College Bulletin 2016-2017 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
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ANTH 071C. Anthropology of Mind (T)
In this course we will examine how anthropologists (as well as the occasional sociologist, sociolinguist and critical psychologist) have approached questions related to how our mental and emotional experiences are shaped or otherwise affected by the communities to which we belong. Do(es) the language(s) we speak, for example, constrain what we are able to think? Do the meanings encoded in our day-to-day activities reflect deeper structures embedded in our minds? To what extent are different personality traits fostered and valued by different cultures or communities? To what extent is the opposition between mind and body a cultural byproduct of European Christianity, and what kinds of knowledge might reside in our bodies? How have different societies made sense of and dealt with the cognitive differences presented by the members of their populations? What can different responses to “madness” teach us about the operations of power in a given society? This is a theory course, and as such will be very reading intensive.
Theory course.
Prerequisite: Previous coursework in Sociology & Anthropology is highly recommended.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Spring 2019. Fraga.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
Access the class schedule to search for sections.
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