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Description: |
Kinship as a social phenomenon is a foundational concept in anthropology. In this course, we will examine ethnographic treatments of kinship in the U.S. since David Schneider’s seminal cultural analysis of American kinship, including his controversial critique of kinship as a universal social system worthy of study. Through the work of Schneider and those who followed him, we will address the following questions: 1) How have anthropological concepts of kinship evolved over the past 50 years? Is kinship rooted in biology or culture? 2) Does ‘American kinship’ constitute a coherent cultural system? 3) What is an ethnography of kinship? 4) How are the insights of anthropological studies of kinship applicable to the contemporary arenas of politics, social life, and reproduction outside the classroom? Prerequisties: 2 prior Anthropology courses or permission of the instructor |