Literature and Anthropology
Objectives
Students should develop some first-hand knowledge of texts where the affinities between literary writing and anthropological discourse are quite evident. From the classic distinction of exotic studies and indigenous commentaries, learning must start with the perception of the close connection relating literature to cultural change, and finish by facing the more general problems concerning the limits of a definition of \"humanity\". Developing specific reading competences that essay and travel writing require, namely as supports of anthropological speech, is one of the main aims, but the curricular objectives also include training literary skills for approaching in the same perspective fictional and autobiographical writing.
General characterization
Code
711091154
Credits
6
Responsible teacher
Available soon
Hours
Weekly - 4
Total - Available soon
Teaching language
Portuguese
Prerequisites
None.
Bibliography
Castro, Eduardo V. de (2000). Araweté: o povo do Ipixuna. Lisboa, Assírio & Alvim e Museu Nacional de Etnologia.
Correia, Natália (2002). Descobri que Era Europeia. Editorial Notícias.
Fernandes, Ângela (2013). A Ideia de Humanidade na Literatura do Início do Século XX. Lisboa, Tinta-da-China.
Geertz, Clifford (2002). Obras e Vidas: o Antropólogo como Autor. Rio de Janeiro, Editora da UFRJ.
Pessanha, Camilo (1993). China: Estudos e Traduções. Lisboa. Vega.
Powdermaker, Hortense (1966). Stranger and Friend: the Way of an Anthropologist. New York and London, W.W. Norton.
Teaching method
Each class includes an introduction by the unit´s instructor, allowing for historic and theoretical framing of the connections between literature and anthropology. The larger part of the class is conceived as a reading workshop for intensive study and interpretation of the chosen texts, demanding active participation both of the students and the instructor. Debate in class is highly encouraged.
Evaluation method
Assessment is as follows: mid-term class assignment (45%), final research paper, from 5 to 8 pages long (40%), active participation in each class session (15%).
Subject matter
1. EXOTIC STUDIES
1.1. Michel de Montaigne welcomes cannibals (in essayistic style)
1.2. Alexis de Tocqueville in search of Indians (1831)
1.3. Camilo Pessanha and Henri Michaux observe 20th century China
1.4. Natália Correia finds out in the US the meaning of Europe
2. INDIGENOUS COMMENTARIES
2.1. Villages, beaches, fishermen, islanders: bits of Portuguese ethnography
2.2. Neo-realist ethnography: the project of «peoples» (self)representation
2.3. Strangers at home: the Araweté from Ipixuna, according to Eduardo Viveiros de Castro
3. HUMAN / NOT HUMAN
3.1. Animal knowledge (Jack London)
3.2. Monsters in the age of science (Frankenstein)
3.3. Men, women, children and other sexual differences