Political Anthropology

The course introduces anthropological approaches to the study of politics. We will examine influential theories of power, democracy and the state and apply them to understanding particular cases in various areas of the world. Topics covered will include: ethnographies of local politics, democratic elections, ethnographies of bureaucracy and other state institutions, ethnographic accounts of the political implications of development practice, and ethnographies in and of the world system. We end by exploring the implications of globalization for studying politics and the state.