This course addresses what appears to be the paradox of anthropology.

On the one hand, the constitution of the discipline is inextricably linked to European expansion overseas and the relations of domination this expansion has fostered over the centuries. On the other hand, on the strength of a methodology grounded in cultural relativism, anthropology proposes a number of models and theories to understand cultural and social variation in light of the unity of humankind, thus permitting to query preconceived notions of human progress and difference. The course will deal less with “development anthropology” (i.e. the application of anthropological knowledge in the context of development projects) than with the “anthropology of development”. The latter refers to the study of the theoretical potential of social and cultural anthropology to gain insights into development processes, practices, and ideology.

The focus of the course lies on a few subdisciplines (especially economic and ecological anthropology) and key concepts (e.g. reciprocity, identity, power). It also deals with methodological issues (fieldwork, reflexivity, applied anthropology, etc.).