डॉ. बी. आर. अम्बेडकर विश्‍वविद्यालय दिल्ली
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar University Delhi
Established by The Government of NCT of Delhi

Course coordinator and team: Dr. Kavita

Course Details:

Summary

The origins of Anthropology as a discipline lie in the 18^th-century developments in Europe, with its need to redefine nation and nationalism, advancements in science, and the colonial urge to understand and classify ‘native,’ ‘primitive,’ and ‘exotic’ cultures. The field is thus closely entangled with the history of colonialism. Even though the field claimed to be ‘scientific’ in its approach to the study of its subject matters, the racial conclusions drawn from it raise questions about the extent of ‘objectivity’ given the fact that a researcher cannot escape the cultural biases and language politics. Ethnography, as a subfield, with its insistence on ‘participant observation’ again is mired in the question of representation, the ‘insider-outsider’ debate, and the very notion of an ‘authentic’ voice.

Many anthropological works have thus come under scrutiny for their methodological approach and writing techniques. For example, Margaret Mead’s Coming of Age in Samoa (1928), otherwise treated as a classic anthropological text, has been critiqued for its personalized take on Samoan society, and the differences between data and published work. C. Geertz in his controversial but seminal work Works and Lives: The Anthropologist as Author (1988) suggested that anthropologists and ethnographers are primarily authors, whose writing style gives the impression of an ‘authentic’ experience. Though not fiction, ethnography, thus viewed, is somewhat like fiction. He calls this ‘faction.’

At the same time, scholars have critiqued the field for marginalizing alternative ways of documenting data. With the insistence on a ‘scientific’ approach, strict adherence to an academic style of writing is practised by ethnographers and anthropologists. Paul Stoller, Marilyn Cohen, Helena Wulff and Ruth Behar critique this methodology in favour of a more literary mode of writing ethnography. The emphasis is on the ethnographer as a storyteller, in place of wry factual reporting of data.

It must be noted here that literary works are equally involved in historical and cultural research and thus provide an entry into other worlds. For example, Russian playwright Chekov did extensive research on the penal colonies of Sakhalin Island to write a story on it. At the same time, literature has expanded its realm by including memoirs, diaries, and music in its ambit. Literature cannot be called entirely fictional in this sense. Take the example of realist novels, whose merit lies in how closely they can represent reality. Therefore, scholarly arguments have been made in favour of reading literature as a source of ethnographic enquiry. James Spradley and George McDonoghue’s Anthropology through Literature (1973) and Marilyn Cohen’s Novel Approaches to Anthropology: Contributions to Literary Anthropology (2014) are significant contributions to developing a literary approach to anthropology. 

The boundary lines between the disciplines become more blurred with anthropologists publishing fictional works- Paul Stroller, Francis Nyamnjoh, and Amitav Ghosh.

The proposed course intends to introduce students to the field of anthropology and ethnography through the means of literary works.

Objectives

• Introduce students to the concepts of anthropology, ethnography, ‘Ethlit,’ ‘Ethnocriticism,’ ‘autoethnography’ and ‘Ethnografiction.’
• Develop an ethnographic understanding of literary texts.
• Understand society through literary texts.

Expected Learning Outcomes

• Generate an interest in the field of ethnography as well as literature.
• Learn about the role of ethnography in colonial history.
• Role of literature in countering colonial narratives.
• Learn about diverse marginal communities and their culture.

Overall structure

The course is divided into five modules:

 

Modules / Units	Duration (week)
Module I. Understanding Ethnographic Writing	3
Module II. Imperial Eyes	2
Module III. Empire Writes Back	2
Module IV. Autoethnography	2
Module V. Reading Novels as Ethnography	3

Readings

1. Atkinson, P., and Hammersley, M., “Chapter 1: What is ethnography?” in Ethnography: Principles in Practice.
2. Clifford J. (1986). “Introduction: Partial Truths” in Clifford J and Marcus GE (eds) Writing Culture: The Poetics and Politics of Ethnography. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1-26.
3. Geertz C (1988). “Being There: Anthropology and the Scene of Writing.” Works and Lives: The Anthropologist as Author. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1-24.
4. Van Oort, R. (2004) The Critic as as Ethnographer. New Literary History, 35 (4), 621-61.
5. Stoller P (2015). What is Literary Anthropology? Current Anthropology 56(1): 144-145.
6. Wullf, H. (2013). Ethnografiction and Reality in Contemporary Irish Literature Cohen M (ed.) Novel Approaches to Anthropology: Contributions to Literary Anthropology. New York: Lexington Books.
7. Conrad, J. (2007). Heart of Darkness (R. Hampson & O. Knowles, Eds.). Penguin Classics.
8. Conrad, J. Congo Diary.
9. Achebe, C. (2006). Things Fall Apart. Penguin Classics.
10. ---. (1988). “An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.”
11. Ghosh, A. (1992). In An Antique Land
12. Renu, P. N. (1954). Maila Anchal. Translated as The Soiled Border (1991) by Indira Junghare. Chanakya Publications.
13. Vijayan, O. V. (1994). The Legends of Khasak. Penguin Books.
14. Devi, M. (2003). Chotti Munda and His Arrow. Translated by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak. Wiley.

 

Pedagogy:

1. 1. Instructional design

The course will be a combination of lectures, thematic discussions, and presentations.

1. 2. Special needs (facilities, requirements in terms of software, studio, lab, clinic, library, classroom/others instructional space; any other – please specify): None

 

1. 3. Expertise in AUD faculty or outside

Expertise is available within AUD.

1. 4. Linkages with external agencies (e.g., with field-based organizations, hospital; any others): None

Assessment structure (modes and frequency of assessments)

Presentations	30%
Midterm Essay	30%
End Semester Examination	40%