From Round to Square (and back)

For The Emperor's Teacher, scroll down (↓) to "Topics." It's the management book that will rock the world (and break the vase, as you will see). Click or paste the following link for a recent profile of the project: http://magazine.beloit.edu/?story_id=240813&issue_id=240610

A new post appears every day at 12:05* (CDT). There's more, though. Take a look at the right-hand side of the page for over four years of material (2,000 posts and growing) from Seinfeld and country music to every single day of the Chinese lunar calendar...translated. Look here ↓ and explore a little. It will take you all the way down the page...from round to square (and back again).
*Occasionally I will leave a long post up for thirty-six hours, and post a shorter entry at noon the next day.

Sunday, September 26, 2021

Social and Cultural Theory, Autumn 2021 (b)

 On this date on Round and Square's History 

20 August 2015—China's Lunar Calendar 2015 08-20
20 August 2015—Social and Cultural Theory Syllabus 2015 (b)
20 August 2014—China's Lunar Calendar 2014 08-20
20 August 2014—Social and Cultural Theory Syllabus 2014 (b)
20 August 2013—China's Lunar Calendar 2013 08-20
20 August 2013—From the Geil Archive: Curly Fives
20 August 2012—The New Yorker and the World: Introduction
20 August 2011—Displays of Authenticity: Real Coffee

Click here for the other half of this two-part syllabus post:
 ANTH 206: Weeks 1-8                   ANTH 206: Weeks 9-16
[a] Confrontation RF
Social and Cultural Theory
Anthropology 206
Autumn 2021
Tuesday and Thursday
8:00-9:45 a.m.

Robert André LaFleur                                                             Office Hours:
Morse Ingersoll 1206                                                               Tuesday   11:45-1:15
363-2005                                                                                   Thursday 11:45-1:15
lafleur@beloit.edu         

Required Books for All Enrolled Students 
Becker, Howard, What About Mozart? What About Murder?
Bowen, Elenore Smith, Return to Laughter 
Bourdieu, Practical Reason
Bourdieu, Outline of a Theory of Practice (handouts) 
Connell, Evan. Mr. Bridge 
Connell, Evan. Mrs. Bridge 
Eriksen, Thomas Hylland, A History of Anthropology
Gordon, Robert. Fifty Key Anthropologists (plus web additions)
Moore, Henrietta and Todd Sanders. Anthropology in Theory: Issues in Epistemology*
Wacquant, Loïc, Body and Soul: Notes of an Apprentice Boxer 
***  ***
LaFleur, Robert. Round and Square (www.robert-lafleur.blogspot.com) 
Becker, Howard. Various Handouts.
Bourdieu, Outline of a Theory of Practice (handouts)
LaFleur, Longevity Mountain (handouts)
The New York Review of Books (NYRB) 

*We will be using the new second edition of this book. Do not buy the first edition; there are too many changes, and it will not "save" you time or money.

Required Ethnographies (Choose one SET from the list below) 
I will describe the situation with these books in class.

Rosaldo, Renato. Ilongot Headhunting: A History   AND
Rosaldo, Michelle. Knowledge and Passion
                             OR
Schiefflin, Edward. The Sorrow of the Lonely and the Burning of the Dancers  AND
Feld, Steven. Sound and Sentiment. 
All books are on library reserve. 
***  *** 
Building upon ANTH 100 (Society and Culture), this course helps students develop increased sophistication in the way that they frame and think about social and cultural (not to mention historical) phenomena.  Our approach to the subject will be both historical and “pragmatic.”  It is necessary to understand the development of various intellectual strains within anthropology. A good foundation in them gives solidity to analytical constructions (this is precisely the reason that philosophers spend a good number of pages in every work “framing” their subject matters in terms of the history of philosophy).  It is far from being a trifling exercise.  We will also take a “pragmatic” approach, by asking ourselves which perspectives work best for our purposes, and our interests.  Learning to balance these seemingly contradictory (but actually beautifully entwined) approaches is one of the keys to excellent theoretical work in and beyond the field of anthropology.

Evaluation
Quizzes                                                                      10%        Every Class Session
Week One Letter.                                                         5%.       Week One
Theoretical Letter                                                       10%        Week Five
Exam 1                                                                       10%        Week Seven
Bridges to Theory Review Essay                               15%        Week Nine
Ethnography Review Essay                                       15%        Week Twelve
Exam 2                                                                       10%        Week Fifteen
Presentations                                                             10%        Week Sixteen
Final Analysis                                                             20%        Week Sixteen

Anthropology 206
Social and Cultural Theory 
Autumn 2021
Week IX 

Please Read the Attendance Policy
Tuesday October 19
REVIEW ALL of YOUR WORK from the first half of the term and BRING QUESTIONS
Review and examination preparation

Thursday, October 21
Exam I (in-class)

Week X
Connell, Mr. Bridge (Entire book)
           Love                               Family Portrait                 In the Counting House 
           Two Women                   Dinner at Home               The Tip 
           No Oil                             Lester                              Trouble in the Road Ahead 
           Senator Horton Bailey    Forgive Us Our Debts     Prohibition 
           Life Begins at...              Thumper                          The Dream 
           Struggling Upward…     Thayer’s Drugstore           The Pony 
           Bleak Day                      Cadillac                             Locusts 
           You Don’t Love Me        Call Me Avrum                   EK 
           Kansas City Power...     Paper Hat                          Purple Crayon 
           Stiff Lower Lip                Barbarians                        Boxtops 
           The Gardener’s Child    Summer in Georgia           Underground 
           Discretion                      New Clothes                      Yuh, Yuh, Yuh 
           The Pistol                      Halloween                          Daiquiri for Harriet 
           Harriet and Carolyn       Onward Christian Soldiers Home from the Office 
           Handful of Change        Season’s Greetings           The Squirrel 
           Happy Days                  Cousin Lulu’s Estate          Nevacal 
           Fleur-de-lis                    The Family Tree                 New Neighbors 
           LS                                 The Regatta…                    Semi-pro 
           Golden Gloves              Crosby                               Beefcake 
           The Fight                       In the Garden                    Do You Remember…? 
           Happy Birthday              How Much?                       The Dawn Patrol 
           Ground Glass                Liberal Arts                        High School Album 
           Moment Musicale          Coppélia                            Hair Shirt 
          So Soon?                       Juliet                                  Tijuana 
           Mariuana                       The Primrose Path             Harriet’s System 
           Witch Doctor                  Happy Easter                    Bawdy Story 
           Wild Party                      Wastebaskets                    The Laborers 
           Bleh!                              Stockings                           4 A.M. 
           Sweet Shit                     Silver                                 California Sunshine 
           Watering the Flowers    Mrs. Paul A. Cornish          In the Aztec Room 
           Houyhnhum                  7:42 A.M.                            The Jeweler’s Son 
           Jussi Bjoerling              The Lecture on El Greco     Equality 
           Jews                             Bernice                               Jade Pig
           New Writing...               Billy Jack Andrews, Pro      Peggy 
           Venus of Mission Hills   Letter                                  Art of India 
           Publishers’ Graveyard   Good Luck                         Foul Weather 
           On the Morning Train    Petra                                  Good Night, Good Night! 
           J’ai Faim                       Moulin Rouge                     Les Sabots de Millet 
           Cannes                         Darkness at Noon              Another One 
           The Etruscans              Mi Piace la Banana            From Rome
           Intimations                    Wedding Present               Football 
           Square Peg                  The Dancing Master           Hot Number 
           Socrates                       Eagle Scout                        Locking Up 
           A Pal of Morrie             Crime and Punishment       Autumn 
           Black Pledge                Gil Davis                             Guess Who? 
           Legal Secretary            In the Vault                         Winter 
           The Volunteer               Death Ray                          Joy to the World

Thursday, October 28
Finish film, followed by discussion

Week XI
(November 2, 4)

Gordon, Fifty Key Anthropologists
You are responsible for any author with a biography in the Fifty Key Anthropologists book (and they will be on quizzes and tests). These authors have an asterisk next to their names, below. All other authors (those with website links) are provided below only so that you can get a quick sense of who they are/were; just click the link for a quick look if you wish).
Eriksen, A History of Anthropology, 138-165
           Questioning Authority
Gordon, Fifty Key Anthropologists
You are responsible for any author with a biography in the Fifty Key Anthropologists book (and they will be on quizzes and tests). These authors have an asterisk next to their names, below. All other authors (those with website links) are provided below only so that you can get a quick sense of who they are/were; just click the link for a quick look if you wish).
            Edward Schieffelin
            *Renato Rosaldo 

Work all week on the Bridge paper!


Week XII

ZOOM classes this week (from Germany)
Tuesday, November 9
New York Review of Books See separate New York Review of Books syllabus  
Eriksen, A History of Anthropology, 138-165
           Questioning Authority
Gordon, Fifty Key Anthropologists
You are responsible for any author with a biography in the Fifty Key Anthropologists book (and they will be on quizzes and tests). These authors have an asterisk next to their names, below. All other authors (those with website links) are provided below only so that you can get a quick sense of who they are/were; just click the link for a quick look if you wish).
            Edward Schieffelin
            *Renato Rosaldo 
***  ***
Philippines Group (on-reserve if you do not have it already)
Rosaldo, Ilongot Headhunting
           Introduction                                                                                  
       The Past Made Present
            Perspectives on Ilongot History                                
            Stories of the Butag-Rumyad Feud, 1923-1956        
            The Celebration of the Covenant, 1969                     
       Social Structure Set in Motion
            The Source of Collective Memories, 1941-1945       
            The Politics of Headhunting,1945-1954                    
            The Politics of Marriage, 1955-1960             
       The Deconstruction of Collective Identity                     
            Rumyad in Historical Perspective, 1883-1905                      
            The Feud in Historical Perspective, 1890-1928        
            Afterword
***  ***
New Guinea Group (not for this semester, but I'm leaving it to show another significant ethnography well worth your time...eventually)
Schiefflin, The Sorrow of the Lonely and the Burning of the Dancers 
          Kaluli Pronunciation
          Ceremonies and Reciprocity
          In the Shadow of the Mountain
          I’m Sorry, Brother, I Don’t Eat That
          Organizing Actions: Those at the House and Those Who Came
          The Unseen World and the Opposition Scenario
          Assertion and Appeal
          Anger, Reciprocity, and the Rhythms of Experience
          The Perception of a Human Condition
          Ceremonial Occasions and Preparations
          The Gisaro
          Gisaro and the Opposition Scenario 

Thursday, November 11 (Follow these instructions carefully)
1. Write a one-paragraph description of your final project topic. 

2. Print it.

3. Go through the "refined flour" theory list carefully, making note (right there on your page) of "refine flour" items that might be relevant. 

4. Underneath some of those items, write more about how the theory "connects." (Don't be afraid to have a "messy"-looking paper.
(Begin extra sheets, as necessary)

5. Now open up Anthropology in Theory. Look at least at the main sections (especially beginning with Sections 4 and 5 (IV and V). Make note (right there on the page) of some of those connections (body and mind, and so forth).

6. Underneath some of those items, write more about how the theory "connects." (Don't be afraid to have a "messy"-looking paper.

7. Finally, look at your other books (Return to Laughter, Bourdieu's Practical Reason, Wacquant's Body and Soul, and even Renato Rosaldo's Ilongot Headhunting. See what you can grasp that could be useful to your project (and write it down).
(Begin extra sheets, as necessary)

8. Now, scan it or take a picture of it (them). 

9. Send it/them to me.

Good luck. If you take this exercise seriously, you will be more than ready to go (and you will have accomplished something resembling the outlining "pre-work" in my writing guide.

We'll do more with this next week (but remember that we will be meeting both days next week.
                                                               ***  ***


Week XIII 

Please Read the Attendance Policy
Tuesday, November 16
New York Review of Books See separate New York Review of Books syllabus  
Eriksen, A History of Anthropology, 166-191
          The End of Modernity?
Gordon, Fifty Key Anthropologists
You are responsible for any author with a biography in the Fifty Key Anthropologists book (and they will be on quizzes and tests). These authors have an asterisk next to their names, below. All other authors (those with website links) are provided below only so that you can get a quick sense of who they are/were; just click the link for a quick look if you wish).
            Steven Feld
            Michelle Rosaldo 
***  ***
Philippines Group
Rosaldo, Knowledge and Passion 
            The Ilongots
            Knowledge, passion, and the heart
            Knowledge, identity, and order in an egalitarian world
            Horticulture, hunting, and the ‘height’ of men’s hearts
            Headhunting: a tale of “fathers,’ ‘brothers,’ and ‘sons’
            Negotiating anger: oratory and the knowledge of adults
            Conclusion: Self and social life
***  ***
New Guinea Group (not for this semester, but I'm leaving it to show another significant ethnography that is well worth your time...eventually
Feld, Sound and Sentiment                                                                             
            Introduction
            The Boy Who Became a Muni Bird                                              
            To You They are Birds, to Me They Are Voices in the Forest
            Weeping That Moves Women to Song                              
            The Poetics of Loss and Abandonment                               
            Song That Moves Men to Tears                            
            In the Form of a Bird: Kaluli Aesthetics       
(hard copies in my office—MI 206) 

Week XIV 

Please Read the Attendance Policy
Tuesday, November 23
Instead of class, do the rewriting exercise (follow all of the directions)!
Have a great Thanksgiving holiday.

Week XV 
(November 30, December 2)

Please Read the Attendance Policy
Tuesday, November 30
LaFleur .pdf files (sent via email)
Becker, What About Mozart? (get started, and finish by Thursday)
            First Look
            What's Happening Elsewhere
            Reasoning From Analogy
            Black Boxes
            Complicating and Combining Black Boxes
            Imagining Cases
            Where Do You Stop?
            IOU's, Promissory Notes, and Killer Questions
            Last Words

Thursday, November 18
Becker, What About Mozart? (Finish the book, and think at every step about your 
"Final Analysis" project

[b] Candy Culture RF
Click here for the other half of this two-part syllabus post:
 ANTH 206: Weeks 1-8                   ANTH 206: Weeks 9-16
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