aCademiC Catalog 2013-2014 - Lorenzo de Medici

FLORENCE
School of Arts & Sciences
Anthropology
Introduction to Anthropology
ANT 160 F
Cr: 3; Contact hrs: 45
This course will introduce students to the wide range of social
and cultural diversity that exists in the world in order to develop
a comprehensive approach to thinking about the human
condition. We will examine all aspects of human life through
anthropology’s sub-fields. These include cultural anthropology
(the diverse ways of life, how people give meaning to their
experiences), biological anthropology (the study of human
evolution and adaptation), archaeology (the study of past
human societies through their material remains) and linguistic
anthropology (how language and symbols are used).
Anthropology of Fashion and Desirability:
Beyond the Catwalk
ANT 185 F; Dual listed: FAS 185 F
Cr: 3; Contact hrs: 45
When we hear “fashion”, we think automatically of clothes and
dress, but fashionability entails much more than the latest style
of shoe on the catwalk. Trends of style and desirability occur in
every human society, from the most “simple” to our own highly
complex international interactions. Using the fashion of dress
as a starting point, this course examines the universal patterns
and particular variations of fashionability in both Euro-American
and non-Western societies. We will examine the phenomenon
of fashion in clothing, speech, and activities by searching
for trends and examining the trajectory of fashionability as
practices move from the underground to the mainstream to
being “old-fashioned”, because fashion is necessarily defined
in opposition to something that is not fashionable (is Mizrahi
still cool now that he designs for Target? Or is he even cooler?).
We will investigate historic examples of past fashions, as well as
current trends and the phenomenon of brand awareness, with
an eye on our own sense of what makes something fashionable
for us today.
Anthropology of Violence and Conflict
ANT 190 F; Dual listed: PST 190 F
Cr: 3; Contact hrs: 45
This course explores the dynamics of conflict in social relations
and investigates the circumstances under which violence,
in its different aspects, may arise, on the understanding that
while conflict can no doubt play a positive role in social life, by
no means the same can be said of violence. The first part of
the course will deal with conflict and violence at the “micro”
level - that is with conflict and, occasionally, violence among
individuals in everyday social relations - and specifically with
the role played by the pragmatic dimension in conflictual
interactions. The second part of the course will deal with conflict
at the “macro” level - that is conflict between large groups -
focusing especially on the investigation of the circumstances
under which conflict is likely to erupt into macro-scale violence.
In this light, the concept of ethnic identity shall be analyzed,
and the notion of ethnic conflict – with examples from Africa,
Asia, and the Balkans, illustrated with the aid of documentary
films – will be put under scrutiny.
Archaeology Workshop
ANT 193 F; Dual listed: CLA 193 F / RES 193 F
Cr: 3; Contact hrs: 45
This course combines an introduction to archaeology with
hands-on work on 2500 year-old archaeological finds in LdM’s
Archaeology Lab. These finds have recently been unearthed
in central Italy in the archaic settlement of Accesa, under the
scientific direction of the University of Florence, and in the
Hellenistic necropolis of Bosco della Riserva, near Tuscania,
where an excavation project is being conducted by LdM
Students will learn what happens to the finds once they leave
their recovery contexts and arrive in Florence: here, under the
expert guidance of the instructors, students will be involved
in the fundamental activities of restoration, conservation,
documentation,study and storage of the finds. This course
will also give students a general survey of the evolution of the
discipline of archaeology over time and it will introduce them to
the ancient Etruscan civilization, which forms such an important
part of Italy’s culture and heritage. Students will also have the
opportunity to sign up to the summer workshop in Tuscania
which operates directly at one of the archaeological sites.
Food and Culture
ANT 198 F; Dual listed: CLT 198 F / NUH 198 F
Cr: 3; Contact hrs: 45
If “you are what you eat”, just why do you eat the way you do?
This course considers the relationships between the multiple
meanings of food and the acts of preparing and eating food,
and further explores food and personal and social identity.
Students will examine why different people make different food
choices in their daily lives, why individuals from certain social
classes will avoid or esteem particular foods, and in general how
food serves as a factor in self-definition. Because a person’s
attitude toward food can reveal not just personal identity traits
but a whole food ideology, this course will also analyze the role
of food in the construction of ethnic identity, in the display of
religious beliefs, and in the negotiation of gender roles. Students
learn how cultures and values are transmitted and preserved
through food. Through personal essays and the interdisciplinary
secondary literature, students will be guided to analyze the
complex and fascinating relationships between people and
food, helping them to understand how cultures (including their
own) ultimately determine all human food choices.
Anthropology and Development
ANT 200 F; Dual listed: PST 200 F
Cr: 3; Contact hrs: 45
The course provides an up-to-date and in-depth understanding
of anthropological perspectives on policy and practice in
contemporary international development aid, and gives a
theoretical overview of the relationship between development
aid and anthropology. Students explore the contribution of
anthropology to contemporary development aid debates, on
poverty, human rights, violence and complex emergencies, and
the “market” as a core metaphor of globalized development.
The politics of humanitarian aid, shifting aid frameworks, and
concrete intervention programs in developing countries will
be examined, bridging the disparate worlds of planners of
international agencies and beneficiaries of poor countries.
Concepts and debates are then probed further through
examination of real study cases of development projects in
Africa and South America, with the contribution of international
consultants working in the sector of humanitarian aid and
development cooperation. Simulations of “participatory
methods” will be also included as a manner of exploring the
meaning of the key concepts of community development,
popular “participation” and “empowerment.”
Archaeology of Religion: Death and Ritual in
the Past
ANT 252 F; Dual listed: CLA 252 F / PHR 252 F
Cr: 3; Contact hrs: 45
Religion is based on a combined system of beliefs and practices
that allows people to answer fundamental questions regarding
human life. What can archaeology tell us about religion? The
course explores key questions regarding the role and evolution
of religious beliefs and practices by systematically analyzing
the archaeological remains of ancient religious material culture
across the Mediterranean and the Ancient Near East, between
the prehistoric and early classical periods. Direct links between
religious practices and beliefs are strongly evident in ancient
societies, where the construction of large physical structures
(such as temples) appears to be pivotal in the evolution
of mankind. Students learn to use archaeological data and
historical sources for the period. They address broad theoretical
and methodological issues, explore how architecture was used
by ancient societies in creating their cosmological landscape,
and evaluate interpretations of the first appearance of family
ancestor cults. The first part of the course treats theoretical
and methodological issues in the study of religious thought,
while the second part reinforces understanding through close
analysis of ancient written sources, architecture, and other
examples of material culture.
Prerequisites: one previous course in History of Religions,
Cultural Anthropology, Archaeology
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LdM Academic Catalog 2013-2014