Anthropology

This course examines the dynamics of critical anthropology under various forms of capitalist systems, while raising questions about neoliberalism and mainstream economics after the financial crisis. It studies literature on capitalist systems, labor, technology, and currency of these times. It also analyzes anthropological research cases that address existential, emotional, and practical issues, as well as literature covering the topics of inequality and climate change that have emerged in such cases.

This course begins with a historical perspective on the development of current economic and tech-structures, asking what is actually new. It then examines types of tech economies and forms of valuation, considering topics such as credit (e)valuations, the power of platforms, the producers of technology such as software engineers and users, prediction algorithms, digital money and markets, and surveillance capitalism. Anthropologists and social scientists from adjacent disciplines have the potential to contribute to both academic and public debates regarding economies of technology by engaging both critically and productively with the way that technology is shaping society and making specific assertions about what is “of value." Students develop their own argument about the changing economies of technology during the course using an empirical case and present their own case for feedback at a workshop, before writing the final essay. This course builds knowledge, skills, and competencies to engage with the current developments in tech by building on classical as well as current theoretical perspectives from fields including economic and digital anthropology, sociology, and science and technology studies.

This course analyzes anthropological texts and literature. It studies anthropologists including Claude Levi-Strauss, Pierre Bourdieu, Franz Boas, and Bronislaw Malinowski. The course discusses these anthropologists and their writings as a group while comparing and connecting them to others.

This course introduces an anthropological study of nature-culture relations, illustrating its potentials and problems with reference to diverse topics in contemporary environmental politics. During the first half, it introduces prevalent and alternative approaches to understand nature-culture relations, covering key concepts and theories. The second half is dedicated to investigations of seven key environmental issues, including: climate change and energy politics, geoengineering, biodiversity conservation, animals, food, waste, and environmental health. 

The course offers an orientation of Afro-Swedish relations in the past and the present. The module analyses racism and Afrophobia, culture and cultural creativity, collaborations (research, associations, development cooperation), African role models and stereotypes, migration, and diaspora.

This course is part of the LM degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrollment is by consent of the instructor. The course is subdivided into two parts. Part one discusses topics including an introduction to the study of the history and culture of the ancient Mesopotamian civilizations (Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians); and introduction to the cuneiform writing; elements of the Sumerian language; a guide to the electronic resources for the study of Sumerian; and reading, translation, and grammatical analysis of elementary Sumerian texts in cuneiform writing. Part two of the course discusses topics including Sumerian royal inscriptions: typology, structure, and contents; and reading, translation and historical-philological comment of Sumerian royal inscriptions in cuneiform writing.