本课程的目的，在于引导学生了解应用于人类学分析中重要的社会学理论与思辩。在这学期里，我们研究的议题奠基于人类及其所创造居住的世界，包含了：能动性（agency）、结构、主体性、历史、社会变迁、权力、文化以及表征的政治学等。我们将应用理论以(1)分析、解释或理解人类行为与社会关系；(2)检视社会或历史情境的创造脉络；(3)并反省过去的理论对当代对话与思辩的影响。

课程的第一部份将介绍古典社会学及人类学理论，分析两者的理论文本，并利用民族志分析讨论这些理论的延伸与应用。这部份关注结构与能动性的诠释，以及参与者的本能（主观性）。如果人类如同马克思所说，在无所选择的情境下创造自己的历史，是什么样的力量与结构在形塑并束缚我们的想法及行为？社会参与者如何创造他们自己，以及他们生活的情境？他们又如何转化？接续此基本概念，我们将审视当代的人类学理论与议题，讨论如何于表征的政治学及后现代理论中注入新的思维，以及跨国关系如何影响人类学家在其场域中的理论建构与文化再现。

这是一堂密集的讨论课程，开给主修或辅修人类学学生。其主要目标在于能够应用人类学与社会学理论的观念来诠释文化现象。学生将学习如何针对理论性文本做出正确的推论分析；连结例证与类别；分辨观察的过程、诠释与批判；并透过写作重现这些过程。我们将着重于校正与改写。

每一位学生需要撰写数篇短篇的期中报告以及一篇长篇期末报告，课程总时数为36小时（或以上），每堂课会分配阅读文献，并由学生轮流撰写阅读心得（每位学生三篇，每篇约4-5页），未撰写阅读心得的学生则须提供口头或书面的评论。

期末报告的主题由学生个别与教授讨论后决定，学生须于开学两周内与教授讨论、决定主题以及阅读心得的上缴时间表。

1. 将文献与传统社会学研究方法结合，尝试以宏观角度着眼：
   • 此现象的解释为何？
   • 此解释提供了什么观点？
   • 此解释如何与社会关系中可观察的特殊现象连结？换句话说，你可以举例说明此一解释吗？
   • 作者可以与什么样的人（或相对的观点）辩论？或者说，此解释与其他对同一现象的解释有何不同？
     
     
2. 结束文本的阅读后
   • 找出文本中哪些部份是具代表性，值得提出来讨论的。
   • 找出自己觉得困难或不清楚的部份。
   • 找出你认为可说明作者最重要观点的例证。
     

完成每周作业 ( 35% )、作业品质 ( 20% )、进步程度 ( 25% )、课堂参与度 ( 20% )。

This course introduces students to some of the major social theories and debates that inspire and inform anthropological analysis. Over the course of the semester, we will investigate a range of theoretical propositions concerning such topics as agency, structure, subjectivity, history, social change, power, culture, and the politics of representation. Ultimately, all theories can be read as statements about human beings and the worlds they create and inhabit. We will approach each theoretical perspective or proposition on three levels: (1) in terms of its analytical or explanatory power for understanding human behavior and the social world; (2) in the context of the social and historical circumstances in which they were produced; and (3) as contributions to ongoing dialogues and debate.

The first portion of the course examines classic statements of social and anthropological theory, analyzing them both as theoretical texts and in their amplification through ethnographic analysis. This section concentrates on interpreting structure, agency, and the "nature" of actors (subjectivity). If, as Marx proposes, humans make their own history, but not under circumstances of their own choice, what are the forces and structures that shape and constrain our ideas and our acts? How do social actors create themselves and the circumstances of their lives? How do they transform these? Following these basic topics, we examine contemporary theoretical debates about and within anthropology, focusing on how new insights into the politics of representation, post-modern theory, and transnational relations influence how anthropologists theorize and represent "culture" in their work today.

This is a communications intensive course for the Anthropology minor and major. The goal is to be able to use, in writing, the concepts of anthropological and social theory to interpret cultural phenomena. Students will learn to write closely reasoned analyses of theoretical texts. They will learn to connect examples with categories, to distinguish processes of observation, interpretation, and critique, and to represent these processes through their own writing. We will emphasize revision and rewriting.

Each student will write several short papers and one longer final paper. Three short papers (approximately 4-5 pages) will cover assigned readings, with different students taking responsibility for a different week's assignment. Each paper will be distributed to the rest of the class at least 36 hours before class; students will provide oral and written comments on each other's papers.

The final writing assignment will be determined in discussion with the instructor. Each student should meet with the instructor within the first two weeks of class to discuss a topic for a final paper and to set up a schedule for submission of short papers.

1. Putting the work in the tradition of social theory. Try to get the big picture.
   • What is the phenomenon being explained?
   • What is the explanation offered?
   • How does this apply to a specific observable phenomenon in social relations, in other words, what examples can you generate to illustrate the explanation offered?
   • With whom (or what alternative point of view) might the author be arguing? Or, how does this explanation differ from other explanations for the same phenomenon?
     
     
2. Close textual reading.
   • Find some portions of the text you want us to discuss for close reading and interpretation.
   • Find portions that are difficult or unclear to you.
   • Find portions that you think exemplify the author's most important insights.
     

The final grade will be based on completion of assignments ( 35% ), quality of assignments (20% ), improvement over the semester ( 25% ), attendance and class discussion ( 20% ).