ANTB19H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Birds Eye View, Knowledge, Middle Ages
Document Summary
Reading amitav ghosh: manuscripts from 12th century, correspondence from. Jewish merchant and brother travelling from egypt to india. India contributed to trade in egypt, legitimized his desire to do anthropological work in india. Note depth of historical analysis, back to the middle ages. Looks at the role of institutions for the maintenance of equilibrium. Understands feud as a political institution that resolves social conflict. Theoretical concerns: historical agency, reflexivity (thinking out loud about your relationship with others, presence and conversations cause you to reflect on cultural and social processes you are privy to) Understands power and privilege, conflicts that destroy community. Goal is to understand society or culture in entirety, as a system. Method: participant-observation that leads to detached analysis of a social structure. Goal is to capture a moment in time, to see how cultural identities shift. Method: participant-observation that involves dialogue, reflexivity (situated knowledge) Metaphor: the geniza, ancient tower on the side of a synagogue in egypt.
