Introduction to Urban Anthropology 3500-SSZCZ-ANMI
Roughly half a century ago, the accelerating rate of world population growth, rapid migration
processes, and profound socio-technological transformations led to a blurring of the boundaries
between "urban" and "rural" and forced anthropologists to undertake research on the spontaneous
social processes in urbanized areas.
These days, more than half of the Earth's population already lives in urban areas. Urban
anthropology, on the one hand, emerges from the search for a holistic account of the social
processes taking place in them, on the other hand, from the application of ethnographic methods to
the study of small social settings. Its particular value lies in looking at urban areas and their
inhabitants from a cultural, internal perspective, taking into account differences and details that
escape other social sciences.
The lectures will begin with a discussion (including a critical one) of the issues that first urban
anthropologists were interested in. These include: the origins of cities in different parts of the world,
their typologies, and their specificity, defined, among other things, in opposition to other forms of
settlement life. Next, the theoretical concepts and examples of fascinating empirical monographs of
the social worlds of American metropoles, which originated within the so-called Chicago School, will
be discussed. Further, various research approaches to the phenomena of poverty, slums and
ghettoization will be problematized based on classical and contemporary research studies.
Anthropology developed in the era of colonialism - the course will present how it translated into the
planning of cities in selected parts of Africa or Asia and into the manner in which they were studied
by Western anthropologists. It will be followed with an analysis of the policies and trends associated
with the transformation of port cities, such as Singapore and Hong Kong, along with their
decolonization and the emergence of new collective identities.
The processes of social production of space and various ways of studying and conceptualizing them
will be widely discussed in the course. The most prominent urban utopias and their influence on city
planning in different parts of the world will be discussed. Socialist and post-socialist cities will be
dealt with specifically. Humanist theories of space, concepts developed within the framework of
urban symbolism studies, iconosphere and landscape concepts will be used to analyze the history of
specific cities at crucial historical moments.
The course will address the use and development of ethnographic research techniques and
anthropological theoretical concepts to study social life in urban environments. The final part of the
program includes a discussion of recent research areas and challenges in urban anthropology.
Type of course
Mode
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
K_W13 Is aware of the importance of a reflective and critical approach to the results of social research, analyses and research procedures
K_U01 Can identify causes and predict potential effects of past and current social events; can form critical judgments about current and past social events
K_U03 Can perform a critical analysis of social phenomena and processes, particularly those concerning contemporary Polish society
K_U04 Can critically select information and materials for academic work, using various sources in Polish and a foreign language as well as modern technologies
K_U05 Can independently form and verify judgments about the causes of selected social phenomena
K_U06 Can use theoretical categories and research methods in the description and analysis of social and cultural changes in modern societies, as well as their consequences
K_U19 Can prepare a presentation of a selected problem or study in Polish and in a foreign language
K_K05 Can gather, find, synthesize and critically assess information about social sciences
K_K06 Can argue a thesis using scientific evidence
K_K07 Can justify the choice of sources
K_K09 Actively searches for new ways and sources to broaden his/her knowledge and improve professional competences
Assessment criteria
Exam, presentation
Bibliography
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Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: