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CARLETON UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY

ANTH 4215A/5706W — WINTER 2020

POLITICAL ANTHROPOLOGY

Instructor: Jean-Michel Landry

Office: Loeb D799

Office Hours: Tuesday 9:00-11:00 (or by appointment)

Email: jean-michel.landry@carleton.ca

Phone Number: 613-520-2600 extension 4098

Course meets: Tuesday 11:35–2:25, A700 Loeb Building

Pre-requisites & Precluded Courses: Students registered in ANTH 4215A must have

third-year standing or permission from the instructor.

Course Description and Objectives:

Political anthropology was once a major subfield of sociocultural anthropology, often

described as a “comparative, fieldwork-based study of politics.” Most anthropologists

today, however, refuse to confine the political within the set of institutions associated with

the term “politics.” Over the last decades, they came to argue that issues such as pleasure,

subjectivity, space, religion cannot be divorced from the political. The limits of political

anthropology, as a result, are no longer clearly defined.

In this seminar, we will try to reimagine political anthropology not so much as a

disciplinary subfield, but as a particular way to understanding collective life. What does it

mean to study the political anthropologically? Can ethnographies help us better grasp how

power, authority, and bureaucracy operate? To what extent does anthropology enable us to

understand politics differently? We will begin our discussion with a survey of early

anthropological work that help established politics as an object of ethnographic research.

Subsequently, we will discuss some of the major concepts and frames of analysis that

anthropologists have mobilized in recent decades—e.g., the state, governmentality, and the

word “politics” itself. As the semester progresses, the interdisciplinary nature of political

anthropology will become evident, and we will discuss some of the contributions from

political theory that inform current anthropological approach.

Readings:

The following books is available at the Octopus bookstore (116 Third Avenue, Ottawa).

> Li, Darryl. 2019, The Universal Enemy. Jihad, Empire, and the Challenge of Solidarity.

Stanford University Press: Stanford.

> Simpson, Audra. 2014, Mohawk Interruptus: Political Life Across the Borders of Settler

States. Durham: Duke University Press.

All other course materials are available as PDF on ARES. This course is based on a

collection of original texts. Students looking for textbooks and/or introductions to

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complement the weekly readings will find the following ones on reserve at the library.

> Nugent, David & Joan Vincent, 2007. A Companion to the Anthropology of Politics.

Oxford: Blackwell.

> Vincent, Joan. 2002, The Anthropology of Politics. A Reader in Ethnography, Theory,

and Critique. London: Blackwell.

> Balandier, Georges. 1970 [1967]. Political Anthropology. Middlesex: Penguin.

> Sharma, Aradhana, and Akhil Gupta. 2006, The Anthropology of the State. A Reader.

Oxford: Blackwell.

> Vincent, Joan. 1990, Anthropology and Politics. Vision, Traditions, and Trends. Phenix:

University of Arizona Press.

> Lewellen, Ted C. 2003, Political Anthropology. An Introduction. London: Praeger.

Please note that you are required to bring the texts under discussion with you to class.

Course Requirements & Methods of Evaluation (for master and 4th-year students):

>> 3 or 4 Response Papers (30%) Over the semester students will write response papers

(400-500 words) that engages the required readings (master students will write four, 4th-

year students will write three). Each response papers must be uploaded on CuLearn the

Friday before the class for which the engaged readings were assigned. Response papers are

not summaries; they are occasions to develop one’s thoughts and questions about the texts

assigned for a particular week. Below are three approaches meant to help you write

effective reading responses.

A) Interpretive Response. Choose a passage, a concept, or an argument from one of the

assigned texts. Consider the following questions as you write:

1. What does the author is trying to accomplish with this passage/concept/argument?

2. Are there any alternative readings or interpretations of this passage/concept/argument

3. What other excerpts of the text support my interpretation?

B) Comparative Response. Compare two authors you read in this class on a concept, an

argument, or a theme.

C) Connective Response. Consider how would an author (e.g., Edward Said, Lila Abu-

Lughod, Saba Mahmood) would respond to an issue of your choice that is not directly

addressed in the assigned reading.

D) Critical Response. You may wish to criticize or argue against the authors. You may

argue that the author's work has an inconsistency, or that it fails to offer a convincing

explanation. But the evidence for such an argument needs to be in the text.

>> Class Presentation (20%). Each student will be responsible for delivering a fifteen-

minute presentation on the topic for one particular week. Following your presentation, you

are required to come up with a question that will contribute to lead a class discussion.

On the first day of class you will be asked to sign up for your preferred week (you will be

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asked to rank your favorite three) and I will do my best to build a schedule that

accommodates everyone’s preferences.

>> Final Paper (40%). Students are expected to write a final research paper (15-20 pages

for master students; 12-15 for 4th year students) on an issue related to the themes of the

course. You are encouraged to be creative in your choice of topic and type of research and

may consult with me in case of doubt. You may opt to submit a chapter or part of your

thesis that engages substantially with the course materials as long as you have not

submitted it previously in another course or to your committee members and supervisor.

Proposal (5%)

Proposals (2 pages, including a bibliography) are due in-class February 25. The

purpose of the proposal is to identify the feasibility of the project, and ensure that

students began working on their final project early in the term.

Paper presentation (10%)

Students will present their final research project at a “mini-conference,” scheduled

on April 7th, and are invited to use this opportunity to get feedback on their project,

before their final submission. You will present your paper in a panel format (along

with 2 or 3 peers) and answer questions from other students. You are encouraged

to use this opportunity to discuss any unresolved questions/issues you may have

with the paper, and to make final revisions to it based on the comments received.

Final research project (25%)

Students are invited to use the written and verbal feedback received by their peers

& instructor to rework their project (and thus should submit their graded first draft

with their final submission). The final research project should engage a topic

relating to the themes of the course (the subject needs prior approval through

submission of the proposal; in order to change their topic, students must consult

with me). The criteria used to grade the final paper include: 1) quality of analysis

and engagement with the literature (i.e. topic is treated fully, convincingly, with

supportive evidence); 2) clarity of thesis and well-articulated argument; 3) critical

reflection and original thought; and 4) overall writing style. The final research

paper is due April 7th.

>> Weekly participation in class discussion (10%) Students are expected to come well

prepared for class discussion and to participate in an informed and engaged way, which

means that prior to the beginning of each class, you are expected to complete the required

readings and bring questions, insights as well as points for discussion and debates.

Punctuality, regular attendance, informed participation, active listening, meaningful

contributions, openness to challenging taken-for-granted assumptions, and respect for

different opinions are expected during the discussion periods in order to create a mutually

supportive and respectful learning environment.

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Class Schedule:

Introduction (Jan. 7th)

[No reading assigned]

1/ The Tradition of Political Anthropology (1/2): The Oxford School (Jan. 14th)

Required

Radcliffe-Brown, A. R. 1940, “Preface” in African Political Systems. E. E. Evans-Pritchard

and M. Fortes, eds. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. xi-xxiii.

Evans-Pritchard, E. E. 1940, “The Nuer of the Southern Sudan” in African Political

Systems. E. E. Evans-Pritchard and M. Fortes, eds. Oxford: Oxford University

Press, pp. 272-296.

Asad, Talal. 1970, The Kababish Arabs. Power, Authority and Consent in a Nomadic Tribe.

London: C. Hurst & Company, pp. 1-10

2/ The Tradition of Political Anthropology (2/2): The Manchester School (Jan. 21st)

Required

Gluckman, Max. 1940, “Analysis of a Social Situation in Modern Zululand.” Bantus

Studies 14 (1): 1-30.

Bailey, Frederick George. 2001 [1969], Stratagems and Spoils. A Social Anthropology of

Politics. Boulder: Westview, pp. vii-7

Turner, Victor. 2002 [1974], “Passages, Margins, and Poverty: Religious Symbols of

Communitas.” in The Anthropology of Politics. J. Vincent, ed. Pp. 96-101. London:

Blackwell.

Suggested

Gluckman, Max. 1965, Politics, Law and Ritual in Tribal Society. Oxford: Blackwell.

3/ What is Politics? (Jan. 28th)

Required

Aristotle. 1932, Politics. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, (Selection TBA)

Schmitt, Carl. 1927, The Concept of the Political. Chicago: Chicago University Press, 19-

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Lazarus, Sylvain. 2015, Anthropology of the Name. London: Seagull Books (Selection

TBA).

4/ Beyond the Question of Rights and Equality (Feb. 4th)

Required

Marx, Karl. 1978 [1843], “On the Jewish Question,” in The Marx-Engels Reader. R. C.

Tucker, ed. Pp. 26-52. New York: W. W. Norton & Cie.

Brown, Wendy. 1994, “Rights and Identity in Late Modernity: Revisiting the ‘Jewish

Question’” in Identity, Politics and Rights. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan

Press. pp. 85-130 (excepts TBA)

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5/ Anarchist Approaches (Feb.11th)

Clastres, Pierre. 1989, Society against the state. New York: Zone Books. 198-218.

Graeber, David. 2009, Direct Action: An Ethnography. Oakland: AK Press (Selection

TBA)

Suggested

Clastres, Pierre. 2010, Archeology of Violence. New York: Semiotext(e) / Foreign Agents.

>> READING WEEK – NO CLASS ON FEBRUARY 18th <<

6/ Studying the State (Feb. 25th)

Required

Mitchell, Timothy. 2006, “Society, Economy, and the State Effect,” in The Anthropology

of the State: A Reader. A. Sharma and A. Gupta, eds. Pp. 169-194. New York:

Blackwell.

Gupta, Akhil. 1995, “Blurred Boundaries: The Discourse of Corruption, the Culture of

Politics, and the Imagined State.” American Ethnologist 22 (2): 375-402

Suggested

Asad, Talal. 2004, “Where are the Margins of the State?” in Anthropology in the Margins

of the State. V. Das and D. Poole, eds. Pp. 279-290. Santa Fee: School of American

Research.

Gramsci, Antonio. 2008 [1971], “State and Civil Society” in The Anthropology of the State.

A. Sharma and A. Gupta, eds. London: Blackwell.

6/ Bureaucracy (March 3rd)

Required

Weber, Max. 1946, “Bureaucracy,” in From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology. H. H. G. C.

W. Mills, ed. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 196-244.

Hull, Matthew. 2012, Government of Paper. The Materiality of Bureaucracy in Urban

Pakistan. Berkeley: University of California Press. (Selection TBA)

Suggested

Arendt, Hannah. 1972, Crises of the Republic. London: Harvest Book, pp. 134-138

7/ Power and “Governmentality” (March 10th)

Required

Foucault, Michel. 1980 [1976], History of Sexuality, Vol 1: An Introduction. New York:

Vintage, pp. 92-102

Foucault, Michel. 2008 [2004], Security, Territory, Population. Lectures at the Collège de

France, 1977-1978. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 87-114, 227-253.

Ferguson, James, and Akhil Gupta. 2002, “Toward an Ethnography of Neoliberal

Governmentality.” American Ethnologist 29: 981-1002.

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Suggested

Foucault, Michel. 2003, “Society Must be Defended.” Lectures at the Collège de France.

1975-1976. New York: Picador, pp. 23-41.

Burchell, Graham, Colin Gordon, and Peter Miller. 1991, The Foucault Effect: Studies in

Governmentality. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

9/ Ethnographic Engagements 1/2 (March 17th)

Required

Li, Darryl. 2019, The Universal Enemy. Jihad, Empire, and the Challenge of Solidarity.

Stanford University Press: Stanford. (selection: TBA)

Suggested

Li, Darryl. 2015, “A Jihadism Anti-Primer” MERIP, Pp. 12-18.

10/ Ethnographic Engagements 2/2 (March 24th)

Required

Simpson, Audra. 2014, Mohawk Interruptus: Political Life Across the Borders of Settler

States. Durham: Duke University Press. (selection: TBA)

11/ The Concept of Authority. A New Departure? (March 31st)

Required

Arendt, Hannah. 1968, “What is Authority?” in Between Past and Future. New York:

Penguin, pp. 91-141

Agrama, Hussein. 2010, “Ethics, tradition, authority: Toward an anthropology of the

fatwa.” American Ethnologist 37(1): 2-18.

Asad, Talal. 1970, The Kababish Arabs. Power, Authority and Consent in a Nomadic Tribe.

London: C. Hurst & Company, pp. 230-247.

Suggested

Kojève, Alexandre. 2014, The Notion of Authority. New York: Verso.

De Certeau, Michel. 1997. The Capture of Speech and Other Political Writings.

Minneapolis, Minnesota University Press, pp. 1-76.

Weber, Max. 1946 [1919], “Politics as a Vocation.” In From Max Weber: Essays in

Sociology. H. H. G. C. W. Mills, ed. Pp. 77-128. New York: Oxford University

Press.

12/ Mini Conference (April 7th)

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In accordance with the Carleton University Undergraduate Calendar Regulations, the letter

grades assigned in this course will have the following percentage equivalents:

A+ = 90-100 B+ = 77-79 C+ = 67-69 D+ = 57-59

A = 85-89 B = 73-76 C = 63-66 D = 53-56

A - = 80-84 B - = 70-72 C - = 60-62 D - = 50-52

F = Below 50 WDN = Withdrawn from the course DEF = Deferred

Academic Regulations, Accommodations, Plagiarism, Etc.

University rules regarding registration, withdrawal, appealing marks, and most anything

else you might need to know can be found on the university’s website, here:

https://calendar.carleton.ca/undergrad/regulations/academicregulationsoftheuniversity/

You may need special arrangements to meet your academic obligations during the term.

For an accommodation request, the processes are as follows:

Academic Accommodations for Students with Disabilities

The Paul Menton Centre for Students with Disabilities (PMC) provides services to students

with Learning Disabilities (LD), psychiatric/mental health disabilities, Attention Deficit

Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), chronic medical

conditions, and impairments in mobility, hearing, and vision. If you have a disability

requiring academic accommodations in this course, please contact PMC at 613-520-6608

or pmc@carleton.ca for a formal evaluation. If you are already registered with the PMC,

contact your PMC coordinator to send your Letter of Accommodation at the beginning of

the term, and no later than two weeks before the first in-class scheduled test or exam

requiring accommodation (if applicable).

*The deadline for contacting the Paul Menton Centre regarding accommodation for final

exams for the Winter 2020 exam period is March 13, 2020.

For Religious Obligations:

Please contact your instructor with any requests for academic accommodation during the

first two weeks of class, or as soon as possible after the need for accommodation is known

to exist. For more details, visit the Equity Services website: www.carleton.ca/equity/wp-

content/uploads/Student-Guide-to-Academic-Accommodation.pdf

For Pregnancy:

Please contact your instructor with any requests for academic accommodation during the

first two weeks of class, or as soon as possible after the need for accommodation is known

to exist. For more details, visit the Equity Services website: www.carleton.ca/equity/wp-

content/uploads/Student-Guide-to-Academic-Accommodation.pdf

For Survivors of Sexual Violence

As a community, Carleton University is committed to maintaining a positive learning,

working and living environment where sexual violence will not be tolerated, and where

survivors are supported through academic accommodations as per Carleton's Sexual

Violence Policy. For more information about the services available at the university and to

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obtain information about sexual violence and/or support, visit: www.carleton.ca/sexual-

violence-support

Accommodation for Student Activities

Carleton University recognizes the substantial benefits, both to the individual student and

for the university, that result from a student participating in activities beyond the classroom

experience. Reasonable accommodation must be provided to students who compete or

perform at the national or international level. Please contact your instructor with any

requests for academic accommodation during the first two weeks of class, or as soon as

possible after the need for accommodation is known to exist. https://carleton.ca/senate/wp-

content/uploads/Accommodation-for-Student-Activities-1.pdf

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the passing off of someone else's work as your own and is a serious academic

offence. For the details of what constitutes plagiarism, the potential penalties and the

procedures refer to the section on Instructional Offences in the Undergraduate Calendar.

Students are expected to familiarize themselves with and follow the Carleton University

Student Academic Integrity Policy (See https://carleton.ca/registrar/academic-integrity/).

The Policy is strictly enforced and is binding on all students. Academic dishonesty in any

form will not be tolerated. Students who infringe the Policy may be subject to one of several

penalties.

What are the Penalties for Plagiarism?

A student found to have plagiarized an assignment may be subject to one of several

penalties including but not limited to: a grade of zero, a failure or a reduced grade for the

piece of academic work; reduction of final grade in the course; completion of a remediation

process; resubmission of academic work; withdrawal from course(s); suspension from a

program of study; a letter of reprimand.

What are the Procedures?

All allegations of plagiarism are reported to the faculty of Dean of FASS and Management.

Documentation is prepared by instructors and departmental chairs. The Dean writes to the

student and the University Ombudsperson about the alleged plagiarism. The Dean reviews

the allegation. If it is not resolved at this level then it is referred to a tribunal appointed by

the Senate.

Assistance for Students: Academic and Career Development Services: https://carleton.ca/career/ Writing Services: http://www.carleton.ca/csas/writing-services/

Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS): https://carleton.ca/csas/group-support/pass/

Important Information:

• Student or professor materials created for this course (including presentations and

posted notes, labs, case studies, assignments and exams) remain the intellectual

property of the author(s). They are intended for personal use and may not be

reproduced or redistributed without prior written consent of the author(s).

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• Students must always retain a hard copy of all work that is submitted.

• Standing in a course is determined by the course instructor subject to the approval

of the Faculty Dean. This means that grades submitted by the instructor may be

subject to revision. No grades are final until they have been approved by the Dean.

• Carleton University is committed to protecting the privacy of those who study or

work here (currently and formerly). To that end, Carleton’s Privacy Office seeks to

encourage the implementation of the privacy provisions of Ontario’s Freedom of

Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) within the university.

• In accordance with FIPPA, please ensure all communication with staff/faculty is

via your Carleton email account. To get your Carleton Email you will need to

activate your MyCarletonOne account through Carleton Central. Once you have

activated your MyCarletonOne account, log into the MyCarleton Portal.

• Please note that you will be able to link your MyCarletonOne account to other non-

MyCarletonOne accounts and receive emails from us. However, for us to respond

to your emails, we need to see your full name, CU ID, and the email must be written

from your valid MyCarletonOne address. Therefore, it would be easier to respond

to your inquiries if you would send all email from your connect account. If you do

not have or have yet to activate this account, you may wish to do so by visiting

https://students.carleton.ca/

Important Dates – Winter 2020

December 30, 2019 Deadline for course outlines to be made available to students registered

in winter term courses.

December 25, 2019-January 1, 2020 University closed.

January 6, 2020 Winter term classes begin.

February 17, 2020 Statutory holiday. University closed.

February 17-21, 2020 Winter Break. Classes are suspended.

March 13, 2020 Last day to request formal exam accommodations for April

examinations to the Paul Menton Centre for Students with Disabilities.

Note that it may not be possible to fulfill accommodation requests

received after the specified deadlines.

March 24, 2020 Last day for summative tests or examinations, or formative tests or

examinations totaling more than 15% of the final grade, in winter term

or fall/winter courses before the official examination period (see

examination regulations in the Academic Regulations of the University

section of the Undergraduate Calendar/General Regulations of the

Graduate Calendar).

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April 7, 2020 Winter term ends.

Last day of winter term and fall/winter classes.

Last day for academic withdrawal from winter term and fall/winter

courses.

Last day for handing in term work and the last day that can be specified

by a course instructor as a due date for term work for winter term and

fall/winter courses.

Last day for take home examinations to be assigned, with the exception

of those conforming to the examinations regulations in the Academic

Regulations of the University section of the Undergraduate

Calendar/General Regulations of the Graduate Calendar.

April 8-9, 2020 No classes or examinations take place.

April 10, 2020 Statutory holiday. University closed.

April 13-25, 2020 Final examinations in winter term and fall/winter courses may be held.

Examinations are normally held all seven days of the week.

April 25, 2020 All take-home examinations are due on this day, with the exception of

those conforming to the examinations regulations in the Academic

Regulations of the University section of the Undergraduate

Calendar/General Regulations of the Graduate Calendar.

May 15-27, 2020 Winter term and fall/winter deferred final examinations will be held.

May 18, 2020 Statutory holiday. University closed. No examinations take place.