Department of Humanities and Social Sciences

HS3280 – Introduction to Cultural Anthropology

January – May 2018

F Slot – Wednesday (11), Thursday (9), and Friday (8)

Office Hours: Thursday 11 am - 1 pm

Dr.Mathangi Krishnamurthy
Email: mathangi@iitm.ac.in
Dr. Kaamya Sharma
Email: kaamyasharma@gmail.com

Course Description: The goal of cultural anthropology is to understand how people in

different places produce cultural, economic, and symbolic systems that regulate their
lives. During this class we will learn about the cultural practices of people around the
world, in order to broaden our understanding of how culture structures and patterns the
lives of different groups, and to gain a better understanding of ourselves. We will begin
by looking closely at the concept of culture as the central theme in anthropology, and
how culture patterns human behavior. We will also look at the historical development
of social and economic systems, the role of language in culture, and various systems of
political power.

Classroom sessions: We meet three times a week. The first two sessions on Wednesday
and Thursday will be lectures based on the week’s readings. Some of the classes on
Fridays will also be utilized for showcasing audio-visual material followed by discussion
revolving around the week’s themes.

Academic Honesty: If you are using any ideas, description or text from another text than
you must cite the source for that text. Plagiarism will result in automatic failure and the
student will be reported to the disciplinary committee.

Course Requirements

1. Regular attendance in lectures and discussion sections. Please keep your cell phones
off as common courtesy to your colleagues and instructor. Laptops are not
permitted in class. Students are not permitted to be absent for more than five
classes for which attendance has been taken.
2. Please read the assigned material in a timely fashion. You are responsible for the
reading for each section before class.
3. All work must be submitted on time. You will need to provide a legitimate note by
a doctor in case of illness and/or similar documentation to request a makeup exam.

Grade Distribution
 1. Quiz 1: 20%
2. Quiz 2: 20%
3. Final exam: 60%

Grade Criteria

S 90-100 A 80-89 B 70-79 C 60-69

D 50-59 E 40-49 F <40

Required Texts:

(A) Delaney, Carol Lowery, and Deborah D. Kaspin. 2011. Investigating culture: an
experiential introduction to anthropology. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell.
(B) Eriksen, Thomas Hylland. 2010. Small places, large issues: an introduction to social
and cultural anthropology. London: Pluto.
(C) Nanda, Serena, and Richard L. Warms. 2008. Culture counts: a concise introduction
to cultural anthropology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.
(D) Rosman, Abraham, and Paula G.Rabel. 1992. The tapestry of culture : an
introduction to cultural anthropology. New York : McGraw-Hill
(E) Fabian, Johannes. 1998. Moments of Freedom: Anthropology and Popular Culture.
London: University of Virginia Press.

Week 1 – INTRODUCTION (Mathangi)

Jan 17: No readings – Class details, logistics, and preparation

Jan 18: No readings – Introductory Lecture on Cultural Anthropology
Jan 19: A Brief History of Anthropology (B)

Week 2 – HISTORY AND METHOD (Mathangi)

Jan 24: Guest lecture – Novelist, columnist and counsellor Gouri Dange
Jan 25: The Anthropological Method – (D)
Jan 26: NO CLASS (holiday)

Week 3 – THE CULTURE CONCEPT (Mathangi)

Jan 31: Anthropological Perspectives – (D)

Feb 1: Culture Counts – (C)
Feb 2: Writing Exercises

Week 4 – LANGUAGE (Kaamya)

Feb 7: Language: We are What We Speak – (A)

Feb 8: Learning Language and Learning Culture – (D)
Feb 9: Screening of American Tongues and discussion
 Week 5 – (Quiz week)

Feb 14: NO CLASS

Feb 15: NO CLASS
Feb 16: NO CLASS

Week 6 - KINSHIP (Kaamya)

Feb 21: Ties that Connect – (D)

Feb 22: Relatives and Relations – (A)
Feb 23: Working with kinship charts; learning to read and make them

Week 7 – SPACE AND TIME (Kaamya)

Feb 28: Spatial Locations – (A)

Mar 1: All We Have is Time – (A)
Mar 2: NO CLASS (holiday)

Week 8 – GENDER AND BODY (Kaamya)

Mar 7: Our Bodies Our Selves – (A)

Mar 8: Gender and Age – (D)
Mar 9: Screening of The World Before Her/ Q2P/ Tales of the night fairies

Week 9 – POPULAR CULTURE (Kaamya)

Mar 14: Popular Culture in Anthropology – (E)

Mar 15: VIPs – Very Important People, Places and Performances - (A)
Mar 16: Screening of Bombay Superstar and discussion

Week 10 – IMAGE AND PERFORMANCE (Kaamya)

Mar 21: Clothing Matters – (A)

Mar 22: The Artistic Dimension – (D)
Mar 23: MacDougall, David. “The visual in anthropology”. Rethinking visual
anthropology. Eds. Marcus Banks and Howard Morphy. London: Yale University Press
(1997): 276-295.

Week 11

Mar 28: Screening of Things Seen in Madras (Phantom India) by Louis Malle
Mar 29: NO CLASS (holiday)
Mar 30: NO CLASS (holiday)

Week 12 – (Quiz week)

Apr 4: NO CLASS
Apr 5: NO CLASS
Apr 6: NO CLASS

Week 13 – BELIEF (Mathangi)

Apr 11: Religion – (C)

Apr 12: Myths, Legends, and Folktales – (D)
Apr 13: Screening of Cave of Forgotten Dreams

Week 14 - NATION-STATE (Mathangi)

Apr 18: States and Identities – (D)

Apr 19: Nationalism and Minorities – (B)
Apr 20: Screening of Court

Week 15 – SYSTEMS OF POWER (Mathangi)

Apr 25: Power, Conquest, and a World-System – (C)

Apr 26: Globalization and Change – (C)

MAY 7th – END SEMESTER EXAM