War and Culture (U00287)

? Credit Points : 20 ? SCQF Level : 10 ? Acronym : SPS-3-SAWAR

The aim of this course is to introduce the diverse ways in which anthropological research has dealt with the phenomenon of war. We will discuss some established theories of tribal warfare and a few key philosophical treatises on war and peace. We will be occupied with the thin, yet crucial, difference between symbolic violence and real collective violence. We will also situate theories of tribal warfare within a broader intellectual framework, normative as well as empirical, of morality and politics. The second part of the course will introduce recent ethnographic studies of modern war. We will focus on the paradox that war can be a creative force as well as a radical rupture in cultural life. African postcolonial war memorialism, privatised memories of war experience in Western Europe, field reports from Croatian bomb shelters, the "small wars" of the West Bank, the Vietnamese "ghost army" will be some of the war stories we will read and analyse.

Entry Requirements

? Costs : None

Subject Areas

Home subject area

Social Anthropology, (School of Social and Political Studies, Schedule J)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : 3rd year

? Delivery Period : Semester 1 (Blocks 1-2)

? Contact Teaching Time : 1 hour(s) 50 minutes per week for 10 weeks

First Class Information

Date	Start	End	Room	Area	Additional Information
20/09/2007	16:10	18:00	Room G.04, William Robertson Building	Central

All of the following classes

Type	Day	Start	End	Area
Lecture	Thursday	16:10	18:00	Central

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course students should have an advanced grasp of anthropological approaches to the causes and consequences of war and other forms of violence. In doing so they will develop a high level of critical insight into how anthropological perspectives can shed light on the processes of war and violence. Of necessity, this is an interdisciplinary exercise, which requires an appreciation of both the particular processes of violence in specific times and places, and how this relates to broader historical, political and cultural forces. Students should have read at several book-length ethnographic studies, and should have a critical awareness of the main theoretical issues in the relationship between anthropological and other approaches to the material covered in the course.

Teaching
The course involves one two-hour session a week for the whole class. Most weeks will involve a mixture of a lecture and discussion and some group work.