Public Anthropology Classes

We have incorporated public anthropology into our teaching. Students are encouraged to take a Public Anthropology class in which they will learn ethnographic research and anthropological analysis through projects in collaboration with members of local communities and international organizations:

Anth183
Urban Borderlands: The Somerville Community History Project
Deborah Pacini Hernandez
In partnership with community organizations, students conduct ethnographic field research on the history and incorporation of Latino communities in Somerville and Cambridge, pairing up with Latino/a high school students to conduct oral historical interviews with community leaders and residents. Student research topics, which have varied widely, include studies of the Latino/a business community and individual entrepreneurs, the role of the Catholic and Evangelical churches in community organizing, the social and cultural importance of soccer, a focus on human rights issues in Somerville, and an evaluation of after-school programs for youth.
Website: Urban Borderlands

Anth185
The Architecture of Utopia and the American University

David Guss
In this class, we will explore the built environment of college campuses and the sense of community they create for their temporary citizens. We will analyze how campuses are constructed and used, and how the campus interacts with the surrounding communities.

Anth140
After Violence: Truth, Justice, and Social Repair
Rosalind Shaw
After violent civil conflict, genocide, state-sponsored terror, and political repression, how do people live together? How do they rebuild their lives, social relationships, and communities? How do new regimes deal with past human rights abuses, establish accountability, promote justice and redress, and prevent new cycles of violence? How is the international community involved in these issues?

We will explore a range of approaches that have been used in “transitional” situations: truth commissions, tribunals, reparations, alternative forms such as gacaca in Rwanda, and local practices of redress and reconciliation. As an Anthropology class, we will focus on the ways in which “global” transitional justice mechanisms work in “local” historical encounters, how concepts of truth, justice, and reconciliation may be modified in these encounters, and on critical perspectives from the ground up.

This is a Public Anthropology course: we will not only learn about these issues, but also become practically engaged in them. We will work, through the International Center for Transitional Justice, with Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission and with the Transitional Justice program of the Human Rights Education Institute of Burma (HREIB). Students will work in small teams, conducting research on topics relevant to these organizations, such as how people and states have dealt with mass graves, the role of local practices of redress and reconciliation, and how transitional justice processes affect reintegration after armed conflict. We will engage in web-based discussions with activists and practitioners in these organizations. After the course, there may be a very limited number of internships available in these countries.

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