ANTHR 501/601 - Anthropology
Colloquium
Wednesdays 2:00-4:30 HC 2-34
2008 Coordinator: Christopher Fletcher (christopher.fletcher@ualberta.ca)
Office hours in Tory 13-22: Monday 2-3PM or by appointment.
The Anthropology graduate colloquium was established to improve
the quality of the graduate program by providing a broad based
introduction to the department and each of its sub-disciplines.
It is designed to introduce you to the intellectual diversity
within the department and among yourselves as students. The objective
is to get to know each other and the faculty in a collegial, open
and constructive environment.
Each year the colloquium has been structured around
a theme. This year it is "Enthusiasm in anthropological knowledge,
research and practice". Enthusiasm is something that animates
our work, makes research rewarding, and drives our curiosity towards
new ideas and areas. In the same way that enthusiasm moves us
in our professional lives it also motivates much human activity
and can be discerned in the findings of each of our sub-disciplines.
We could say that enthusiasm is a kind of meta-subject for the
discipline leaving its traces in all aspects of human life. Finally,
it is one of the objectives of the colloquium to impart enthusiasm
for anthropology to our students; to encourage and invigorate
you for the work that lies ahead.
This year represents a departure for the colloquium.
Until now it has been a “pass/fail” course. When graduate
students evaluated the colloquium they felt that this format was
limiting and that there was a need for more opportunities to excel
in a highly competitive environment. Consequently, the course
will be graded for the first time. Of course this means that there
will be assignments to complete. These are described below.
Most of the colloquium sessions will be comprised
of presentations and discussion from members of the department.
Readings will be provided in advance of each presenter. Teams
of two students will be responsible for introducing each of the
presenters. This will require meeting with them in advance of
their presentation. The introduction should provide a comprehensive
overview of the presenter’s background, areas of interest
and current research.
The colloquium is a very rare chance to consider
anthropology as an integrated yet diverse discipline. I believe
this is a good opportunity to take an even broader look at the
discipline within the university and to situate the institution
of university within historical and cultural contexts. This is
subject matter that is rarely delivered in graduate training yet
concerns us all. The readings below address these issues. These
will be discussed in class. Students are expected to be up to
date on the readings and be ready with substantive discussion
points, questions, and observations. Class time will also be provided
for discussion of the assignments.
Evaluation
Participation 20% of final grade.
The colloquium is only as good as the discussion it generates.
Consequently, participation is an important part of the evaluation.
Effective participation requires that you are up to date in the
assigned readings and that you contribute to the seminars. Participation
is evaluated on the quality, not quantity, of what you contribute.
Collegiality is the key concept here.
Evaluation and adjudication skills 30% of final grade.
One thing that unites anthropologists, whatever their research
orientation, and indeed most of the rest of our university colleagues
is the need to generate funding from within the merit based academic
system. The academic funding system is based on fair, intelligent
and balanced review of research proposals. Research evaluation
is a critical skill that is under-represented in most graduate
programs. Many of you will be writing proposals for SSHRC or other
funding to support your research program. An important element
of success in grant writing is good feedback throughout the process.
This assignment is designed to provide some of that feedback and
to build evaluation skills. This assignment will involve a mock
review session for proposals. Each of you will be assigned 2 or
3 proposals to review along with the evaluation criteria. Deadline
October 22.
Synthesis paper 50% of final grade
A synthesis paper will draw on the assigned readings and presentations.
The topic of your paper subject is open to your interests although
it should address the questions of the broader intellectual future
of anthropology as a “bi-cultural” discipline, as
historically situated, within the contemporary university system,
and/or as a socially relevant occupation. Another way of framing
this would be “is there reason for enthusiasm?”
Readings:
Fallis, George. Multiversities, Ideas and Democracy. Toronto:
University of Toronto Press, 2007. Section 1 pages 3-141.
Readings, Bill. The University in Ruins. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press, 1996. Chapters 1,2,3,4,5,10,11,12
Samarasekera, Indira. Partnerships
are the order of the day. Globe and Mail January 21, 2008
(http://www.president.ualberta.ca/pdfs/Globe%20and%20Mail%20Jan%202108.pdf)
Snow, C. P. "The Two Cultures". Cambridge ; New York:
Cambridge University Press. 1998 [1959]. Section I The Rede Lecture
1959, pages 1-51 in most editions. This reading is available as
an electronic book through the library.
University of Alberta: Dare
to Discover & Dare
to Deliver (provided)
Schedule
Week Topic/Presenter Readings
September 3 Introduction to colloquium
September 10 Student introductions Discussion of C.P. Snow “Two
Cultures”, Indira Samarasekera’s Globe and Mail article
and the “Dare to” documents.
September 17 Nancy Lovell
September 24 Jean DeBernardi
October 1 Discussion of Bill Readings “The University in
Ruins”/Preparation for proposal adjudication process.
October 8 Charlie Schweger
October 15 Debate and adjudication Reviews due at end of the next
class.
October 22 Jack Ives
October 29 Sandra Garvie-Lok
November 5 Rob Losey
November 12 Helen Vallianatos
November 19 Kathleen Lowrey
November 26 Discussion of George Fallis “Multiversities,
Ideas and Democracy”
December 3 Wrap up and discussion of papers
