Spring 2018 - SA 474 D100
Cultures, Politics, Performance: Conversations with Performance Studies (A) (4)
Class Number: 1078
Delivery Method: In Person
Overview
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Course Times + Location:
Jan 3 – Apr 10, 2018: Mon, 9:30 a.m.–1:20 p.m.
Vancouver
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Instructor:
Jennifer Shaw
jeshaw@sfu.ca
Office Hours: Mondays 14:00-16:00
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Prerequisites:
Minimum 72 units including SA 101 or SA 201W.
Description
CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:
Anthropological studies of performance as theoretical/methodological framework for analyzing social relations and power in selected historical/cultural contexts. Subjects may include theories of performance and performativity; creativity and experience; cultural performance; ritual; performance as political resistance; performance and everyday life. Ethnographic and historical accounts focused on performance in colonial/neocolonial/postcolonial processes will constitute substantive course content.
COURSE DETAILS:
Pussy Riot and Beyoncé. Storytelling and silence. Carnival and the body. Anthropologists have long been interested in what performance, storytelling, bodily movement, and the senses suggest about how we engage with our worlds. In this course students are invited to explore social relations, experiences of everyday life, and power in diverse historical and cultural contexts through a range of scholarship. Through readings, films, and reflexive auto-ethnographic projects we will consider performance in terms of ritual, colonialism, protest, identity, testimony, and everyday life. The performative and interactive nature of this course invites students to engage in experiential activities in addition to reading and writing assignments that explore the sensory and creative aspects of anthropological theory and practice.
Grading
- Attendance and facilitation 15%
- Auto-ethnographic project 40%
- Analytical responses (3 x 5%) 15%
- Final research paper 30%
NOTES:
Grading
Where a final exam is scheduled and you do not write the exam or withdraw from the course before the deadline date, you will be assigned an N grade. Unless otherwise specified on the course outline, all other graded assignments in this course must be completed for a final grade other than N to be assigned.
Academic Dishonesty and Misconduct Policy
The Department of Sociology and Anthropology follows SFU policy in relation to grading practices, grade appeals (Policy T 20.01) and academic dishonesty and misconduct procedures (S10.01-‐ S10.04). Unless otherwise informed by your instructor in writing, in graded written assignments you must cite the sources you rely on and include a bibliography/list of references, following an instructor-approved citation style. It is the responsibility of students to inform themselves of the content of SFU policies available on the SFU website: http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student.html.
Materials
REQUIRED READING:
Danticat, Edwidge. (2015). After the Dance: A Walk Through Carnival in Jacmel, Haiti. London: Vintage Books USA.
ISBN: 978-1101872918
Stewart, Kathleen. (2007). Ordinary Affects. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
ISBN: 978-0822341079
Additional readings will be available through the SFU Library.
Registrar Notes:
SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://students.sfu.ca/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.
Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS