ANTH326 Peoples and Cultures of Sub-Saharan Africa

Meeting 7, October 22, 2007

Business

• Djenne film, H1120, Noon, Friday• Project Plan• Media Critique (November 5)• Lecture/discussion• Last Week• News items (e.g. BBC’s Africa Today podcast)• Relativisms, Conceptions, Keim, Appiah,

(Social Groups)

Keim Themes

Appiah Themes

Relativisms

Ethnocentrism

• Definitions– “Own culture is better”– Focus on own group– Cultural specificity as normal/natural/universal– Reification/naturalisation

• Common– Worldview– “Separate worlds”

Eurocentrism

• Typical ethnocentrism• Not unique• “Western”• (Judeo-)Christian• Market economy (Capitalism/Socialism)• Individual freedom?

Anthropology on Ethnocentrism

• Cherish diversity• Scientific inquiry• Academic tendency• Anthropocentrism

Relative Relativism

• Not “anything goes”• Epistemological foundation (ways of knowing)• Assess natural/universal/absolute• Terminological habits– “Appropriate” instead of “good”– “Optimal” instead of “perfect”

Cultural Relativism

• Fighting ethnocentrism• Linguistic relativity– Einstein from Winterer

• Primacy of context– Holistic perspective– Anti-deterministic, anti-reductivism

Moral Relativism

• Apply relativism to values• Neither condone nor condemn– Relative value vs. absolute value

• Try to understand• “Who am I to say…”• Not “moralist”• Abuses of moral relativism

Practising Relativism

• European background– Assess bias– Assess embedded comparison– European anthropology?

• Accept apparent inconsistencies• Tolerance, respect• Not claim absolute knowledge• Living in multiple worlds

Relativism in Ethnography

• Partial suspension of enculturation (cultural)• Partial suspension of value judgement

(moral)• Consequences• Establishing rapport• Intellectual honesty• Insight

• Particularism/holism/culturalism

Readings

Conceptions of Africa 1

• AIDS • Blacks • Chaos • Circumcision • Corruption • Cradle of Humanity • Diamonds • Diversity

Conceptions of Africa 2

• Ethnic cleansing• Fear of the Unknown • Health • Movies • Nature • Polygamy • Popular Culture • Population density

Conceptions of Africa 3

• Poverty • Primitive • Slavery • Turmoil • War

Keim Notes

• Moravian College– History, Political Science, Sociology– College Administrator

• Updating book– Popular culture on Africa

Keim and Americans

• Slavery• Diversity (African Americans)• National Geographic Magazine• Clinton (again)• Progress• Race, racialism, racism, racial prejudice• Africans talk about Americans

Keim on Culture

• Buddhism (and phenomenology)• Cultural momentum (change)• Rousseau (as French)• Ethnography– Rural/urban– Fragments and holism

Classifying conceptions

• Words– Traditional, tourism, news, change, racist

• Helpless Africa• Africa as positive alternative

Appiah Notes

• British/Ghanaian• “Western Civ”• Philosopher• Greek:West::Egypt:Africa• Diop next week• Molefi Asante response• African Americans in Africa

Social Groups

Beyond Kinship

• Defining social groups– Support systems– Solidarity– Communitas

• Ethnicity as super-kinship• Kindreds (selected kins)• “Sodalities”• Associations

Age Sets and Age Grades

• Age Set as Cohort– “Oldboy”– «Promotionneur»

• Age Grades as Steps– Rites of passage (van Gennep)

• Separate genders

Secret societies

• Initiation societies• Muslim brotherhoods (sufism)– Tijaniyya

• Freemasons

Voluntary Associations

• Social networks• Urban life• Local• "Ethnic“• Cosmopolitan networks• Political parties

Media

• Coming to America• Soul Man• Videoclips

Westernization

• Cultural Contacts• Cultural change– Coerced or voluntary

• Western-like but typically African– Networks– Manage change

• Other partners

Education

• School types (Koranic, Missionary, National)– Networks

• Formal education• “Western-style”• Obsession with literacy– Power of orality

• Gender• Generation gap