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| Semester | spring semester 2021 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers | Marta Rudnicka (marta.rudnicka@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | This course is aimed at the introduction and problematization of the basic notions from the anthropology of the senses and sensory ethnography in the context of contemporary Africa studies. Today’s ethnography can be characterized by an increasing interest in the use of sensory methodologies in research and representation (Pink 2013). Along with methodologies, an ever-growing interest in the sensory knowledge and its production stands the challenge of anthropological interrogation. Sensory ethnography, which rise was noted as a part of the sensory turn in anthropology in the 1980s, pays attention to the ways of the body and the corporeal knowledge created through practices, movements and ways of sensing. The course focuses on the sensory research and corporeal knowledge in non-Western societies, mostly in Africa. First, the course addresses the methodological challenges of doing sensory ethnography in the countries of the global south. It draws from the lecturers own experience in doing sensory oriented research in northern Ghana. Furthermore, the course examines the ways of creating corporal knowledge through various sensory practices (eating, dancing, learning etc.) and the role of the corporeal knowledge in anthropological understanding of the Other. By concentrating on different ways of „making sense of the world” the course problematizes the role of the sensory experience in creating popular imageries of Africa. |
| Learning objectives | Participants know the current state of sensory anthropology, sensory ethnography and their fundamental concepts; are able to address methodological difficulties embedded in the sensory-oriented research; are aware of the sensory bias of the researcher working in non-Western societies; know the contemporary literature in anthropology of the senses and case studies from non-Western context; are conscious of the popular imagery of the African sensorium and its problems. |
| Bibliography | Classen, C. (1993). World of Sense: Exploring the Senses in History and across Cultures. London: Routlege. Damasio, A. (1999). The Feeling of What Happens: body and Emotion in the Making of Consciousness. San Diego: Harcourt. Geurts, K.L. (2003). Culture and the Senses: Bodily Ways of Knowing in an African Community. Berkeley, Los Angeles, CA, and London: University of California Press. Hahn, T. (2007). Sensational Knowledge—Embodying Culture through Japanese Dance. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press. Howes, D. (2003). Sensing Culture: Engaging the Senses in Culture and Social Theory. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press Pink, S. (2013) Engaging the Senses in Ethnographic Practice, The Senses and Society, 8:3, 261-267 Pink, S. (2009). Doing Sensory Ethnography. London: Sage. Stoller, P. (1997). Sensuous Scholarship. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| wöchentlich | Thursday | 14.15-16.00 | - Online Präsenz - |
| Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday 04.03.2021 | 14.15-16.00 | - Online Präsenz -, -- |
| Thursday 11.03.2021 | 14.15-16.00 | - Online Präsenz -, -- |
| Thursday 18.03.2021 | 14.15-16.00 | - Online Präsenz -, -- |
| Thursday 25.03.2021 | 14.15-16.00 | - Online Präsenz -, -- |
| Thursday 01.04.2021 | 14.15-16.00 | Ostern |
| Thursday 08.04.2021 | 14.15-16.00 | - Online Präsenz -, -- |
| Thursday 15.04.2021 | 14.15-16.00 | - Online Präsenz -, -- |
| Thursday 22.04.2021 | 14.15-16.00 | - Online Präsenz -, -- |
| Thursday 29.04.2021 | 14.15-16.00 | - Online Präsenz -, -- |
| Thursday 06.05.2021 | 14.15-16.00 | - Online Präsenz -, -- |
| Thursday 13.05.2021 | 14.15-16.00 | Auffahrt |
| Thursday 20.05.2021 | 14.15-16.00 | - Online Präsenz -, -- |
| Thursday 27.05.2021 | 14.15-16.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
| Thursday 03.06.2021 | 14.15-16.00 | --, -- |
| Modules |
Modul: Fields: Knowledge Production and Transfer (Master's degree program: African Studies) Modul: Fields: Public Health and Social Life (Master's degree program: African Studies) Modul: Forschungsfelder der Ethnologie (Bachelor's degree subject: Anthropology) Modul: Interdisciplinary and Applied African Studies (Master's degree program: African Studies) Modul: Kulturtechnische Dimensionen (Master's degree program: Cultural Techniques) Module: Projects and Processes of Urbanization (Master's degree program: Critical Urbanisms (Start of studies before 01.08.2020)) Module: The Urban across Disciplines (Master's degree program: Critical Urbanisms) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment details | The assessment will be based on the weekly presence and preparedness for the class. Activity in discussion and knowledge of the obligatory reading will be expected. Students will take turns in being „an expert” on the assigned paper and contribute to the moderation of the discussion. For their final assessment students will work in groups to prepare a detailed sensory-oriented research plan and present in during the last session of the semester. |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | Pass / Fail |
| Repeated registration | no repetition |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Zentrum für Afrikastudien |