Module Code and Title:        AID202 Anthropology of Identity

Programme:                         BA in Anthropology

Credit:                                  12

Module Tutor:                     Jelle J P Wouters

General objective: This module aims to provide students with an orientation to theories, concepts and phenomena within the field of identity. Identity will be approached as a social construct, and this module will consider the ways in which social, racial, gendered, religious and national components interact in the constructions of the self and social groups in places across the globe. Students will be introduced to cross-cultural variation in how personhood and social identity are formulated, as well as to the form and substance of modern-day identity politics and nationalism.

Learning outcomes – On completion of this module, students will be able to:

1. Explain the social construction of identity.
2. Examine the relationship between culture, society, and personhood.
3. Evaluate which anthropological perspectives are relevant theoretical frameworks for understanding identity construction.
4. Identify contemporary anthropology's relationship to questions of social group formation, nationalism and identity within a developing historical trajectory.
5. Critically analyse the relationships between politics, state, and identity.
6. Contrast and compare various theories of national and nationalist identities which have been elaborated by anthropologists and other social theorists.
7. Assess the emergence of nationalism as a form of collective organisation in anthropological terms.
8. Discuss the relationship of nationalism to modernity and the state.

Learning and Teaching Approach:

Assessment Approach:

A. Argumentative Essay: Portion of Final Mark: 15%

Students will be asked to individually write a critical essay about the social construction of identities. They will be required to substantiate their arguments with both theory and ethnographic examples. The essay will be 750-1000 words in length.

3%       Proposal outlining the selected topic and proposed argument

9%       Quality of content and argument (includes well stated and original analysis, use of relevant and adequate support for all claims made, quality & relevance of selected ethnographic examples, ties analysis to relevant module concepts)

1%       Language

1%       Organization

1%       References

B. Research Essay: Portion of Final Mark: 15%

Students will explain and theorize nationalism with reference to Benedict Anderson’s Imagined Communities. They are expected to discuss a specific element of nationalism (e.g. ritual, symbol, practice, or document) and illustrate how from this a wider national consciousness can be produced. Students are required to combine historical sources, contemporary insights, and theoretical paradigms to substantiate their arguments. The essays will be 750-1000 words in length.

3%       Proposal outlining the selected topic and proposed argument

7%       Quality of content and argument (includes well stated and original analysis, use of relevant and adequate support for all claims made, quality & relevance of selected ethnographic examples, ties analysis to relevant module concepts)

2%       Quality of selected references and sources

1%       Language

1%       Organization

1%       References

C. Group presentation. Portion of Final Mark: 10%

Students will be divided into small groups. Each group will be given the task to elaborate and present on a topic discussed in class. Students are required to discuss its theoretical underpinnings, use ethnographic examples, and examine its relevance in relation to Bhutan. The presentation will be 10-15 minutes in length.

7%       Content (including the use of sources / perspectives not discussed in class, how well does the presentation address specified criteria, quality of overall narrative, all claims relevant and supported)

1%       Organization and structure

2%       Delivery (volume, pace, efforts to engage audience

1%       Language use

1%       Time management

1%       Quality of teamwork

2%       Individual contribution (process)

D. Class participation and preparedness: Portion of Mark: 5%

Students will be expected to participate substantially in class discussions, with contributions reflecting adequate preparation for topics under discussion. 2.5% of class participation and preparedness will be assessed before midterm, and the remaining 2.5% post midterm.

E. Midterm Examination: Portion of Final Mark: 15%

Students will take a written exam of 1.5 hr duration covering topics up to the mid-point of the semester.

Pre-requisites: AFD101 Introduction to Anthropology

Subject matter:

1. Unit I: Personhood and Identity
   • Introductions and examples of culture in relation to personhood
   • The relationship between self, categories, and institutions
   • The relationship between identity, identification, and difference
   • Debates about race, gender, class, and sexuality
2. Unit II: Social group identities
   • Approaches to understanding group identities: primordialism, instrumentalism, constructionism
   • Anthropological conceptions of belonging: key issues and terms
   • Identities through social belonging, distinctive lifestyles, and social divisions
   • Group boundaries and transgressions (Barth) : key terms and issues
3. Unit III: The Politics of Identity
   • Introduction and examples of identity politics
   • Basics of ethnosymbolism: definition and examples
   • The inventions of traditions (Hobsbawn and Ranger)
   • The role of ethnonationalism in today’s world
   • Debates and complexities of indigeneity
   • Cultural identities through performative practices
4. Unit IV: Nation and Nationalism
   • Definitions of nation
   • A brief history of the rise of the nation-state
   • Anthropological approaches to nationalism
   • Imagined communities (Benedict Anderson)
   • The relationship between nationalism, globalization, and modernization

Reading List:

1. Essential Reading

• Anderson, B. (1983). Imagined communities: Reflections on the origin and spread of nationalism. London: Verso.
• Jenkins, R. (2008). Social Identity. London: Routledge.

2. Additional Readings
   • Balakrishnan, G. (Ed.). (1996). Mapping the nation. London: Verso
   • Barth, F. (1969). Ethnic groups and boundaries: The social organization of cultural difference. London: Waveland Press.
   • Brubacker, R. (2004). Ethnicity without groups. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
   • Cohen, A. (Ed.). (2000). Signifying identities: Anthropological perspectives on boundaries and contested values. London: Routledge.
   • Comaroff, J. and J. Comaroff (2001). On personhood: an Anthropological Perspective from Africa, Journal for the Study of Race, Nation, and Culture 7(2): 267-283.
   • Donnan, H., & Wilson, T.M. (1999). Borders: Frontiers of identity, nation and state. Oxford: Berg.
   • Eriksen, T.H. (2010). Ethnicity and nationalism: Anthropological perspectives. London: Pluto.
   • Friedman, J. (1992). The Past in the Future: History and the Politics of Identity. American Anthropologist 94(4): 837-59.
   • Gellner, E. (1983). Nations and nationalism. Oxford: Blackwell.
   • Gilroy, P. (1991). ‘There ain’t no black in the Union Jack’: The cultural politics of race and nation. Chicago: Chicago University Press.
   • Hobsbawm, E. J. (1990). Nations and nationalism since 1780: Programme, myth, reality. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
   • Hobsbawm, E. and T. Ranger (Eds.) (1983). The Invention of Tradition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
   • Miguel, A. (2004). Tribe or nation? Nation-building and public goods in Kenya versus Tanzania. World Politics 56(3), 327-362.
   • Schopflin, G. 2000. Nations, Identity, Power: The New Politics of Europe. London: C. Hurst.

Date: March 15, 2018