Anthropology 151: Anthropology of
Angell B112
Mailbox: Anthropology
office – 509 Williams Hall
Office: 514A Williams
Office phone:
656-0837
Office Hours: Tuesday
and Thursday
Email: jennifer.dickinson@uvm.edu
Homepage: www.uvm.edu/~jadickin
Course website: www.uvm.edu/~jadickin/151easterneurope.html
Course
Description:
This course offers an
overview of current anthropological research in
Course
Requirements:
Writing
assignments:
There are two 5-page papers for this course and one 1-page
handout that must accompany one of the papers.
For each paper, you will research a topic related to events in an
Eastern European country over the last 15 years. To write your paper, you should find AT LEAST
five news articles (newspaper, magazine, internet, or other) about a particular
event. A list of general topics and
countries will be provided to assist you.
After reading the articles, you should discuss the event and its
significance in a 5 page paper, using one or more of the course readings to
frame your discussion. Each of your two
papers should be on different countries.
In addition, ONE of your papers should include a one-page handout on the
current event you covered. This handout
should be suitable for distribution to the class.
Exams:
There will be one midterm and one final exam for this class. The exams will include short answer and essay questions. The final exam will be cumulative.
Grades will be calculated as follows:
|
|
Grade % |
Total Points |
|
Assignment 1 (Sept. 29th) |
15% |
150 |
|
Assignment 2 (Nov.
15th) |
15% |
150 |
|
Handout |
10% |
100 |
|
Midterm Exam (Oct. 13th) |
25% |
250 |
|
Final Exam (Dec. 13th) |
35% |
350 |
Total: 100% 1000
There are three books for this course, available for
purchase at the UVM Bookstore and also on reserve at Bailey-Howe library.
Reis,
Berdahl, Daphne.
1999. Where the World Ended:
Re-Unification and Identity in the German Borderand.
Szemere,
Anna 2001. Up from the Underground: The
Culture of Rock Music and Postsocialist
In addition, several REQUIRED articles
have been placed on electronic reserves through the library. To find the course reserves, go to http://library.uvm.edu and click on “Course
Reserves.” You may also go to the course
website, where direct links to the library readings are available (www.uvm.edu/~jadickin/151easterneurope.html
). Either way, you will have to log in
with your NETID and password. You can
also print the articles at the library directly for 7
cents a page.
In general, reading should be done
in the order indicated in the syllabus, and all of the reading should be done
before class on Thursday.
Schedule
of topics, readings and assignments:
Part 1: Soviet
Culture (?)
Week 1 – August 30,
September 1: Introduction – What and Where is
Topics: What is
Verdery, 1996, “What was Socialism
and Why did it Fall?”
in What
was Socialism and What Comes Next?
Week 2 – September 6, 8: Histories and Identities
*On September 8th there will be an in-class library tutorial
for our newspaper assignment
Topics: The idea of the nation in
pre-socialist
Bringa, Tone 1995 Chapter 1 “History, Identity, and
the Yugoslav Dream” in Being Muslim the
Wanner, Catherine. 1998.
Chapter 2 “The Rise of Nationalist Opposition” in Burden of Dreams: History and
Identity in Post-Soviet
Brown, K.S. 2000 “Would the
Real Nationalists Please Step Forward:
Destructive Narration in
Week 3 - September 13, 15: Nationalism con’t
and Ethnicity in the
Topics: Theory
of ethnicity and nation in the Soviet period.
Ethnic and linguistic diversity in the
Grant,
B. 1995 “Introduction” in In the Soviet
House of Culture: A Century of Perestroikas.
Pp. 1-17.
Slezkine, Yuri 1994 “The
Lemon, A. 2000
“What is your nation?:
Performing Romani Distinctions” In Between Two Fires: Gypsy Peformance
and Romani Memory from Pushkin
to Post-Socialism. Duke U.
Press. Pp. 80-123. ONLINE RESERVE
Week 4 - September 20, 22:
Cultures of Socialist Life
Topics: How
did the state participate in everyday life during the Soviet period? How was the border part of life in
Buchli, V. 2002 “Khrushchev, Modernism and the Fight against
Petit-bourgeois Consciousness in the Soviet Home” in Material Culture Reader V. Buchli, ed.
Berdhal
Chapter 5, “Borderlands” pp. 140-183
Szemere
Chapter 1, “The Making of the Rock Underground,” pp. 29-72 (also in week 7)
*******Assignment #1 due Thursday September 29th in
class
Week 5 - September 27, 29: Perestroika (1): Russian Talk
Topics: What is “talk,” and why is
it so important in Russian Culture? What
features of perestroika does Reis focus on?
What can her study of perestroika tell us about Soviet life?
Week 6 - October 4, 6: Perestroika (2): Russian Talk
Topics: What are litanies and
laments? Are these “just talk,” or do they affect Russian ideas and life? Why is it culturally important to have
suffered?
*****MIDTERM IN CLASS OCTOBER 13th ***********
Week 7 – October 11/13: The “Underground”
Topics: What happens when the system you oppose falls
apart?
Szemere Chapter 1, “The Making of the Rock Underground,” pp. 29-72
Condee, Nancy 1999 “Body Graphics: Tattooing the Fall of Communism” In Adele Marie Barker, ed. Consuming
Part 2: Post-Socialism
Week 8 - October 18, 20: Dismantling Socialism
Topics: What
was dismantled after German unification?
What caused the cultural divide between East and West? How did the “opposition” experience the end
of socialism?
Berdhal pp. 1-72
Szemere Introduction and Chapter 2
“We’ve kicked the Habit” pp. 1-29; 73-108
Week 9 - October 25, 27: Shifting Borders
Topics: What
was and now is the meaning of “the border” in this village? Can the border be “erased” over time? Why or why not?
Week 10 - November 1, 3: Gender and the State
Topics: Eastern
European feminisms. Rights
and duties of women (and men) under socialism and post-socialism.
Berdahl,
Chapter 6 “Designing Women” pp. 184-205
Baban, A. 2000 “Women’s Sexuality and Reproductive
Behavior in Post-Ceausescu Romania.” In
Gal and Kligman, eds. Reproducing Gender: Politics,
Publics and Everyday Life after Socialism. Pp. 225-255.
ONLINE RESERVE
Haney,
L. 1999 “But We are Still Mothers: Gender, the State and the Construction of
Need in Postsocialist Hungary.” Chapter 5 in Burawoy
and Verdery, eds. Uncertain
Transition ONLINE RESERVE
Week 11 - November 8, 10: Economic Change: The Market
Topics: How
is “the market” culturally perceived in different parts of
Szemere Chapter 4 Clients and
Entrepreneurs. Pp. 139-178
Drazin, Adam. 2002 “Chasing Moths: Cleanliness, Intimacy and Progress in
Rausing, Sigrid 2002
“Re-constructing the ‘
***** Assignment #2 due
Tuesday November 15th in class.
Week 12 - November 15, 17: Capitalism and Postsocialist
Cultures
Topics: What
is “privatization” and why has it been so important to the transformation of
socialist societies? What is the
cultural meaning of “capitalism”?
Dunn,
Elizabeth 2004. “Accountability,
Corruption, and the Privatization of Alima,” Chapter
2 in Privatizing
Borenstein, Eliot 1999 “Public Offerings: MMM and the Marketing of Melodrama” in Consuming
Szemere Chapter 5 “The Countercultural Past”
***NO CLASS Thursday,
November 24th, Thanksgiving Break
Week 13 November 22: Revolutions– the Challenges of Post-Soviet
Citizenship
Topics: What is “civil society”? How is belonging to a country different now
than it was 15 years ago? Has the role
of the state in people’s lives really changed?
Presentation on the impact of
Szemere Chapter 3 “Experiencing the
Fall” pp. 109-138
Selected news articles on
the Orange Revolution will be posted online.
***NO CLASS Thursday, December 1st,
American Anthropological Association Conf.
Week 14 November 29: Identity in post-socialist
Topics: How did the end of socialism
affect different people’s sense of who they are? What new identities have emerged after
socialism?
Berdhal, Epilogue to Where the World Ended
Szemere Conclusion pp. 213-230
Week 15 - December 6: Wrap-up and Review for Final Exam
Final Exam Tuesday December 13th
8-11:45 in Angell B112