Anthropology

This course offers an in-depth exploration of cultural diversity in Oceania by analyzing the complex interplay among colonial encounters, postcolonial impacts, Indigenous epistemologies, and identity formation. It approaches these themes through the lens of the ocean, which has historically shaped connections, migration, trade, and cultural exchange across the region. Through theoretical discussions, case studies, ethnographic readings, and multimedia materials, the course examines how various colonial histories have influenced Indigenous societies and their ways of knowing, being, and relating.

The United Kingdom is not known for its great cuisines, despite this there is a rich and varied tradition of regional food, food that has been 'adopted' and adapted to the British palate. Food in the UK mirrors the history of colonialism, global trade, and immigration. There has been a rediscovery of local and regional foods with a renewed interest in the production of food, slow food, and a move against over processing. Preparation and consumption of food gives valuable insight into the local culture, history, and society.  
 

This course provides an examination of the cultural frameworks and social aspects of kinship systems, gender roles, personhood and human sexuality, analyzed through ethnographic examples from a diverse range of settings. It aims to equip students with the analytical tools to engage in theoretical debates concerning core concepts such as kinship, marriage, gender, sex, the person, and the relationship between nature and culture, as well as exploring how the experiences of kinship, sex and gender vary according to the regimes of politics, law and materiality in which they are embedded. The course charts the history of anthropological debates on kinship, relatedness, sex and gender, and familiarizes students with a range of contemporary approaches to these themes, placing ethnographic materials into a critical dialogue with recent developments in feminist theory, queer theory, the anthropology of colonialism, cognitive science, and psychoanalysis.

This course offers a range of approaches to contemporary conversations around embodiment and ideas of normativity. In particular, it familiarizes students with representations of physical and mental difference in film, social media, and literature within and beyond European and North American contexts. Featured themes include disability and identity, health and constructions of the self, mental difference, and the quest for political recognition.

The course focuses on the Scandinavian colonial expansion from 1600 to the early 20th century. Based on a number of case studies (e.g. resource colonialism in Sápmi and Greenland, plantations in the Danish West Indies, trade and consumption of colonial products), the course examines colonial discourses and practice and notice relationships between colonialism and resources/environment, economics, power, resistance and science and colonial inheritance. The course also explores the different cultural processes, such as creolisation, othering and ambivalence that takes place in colonial environments and manifests itself in material culture. The course introduces theoretical procedures for historical-archaeological studies of colonialism and presents different sources, methods and perspectives and central research questions.

Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean, with its diverse landscapes — ranging from Mt. Etna’s volcanic geology and coastal marine biodiversity to rural agricultural practices and conservation areas — offers a unique and comprehensive setting for immersive ecological and environmental field studies. This course will engage with key topics such as the natural history and ecology of Mediterranean island environments, the geological processes that shape the landscape, perspectives on human-environment interactions, and the oceanographic dynamics that influence coastal and marine habitats.

The increasing uptake of generative AI technologies for a range of purposes from emotional care and companionship to work flow optimization serves as a rich field of inquiry for anthropologists studying human-technology relations. While all technologies are imbued by popular narratives and imaginaries, the use of AI tools in particular is informed by myths of hype and anti-hype that underline the need for ethnographic approaches exploring how these technologies are actualized in practice. This course explores the potential of anthropological theory and methods for elucidating the social, cultural, and political implications of generative AI. With tech companies touting the greater efficiency and profitability promised by these technologies at the expense of other considerations, qualitative research providing a more nuanced picture of human-AI entanglement in everyday life is crucial. So too, the far-reaching impacts of AI technologies provide an opportunity to revisit some of the key perspectives and questions animating cultural anthropology as well as the ways these might intersect productively with other disciplinary approaches. Key topics in the course include the political economy of AI and its impact on the future of work, race and gender logics and biases of AI, and the integration of AI into social media, virtual worlds, and the metaverse.

This course explores banquet culture in the Mediterranean, investigating the traditions of the Greeks, Etruscans, and Romans. Our journey will take us to museums and archaeological sites in and around Rome, as well as Tuscany, Lazio, and Campania. In particular, we study the material remains from the Etruscan town of Tarquinia, the Villa of Tiberius at Sperlonga, the Greek city of Paestum, and the luxury villas of the Bay of Naples. As we explore these ancient aristocratic villas, we also explore the pastimes of the elite related to banquets, such as raising fish, birds, and flora, by studying their gardens, fisheries, and wine and olive presses, as well as the entertainment accompanying these feasts. Key ancient texts, such as the ancient Roman cookbook by Apicius, invite us into the Roman kitchen with original recipes and menus. Through the investigation of the ritual of feasting, this course assesses how the Roman banquet has shaped our ideas of culture, leisure, and status today.

This course provides an introduction to Social Anthropology as the comparative study of human societies and cultures. Students are introduced to key themes and debates in the history of the discipline. Ethnographic case studies are drawn from work on a variety of societies, including hunter-gatherers, farmers, industrial laborers, and urban city-dwellers. Drawing on both classical and contemporary work, the course starts by posing the question: What is Social Anthropology? After exploring the ethnographic method and considering some historical background, the rest of the course is organized around core themes in the discipline, including (in the fall term) relatedness, exchange, and power. Through comparing different ethnographic examples, students consider key questions through anthropological perspectives. How do we become people and become related to others? What is love, and is it natural? Why do we think of some people as different and others as the same? Why are gifts and exchange so central to human societies? Does work empower or enslave us? What is power, and why do some people have it and others don’t?