III. Contents of the Discipline

Class 1. Class Objective: to provide students with necessary information about the structure of the course, its assessment and teaching methods.

Mini-lecture part – “Introduction to the course”.

Seminar part: “question and answer”, discuss course with students, making corrections.

Class 2. Class Objective: reveal the origins and history of PA (lecture 1).

Mini-lecture “British PA functionalism, and American neoevolutionism” should introduce the origins and history of PA as an independent science since the period of mid. 19-century colonialism (J.Frazer, L.Morgan and F.Engels). Describe English functionalism and American neoevolutionism as main schools of political anthropology and classical works of E.Evans-Pritchard, B.Malinovsky, E. Leach, L.White, C.Geertz etc.

On Seminar main PA categories and definitions should be discussed.

Case study: Neoevolutionism, social Darwinizm and the “Meme Theory”

Mandatory reading:

*** Gellner E., Anthropology and politics: revolution in the sacred grove. Oxford; Cambridge, Mass: Blackwell, 1995. Chapter “James Frazer and Cambridge Anthropology”. Pp. 102 - 117

Recommended reading:

Adair-Toteff, C., Ferdinand Tönnies: Utopian Visionar, in: Sociological Theory 13: 58-65, 1996

Brown, Richard H. (ed.), Writing the Social Text: Poetics & Politics in Social Science Discourse, New York: Aldine de Gruyter, 1991

Geertz C. Available Light: Anthropological Reflections of Philosophical Topics, Princeton Univ. Press, 2000

Gledhill J., Power and its disguises anthropological perspectives on politics, London: Pluto Press, 2000. Pp. 45-66

Hann, Chris, Teach Yourself Social Anthropology, London, Hodder and Stoughton, 2000

Leach, E. Social Anthropology Oxford University Press. 1982

Peace, William Leslie A. White: Evolution and Revolution in Anthropology University of Nebraska Press, 2004

Class 3. Class Objective: reveal the origins and history of PA.

Class objective: discover the issues of power, authority and leadership.

Mini-lecture “Power, authority and leadership” outlines differences in defining category of power by M.Weber, T.Parsons, M.Fried, T.Mann and L.Kubbel etc.; learn in depth energy theory of social power (L.White, R.Adams). Explore innate aspiration for power (K.Jung, A.Adler).

Seminar critically reflects on issues of power and domination-supremacy making etymological analysis of a word. Examines power relations and artifacts in early magic, rational and irrational mechanisms of legitimizing power (“charisma” like phenomena etc.).

Considers ritual and taboo ((J.Frazer, A.Cohen, F.Bourdeieu), role of political symbols and etiquette in social conflict prevention (G.Mosca, B.Morris). Studies sacral transformation of space (towers, fences, burial places). Sacral ruler (and cult or personality) under totalitarian regimes. Takes up politics and moral responsibility dilemma (N.Machiavelli; V.Pareto; M.Weber).

Mandatory reading:

*** Hindess В., ‘Two Conceptions of Power’, In Discourses of power: from Hobbes to Foucault. Oxford, Blackwell, 1996, Chapter 1: “Two conceptions of power” Pp.1-22

Recommended reading:

Aihwa Ong, Flexible Citizenship: The Cultural Logics of Transnationality, Durham: Duke University Press, 1999

Earl, T. (ed), Chiefdoms: power, economy and ideology. Cambridge (England); New York: Cambridge University Press, 1991.

Haynes, Douglas and Prakash, Gyan Introduction: the entanglement of power and resistance, D.Haynes and G.Prakash (eds.) “Contesting Power”. Berkeley: UCLA Press, 1991

Class 4. Class Objective: reveal the origins and history of PA (lecture 2).

Mini-lecture The French School: structuralism and post structuralism”. We give characteristic to political anthropology of distinguishes French scholars like C. Lévi-Strauss, M Foucault, G. Balandier, P. Bourdieu and others.

On Seminar we discuss relation of PA and philosophy, history, sociology, political theory and economics, as well as holistic character of anthropological analysis. We also look at the evolution of PA subject and method in USSR and Russia (cross-cultural, comparative, historic, structural, functional. hermeneutic etc.). We also learn about an alternative Asian mode of production in early K. Marx works and how Soviet ethnographers disputed it. An overlook should be made on the stage to what PA was development under the USSR and Russia today.

Mandatory reading:

***Hindess В., ‘Discipline and Cherish: Foucault on Power, Domination and Government’, In Discourses of power: from Hobbes to Foucault. Oxford, Blackwell, 1996, Chapter 1: “Two conceptions of power” Pp.96-137

Recommended reading:

Barry, P. 'Structuralism', Beginning theory: an introduction to literary and cultural theory, Manchester University Press, Manchester, 2002, pp. 39-60

Bourdieu, P. Language & Symbolic Power, Harvard University Press, 1991; Polity 1992

Bourdieu, P. Reproduction in Education, Society and Culture (Theory, Culture and Society Series), Sage, 1990

Bourdieu, P. The Political Ontology of Martin Heidegger, Polity, 1991

D'Andrade, R. The development of cognitive anthropology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995

Devlin, D. Late Modern. Susak Press. 2006.

Foucault, M. Society Must Be Defended. New York: Picador, 2003. pp. 1-63.

Lévinas, Emmanuel. Humanism of the Other. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2003.

Levi-Strauss, Claude, Myths and Meaning: Cracking the Code of Culture, Schocken Books, 1995

Vincent, Joan, (ed) The Anthropology of Politics: A Reader in Ethnography, Theory, and Critique. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2002

Wiseman, Boris. Introducing Lévi-Strauss. Totem Books, 1998.

Class 5. Class objective: cross-country political values research.

Mini-lecture looks at cross-country political values research, including power distance scale and democracy. We address to R.Michels “Iron Law of Oligarchy” and discuss whether equality achievable at all – looking for this matter at social utopias in theory (Plato, T.More, O.Kont etc.) and in practice. Analyze experiences of French and Russian revolutionary dictatorships. Lecture on the attempts to bring up new human types from “tabula rasa”: Catherine’s the Great “school for noble girls”; ideal American by A. Hamilton; eugenics evolution before and under A. Hitler; F. Nietzsche (historically misunderstood); B. Mussolini’s “perfect Italian”; “homo soveticus” etc..

Seminar part examines in depth the “onion” of culture (from G. Hofstede): symbols, heroes, rituals, values. We do measuring “software of human mind”: paternalism, individualism/collectivism, gender roles and uncertainty avoidance scales, but from PA perspective; we analyze sources of cultural diversity and change. Study political values in history of Russian art.

HANDOUT: Discussing “GUANXI: understanding the nature of holistic thinking”

Mandatory reading:

*** Hofstede G. Cultures and organizations: software of the mind. McGraw-Hill, NY., 2005 / Chapter 2. “More equal then others” (Power Distance and the state. Power distance and corruption etc). p.58-72

Recommended reading:

A training institute based on Hofstede work: http://www.itim.org

Kumar, R. Confucian pragmatism vs Brahmanical idealism: understanding the divergent roots of Indian and Chinese economic performance), Journal of Asian Business, 16: pp.49-68

McSweeney, Brendan. Hofstede’s model of national cultural differences and their consequences: a triumph of faith a failure of analyzes, Human Relations, Vol. 55, No. 1, 2002, pp. 89-118 (its an essay criticizing the supposed finding of cultural dimensions)

World map of power distance scores: http://www.clearlycultural.com

Class 6. Class objective: understand background of “the border” category and it’s evolution under globalization.

Mini-lecture is called “Borders under globalization”. Under the globalisation geographical borders are more and more percieved by some as challenges for further integration. At the same time, however, others still considere borders to be relevant in many ways: they represent important values of people’s identity, demarcate the sovereignty of their governments. Because of this tension between borders as “meeting-places” and borders as “cut-off lines” borders have become more important now then ever before and represent an actual topic for a lecture.

Seminar part is to examine “borders”, “boundaries” and “frontiers” categories from historical and etymological perspective, analyze their correlation and outline key characteristics, apply “frontier” concept to national identity as well as emphasize identity role as a frontier of social community. On seminar we explore what can become “the border”, go over classifications of the borders (i.e. geographic, political, demographic, cultural, economic) and reflect upon the fact how borders not only devide but also unite people. Talking about social and cultural identity issues we are to differ soft, fluid and zonal “frontiers” from hard, static and linear “borders”.

Mandatory reading:

*** Roshwald A., “Cartographic ambiguities: the shifting shapes of missionary nations” pp.212-225, The Endurance of Nationalism, Cambridge Univ. Press., 2006.

Recommended reading:

Anderson, M. Frontiers: Territory and State Formation in the Modern World, 1996

Anderson, M. The Political Science of Frontiers, in P.Ganster (Eds.) Borders and Border Regions in Europe and North America, San Diego, CA, 1997

Barth, F. (Ed.) Ethnic Groups and Boundaries. Long Grove, Illinois: Waveland Press, Inc., 1969

Ohmae, K. “The rise of the Region State”, P.O’Meara, H.D.Mehlinger and M.Krain (eds). Globalization and the Challenge of the New Century, Bloomington, Indiana University Press, pp.93-100, 2000

Ohmae, K. The Borderless World, London, Collins, 1990

Parker B.J. Toward an understanding of borderland processes / American antiquity vol.71, n 1, 2006

Prescott J, Boundaries and Frontiers, London, 1978

Class 7. Class objective: analyze the origins of political violence and aggression vs. human rights and tolerance.

Mini-lecture focuses on the origins of political violence and aggression. Proceeding with inequality survey we should look now at territorial “us” vs. them” type behavior among humans and social animals (ethology), while fighting for territory and scarce resources. Lecture draws attention to determining friends and enemies rituals and other social barriers of aggression. Researches the roots of aggression in an evolutionary context (from social Darwinism to K.Lorenz, including “meme theory” of R.Dawkins). Aggression prevention by reorientation and replacement (from tribal dances to modern art and Olympics). Look at art and extremism in a modern world (B.Grois).

On seminar opposing political violence we have to remember I. Kant categorical imperative and natural human rights theory. Also discuss socializing and integrating into the political culture vs political nihilism and absenteeism in Russia.

HANDOUT: The Milgram experiment

Mandatory reading:

*** Mouffe, Chantal ‘Bringing hegemony, agonism and the political into journalism and media studies’, In: Journalism Studies 7(6): 964-75.

Beissenger M., “Volence”, pp.849 - 867 / Encyclopedia of Nationalism v.1, Ed. in chief A.J.Motyl, Academic Press, 2001