Anthropology: Black Feminist Anthropology (A)

About ANTH 2110 A

Explores intermediate level topics in cultural anthropology. May be repeated for credit with different content. Sample topics include: Cultural Anthropology in the Media, Indigenous Cultures and Social Change, Economic Anthropology. Topics vary by offering; periodic offering at intervals that may exceed four years. Prerequisite: ANTH 1100.

Notes

Prereqs enforced by the system: ANTH 1100; PACE students with permission and override

Section Description

Anthropologists have increasingly criticized the field’s historical complicity in and contribution to Eurocentric colonial-imperialist missions towards so-called progress. However, remarkably fewer are willing to acknowledge disparities still shaping how anthropologists from marginalized groups generally find themselves and their work received. This course centers Black women and feminist anthropologists’ methods, analyses, lived experiences, and critiques of disciplinary tendencies to doubt their legitimacy and capacity for intellectual rigor. Instead of confining Black women authors in a single class unit, this course will have students read, watch, and discuss various texts (articles, chapters, podcasts, photography, film/video, etc.) to explore questions such as: What work have Black feminist anthropologists produced over decades, and why? Why aren’t their scholarly legacies more widely known, documented, and cited? What can Black feminism-informed approaches to asking questions, designing and conducting ethnographic research, assessing data, and theorizing world(s) look like and differently offer the discipline? Among themes of interest in this course are documentary film and folklore, medical and mental health service inequities, dance and performance, beauty and self-worth, gender and sexuality, capitalism and labor, motherhood and mothering, religion and spirituality, happiness and vulnerability, and schooling and education.

Section Expectation

To create the best chances for a learning community built on respect, rigor, and collective curiosity, students are expected to come to classes prepared to discuss assigned readings and other media texts, participate in conversations that involve both active listening and verbal engagement (in small groups as well as an entire class), reflect on and discuss texts shown in class in relation to assigned readings, complete creative exercises that build on relevant course themes, and apply accrued knowledge and insights to real-world contexts, histories, and debates.

Evaluation

Student grades will be based on a combination of in-class participation, required writing and creative assignments (some may require out-of-class activities), group presentations, and a final paper involving research.

Important Dates

Courses may be cancelled due to low enrollment. Show your interest by enrolling.

Resources

• Parking
• PACE Course Pricing
• Textbooks