Kinship and Social Organization (60210)

Fall 1996 T,Th 12:30-1:50 Doug White SST 743 tel. 824-5893

Anthropology 121AW introduces a working knowledge -- concepts, theories and examples -- of how societies and institutions are constructed. Student writings hopefully will synthesize analytic approaches to case study materials (case study readings and personal knowledge) that define research questions and explore them critically using empirical evidence.

Requirements:

• 3 short essays (2-3 pages; 10% each) .............................................................30%
• Midterm quiz ................................................................................................ 5%
• 2 research essays (10-12 pages; 25% each; may resubmit maximum of two ) .50%
• Weekly response papers (1 page) ....................................................................5%
• Oral report on research (alternate A or B) .......................................................5%
• Final take home exam (4-5 pages) ...................................................................5%

Week 1 Contested Terrain: Evolutionary Dynamics in the Division of Labor

• Readings: selections from Andy Abbott
• Research Essay: Occupational Succession in a Familial Network (your family?)

Week 2 The System of Roles

• Readings: selected chapters from Edmund Leach - Debt, Relations, Power
• Short Essay: Role Dynamics and Professional Images in ... (a setting you are familiar with)

Weeks 3-4 Social Reproduction: Family, Labor, Economy, Polity

• Readings: Robertson (whole book) (see also Schwimmer's Kinship Tutorial
• Short Essay week 3: The Network Construction of a Social Institution
• Short Essay week 4: Proposal for Alternate A Ethnographic or Alternate B Historical (e.g., Elites) Case Study

Weeks 5-6 The Ethnographic Network

• Readings: sample and supplementary papers available
• Ethnographic Examples: Old Testament, Sri Lanka, Balance Principle
• Research Essay Alternate A: Role Interlock, Stratification and Dynamics in an Ethnographic Case Study

Weeks 7-8 The History of Networks, Class, Domestic Units, Ownership, Capital

• Readings: Segalen (whole book)
• Examples: Class formation (Austria, Central America), Eurasian family (cf. Goody), Trading Diaspora (Curtain)
• Research Essay Alternate B: Case Study of Elite Networks

Week 9-10 review, discussion, and student reports

Required: Available at Bookstore

• Robertson, A. F. 1991. Beyond the Family: The Social Organization of Reproduction. Berkeley: University of California Press. $?? paper. $30? hard. HQ 503 R59 1991
• Segalen, Martine. 1986. Historical Anthropology of the Family. Cambridge: University Press. $20 paper, HQ737 S4413

Required: Xeroxed Chapters; also on reserve

• Edmund Leach, 1982. Social Anthropology. Oxford $10 paper GN316 L4
• Abbott, Andrew. 1988. The System of Professions. Chicago: University Press.

Reserve (including optional supplementary readings):

• Hughes, Austin, 1988. Evolution and Human Kinship. Oxford: University Press. $30 hard GN 487 H84
• Shoumatoff, Alex. 1985. The Mountain of Names: A History of the Human Family. New York: Simon and Schuster, Touchstone. GN487 S56
• Goody, Jack. 1990. The Oriental, the Ancient and the Primitive: Systems of Marriage and the Family in the Pre-Industrial Societies of Eurasia. NY: Cambridge Press. $15 paper, summary ch. xerox. GT2772 A2 G66

Notes on the readings: Leach's book, intended as the principal text, is now out of print but xeroxed excerpts will be provided. It contains essential theory to understand principles of social organization. Segalan provides a history of kinship and the family up to contemporary times; Shoumatoff covers some of the same ground but raises a different set of questions. Abbott treats the contemporary social organization of the professions.

Reserve books: Hughes' book is sociobiological, focusing on analysis of empirical data. It has some mathematical sections, which biology students may find useful, but the math itself is not essential to understanding. Goody's book takes a more historical approach, and is essential for an appreciation of how badly misunderstood is the topic of kinship in contemporary society. It is summarized in lectures, and a summary chapter provided. It is also fascinating in terms of case studies, but many other case study materials or bibliographies are available on request.

Sample Studies: to qualify for research use, must contain a social network or 
genealogy of an endogamous group (not just chiefly genealogies or lineages) 
 K Arheim, Makuna (South America)      E Leach, Pul Eliya (Sri Lanka)         

 F Boas, Kwakiutl Ethnology            C Linnekin, Keanae (Maui Hawaiians)    

 C Brant, We're all Kin (Appalachia)   J Lockhart, Conquistadores (Peru)      

 R Burling, Rengsanggri (Burma)        L Marshall, !Kung (Bushmen)            

 N Chagnon, Yanomamo (Venezuela)       G McCall, Rapanui (Easter Island)      

 J Dorsey, Omaha                       C Nakane, Garo (India)                 

 T Ernst, Onabasulu (Melanesia)        R Nicolson, Pitcairn (Pacific)         

 R Feinberg, Anuta (Polynesia)         P Ottino, Rangiroa (Polynesia)   

 R Firth, Tikopia (Polynesia)          G Roberts, American Presidents         

 R Fox, Tory Island (Ireland)          H Scheffler, Choiseul (Solomons)       

 C Gailey, Tonga (Polynesia)           M Segalen, Breton (France)                                                              

 P Gulliver, Neighbors and Networks    M Stern, Jewish Americans              

 J Henry, Kaingang (Brazil)            S Stone, Conquistadores (Costa Rica)   

 R Keesing, Kwaio (Pacific)            M Strathern, Elmdon (England)          

 M Lantis, Nunivak (Eskimo)            P Lawrence, Garia (Melanesia)