ANTH 112 INTRODUCTION TO SOCIO-CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
WINTER 2018
Mar. 8, 13, 15: Identity: What it means, what it matters
READ: Schiller, Chapter Four, Chapter Five, Chapter Six
ALSO READ: Abu-Lughod, L. (2002) “Do Muslim women really need saving? Anthropological reflections on cultural relativism and its others.” American Anthropologist 104(3): 783-790.
ALSO READ: Culhane, Dara (2003) “Their spirits live within us: Aboriginal women in Downtown Eastside Vancouver emerging into visibility.” American Indian Quarterly 27(3/4): 593-606.

Essays due March 22
    - note that the topic is on the course outline, which is linked to the course webpage
    - there are essay resources linked on the course outline
    - the Student Success Centre is available for help – book an appointment
    - the Anthropology Students’ Association offers tutoring on Mondays 6-7:30 pm in JBB 306A

What is “identity”? What are the analytical discussions that relate to this term? These are distinct perspectives, not all adopted by social theorists.
- what is it based on?
- contextually based?
- individual or collective?
- bureaucratic, political, emotional, subjective, etc.?
- claimed ?
- imposed by a dominant group?
- essentialist and fixed?
- dynamic, fluid?
- providing a basis for united collective action?
- oppressive for some members?
- is inclusive identity possible?
- is diversity of identities a problem to be solved by assimilation, or some form of pluralism that accommodates diversity?


How is identity used in the readings for this section?

Schiller
what does the market look like?
- the building of the Mercato Centrale, after renovation in 2014:  http://www.mercatocentrale.it/en/mercato-centrale-florence/
https://mercatocentralefirenze.wordpress.com/
- scene of the outside San Lorenzo market from 2008: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Mercato_di_San_Lorenzo_%28Florence%29_2.JPG
From a 2012 blog:
http://tuscany-toscana.blogspot.ca/2012/12/the-mercato-centrale-in-florence-is-not.html#.WqFWdegbOUk

- what identities does Schiller discuss?
- how are they defined in each case?
- how does each identity operate? What does it mean? How are they used?
- what problems are perceived by the presence of diverse identities?
- what efforts are made to address these problems?

Abu-Lughod
- what identity does she discuss?
- who has created this identity?
- how is it used politically?
- why has women’s dress been such a focus for colonizers? (e.g. the “Mother Hubbard” dress”)
    http://www.picture-worl.org/nouvelle-caledonie-new-caledonia-fideles-se-rendant-a-la-messe.html

Culhane
- what identity does she discuss?
- who has created this identity?
- what are the historical circumstances that led to the situation she discusses?
- how is it used politically?

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source: Teresia K. Teaiwa, Teresia. 2000. “bikinis and other s/pacific n/oceans” In David Hanlon and Geoffrey White, eds. Voyaging through the Contemporary Pacific.Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, pp. 91-112. Page 101: