Re-thinking human studies: after postmodernity
Joanne Finkelstein
12 points
* 2 hours per week
* First semester
* Clayton
Objectives The intention of this subject is to encourage students to examine how the disciplines of anthropology and sociology develop explanatory tools for human conduct and culture through analysis of several case studies and ethnographies including the American film on drag fashions, Paris is Burning, and the Australian realist serial, Sylvannia Waters. It is also intended that students will engage with the debates evaluating the successes and failures of field research and examine the ethical position of the professional researcher.
Synopsis The traditional object for much empirical research has been the exotic `other'. However, influences from the theoretical debates about modernity, postmodernity and postcoloniality, and the technological reach of mass communications, especially `vox populi' programs, have had an impact on the value of field studies, raising questions about their validity and the importance of concepts such as culture, gender, race, knowledge. This subject is concerned with the future of empirical studies against a background of the problems raised by recent theoretical and ethical debates.
Assessment Essay (6000 words): 50%
* Examination (2 hours): 30%
* Seminar paper: 20%
Recommended texts
Atkinson P The ethnographic imagination Routledge
Bourdieu P Outline of a theory of practice CUP
Gilman S Freud, race and gender Princeton U P
Lamont M Money, morals, and manners U Chicago P
Said E Representations of the intellectual Vintage
Seidman S (ed.) The postmodern turn CUP
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