Anthropology

This course offers an in-depth exploration of Spanish identities through the lens of its culinary culture. Students examine how centuries of tradition and local practices define the Spanish culture, from the historical roots of the Mediterranean Diet to regional diversity, and the crucial role of innovation and sustainability in overcoming global environmental challenges. Topics include sustainable agriculture, biodynamic wines, mindful eating practices, and the role of local markets and circular economy in supporting food security and community. Through a series of engaging activities—including expert discussions, guided tastings, and site visits to key locations like local markets and innovative food hubs—students gain firsthand knowledge of Madrid’s dynamic food landscape and explore the extent to which a new generation of entrepreneurial initiatives are driving a more sustainable and conscious approach to eating and producing. 

Evolutionary thinking provides useful new insights into the origins of diseases and contemporary health problems. This course explores the applications of the tools and concepts of evolutionary biology to human health and health-related behavior. Incorporating examples from the lecturer’s ongoing research on BaYakahunter-gatherers living in the Northern rainforests of Congo and current health problems, students cover a range of topics including: Evolution and human-microbe interactions; Hunter-gatherers as models in public health; Diet, exercise, evolutionary mismatches and non-communicable diseases; Life-history theory and reproductive health; Evolutionary perspectives on mental health and wellbeing; Cultural evolution and health-related behavior; and Applied evolutionary medicine: future of medicine and how evolutionary thinking can be applied to current health problems.

This course analyzes the human body not just as a biological entity, but as s a cultural construct and a medium for social interactions. 

This course introduce the principles and significance of research methodology in anthropology, with an emphasis on both theoretical understanding and practical application. It covers designing and conducting anthropological research, using qualitative and, when relevant, quantitative approaches. Particular attention is given to fieldwork methods, ethical considerations, and the collection, analysis, and interpretation of anthropological data (interviews, participant observation, surveys, archives). The course also develops proficiency in organizing, processing, and critically analyzing information produced during research.

This course examines the study of the ‘blue’ spaces of our planet—oceans, rivers, reefs, and inland bodies of water—through case studies in the arts and literature. Using the vantage point in Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa, “The Great Connector”, it considers environments and peoples whose lives are explicitly connected with and determined by the ocean. It considers kinship, sovereignty, and belonging through aesthetic, historical, religious, political, social, and material manifestations. Situated around issues of ocean acidification, pollution, and sea-level rise, it critically reflects on ways the humanities can improve our knowledge of cultures, histories, publics and practices of the blue planet.

This course provides an overview of the history of contemporary anthropology, as well as to examine certain changes in the society of the People’s Republic of China from an anthropological perspective. To this end, students read newspaper articles and academic research articles, in French and possibly in English; class time is devoted to collectively discussing the content of these articles.

This introductory level course provides a critical review of the evolution of notions of the human to the present day from a philosophical, anthropological, historical, social, and technological perspective.

The course investigates current problems from a posthumanist dimension articulated with at least two of the following perspectives: social, cultural, technological, or ethical, to highlight possible individual and collective impacts, in a way that promotes metacognitive reflection and action on the student's responsibility as an agent of change. Class discussions will focus on personal learning experiences and the usefulness of the post humanist perspective in one's daily reality.

Our contemporary world continues to be shaped by many different kinds of empire: from the nation states that assert political and military control over mineral resources in foreign lands to the global corporations that control public access to medicines, food, and telecommunications; from attempts to unify new territories and populations by force to attempts to expand global markets under the banner of freedom and liberation. This course asks, how are we to understand Empires today. How might we approach Empires as cultural projects of power and control? How might we approach Empires from the perspective of those without them? What does it mean to consider contemporary Empires in the light of colonialism? And how might the study of past Empires help us to reflect on the limits to globalizing ambition?
 

This course explores key currents in classical and contemporary anthropology through three complementary approaches. First, it examines the multiple relationships between anthropology and history, focusing not only on historical disciplines but also on how anthropologists engage with historical processes, practices, and modes of thought. Particular attention is given to ethnohistory, historical social anthropology, and reflexive approaches to the history of anthropology, as well as to dialogue with major traditions in French and international historiography. Second, the course introduces the anthropology of contemporary worlds. Rather than attempting an exhaustive account of modern society, it focuses on selected themes that characterize the present era, including globalization, (post)colonialism, multiculturalism, and their impacts on identity formation, cultural transmission, and everyday life. Topics may include cultural production (mass media, cinema, music), digital and virtual social worlds, sport, food, and other key domains of contemporary anthropological research. Finally, tutorial sessions are devoted to the close reading and discussion of classical and contemporary anthropological texts, reinforcing concepts introduced in lectures and developing students’ analytical and interpretive skills.