Identity, Ritual and Power: An Introduction To Anthropology

Description

This course explores the role of symbols and rituals in the construction of culture and demonstrates how ideas about culture may form the basis of group formation, ethnic and national identity, and how many forms of social action (including conflict between groups) may be understood as ‘the politics of culture’ in which there are struggles for identity and power. The course illustrates the various ways in which humans perform identity and how these topics are of interest and relevance to countries such as New Zealand. In this sense it demonstrates how anthropology is relevant in today’s world, by showing how an anthropological approach may be applied to contemporary social issues.