ANTH2200 6.0 Culture Wars: The Anthropology of Science & the Sacred

Time: Wed. 11:30-2:30 ACW 303

One of the central endeavours of anthropology is to explore and understand how different social groups in different cultural and historical contexts come to know and understand the world around them. Through classic and contemporary ethnographic examples, the course examines what is understood by some of central categories like nature, religion, magic and science. How do these ways of knowing inform everyday practices and systems of social organization, exchange, gift-giving, well-being, and life?
The course will explore ideas such as: What is understood by nature? How is it differentiated from culture? What are the implications of such a division? And how can anthropology contribute in rethinking the nature-culture divide? For example, the course may look at how the world is seen through a scientific lens and how certain ways of knowing become established as dominant truths. The course will offer a solid foundation in the anthropology of knowledge and prepare students for upper level courses.