Anthropology of culture 3300-AK-MSF-2-ZP

The course is complementary to the course Introduction to Cultural Studies. Its goal is to introduce students to an in-depth reflection on culture from an anthropological perspective, enriched by sociological and cultural history perspectives. Topics covered include areas of interest in cultural anthropology, such as space, time, the body, types of social bonds, the concept of person, and historically shaped models of culture. The course is designed to prepare students to utilize these categories in the anthropological description of regional cultures. The knowledge gained will enable students to precisely diagnose the cultural aspects of encountered social phenomena and communities, with particular emphasis on media transformations related to the dissemination of digital technologies.
The course is based on the textbook "Cultural Anthropology," supplemented by readings selected by the instructor. Due to the workshop-based nature of the course, the following methods are important elements: group work, discussion, and homework assignments provided on the Google Classroom digital platform.
Outline of topics:
1. Exploring culture, anthropological imagination
2. Media: from orality to digitality
3. Space, place, trajectories – from the temple to the metaverse
4. Time, duration, change – from sacred time to the “timelessness” of the internet
5. The Body in Culture
6. Self, Person, Personality, Digital Self
7. Family, Social Group
8. The Other, the Stranger
9. Religion, Myth, Spirituality Online1
10. Work, Action, Leisure – From the Factory to the Computer
11. Mass Culture, Popular Culture, Digital Culture
12. Anthropocene, Posthumanism, Transhumanism – Animals, Machines, Algorithms