Economic and labour anthropology (2007/2008)

Learning outcomes

The course will introduce the students to an anthropological approach to educational and training for work which takes into consideration the general cultural context in which it takes place, the many and often contrasting communication and value systems which inform it at one and the same time, and the complex web of subjective and social meanings which turn work into a locus of political and symbolic tensions. Particular attention will be paid to the situational and emotional aspects of learning. The students of the Sp. Degree Course in Cultural Heritage, will be invited to examine the nexus which links social life to aesthetic conventions and the formation of taste, creativity and artistic and craft production.

The course will examine an ethnography of the European garment industry at the peak of its development, and the different social and aesthetic meanings attributed to it by actors occupying different social positions( Schultz e Lavenda, Maher, Ronzon). The course will also take into consideration an ethnographic study of work and personal dependence in the Ivory Coast( Viti). Particular attention will be paid to developing a comparative view of institutional cultures, forms of social relations, of personal dependence, social perception and apprenticeship.

Prescribed texts:
Schultz, E.A. e Lavenda, R.H, Antropologia Culturale, Zanichelli, Bologna, 1999 ( per gli studenti che hanno già seguito il corso di Antropologia culturale, capp. 5-8, per gli studenti di Lettere, CCL Beni Culturali, capp.1-8 ).
Ronzon, F. Antropologia dell’arte, Meltemi, Roma, 2007
UNO dei seguenti libri.
Maher, V. Tenere le fila. Sarte, sartine e cambiamento sociale 1860-1960, Rosenberg e Sellier, Torino 2007
Viti, F., Schiavi, servi e dipendenti. Antropologia delle forme di dipendenza personale in Africa, Raffaele Cortina, Milano, 2007

For the students who regularly attend the course, the exam will consist in a written essay which will be discussed with the teacher. Non attenders will be examined orally.