TEXTS & COURSE RESERVE (These are available for purchase in the Concordia Bookstore, SGW, and one copy of each is also available on the Course Reserve, Webster Circulation Desk.) REQUIRED TEXTS: Vincent, Joan, ed. 2002. The Anthropology of Politics: A Reader in Ethnography, Theory, and Critique. Malden, MA: Blackwell. Gledhill, John. 2000. Power and its Disguises: Anthropological Perspectives on Politics. 2nd edition. London: Pluto. RESERVE TEXTS: The following items (in no particular order) are available at the Webster Library Circulation Desk, under the Course Reserve for ANTH 423. These may be consulted in addition to the required texts above, but cannot usually substitute for them. Each item is available for no more than three (3) hours, so please photocopy any chapters you might need: Call Number: GN 492 C66 2004 Author/Editor: edited by David Nugent and Joan Vincent Title: A companion to the anthropology of politics Call Number: GN 492 A64 2006 Author/Editor: edited by Aradhana Sharma and Akhil Gupta Title: The anthropology of the state : a reader Call Number: GN 492.2 A57 2005 Author/Editor: edited by Jonathan Xavier Inda Title: Anthropologies of modernity : Foucault, governmentality, and life politics Call Number: GN 492 K87 2001 Author/Editor: Donald V. Kurtz Title: Political anthropology : power and paradigms Call Number: GN 490 P6
Author/Editor: Edited by Marc J. Swartz, Victor W. Turner, and Arthur Tuden Title: Political anthropology Call Number: GN 490 B3413 1970b Author/Editor: Georges Balandier Title: Political anthropology. Translated from the French by A. M. Sheridan Smith Call Number: GN 492 S74 2005 Author/Editor: edited by Christian Krohn-Hansen and Knut G. Nustad Title: State formation : anthropological perspectives Call Number: GN 492 E46 2005 Author/Editor: Benoit de L’Estoile, Federico Neiburg, and Lygia Sigaud, editors Title: Empires, nations, and natives : anthropology and state-making Call Number: GN 645 G55 Author: Max Gluckman Title: Custom and conflict in Africa Call Number: GN 645 G56 Author: Max Gluckman Title: Order and rebellion in tribal Africa; collected essays Call Number: GN 490 G4P6 Author: Max Gluckman Title: Politics, law, and ritual in tribal society CallNumber: DT 132 E8 1969 Author: E. E. Evans-Pritchard Title: The Nuer : a description of the modes of livelihood and political institution of a Nilotic people Call Number: GN 490 F6 Editors: M. Fortes & E. E. Evans-Pritchard Title: African political systems Call Number: GN 490 M5 Editors: John Middleton & David Tait Title: Tribes without rulers; studies in African segmentary systems [by] Laura Bohannan [and others] Call Number: GN 658 M34 1977 Author: Lucy Philip Mair Title: Primitive government : a study of traditional political systems in eastern Africa Call Number: GN 492 C63 1976
Editors: Ronald Cohen & John Middleton Title: Comparative political systems : studies in the politics of pre-industrial societies Call Number: GN 388 P64 1982 Editors: Eleanor Leacock & Richard Lee Title: Politics and history in band societies Call Number: GN 492.6 O7 Editors: Ronald Cohen and Elman R. Service Title: Origins of the state : the anthropology of political evolution Call Number: GN 33 S65 1999 Author: Gavin A. Smith Title: Confronting the present : towards a politically engaged anthropology Call Number: GN 345 W643 2001 Author: Eric R. Wolf Title: Pathways of power : building an anthropology of the modern world Call Number: DT 365 D5 Editors: Stanley Diamond & Fred G. Burke Title: The transformation of East Africa; studies in political anthropology Call Number: GN 492 C5613 1987 Author: Pierre Clastres Title: Society against the state : essays in political anthropology Call Number: JC 26 A4 Editor: June Helm Title: Essays on the problem of tribe : proceedings of the 1967 Annual Spring Meeting of the American Ethnological Society
E. SCHEDULE OF LECTURES & READINGS
(Please consult the course website regularly in the event of any changes to the schedule: http://politicalanthro.wordpress.com/schedule/ )
PART ONE: POWER AND POLITICS FROM STATELESS SOCIETIES TO COLONIAL RULE Week 1 Thursday, 10 January, 2013 Overview of course objectives, writing exercises, course policies
What is Political Anthropology and Why Study it? [please commence readings for the following week] Week 2 Thursday, 17 January, 2013 Facing politics and power in anthropology, Part 1 Readings: • “Introduction” [Vincent reader] – Joan Vincent, 1-13. • Part 1 “Introduction” [Vincent reader] – “Prelude: The Enlightenment and its Challenges,”
17-25. • Gledhill, Ch. 1, “Locating the political: a political anthropology for today,” 1-22. Tuesday, January 15, 2013 Last day to apply for Spring 2013 graduation Sunday, January 20, 2013 Deadline for withdrawal with tuition refund from winter-term courses. Last day to add winter-term courses. Week 3 Thursday, 24 January, 2013 Facing politics and power in anthropology, Part 2 • Ch. 9 [Vincent reader] – Marc Swartz, Victor Turner, Arthur Tuden, “Political
Anthropology,” 102-109. • Ch. 19 [Vincent reader] – Eric Wolf, “Facing Power—Old Insights, New Questions,” 222-
233. Week 4 Thursday, 31 January, 2013 Political systems and roles in stateless societies Readings: • Gledhill, Ch. 2, “The origins and limits of coercive power: the anthropology of stateless
societies,” 23-44. • Part 2 “Introduction” [Vincent reader] – “Classics and Classics Revisited,” 29-33. • Ch. 1 [Vincent reader] – E.E. Evans-Pritchard, “Nuer Politics: Structure and System (1940),”
34-38. Week 5 Thursday, 7 February, 2013 Politics in agrarian societies and the rise of the state Readings: • Gledhill, Ch. 3, “From hierarchy to surveillance: the politics of agrarian civilizations and the
rise of the Western national state,” 45-66. • Ch. 5 [Vincent reader] – Talal Asad, “Market Model, Class Structure and Consent: A
Reconsideration of Swat Political Organization,” 65-81. • Charles Tilly, “Warmaking and Statemaking as Organized Crime.” Exam #1, covering Weeks 1 through 5, is assigned on this date PART TWO: COLONIALISM AND WORLD CAPITALIST (DIS)ORDER Week 6 Thursday, 14 February, 2013 Colonialism: Domination and Resistance Readings: • Gledhill, Ch. 4, “The political anthropology of colonialism: a study of domination and
resistance,” 67-91. • Part 3 “Introduction” [Vincent reader] – “Imperial Times, Colonial Places,” 129-132. • Ch. 12 [Vincent reader] – Talal Asad, “From the History of Colonial Anthropology to the
Anthropology of Western Hegemony,” 133-142. • Ch. 3. [Vincent reader] – Max Gluckman, “‘The Bridge’: Analysis of a Social Situation in
Zululand,” 53-58. • Ch. 14 [Vincent reader] – Ann Stoler, “Perceptions of Protest: Defining the Dangerous in
Colonial Sumatra,” 153-171 Film: “White Man’s Country”—this is Part 1 of 3, in a series of films on colonial and national politics in Kenya—from the filmmakers’ description: “a historical documentary on colonialism in Africa and what it means in human terms. Interviews with Africans and settlers, as well as photographs and documents, are utilized to depict the history of the colonial conquest of Kenya, from the 1890’s to 1950.” MID-TERM BREAK: Monday, February 18—Sunday, February 24
Week 7 Thursday, 28 February, 2013 Neo-Colonialism Readings: • Gledhill, Ch. 5, “Post-colonial states: legacies of history and pressures of modernity,” 92-126. • Ch. 13 [Vincent reader] – Richard G. Fox, “East of Said,” 143-152. • Ch. 15 [Vincent reader] – Michael Taussig, “Culture of Terror—Space of Death,” 172-186. • Ch. 16 [Vincent reader] – William Roseberry, “Images of the Peasant in the Consciousness of
the Venezuelan Proletariat,” 187-202.
Recommended: • Kwame Nkrumah, Neo-colonialism: The Last Stage of Imperialism. • Frantz Fanon, “The Pitfalls of National Consciousness.” • Lloyd Best, “Race, Class, and Ethnicity: A Caribbean Interpretation.” Film: “Mau Mau”—Part 2 of our series on colonial and national politics in Kenya, from the filmmakers: “MAU MAU deals with the Black African's struggle to achieve political independence. Newsreel clips of the years 1950-52 are used, in addition to interviews with white settlers and African leaders, to trace the growth of the African resistance movement.” Exam #1 is due on this date. Week 8 Thursday, 7 March, 2013 World Capitalism, Modernity, and War Readings: • Ch. 20 [Vincent reader] – June Nash, “Ethnographic Aspects of the World Capitalist System,”
234-254. • Ch. 24 [Vincent reader] – S.P. Reyna, “Deadly Developments and Phantasmagoric
Representations,” 301-312. • Ch. 25 [Vincent reader] – David Nugent, “Modernity at the Edge of Empire,” 313-324, Film: “Kenyatta”—while positioned outside of the scheduled topic area, this is the third part in our series on colonial and national politics in Kenya: “The story of Jomo Kenyatta, president of the newly formed Kenya, who became the symbol of the nation as it struggled for freedom and the unity of an independent state. As an African nationalist, he was the central figure in the fight to return land settled by the British to the African people. The film examines the impact of the colonial cultures on African nationalism and peoples, and the influence of the founding fathers after independence was achieved.”
Sunday, March 10, 2013 Last day for academic withdrawal from two-term and winter-term courses. Week 9 Thursday, 14 March, 2013 The New World Disorder Readings: • Gledhill, Ch. 7, “Political process and ‘global disorder’: perspectives on contemporary
conflict and violence,” 153-183. • Ch. 21 [Vincent reader] – Benedict Anderson, “The New World Disorder,” 261-270. • Ch. 23 [Vincent reader] – Jonathan Friedman, “Transnationalization, Socio-political Disorder,
and Ethnification as Expressions of Declining Global Hegemony,” 285-300. Exam #2, covering weeks 6 through 9, is assigned on this date. PART THREE: POLITICAL STRUCTURES AND POLITICAL ACTORS Week 10 Thursday, 21 March, 2013 Statism and Developmentalism versus Social Movements and Resistance • Gledhill, Ch. 8, “Society against the modern state? The politics of social movements,” 184-
213. • Ch. 31 [Vincent reader] – James Ferguson, “The Anti-Politics Machine,” 399-408. • Ch. 32 [Vincent reader] – Marc Edelman, “Peasants against Globalization,” 409-423. • Ch. 33 [Vincent reader] – Paul Farmer, “On Suffering and Structural Violence: A View from
Below,” 424-437. Film: “The Furiosus” (also titled, “Question of Madness”)—DVD, 52 minutes. This film sits between the topics of various topics scheduled for this course, dealing with an individual, a state of mind, rebellion, colonialism, racism, and national institutions that enforce a system of racial dominance. The story at the centre of this documentary dates to 1966, in apartheid South Africa, and the protagonist is Dimitri Tsafendas, responsible for assassinating Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd. Week 11 Thursday, 28 March, 2013 Structure, agency, and political conflict Readings: • Gledhill, Ch. 6, “From macro-structure to micro-process: anthropological analysis of political
practice,” 127-152.
• Ch. 17 [Vincent reader] – Jean and John Comaroff, “Of Revelation and Revolution,” 203-212. • Recommended: K. Sivaramakrishnan, “Some Intellectual Genealogies for the Concept of
Everyday Resistance.” Exam #2 is due on this date. Week 12 Thursday, 4 April, 2013 Anthropological theory and political agency: transactionalism, primordialism and practice theory Readings: • Ch. 7. [Vincent reader] – F. G. Bailey, “Stratagems and Spoils,” 90-95. • Ch. 8. [Vincent reader] – Victor Turner, “Passages, Margins, and Poverty: Religious Symbols
of Communitas,” 96-101. • Optional: Joan Vincent, “Political Anthropology: Manipulative Strategies.” Week 13 Thursday, 11 April, 2013 Anthropological commitment Readings: • Ch. 10. [Vincent reader] – Kathleen Gough, “New Proposals for Anthropologists,” 110-119. • Gledhill, Ch. 9, “Anthropology and politics: commitment, responsibility and the academy,”
214-242. Exam #3, covering weeks 10 through 13 is assigned on this date. Note: the final exam is due by email (send to [email protected]) on April 25, 2013, at 4:00pm sharp, no exceptions. Please make sure, to avoid any mishaps, that you submit your exam early. Also, please note that the only accepted file formats are .odt, .doc, or .docx – any essay sent in a format other than one of these, and sent at 4:00pm, will be treated as a non-submission, as will any email that comes without any attachment. Remember this is a final exam, and the same rules of handing in your exam when called for apply just as much as they would be if you were writing this by hand in an exam hall. Starting at 4:00pm on the date (and not sooner), the course director will email individual acknowledgments of receipt.
