Anthropology 131

Peoples and Cultures of Europe

Spring 2003

Dr. Liam D. Murphy

Class times: TR 1:30-2:45PM
Location: MND4008
Office: MND4022
lmurphy@csus.edu

Office Hours:
Monday, 1pm-4pm
E-mail:
Phone: 278-6022

Course Description and Objectives:

More than a geographical continent or federation of sovereign nation-states, Europe has
been re-cast by social scientists as a political and ideological construction that unites
diverse linguistic, religious, and cultural communities. This course will focus on major
themes in contemporary European ethnographic studies, including the emergence of
nation-states and modernity, cultural and political transformations within and between
local communities and regions (especially with regards to Northern Ireland, the former
Soviet bloc, and Yugoslav federation), immigration, neonationalist and paramilitary
extremism, the changing character of religious institutions, and the emerging
postnationalist European Union as a framework for organizing identity and society.
Prerequisite: ANTH 002

Required Texts:
Ginzburg, Carlo (1980). The Cheese and the Worms: The Cosmos of a SixteenthCentury Miller. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Anderson, Benedict (1991). Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and
Spread of Nationalism. New York: Verso.
Holmes, Douglas R. (2000). Integral Europe: Fast-Capitalism, Multiculturalism,
Neofascism. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
All three texts are available at the Bookstore (278-6446)

In addition, the following two readings will be on reserve at the library Reserve
Book Room:
Bowman, Glen (1994). Xenophobia, Fantasy, and the Nation: The Logic of Ethnic
Violence in Former Yugoslavia. In The Anthropology of Europe: Identities and
Boundaries in Conflict. Goddard, Llobera, and Shore, eds. Providence: Berg.
Jarman, Neil (1995). Intersecting Belfast In Landscape: Politics and Perspectives.
Barbara Bender, ed. Providence: Berg.

Course Requirements:
Class Attendance and Participation: 15%
Take-home Midterm exam: 25%
One 2-3-page writing assignment based on lectures and course readings: 15%
Take-home Final exam: 45%
Final course grades will be based on the following scale:
A=90-100%; B=80-89%; C=70-79%; D=60-69%; F=59 or below
I am available for consultation with students, either during my Office Hours, or by
appointment. If you need to contact be and are unable to do so before or after class,
please just drop me an e-mail (preferable), or, if necessary, voice mail.

Participation and Attendance

Regular attendance and participation in class discussions are required, and will
count for 15% of a students grade. Students should come to class prepared to discuss
the assigned readings for that day/week (i.e, make sure that readings assigned for next
week are being read this week).
All students are expected to adhere to the highest standards of academic integrity in
the completion of assignments and exams. Failure to do so will result in permanent
dismissal from the class. Please consult the CSUS manual for further details on academic
and grading policy, or go to http://www.csus.edu/admbus/umanual/ump14150.htm.

Make-Up Policy
Writing assignments must be submitted on the due date, or before. Extensions will only
be given in the event of strong, mitigating circumstances, backed up by written evidence
to that effect. Late assignments will be docked 5% per day.

Course Schedule:
The following is a detailed outline of the lectures and required readings for the course,
based on fifteen weeks of classes. Lectures will be supplemented by a number of
ethnographic films. The readings are essential to understanding the lecture materials, and,
as noted above, must be completed by the date scheduled. Note: These articles are
intended to be read with a critical eye. During the course of the semester, we will
sometimes disagree with the opinions expressed by a particular author. Please feel free to
ask questions, and email me as needed. This schedule is subject to change at my
discretion.
WEEK ONE: Jan 28thJan 30th
Course Introduction: What is Europe? Who are Europeans?
No readings
WEEK TWO: Feb 4th-Feb 6th
Europe in the Colonial Imagination I:
The West and the Rest
No readings
WEEK THREE: Feb 11th-Feb 13th
Europe in the Colonial Imagination II:
The Celtic Fringe and Mediterranean as culture areas
Readings: Ginzburg, Prefaces, Chapters 1-20
WEEK FOUR: Feb 18th-Feb 20th
Genealogies of Community

Readings: Ginzburg, Chapters 21-41

WEEK FIVE: Feb 25th-Feb 27th
Race and Ethnicity
Readings: Ginzburg, Chapters 42-62
**Feb. 27th: Midterm Exam handed out**
WEEK SIX: Mar 4th-Mar 6th
Modernity, Nations, and States
Readings: Anderson, Chapters 1, 2, and 3
**Mar 6th: Midterm Exam due**
WEEK SEVEN: Mar 11th-Mar 13th
Religion, Power, and Identity
Readings: Anderson, Chapters 4, 5, and 6
WEEK EIGHT: Mar 18th-Mar 20th
Class, Economy, and Urbanization
Readings: Anderson, Chapters 7, 8, and 9
WEEK NINE: Mar 25th-Mar 27th
Migratory and Stateless Peoples
Readings: Anderson, Chapters 10 and 11
WEEK TEN: April 1st-April 3rd
Immigration, and Diaspora
Readings: Holmes, Chapters 1, 2, and 3
**April 1st: writing assignment instructions given**

WEEK ELEVEN: April 8th-April 10th

The Politics of East and West
Readings: Holmes, Chapters 4, 5, and 6
**April 8th: writing assignment due**
WEEK TWELVE: **SPRING BREAK** No Classes
Readings: Holmes, Chapters 7, 8, and 9
WEEK THIRTEEN: April 22nd-April 24th
Conflict and War
Readings: Holmes, Chapters 10 and 11
WEEK FOURTEEN: April 29th-May 1st
EU Ideologies of Resistance and Paramilitarism
Readings: Bowman Xenophobia, Fantasy, and the Nation; Jarman Intersecting
Belfast (BOTH READINGS ON RESERVE AT THE RESERVE BOOK
ROOM)
**May 1st: Final exam handed out**
WEEK FIFTEEN: May 6th (May 8th CLASS CANCELLED)
Doing Anthropology in Europe
No Readings
**May 6th: Final exam due**