This course focuses on the analysis of symbolism and application of this analytical perspective in the study of ritual. The capacity of human beings to create symbols and use these to establish meaning and order in human experience is examined. Rituals that take place in the context of religious belief systems are contrasted with secular rituals, and the relationship between the two ritual arenas is discussed. The course surveys contributions from folklorists and anthropologists to the understanding of the American variant of Western culture. Topics considered include social structure, kinship, myth, material culture, and symbolism.
Problems concerning ethnographic recording and observer bias receive special attention.
While material culture plays a major role in human subsistence and adaptation economy and ecology, it also expresses cultural symbol and logic. The purpose of this course is to examine how anthropologists, archaeologists, folklorists, and other analysts of humanly constructed artifacts and environments infer cultural symbol and logic from prehistoric and contemporary material culture. Both Western and non-Western cultures and societies are considered. Material categories treated include architecture, gravestones, measuring instruments, pottery vessels, clothing, and settlement pattern. This course focuses on the breadth of contemporary African-American culture in the United States.