UAntwerpen
Anthropology
Prof. Paolo SH Favero, Prof. Elisabetta Costa and Prof. Milena Bellonipen
Hanne Van der Heyden
’24-‘25
,Inhoud
1.1 Introduction anthropology and ethnography...........................................................................................................7
Anthropology...............................................................................................................................................................7
Ethnography................................................................................................................................................................ 7
1.2 What is anthropology?..............................................................................................................................................8
Holistic.........................................................................................................................................................................8
Interdisciplinary...........................................................................................................................................................8
Global..........................................................................................................................................................................8
Science technology empire..........................................................................................................................................8
Photography and colonial past....................................................................................................................................8
Othering......................................................................................................................................................................9
Reading 1.....................................................................................................................................................................9
Reading 2.....................................................................................................................................................................9
2.1 What is anthropology?............................................................................................................................................10
Anthropology as a scientific enterprise based on......................................................................................................10
Ethnography..............................................................................................................................................................10
2.2 Ethnography as a method........................................................................................................................................11
The Argonauts of the western pacific (1922) Malinowski..........................................................................................11
Participant observation.............................................................................................................................................12
Knowledge by full immersion....................................................................................................................................12
Between observation and participation....................................................................................................................12
Some advantages of ethnography.............................................................................................................................13
Ethnography: not only for anthropologists................................................................................................................13
Where do anthropologists conduct their research?..................................................................................................14
Reading: Antropology as a field science....................................................................................................................14
field as a site in place and time..................................................................................................................................14
From one-sited to multi-sited fieldwork....................................................................................................................14
An example: The big Gamble- The migration of Eritreans to Europe.........................................................................15
Unbounded of bounded fieldwork?..........................................................................................................................15
Some definitions of field............................................................................................................................................15
2.3 Ethnography as product...........................................................................................................................................16
Ethnographic style.....................................................................................................................................................16
Van Maanen’s (1988) “Tales of the field”..................................................................................................................16
Ethnography as a narrative account..........................................................................................................................16
3.1 Discussing epistemological: about science..............................................................................................................18
Taken for granted assumptions..................................................................................................................................18
What is bias?.............................................................................................................................................................18
, Anthropology epistemology: THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN.........................................................................................18
Accouting for positionality.........................................................................................................................................19
Shifting ground of positionality.................................................................................................................................19
Epistemological, ethical and political aspects............................................................................................................20
For a militant anthropology (scheper hughes, 1995).................................................................................................20
Some reactions..........................................................................................................................................................20
3.2 Causality – a very long and complex debate............................................................................................................21
Interpretative paradigm (see theory construction)....................................................................................................21
Two kinds of causality................................................................................................................................................21
An example of the professors’ research: WHAT IS HOME?........................................................................................22
Knowledge about what?............................................................................................................................................22
Knowledge for what purpose? (Schwartz-Shea and Yanow, 2013)............................................................................22
Concepts – tools to understand reality (Schwartz-Shea and Yanow, 2013)................................................................22
Example of the professors’ research: Refugees as gamblers: an experience-near concept…....................................22
Can ethnographic studies ask the “why” question?..................................................................................................23
Is it relevant to ask whether an ethnographic case is representative?......................................................................23
How to choose my case study?..................................................................................................................................23
So ethnographic studies:...........................................................................................................................................24
4.1 Part one: Why Anthropology?.................................................................................................................................25
Introduction: King kong.............................................................................................................................................25
The ethnographic/ anthropological spectacle...........................................................................................................25
Taking accountability.................................................................................................................................................25
What do Anthropology and Yoga gave in common?..................................................................................................26
Ethnography as a union.............................................................................................................................................26
“Other”...................................................................................................................................................................... 27
4.2 Part two: Culture.....................................................................................................................................................28
Culture....................................................................................................................................................................... 28
Ethnocentrism...........................................................................................................................................................28
Culture relativism......................................................................................................................................................28
Relativists vs universalists..........................................................................................................................................29
Clifford Geertz: interpretive anthropology (60’s and 80’s).........................................................................................30
Habitus: Pierre Bourdieu...........................................................................................................................................30
Culture is always in the making: Ulf Hannerz.............................................................................................................30
Anthropology – culture and generalizations: Abu Lughod.........................................................................................30
6.1 Intersectionality.......................................................................................................................................................32
Intersectionality a brief history..................................................................................................................................32
Intersectionality & anthropology: a match?..............................................................................................................32
6.2 Positionality.............................................................................................................................................................33
, Positionality in anthropology?...................................................................................................................................33
Key aspects of positionality in anthropology.............................................................................................................33
Exercise one...............................................................................................................................................................33
6.3 Anthropology of (non)religion.................................................................................................................................34
Anthropology of religion: A subfield in cultural anthropology...................................................................................34
Anthropology of (non)religion...................................................................................................................................34
Anthropology of nonreligion.....................................................................................................................................35
6.4 A case study.............................................................................................................................................................36
Case study about an intersectional perspective on nonreligious activism.................................................................36
The results from the case study.................................................................................................................................36
Introduction: research...............................................................................................................................................36
Methods.................................................................................................................................................................... 37
Positionality...............................................................................................................................................................37
Context...................................................................................................................................................................... 37
Intersectionality.........................................................................................................................................................38
Intersectionality: Being nonreligious.........................................................................................................................39
Concluding remarks...................................................................................................................................................40
Today main questions....................................................................................................................................................42
7.1 What is digital anthropology?..................................................................................................................................42
1 The digital intensifies the dialectical nature of culture (growth in universality and particularity)..........................43
Humanity is more mediated by the rise of digital......................................................................................................43
Holism....................................................................................................................................................................... 44
Cultural relativism......................................................................................................................................................44
Openness and closure...............................................................................................................................................44
Materiality of digital world........................................................................................................................................44
A definition of what digital anthropology is...............................................................................................................44
Why we post project..................................................................................................................................................45
7.2 What does anthropology add to the study of digital technologies and digital cultures?.........................................46
1 De-westernizing media and digital culture studies.................................................................................................46
2 The study of normativity and the development of new social norms.....................................................................46
3 The study of digital practices and forms from a holistic perspective......................................................................46
7.3 How does digital anthropology resonate with larger anthropological issues?.........................................................47
Transformation and continuities................................................................................................................................48
The grand narratives of social science.......................................................................................................................48
8.1 Introduction.............................................................................................................................................................49
Recap: what is ethnography?.....................................................................................................................................49
How do we construct the field-site?..........................................................................................................................49
8.2 Ethnography of the digital (offline)..........................................................................................................................50
Anthropology
Prof. Paolo SH Favero, Prof. Elisabetta Costa and Prof. Milena Bellonipen
Hanne Van der Heyden
’24-‘25
,Inhoud
1.1 Introduction anthropology and ethnography...........................................................................................................7
Anthropology...............................................................................................................................................................7
Ethnography................................................................................................................................................................ 7
1.2 What is anthropology?..............................................................................................................................................8
Holistic.........................................................................................................................................................................8
Interdisciplinary...........................................................................................................................................................8
Global..........................................................................................................................................................................8
Science technology empire..........................................................................................................................................8
Photography and colonial past....................................................................................................................................8
Othering......................................................................................................................................................................9
Reading 1.....................................................................................................................................................................9
Reading 2.....................................................................................................................................................................9
2.1 What is anthropology?............................................................................................................................................10
Anthropology as a scientific enterprise based on......................................................................................................10
Ethnography..............................................................................................................................................................10
2.2 Ethnography as a method........................................................................................................................................11
The Argonauts of the western pacific (1922) Malinowski..........................................................................................11
Participant observation.............................................................................................................................................12
Knowledge by full immersion....................................................................................................................................12
Between observation and participation....................................................................................................................12
Some advantages of ethnography.............................................................................................................................13
Ethnography: not only for anthropologists................................................................................................................13
Where do anthropologists conduct their research?..................................................................................................14
Reading: Antropology as a field science....................................................................................................................14
field as a site in place and time..................................................................................................................................14
From one-sited to multi-sited fieldwork....................................................................................................................14
An example: The big Gamble- The migration of Eritreans to Europe.........................................................................15
Unbounded of bounded fieldwork?..........................................................................................................................15
Some definitions of field............................................................................................................................................15
2.3 Ethnography as product...........................................................................................................................................16
Ethnographic style.....................................................................................................................................................16
Van Maanen’s (1988) “Tales of the field”..................................................................................................................16
Ethnography as a narrative account..........................................................................................................................16
3.1 Discussing epistemological: about science..............................................................................................................18
Taken for granted assumptions..................................................................................................................................18
What is bias?.............................................................................................................................................................18
, Anthropology epistemology: THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN.........................................................................................18
Accouting for positionality.........................................................................................................................................19
Shifting ground of positionality.................................................................................................................................19
Epistemological, ethical and political aspects............................................................................................................20
For a militant anthropology (scheper hughes, 1995).................................................................................................20
Some reactions..........................................................................................................................................................20
3.2 Causality – a very long and complex debate............................................................................................................21
Interpretative paradigm (see theory construction)....................................................................................................21
Two kinds of causality................................................................................................................................................21
An example of the professors’ research: WHAT IS HOME?........................................................................................22
Knowledge about what?............................................................................................................................................22
Knowledge for what purpose? (Schwartz-Shea and Yanow, 2013)............................................................................22
Concepts – tools to understand reality (Schwartz-Shea and Yanow, 2013)................................................................22
Example of the professors’ research: Refugees as gamblers: an experience-near concept…....................................22
Can ethnographic studies ask the “why” question?..................................................................................................23
Is it relevant to ask whether an ethnographic case is representative?......................................................................23
How to choose my case study?..................................................................................................................................23
So ethnographic studies:...........................................................................................................................................24
4.1 Part one: Why Anthropology?.................................................................................................................................25
Introduction: King kong.............................................................................................................................................25
The ethnographic/ anthropological spectacle...........................................................................................................25
Taking accountability.................................................................................................................................................25
What do Anthropology and Yoga gave in common?..................................................................................................26
Ethnography as a union.............................................................................................................................................26
“Other”...................................................................................................................................................................... 27
4.2 Part two: Culture.....................................................................................................................................................28
Culture....................................................................................................................................................................... 28
Ethnocentrism...........................................................................................................................................................28
Culture relativism......................................................................................................................................................28
Relativists vs universalists..........................................................................................................................................29
Clifford Geertz: interpretive anthropology (60’s and 80’s).........................................................................................30
Habitus: Pierre Bourdieu...........................................................................................................................................30
Culture is always in the making: Ulf Hannerz.............................................................................................................30
Anthropology – culture and generalizations: Abu Lughod.........................................................................................30
6.1 Intersectionality.......................................................................................................................................................32
Intersectionality a brief history..................................................................................................................................32
Intersectionality & anthropology: a match?..............................................................................................................32
6.2 Positionality.............................................................................................................................................................33
, Positionality in anthropology?...................................................................................................................................33
Key aspects of positionality in anthropology.............................................................................................................33
Exercise one...............................................................................................................................................................33
6.3 Anthropology of (non)religion.................................................................................................................................34
Anthropology of religion: A subfield in cultural anthropology...................................................................................34
Anthropology of (non)religion...................................................................................................................................34
Anthropology of nonreligion.....................................................................................................................................35
6.4 A case study.............................................................................................................................................................36
Case study about an intersectional perspective on nonreligious activism.................................................................36
The results from the case study.................................................................................................................................36
Introduction: research...............................................................................................................................................36
Methods.................................................................................................................................................................... 37
Positionality...............................................................................................................................................................37
Context...................................................................................................................................................................... 37
Intersectionality.........................................................................................................................................................38
Intersectionality: Being nonreligious.........................................................................................................................39
Concluding remarks...................................................................................................................................................40
Today main questions....................................................................................................................................................42
7.1 What is digital anthropology?..................................................................................................................................42
1 The digital intensifies the dialectical nature of culture (growth in universality and particularity)..........................43
Humanity is more mediated by the rise of digital......................................................................................................43
Holism....................................................................................................................................................................... 44
Cultural relativism......................................................................................................................................................44
Openness and closure...............................................................................................................................................44
Materiality of digital world........................................................................................................................................44
A definition of what digital anthropology is...............................................................................................................44
Why we post project..................................................................................................................................................45
7.2 What does anthropology add to the study of digital technologies and digital cultures?.........................................46
1 De-westernizing media and digital culture studies.................................................................................................46
2 The study of normativity and the development of new social norms.....................................................................46
3 The study of digital practices and forms from a holistic perspective......................................................................46
7.3 How does digital anthropology resonate with larger anthropological issues?.........................................................47
Transformation and continuities................................................................................................................................48
The grand narratives of social science.......................................................................................................................48
8.1 Introduction.............................................................................................................................................................49
Recap: what is ethnography?.....................................................................................................................................49
How do we construct the field-site?..........................................................................................................................49
8.2 Ethnography of the digital (offline)..........................................................................................................................50
