This course is an exploration of the major theoretical approaches to the study of political institutions, structures, and processes in different societies, with special reference to the nature of power, and the roles of symbolism and ideology and images of the state in politics. A number of classical, political and anthropological ethnographies will be introduced.
The course will also include an evaluation of the history and cultural expressions of colonialism, cultural hegemony, and forms of protest; along with changes in the modes of production based on kinship, strategies of colonial rule, and the formation of global economic systems.
Vertical Tabs
Course Learning Outcomes
| Learning Outcomes | Program Learning Outcomes | Teaching Methods | Assessment Methods |
| 1) Explains the content of political anthropology and its historical process. | 1,2,3,5 | 1,2,3 | A,C |
| 2) Discusses the classical readings in political anthropology. | 1,2,3,5 | 1,2,3 | A,C |
| 3) Studies the concept of the state from an anthropological perspective. | 1,2,3,5 | 1,2,3 | A,C |
| 4) Analyzes the concept of power anthropologically. | 1,2,3,5 | 1,2,3 | A,C |
| 5) Evaluates the concept of nation-state anthropologically. | 1,2,3,5 | 1,2,3 | A,C |
| 6) Studies the rites and rituals in different cultural and political contexts. | 1,2,3,5 | 1,2,3 | A,C |
| 7) Provides anthropological approaches to violence and state. | 1,2,3 | A,C |
Course Flow
| COURSE CONTENT | ||
| Week | Topics | Study Materials |
| 1 | INTRODUCTION | Fundamentals in political anthropology |
| 2 | HISTORICAL DEVELEOPMENT OF POLITICAL ANTHROPOLOGY | Fundamentals in political anthropology |
| 3 | STATE IN ANTHROPOLOGY | Anthropology of modern Turkey, Applied Anthropology |
| 4 | NATION-STATE IN ANTHROPOLOGY | Anthropology of modern Turkey, Applied Anthropology |
| 5 | ETHNOGRAPHIES OF NATION-STATES | Anthropology of modern Turkey, Applied Anthropology, Fieldwork |
| 6 | RITES AND RITUALS IN NATION-STATE | Anthropology of modern Turkey, Fieldwork |
| 7 | MIDTERM | |
| 8 | POLITICAL ANTHROPOLOGY STUDIES IN TURKEY | Anthropology of modern Turkey, Applied Anthropology, Fieldwork |
| 9 | STATE AND GENDER | Anthropology of modern Turkey, Applied Anthropology, Fieldwork |
| 10 | EDUCATION AND STATE | Anthropology of modern Turkey, Applied Anthropology, Fieldwork |
| 11 | STATE IN GLOBAL NEO-LIBERAL ECONOMY | Anthropology of modern Turkey, Applied Anthropology, Fieldwork |
| 12 | STATE AND VIOLENCE IN CURRENT PHILOSOPHY | Anthropology of modern Turkey, Applied Anthropology, Fieldwork |
| 13 | HEALTH AND STATE | Anthropology of modern Turkey, Applied Anthropology, Medical Anthropology, Fieldwork |
| 14 | STATE AND CHILD | Anthropology of modern Turkey, Applied Anthropology, Medical Anthropology, Fieldwork |
Recommended Sources
| RECOMMENDED SOURCES | |||
| Textbook |
LEWELLEN, T. C. (2003). POLITICAL ANTHROPOLOGY: AN INTRODUCTION. PRAEGER PUBLISHERS.
Vincent,J. 2002 (ed.) THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF POLITICS: A READER IN ETHNOGRAPHY, THEORY AND CRITIQUE. BLACKWELL PUBLISHERS. A.SHARMA and A. GUPTA 2006 (eds.) ANTHROPOLOGY OF THE STATE: A READER. WILEY-BLACKWELL. Žižek, S. (1989). The sublime object of ideology. Verso Books. Foucault, M., Burchell, G., & Gordon, C. (1991). The Foucault effect: Studies in governmentality. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. |
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| Additional Resources |
Aretxaga, Begona. 2003. Maddening States. Annual Review of Anthropology, 32: 393- 410.
Biehl, J. (2005) “Technologies of Invisibility: Politics of Life and Social Inequality” In J.X.Inda (ed.) Anthropologies of Modernity: Foucault, Governmentality and Life Politics. Blackwell Publishing Navaro-Yashin, Y. (2002). Faces of the state: Secularism and public life in Turkey. Princeton University Press. Tugal, C. (2009). Passive revolution: Absorbing the Islamic challenge to capitalism. Stanford University Press. |
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Material Sharing
| MATERIAL SHARING | |
| Documents | |
| Assignments | Essay on the concept of state, analyzing the ethnographies on nation-state. |
| Exams | |
Assessment
| ASSESSMENT | ||
| IN-TERM STUDIES | NUMBER | PERCENTAGE |
| Mid-terms | 1 | 70 |
| Quizzes | 2 | 10 |
| Assignment | 1 | 20 |
| Total | 100 | |
| CONTRIBUTION OF FINAL EXAMINATION TO OVERALL GRADE | 40 | |
| CONTRIBUTION OF IN-TERM STUDIES TO OVERALL GRADE | 60 | |
| Total | 100 | |
Course’s Contribution to Program
| COURSE'S CONTRIBUTION TO PROGRAM | |||||||
| No | Program Learning Outcomes | Contribution | |||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |||
| 1 | Trains reputable academics who know the place of anthropology in the social sciences and its conceptual structure, who are able to interpret and analyze the current events from an anthropological perspective, | X | |||||
| 2 | who have absorbed theoretical foundation and who can adopt the theoretical approaches to their original research, | X | |||||
| 3 | Trains anthropologists who are equipped with technical and cultural knowledge, methods, ethical concerns, who can bring together the theory and practice to express in written and oral format, who inquire, examine and are eager to improve, | X | |||||
| 4 | Trains anthropologists who follow up both national and international publications related to their areas of interest in anthropology and other social sciences, who have the ability to implement an holistic approach to interpret and observe the Turkish culture and characteristics of different cultures; geographical conditions, historical processes and the dynamics of social change, | X | |||||
| 5 | Trains anthropologists whose research can make contribution to social sciences, who can critically evaluate the other published materials, who can integrate their unique perspective both in personal and business life. | X | |||||
ECTS
| ECTS ALLOCATED BASED ON STUDENT WORKLOAD BY THE COURSE DESCRIPTION | |||
| Activities | Quantity |
Duration (Hour) |
Total Workload (Hour) |
| Course Duration (Including the exam week) | 14 | 3 | 42 |
| Hours for off-the-classroom study (Pre-study, practice) | 14 | 3 | 42 |
| Mid-terms | 1 | 60 | 60 |
| Homework | 1 | 45 | 45 |
| Quiz | 2 | 30 | 60 |
| Final examination | - | - | - |
| Total Work Load | 249 | ||
| Total Work Load / 25 (h) | 9.96 | ||
| ECTS Credit of the Course | 10 | ||