Is anthropology art or science? Is there a place for creative experimentation and intervention within the practice of anthropology? This seminar addresses these key questions along with many other related inquiries to expand the scope of what we do and how we do it as anthropologists. At the center of this endeavor is noted anthropologist, Claude Levi-Strauss' concept of bricolage, the use of ideas immediately at hand to create new hybrid forms of practice and theory. With this notion as a guiding light, students work together to create new models and modes through experiments in anthropology. Topics covered include sensory ethnography, anthropology of art, multimodal anthropology, digital anthropology, and performance ethnography. Each weekly class meeting is half lecture/discussion, half workshop where students develop and test new approaches to cultural knowledge production, creating novel ways of thinking and being in the contemporary world.

Units: 1

Max Enrollment: 15

Prerequisites: ANTH 101, or permission of instructor.

Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis

Typical Periods Offered: Spring

Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Spring