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“Political Anthropology and Communication in а Multicultural World”

Author: Ph.D. (candidate) Akopov Sergey,

North-West Academy of Public Administration, St.-Petersburg Fall 2011

I. Section on Organization and Methodology

1. Purpose of the course:

To provide students with basic knowledge about evolution of the Political Anthropology, expand their conceptual notion on what constitutes categories of “political power”, “political communication”, political narratives and myth, “political enemy”, “ethnicity”, “nationalism”, “patriotism”, “identity”, “cultural relativism” “multiculturalism”, “postmulticulturalism” “cultural creolization”, “transnational” etc. To enable students to reflect upon the impact of latter on the modern Western and non-Western world and Russia today.

2. Goals of the course in professional development:

By the end of the course students should be able to:

1. identify key areas of studies in PA, recognize its role in a system o political and other social sciences;

2. come up with suggestions about practical application of methods of PA to current political problems and conflicts in Russia and the world;

3. compare and contrast different schools in PA;

4. reflect upon the concepts of “multiculturalism” and “postmulticulturalism”, identify the main arguments “pro” & “contra”;

5. distinguish between facts, stereotypes and myths regarding evaluation of democracy models and formation images of an “enemy”, critically assess “narratives” about them;

6. synthesize interdisciplinary approaches in interpreting political communication and behavior of people from post communist countries of EU and CIS;

7. evolve analytical skills and critical understanding of the reading materials, develop verbal communication and interpersonal skills on seminars and group discussion; advance ability to collect and use information on their own.

3. Location of the course in professional development

This course is designed for MA program students, taking the specialization “Global Sociology: Comparative Perspectives” at The Institute of Eastern and Western Studies, Faculty of Sociology. St.-Petersburg State University. This course is to provide students basic knowledge about evolution of the subject and methods of PA and to enable them to use these theoretical base while searching for the practical solutions of ethnic and other conflicts.

II. Volume of the discipline, types of study, format of intermediate and final evaluation

Each class consists of 1 mini-lecture (45 min.) and 1 seminar discussion (45 min.). The first class is used for introduction into the course.

Lectures - 20

Seminars - 20

Exam - 4

Total - 44

Form of final evaluation – Exam

Evaluation of students’ performance is based upon the accumulation of these components:

• participation in seminar discussions

• weekly summaries of the assigned readings

• oral final exam or student’s portfolio presentation

To achieve listed above learning outcomes students will be required to attend most of the seminars and actively participate in them.

To facilitate seminar discussions students are expected to read the assigned texts for each seminar and bring each class a short (1-2 page long) written summary, which will be handed to a teacher after the seminar. The summaries should be printed on computer, well organized, state the main argument of the text assigned and student’s standpoint. I have indicated by «***» sign the text you are to summarize. To communicate their ideas to others, students may be asked to present their written summaries on the seminar discussion.

The course will finish with an oral final exam or student’s portfolio presentation (individual choice of each student). The oral exam will be a closed book in class one with provided questions (see section III). In case student chooses to be evaluated by making portfolio he/she should provide a collection of materials organized in one file arranged in coherence with one of the topics from PA course. Making portfolios is a part of a “learning by doing” process that intends to encourage your “want to learn” creative behavior. Portfolios therefore can include essays, critique, reflections, fieldwork, theoretical or practical pieces, conference papers, book reviews, audio and video clips with reflection notes, diaries with academic comments etc. escorted by written explanations of the importance of each entry as well as their interconnection. Overall student should provide in one portfolio minimum 5 different pieces of work with a total sum of 4 000 words (around 10 pages) excluding weekly summaries of the assigned readings. Students shall be ready to present portfolios orally. (Make sure that you properly refer to the sources you use and do not plagiarize).

Sample questions for the exam are presented in section III. Although possible topics for portfolio assignments can go along with the exam questions, choosing other topic is a possibility.