OVERVIEW

“All cultures have equal dignity”: when taken seriously, this statement entails a number of relevant, and sometimes bewildering, consequences (philosophical, political, epistemological and existential). The course accompanies students in exploring these consequences, conducted as much through an “archaeological” excavation in our cultural foundations as by anthropological comparison with other human worlds present on the planet.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Among the great partitions of Western thought, the crucial role is given to "nature" and "culture". On them are based the claim of universality of science, discourses on (in)tolerance and on the separation of body and mind. The course investigates the link between ontology and knowledge, in the light of the new voices in the anthropological field in recent years. Topics such as multinaturalism/multirealism will be discussed, along with the connections between forms of life, knowledge systems, local ontologies and the possibilities of democracy.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Upon completion of the course of study, students
1) will know the terms and stakes of the ongoing debate in contemporary anthropology, in its ontological, ethical, epistemological and political implications;
2) will know how to critically connect observed phenomena, theories and data;
3) will have acquired the ability to approach “other worlds” without presumption;
4) will have developed cultural sensitivity to the connections between life forms, knowledge systems, local ontologies and modes of humanity.

PREREQUISITES

None.

TEACHING METHODS

Teaching is entirely carried out through lectures given by the lecturer and, in some cases, by other experts in the anthropological field or on relevant topics.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

1) The philosophical and ethical crisis of contemporary modern world.

2) Philosophical archeology of the Western worldview.

3) The building of a human being: bio-cultural becoming in its different aspects.

4) The concept of crisis: from de Martino's “presence in the world” to “cultural apocalypses”; path for integration.

5) The multiplicity of worlds.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Preparation for the 6 CFU syllabus exam involves studying the textbook (a), one text of your choice from the list (b) and two articles of your choice from the list (c).

The textbook and books from list (b) are available in bookstores. Part of the choice papers from list (c) will be made available to students during class (nonattending students can request them via email to the lecturer).

(a) Consigliere S., 2014. Antropo-logiche. Mondi e modi dell’umano. Colibrì, Milano.

(b) One book among the following:

• Aa.Vv., Mondi multipli. Volume 1. Oltre la Grande partizione. Kayak, Napoli 2014.
• Aa.Vv., Mondi multipli. Volume 2. Lo splendore dei mondi. Kayak, Napoli 2014.
• Amiech M. (2023) L'industria del complottismo, malamente, Urbino 2024.[existe aussi en français]
• Bouznah S. & Lewertowski C., 2013. Quando gli spiriti incontrano i medici. Colibrì, Paderno Dugnano (MI) 2017. [existe aussi en français]
• Cangiano M. (2024), Guerre culturali e neoliberismo, Nottetempo, Milano.
• Consigliere S. (a cura di), 2022. Materialismo magico. DeriveApprodi, Roma 2022.
• Danowski D. & Viveiros De Castro E., 2014. Esiste un mondo a venire? Saggio sulle paure della fine. Nottetempo, Roma 2017. [also available in English][existe aussi en français]
• de Martino E., 1948-1973. Il mondo magico. Prolegomeni a una storia del magismo. Bollati Boringhieri, Torino 2007. [existe aussi en français]
• De Sousa Santos B., 2014. Epistemologies of the South. Justice against Epistemicide. Routledge, London & New York
• Descola P., 2005. Oltre natura e cultura. Raffaello Cortina, Milano 2021. [also available in English][existe aussi en français]
• Ehrenreich B. (2020), Taccuini del deserto. Istruzioni oer la fine dei tempi. Atlantide, Roma 2022.[also available in English]
• Fanon F., 1961. I dannati della terra. Einaudi, Torino 2000. [existe aussi en français][also available in English]
• Federici S., 2003. Calibano e la strega. Le donne, il corpo e l'accumulazione originaria. Mimesis, Milano 2015. [also available in English][existe aussi en français]
• Ghosh A., 2021. La maledizione della noce moscata. Parabole per un pianeta in crisi. Neri Pozza, Vicenza 2022. [also available in English] [existe aussi en français]
• Gordon A.F., 1997. Cose di fantasmi. L’haunting e l’immaginazione sociologica. DeriveApprodi, Roma.[also available in English][existe aussi en français]
• Graeber D.: «Alea», Rivista indipendente di Antropologia Culturale, numero speciale B2 / 2023 (dedicato a David Graber) [all papers contained in the book are available in English]
• Kohn E., 2013. Come pensano le foreste. Nottetempo, Roma 2021. [also available in English]
• Lapassade G., 1976. Saggio sulla transe. Feltrinelli, Milano 1980. [existe aussi en français]
• Löwy M. & Sayre R., 1992. Rivolta e malinconia. Neri Pozza, Vicenza 2016. [existe aussi en français]
• Nathan T., 2001. Non siamo soli al mondo. Bollati Boringhieri, Torino 2003. [existe aussi en français]
• Remotti F., 2011. Cultura. Dalla complessità all'impoverimento. Laterza, Roma-Bari 2011.
• Sironi F., 2007. Violenze collettive. Saggio di psicologia geopolitica clinica. Feltrinelli, Milano 2010. [existe aussi en français]
• Taussig M., 1980. Il diavolo e il feticismo della merce. DeriveApprodi, Roma 2017. [also available in English]
• Viveiros de Castro E., 2012. Prospettivismo cosmologico in Amazzonia e altrove. Quodlibet, Macerata 2019.  [also available in English]

(c) Two papers among the following:

• Bird-David N., 1999. “Animism” Revisited: Personhood, Environment, and Relational Epistemology. «Current Anthropology» 40, Supplement: Special Issue: Culture. A Second Chance? (Feb., 1999), pp. S67-S91. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2991332?seq=5      
• Butler J., 1997. Introduzione. In: id., La vita psichica del potere. Teorie della soggettivazione e dell'assoggettamento. Meltemi, Roma 2005.  [also available in English]
• Comaroff J. & Comaroff J., 1999. Occult Economies and the Violence of Abstraction: Notes from the South African Postcolony. «American Ethnologist» 26 (2), pp. 279-303.
• Devereux G., 1965. La schizofrenia, psicosi etnica o la schizofrenia senza lacrime. In: id., 1973. Saggi di etnopsichiatria generale. Armando Editore, Roma 2007, pp. 245-268. [existe aussi en français]
• Ginzburg C., 1979. Spie. Radici di un paradigma indiziario. In Gargani A. (a cura di), 1979. Crisi della ragione. Einaudi, Torino 1979, pp. 57-106.
• Graeber D., 2004. Frammenti di antropologia anarchica. Elèuthera, Milano 2011. [also available in English] [existe aussi en français]
• Graeber D., 2012. Dead zones of the imagination. On violence, bureaucracy, and interpretive labor. «HAU: Journal of Ethnographic Theory» 2 (2), pp. 105-128.
• Grosfoguel R. (2013) The Structure of Knowledge in Westernized Universities. Epistemic Racism/Sexism and the Four Genocides/Epistemicides of the Long 16th Century, «Human Architecture: Journal of the Sociology of Self-Knowledge», XI (1), pp. 73-90.
• Haraway D., 1988. Situated knowledges: the science question in feminism and the privilege of partial perspective. «Feminist Studies» 14 (3), pp. 575-599.
• Latour B., 2000. Fatture/fratture: dalla nozione di rete a quella di attaccamento. «I Fogli di ORISS», n. 25 (2006), pp. 11-32.[existe aussi en français]
• Nahoum-Grappe V., 1996. L'uso politico della crudeltà: l'epurazione etnica in ex-Iugoslavia (1991-1995). In: Héritier F. (ed), 1996. Sulla violenza. Meltemi, Roma 1997, pp. 190-227. [existe aussi en français]
• Sahlins M., 2013. La parentela. Cos’è e cosa non è. Elèuthera, Milano 2015. [also available in English]
• Sahlins M., 1996. The Sadness of Sweetness: The Native Anthropology of Western Cosmology. «Current Anthropology» 37 (3), pp. 395-428.
• Sayad A., 1999. La "colpa" originale e la menzogna collettiva. In: id., 1999. La doppia assenza. Dalle illusioni dell'emigrato alle sofferenze dell'immigrato. Cortina, Milano.  2002, pp. 17-42. [existe aussi en français]
• Singleton M., 2004. L’uomo che (non) verrà. Fedrum, Udine 2012.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Monday, the 15th of September 2025.

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The examination is conducted exclusively in oral form and consists of a dialogue to ascertain knowledge of the examination program, i.e., the content and meaning of the above texts, and to assess the ability to critically analyze the proposed topics. Methods of assessment, learning objectives and examination syllabus are identical for both attending and non-attending students.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Knowledge of the exam syllabus counts for 20/thirtyths. The ability to critically investigate the proposed topics counts for 10/thirtyths.

FURTHER INFORMATION

The examination sessions, which are held exclusively in person, usually begin at 9 a.m. in the classroom assigned by the School. Registration, which must be done within five days of the exam date, is done electronically. Workers, parents with young children, and off-site persons have priority.