KSCB037 Social Anthropology of China

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2013
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Pavel Šindelář, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. Luboš Bělka, CSc.
Center for Chinese Studies – Department for the Study of Religions – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Mgr. Pavel Šindelář, Ph.D.
Supplier department: Center for Chinese Studies – Department for the Study of Religions – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Wed 7:30–9:05 M24
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 50 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/50, only registered: 0/50, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/50
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
Students will learn how to inspect a Chinese society, Chinese culture and its selected phenomena through the lens of social and cultural anthropology. They will learn the basic theories and methodology of this academic approach. Based on individual reading, they will develop awareness of main topics and authors in the field of social and cultural anthropology whit the especially those engaged with Chinese environment.
Course participants will also create a basic awareness of the   methods and ways in which social reality and cultural heritage is examined by anthropologists. Lectures will be based on the sets of texts for every week, which will be analyzed and discussed during seminars.
Syllabus
  • 1.-2. Introduction to social and cultural anthropology of China
  • 3.-4. Methodology of social and cultural anthropology and field work
  • 5.-6. Relationship, gender, family and ancestors in Chinese society
  • 7.-8. Everyday life, work, agriculture, food in Chinese society
  • 9.-10. Social organization, relationships and institutions in China (guanxi, hospitality, gift, pride and trust)
  • 11.-12. Religious praxis and ritual (family and local religious life, customs and festivals, ancestor cult, fengshui, traditional Chinese medicine)
Literature
  • Potter, Sulamith – Jack Potter. 1990. China's Peasants. The Anthropology of a Revolution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Chen, Nancy N. - Constance D. Clark - Suzanne Z. Gottschang - Lyn Jeffery (Eds.) 2001. China Urban: Ethnographies of Contemporary Culture. Durham: Duke University Press Books.
  • Tu Wei-ming (ed.). 1994. The Living Tree: the Changing Meaning of Being Chinese Today. Cambridge: Harvard University Press; London: Routledge.
  • Fong, Vanessa. 2006. Only Hope: Coming of Age under China's One-Child Policy. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
  • Honig, Emily - Gail Hershatter. 1988. Personal Voices. Chinese Women in the 1980s. Stanford, Stanford University Press.
  • Ikels, Charlotte. 1996. The Return of the God of Wealth: the Transition to a Market Economy in Urban China. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
  • Guldin, Gregory E. (ed.) 1990. Anthropology in China. New York: J. E. Sharpe.
  • Chau, Adam. 2008. Miraculous Response: Doing Popular Religion in Contemporary China. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
  • Goodman, David - Beverley Hooper (eds.) 1996. China's Quiet Revolution: New Interactions between State and Society. New York: St. Martins Press.
  • Hill, Gates. 1997. China's Motor: A thousand years of petty capitalism. Cornell University Press.
  • Chan, Anita - Richard Madsen - Johnatan Unger. 1992. Chen Village Under Mao and Deng. Berkeley: California University Press.
  • Guldin, Gregory E. (ed.) 1994. The Saga of Anthropology in China. From Malinowski to Moscow to Mao. New York: J. E. Sharpe.
  • Davis, Deborah - Stevan Harrell (eds.). 1993. Chinese Families in the Post-Mao Era. Berkeley: University of California Press.
  • Eriksen, H. T. 2001. Small Places, Large Issues: An Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology (Pluto Press)
  • Yang, Mayfair. 1994. Gifts, Favors and Banquets. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
  • Hendry, J. 2008. An Introduction to Social Anthropology: Sharing Our Worlds (Palgrave Macmillan).
  • Weller, Robert. 1987. Unities and Diversities in Chinese Religion. Seattle: University of Washington Press.
  • Monaghan, J. - Just, P. 2000. Social and Cultural Anthropology: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford Paperbacks).
  • Brandtstädter, Susanne - Santos, Gonçalo (eds.). 2011. Chinese Kinship: Contemporary anthropological perspectives. London: Routledge.
Teaching methods
Lectures, reading of study texts and discussions on its topics.
Assessment methods
Oral examination based on one of the texts explained and discussed during seminars.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught once in two years.
Information on course enrolment limitations: Zápis mimo religionistiku je podmíněn souhlasem vyučujícího.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2012.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
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