This course is designed to equip students with interpretative tools for engaging with the complexity and plurality of cultures. It traces a path through the central questions of cultural anthropology—from the genealogies of the discipline to its key concepts, and from its classical formulations to contemporary perspectives on the body, gender, religion, politics, economy, language, and cultural practices. Structured in two parts, the course first introduces the foundational notions of anthropology through a theoretical lens, and subsequently turns to a monographic focus on Peru. Here, we move from the cultural history of the pre-Columbian period to contemporary dynamics of identity, heritage, environmental politics, and cultural and consumer practices. So, the course seeks to provide a critical perspective on the discipline itself: its genealogies, conceptual frameworks, and applications to the analysis of contemporary socio-cultural processes.
A) Cultural anthropology today has a perhaps different function than in the past: it is useful to provide transversal and oblique interpretations with respect to the complexity of current phenomena or at least the greater perceived complexity. Adopting an "other" look, a different perspective, allows us to analyze today's phenomena in the light of other narratives and other world views and to relativize problems. B) The course aims to provide brief notes on the history of anthropological thought and the basic theoretical and empirical tools of the discipline. The different theories and applications of cultural anthropology will be addressed both in traditional societies and in ours. In particular, the final part of the course will focus on the issue of identity and the onset of racism. C) The teaching aims to create greater sensitivity towards cultural diversity. Providing critical tools to analyze the complexity that marks our age. Provide different interpretations of the reading of Western society.
Main learning objectives:
At the end of the 6-ECTS course, students will be able to:
At the end of the 9-ECTS course, students will be able to:
Understand the historical and colonial genesis of key anthropological concepts.
Develop the ability to critically analyse notions such as culture, alterity, identity, “race,” and gender.
Apply anthropological methods and techniques to concrete case studies.
Familiarise with the historical, symbolic, and material processes that structure Peru’s cultural reality (colonialism, classification, territory, heritage, representation).
Recognise the political dimension of culture and the cultural dimension of power.
Express their analyses clearly and coherently, including in written form.
None.
Lectures supported by audiovisual materials (slides, films, images).
Seminar-style discussions based on readings, testimonies, and ethnographic case studies.
Guest lectures on selected topics, particularly in relation to the Peruvian component of the course.
Students who have been certified with special educational needs (DSA), such as dyslexia or dysgraphia, are invited to contact me, as well as to familiarise with the services (e.g. “ufficio disabilità e DSA”) the University offers to support them: further information available at https://unige.it/disabilita-dsa.
The program for the acquisition of 6 credits is as follows:
The course introduces and explores the principal domains of reflection within cultural anthropology. Following the reconstruction of the discipline’s histories and genealogies, students will engage with fundamental concepts such as culture, ethnocentrism, and cultural relativism. Attention will then turn to central themes, including the body and gender, the social construction of personhood, and food-related practices. Dedicated sessions will address the linguistic dimension, followed by studying production, exchange, and consumption systems. The course will examine anthropological perspectives on kinship and politics, before focusing on key notions such as identity, ethnicity, nation, and racism. Additional topics will include the anthropology of dwelling, representations of time, space, and art, and the practices of comparison, translation, and writing within the discipline. The programme concludes with a reflection on contemporary debates concerning the decolonisation of anthropology.
Bibliography:
Aime, Marco. 2008. Il primo libro di antropologia. Einaudi.
A. Lynn Bolles. 2023. “Decolonizing Anthropology: An Ongoing Process”. American Ethnologist 50 (3): 519–22 (The Italian translation will be provided by the instructor).
Eriksen, Thomas Hylland, e Finn Sivert Nielsen. 2013. A history of anthropology. Pluto Press (capp. 1, 2, 7 e 8 - The Italian translation will be provided by the instructor).
Ribeiro, Gustavo Lins, e Arturo Escobar. 2018. “Antropologie del mondo Mutamenti disciplinari e sistemi di potere”. Anuac 7 (1): 9–41. https://ojs.unica.it/index.php/anuac/article/view/3059/2969
The program for the acquisition of 9 credits is as follows:
The second part of the course will be devoted to a monographic exploration of Peru, beginning with a contextualisation of the country’s cultural history from the pre-Columbian period to the present day. Particular attention will be given to the principal categories of social classification—indio, cholo, mestizo—and to the role of heritage and museums in the construction of the nation. The course will also examine the intersections of anthropology with literature and cultural production and the political ontologies associated with “landscape” in both Andean and Amazonian contexts. A specific focus will be placed on contemporary processes, including neo-extractivism, water’s cultural and political dimensions, and the dynamics of gentrification and touristification. Further topics of analysis will include such phenomena as the role of football in the construction of identities, strategies of national branding, and the so-called “gastropolitics.”
Aguilar Díaz, Miguel, e Henry Tantaleán. 2012. “Estado, patrimonio cultural y comunidades indígenas: Machu Picchu y la historia de un diálogo asimétrico”. In Multivocalidad y activaciones patrimoniales en arqueología: Perspectivas desde Sudamérica, edited by M. de Rivolta, M. Montenegro, and L. Menezes. Instituto Interdisciplinario Tilcara, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Universidad de Buenos Aires: 229–256 (The Italian translation will be provided by the instructor).
Bolles, A. Lynn. 2023. “Decolonizing Anthropology: An Ongoing Process”. American Ethnologist 50 (3): 519–22 (The Italian translation will be provided by the instructor).
Cánepa Koch, Gisela, e Lossio Chávez, Félix. 2019. “Introducción. La marca país como campo argumentativo y los desafíos de problematizar el Perú como Marca”. In La nación celebrada: marca país y ciudadanías en disputa, edited by G. Cánepa Koch e F. Lossio Chávez. Universidad del Pacífico: pp. 7–40 (The Italian translation will be provided by the instructor).
Degregori, Carlos Iván, e Pablo Sandoval. 2007. “La antropología en el Perú del estudio del otro a la construcción de un nosotros diverso”. Revista Colombiana de Antropología 43: 299–334 (The Italian translation will be provided by the instructor).
Eriksen, Thomas Hylland, e Finn Sivert Nielsen. 2013 [2001]. A history of anthropology. Pluto Press (capp. 1, 2, 7 e 8 - The Italian translation will be provided by the instructor).
Paredes Peñafiel, Adriana Paola, e Fabiana Li. 2017. “Nourishing Relations: Controversy over the Conga Mining Project in Northern Peru”. Ethnos. https://doi.org/10.1080/00141844.2017.1410490 (The Italian translation will be provided by the instructor).
Quijano, Aníbal. 2021 [2000]. “Colonialità del potere ed eurocentrismo in America Latina”. Modernità e trans-modernità. Percorsi di lettura nel pensiero decoloniale, edited by F. Monceri. Edizioni ETS: pp. 33–84.
Zavala, Virginia, e Michele Back. 2017. “Introducción: la producción discursiva de identidades racializadas”. In Racismo y lenguaje, edited by V. Zavala e M. Back. Fondo Editorial de la Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú: 11–38 (The Italian translation will be provided by the instructor).
The programme for the acquisition of 6 ECTS credits is as follows:
A. Lynn Bolles. 2023. “Decolonizing Anthropology: An Ongoing Process”. American Ethnologist 50 (3): 519–22 (la traduzione in italiano verrà fornita dal docente e caricata su AulaWeb).
Eriksen, Thomas Hylland, e Finn Sivert Nielsen. 2013. A history of anthropology. Pluto Press (capp. 1, 2, 7 e 8 - la traduzione in italiano verrà fornita dal docente e caricata su AulaWeb).
The programme for the acquisition of 9 ECTS credits is as follows:
Bolles, A. Lynn. 2023. “Decolonizing Anthropology: An Ongoing Process”. American Ethnologist 50 (3): 519–22 (la traduzione in italiano verrà fornita dal docente e caricata su AulaWeb).
Cánepa Koch, Gisela, e Lossio Chávez, Félix. 2019. “Introducción. La marca país como campo argumentativo y los desafíos de problematizar el Perú como Marca”. In La nación celebrada: marca país y ciudadanías en disputa, edited by G. Cánepa Koch e F. Lossio Chávez. Universidad del Pacífico: pp. 7–40 (la traduzione in italiano verrà fornita dal docente e caricata su AulaWeb).
Degregori, Carlos Iván, e Pablo Sandoval. 2007. “La antropología en el Perú del estudio del otro a la construcción de un nosotros diverso”. Revista Colombiana de Antropología 43: 299–334 (la traduzione in italiano verrà fornita dal docente e caricata su AulaWeb).
Eriksen, Thomas Hylland, e Finn Sivert Nielsen. 2013 [2001]. A history of anthropology. Pluto Press (capp. 1, 2, 7 e 8 - la traduzione in italiano verrà fornita dal docente e caricata su AulaWeb).
Paredes Peñafiel, Adriana Paola, e Fabiana Li. 2017. “Nourishing Relations: Controversy over the Conga Mining Project in Northern Peru”. Ethnos. https://doi.org/10.1080/00141844.2017.1410490 (la traduzione in italiano verrà fornita dal docente e caricata su AulaWeb).
Zavala, Virginia, e Michele Back. 2017. “Introducción: la producción discursiva de identidades racializadas”. In Racismo y lenguaje, edited by V. Zavala e M. Back. Fondo Editorial de la Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú: 11–38 (la traduzione in italiano verrà fornita dal docente e caricata su AulaWeb).
NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS:
There is no distinction between attending and non-attending students.
Ricevimento: Office hours: In person or online, by appointment (domenico.branca@unige.it).
DOMENICO BRANCA (President)
SALVATORE BRUNO BARBA (President Substitute)
SARA BONFANTI (Substitute)
CLAUDE PETROGNANI (Substitute)
1 October 2025.
The timetable for this course is available here: EasyAcademy
The final exam will consist of a written paper that will explore in greater depth some of the main topics discussed in class.
The result will be proportional to the active participation in the classroom and the developed ability to critically elaborate the basic concepts of anthropological analysis which will be demonstrated in the final written paper. The evaluation will consider the completeness of the answers, the accuracy of the content, the capacity for critical analysis, clarity of expression, and the originality of the arguments.
For the acquisition of 6 ECTS credits: The exam will consist of answering 2 questions and will last 40 minutes.
For the acquisition of 9 ECTS credits: The exam will consist of answering 3 questions and will last 60 minutes.
Students who have regularly filed a certification of DSA, disability or other special educational needs are advised to contact both the contact person Prof. Aristide Canepa (aristide.canepa@unige.it) and the teacher at the beginning of the course, to agree teaching and examination methods which, in compliance with the teaching objectives, take into account individual learning methods and provide suitable compensatory tools.
