BHUM 17A27 - From the Anthropology of Enlightenment to North American Anthropology

This course traces the evolution of anthropological thought, from its origins in the 18th century Enlightenment to its development in North America. Students will initially explore the works of Enlightenment thinkers such as Hume, Condillac, Le Roy, Rousseau, and Buffon, delving into topics including human-animal similarities, animal rationality, language, animal aspect of human society, and progress. The course then transitions to key figures of North American Anthropology, such as Lewis Henry Morgan and Franz Boas, examining concepts like social evolutionism, historical particularism, and cultural relativism. Through this course, students will gain a comprehensive understanding of the development of anthropological ideas and theories from the Enlightenment to the 20th century.
Dario GALVAO
English
Autumn and Spring 2024-2025
Oral participation (discussing, reading, etc.) (10%) Oral presentation (25%) Essay (25%) Final essay (40%)
Hume, D. (1739). Introduction, in: id., Treatise of Human Nature, Book. 1, ed. David Fate Norton e Mary J. Norton. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 2011.
Hume, D. (1739). Of the Reason of Animals, in: id., Treatise of Human Nature, Book. 1, ed. David Fate Norton e Mary J. Norton. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 2011.
Hume, D. (1739). On the origin of justice and property, in: id., Treatise of Human Nature, Book 3, ed. David Fate Norton e Mary J. Norton. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 2011.
Condillac, E. B. de (1755). System of Knowledge in Animals, in: id., Treatise on animals [I will provide a translation of this text to students].
Condillac, E. B. de (1755). The Language of Animals, in: id., Treatise on animals [I will provide a translation of this text to students].
Rousseau, J. J. (1755). First Part, in: id., Discourse On The Origins Of Inequality Among Men.
Buffon, G. L. L. (1797). Of Domestic Animals (1753). Natural History, vol. 5. Trans. J. S. Barr, 10 vols. London.
Lewis Henry Morgan (1877). Chapter 1- Ethnical Periods, in: id., Ancient Society or Researches in the Lines of Human Progress from Savagery through Barbarism to Civilization. New York: Henry Holt and Company.
Lewis Henry Morgan (1877). Chapter 2 - Acts of Subsistence, in: id., Ancient Society or Researches in the Lines of Human Progress from Savagery through Barbarism to Civilization. New York: Henry Holt and Company.
Lewis Henry Morgan (1877). Chapter 3: Ratio of Human Progress, in: id., Ancient Society or Researches in the Lines of Human Progress from Savagery through Barbarism to Civilization. New York: Henry Holt and Company.