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Regional Ethnology I

Code: 101242
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Social and Cultural Anthropology OP 4

Contact lecturer

Name :
Montserrat Ventura Oller
Email :
montserrat.ventura@uab.cat

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

Students must finished the 1st and 2nd years of a degree on Social and Cultural Anthropology

Objectives

Deepening in the classic fields of Anthropology through the ethnographic case of the indigenous peoples of the lowlands of South America, to provide a holistic approach to cultural diversity, concrete examples of application of the theoretical approaches studied in the core subjects, and a deepening in emerging issues of the anthropology of indigenous peoples, focused on the professional development of students.

Students must recognize and identify the complex and changing reality of the indigenous peoples of the lowlands of South America, from the pre-colonial past to the current social situation, marked by globalization processes.

Students must be able to detect and analyze the central sociocultural dimensions, as well as the main changes and continuities of indigenous societies in the economic, ecological, political, social, and ritual spheres. From here on, case studies will be presented, and tools will be offered to analyze this area from a dynamic point of view, considering the permanent tension between the fight for the conservation of particularity and what makes it possible par excellence, the territory and language, as well as insertion in a global world.

 

Learning outcomes

  1. Applying the knowledge of cultural variability and its genesis to avoid ethnocentric projections.
  2. Interpreting the cultural diversity through ethnography.
  3. Assessing critically the explicit and implicit theoretical models in the ethnographic materials.
  4. Identifying the sociocultural variability in specific ethnographic contexts.
  5. Summarising acquired knowledge about the origin and transformations experienced in the several fields of anthropology.
  6. Identifying the transcultural variability of economic, kinship, political, symbolic and cognitive, educational and gender systems as well as their corresponding anthropological theory.
  7. Apprehending cultural diversity through ethnography and critically assessing ethnographic materials as local context knowledge.
  8. Identifying the sociocultural variability through ethnographic texts and audiovisual resources.
  9. Analysing the complementarity and incongruities of several ethnographic reports from the same area.
  10. Critically assessing ethnographic materials as a proposal for theoretical models.
  11. Assessing the positive and negative aspects of the dialectic between specific ethnographics and comparisons of transcultural scope.
  12. Integrating holistically the progress from the classical fields of Anthropology.
  13. Knowing the acculturation effects of the colonial expansion.
  14. Express ideas with a specific vocabulary appropriate to the discipline.
  15. Plan work effectively, individually or in groups, in order to fulfil the planned objectives.
  16. Weigh up the impact of any long- or short-term difficulty, harm or discrimination that could be caused to certain persons or groups by the actions or projects.
  17. Critically analyse the principles, values and procedures that govern the exercise of the profession.
  18. Communicate using language that is not sexist or discriminatory.
  19. Identify main and secondary ideas and express them with linguistic correctness.
  20. Critically identify and compose a basic bibliography for the field opf study.
  21. Consider how gender stereotypes and roles impinge on the exercise of the profession.

Contents


PART I: Regional ethnology in the Amazon: classic fields.

1.History, ethnic categories and cultural classifications.

2.Ecology, economy, social and political organization.

3. Person, body, shamanism and symbolism.


PART II: Regional ethnology in the Amazon: emerging fields.

4. Museums, films and society.

5. Collaborative Anthropology.

6. Language, culture, indigenous forms of knowledge.

7. Ethnoecology, local technology, climatic change.

8. Territory, nature rights, non contacted people.

9. Peace, conflict resolution and mediation.

10. Anthropology, development and tourism.


Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Reading texts and ethnographic documentation 25 1 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 15, 16, 19
Museum visit or similar 5 0.2 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 13, 17
Teacher's master classes 30 1.2 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21
Watching and discussing documentaries 3 0.12 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 14, 19
Discussion on emerging issues 3 0.12 2, 4, 5, 7, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 20
Writing papers 20 0.8 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20
Individual study 20 0.8 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17, 20
Tutorials for comprehension of texts and contents and preparation of written work 2 0.08 1, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19

Directed theoretical and practical classes: master classes with audio-visual support.

Reading texts and analyzing audiovisual products with ethnographic content, including a visit to a museum or similar: reading texts and viewing ethnographic documentaries.

writing and presentation of works; individual study: writing of synthesis and analysis works based on a guide that will be published during the course in the Virtual Campus, and public presentation.

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Practical essay 25% 10 0.4 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 20
Conference attendance and participation 10% 0 0 7, 8, 12, 14, 19
Public presentation 10% 2 0.08 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20
Synthesis and reflexion Exam 25% 10 0.4 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 19, 21
Research essay 30% 20 0.8 1, 3, 5, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20

Continous evaluation

The student will take a written / oral reflection test based on the content of the classic thematic blocks and the proposed readings with a weight of 25%.

The student must deliver a practical work based on an indigenous film viewing, an interview with an indigenous representative, or equivalent, related to the knowledge acquired in the classroom, with a weight of 25%

The student must submit a research paper on an emerging topic in the area based on readings of texts and other sources, with a weight of 30%

The student will participate in a work presentation session with a weight of 10%.

A minimum of two sessions with guests on the subject will be scheduled throughout the course. Attendance and participation will count for 5% (total 10%)

The compulsory and optional readings and the guidelines for the assignments will be published on the Virtual Campus throughout the course.

2/3 pf work (essays/exam) must be submitted within the stipulated time to be able to be re-evaluated.

Students who have failed one (or more) of the tests with a grade below 5, will be able to recover it by presenting it again on the date scheduled by the Faculty for re-evaluation, except thoses related with attendance and participation.

Graded tests and assignments may be reviewed in the office by appointment for one week following the publication of interim grades on the Virtual Campus.

In the event of any queries, the review of the final grade will take place in the office by appointment for two days following its publication in Sigma.


Exchange students:

Erasmus and exchange students who request to advance an exam must present a document from their home university justifying their request.


Single assessment: Students who choose the single assessment must communicate it by the date proposed by the Faculty. The single assessment will consist of a written test based on the contents of classical thematic block and the proposed readings, with a weight 30%. In addition, students must deliver a research paper related to the analysis of indigenous cinema, with a weight of 30%; and a research on an emerging topic based on reading texts and other sources, with a weight of 30%, and which will be presented orally, with a weight of 10%. This written test, the oral test and the delivery of the work will be dated for the first days after the end of teaching. The guideline and the date will be published on the virtual campus.

  • Recovery in the case of a single assessment: The same system of recovery will be applied as for the continuous assessment.
  • Review of the final qualification: The review of the final qualification follows the same procedure as for the continuous assessment.


For all students

In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject.

This subject entirely prohibits the use of AI technologies in all of its activities. Any submitted work that contains content generated using AI will be considered academic dishonesty; the corresponding grade will be awarded a zero, without the possibility of reassessment. In cases of greater infringement, more serious action may be taken.

Bibliography

Reference Books

ALBERT, Bruce. & Alcida Rita RAMOS (ORG) 2000 Pacificando o Branco. Cosmologias do contato no Norte-Amazônico, Sao Paulo: Editores UNESP.

BELAUNDE, Luisa Elvira y Juana Valentina Nieto Moreno 2023 Cosmo-climatología amazónica: friaje, menstruación y conexiones femeninas murui, Revista Española de Antropología Americana, 53 (2): 281-296, DOI: https://doi.org/10.5209/reaa.84466

CALAVIA, Oscar 2020 Tierras bajas de América del Sur. Ensayos de Etnografía teórica, Madrid: Nola Editores. https://doi.org/10.37552/eet.tbas

CANALS, Roger, CELIGUETA, Gemma. Y Gemma OROBITG (Eds.) 2012 La paz desde abajo. Perspectivas antropológicas sobre la paz en contextos indígenas y afroamericanos, Barcelona: UBe. https://www.edicions.ub.edu/ficha.aspx?cod=07728

CARNEIRO DA CUNHA, Manuela, 1986 Antropologia do Brasil, Sao Paulo: editora brasiliense.

CHAUMEIL, Jean.-Pierre. 1983 Voir, savoir, pouvoir. Le chamanisme chez les Yagua du Nord-Est péruvien, Paris: Ed. de l'E.H.E.S.S.

CLASTRES, Pierre 1986(1972) Crónica de los indios Guayaquis, Barcelona:Alta Fulla.

1981(1980) Investigaciones en antropología política, Barcelona:Gedisa.

CLUA, Montserrat, VENTURA, Montserrat, Josep Lluis Mateo (eds) 2022 Áreas culturales. Antropología en un mundo de fronteras, Barcelona: Bellaterra

CORREA, Francisco (ed) (?) La selva humanizada. Ecología alternativa en el trópico húmedo colombiano, Bogotá: instituto Colombiano de Antropología / FondoFEN de Colombia / Fondo Editorial CEREC.

DECLARACIÓ DE LES NACIONS UNIDES SOBRE ELS DRETS DELS POBLES INDÍGENES chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/documents/UNDRIP_Catalan.pdf

DESCOLA, Philippe 1986 La nature domestique: symbolisme et praxis dans l'écoloqie des Achuar, Paris: Fondation Singer-Po1ignac / Editions de la Maison des Sciences de l'Homme. Trad: La selva culta, Quito: IFEA/ Abya-Ya1a.

GORDON, Cesar 2006 Economia selvagem. Ritual e mercadoria entre os índios Xikrin-Mebêngôkre, Sao Paulo: UNESP

HALBMAYER, Ernst (ed.) 2020 Amerindian Socio-cosmologies between the Andes, Amazonia and Mesoamerica, London & New York: Routledge.

KENSINGER, Kenneth M. (ed) 1984 Marriage Practices in Lowland South America, Urbana & Chicago: University of Illinois Press.

KOHN, Eduardo 2021 [2013] Cómo piensan los bosques. Hacia una antropología más allá de lo humano, Quito: Abya-Yala.

KOPENAWA, Davi & Bruce ALBERT 2010 La chute du ciel. Paroles d'un chaman yanomami, Paris: Plon.

L'HOMME, Avril-Décembre 1993 La remonté e de l'Amazone. Anthropologie et Histoire des Sociétés Amazoniennes, nums.126-128.

LEVI-STRAUSS, Claude 1955 Tristes Tropiques, Paris: Plon. Trad: 1969 Tristos Tròpics, Barcelona: Anagrama.

LEVI-STRAUSS, Claude 1985 La potière Jalouse, Paris: Plon. Trad: 1986 La alfarera celosa, Barcelona, Buenos Aires:Paidos.

LÓPEZ GARCÍA, Julián y Pedro PITARCH (eds.) 2006 Lugares indígenas de la violencia en Iberoamérica, Madrid, Madrid: AECI

McCALLUM, Cecilia 2001 Gender and Sociality in Amazonia. How real People are Made, Oxford & New York: Berg.

MEGGERS, Betty 1971 Amazonia: Man and Culture in a Counterfeit Paradise, Chicago: Aldine. Trad: 1984 Amazonía. Un paraíso ilusorio, Mexico: Siglo XXI.

METRAUX, Alfred. 1967 Réligions et magies indiennes d'Amérique du Sud, Paris: Gallimard.

MORÁN, Emilio. 1993 La ecología humana de los pueblos de la Amazonía, México: FCE.

NENQUINO, Nemonte (y Mitch Anderson) 2024 Seremos Jaguares. Vida y resistencia en la Amazonía, Barcelona: Ediciones Urano.

NUGENT, Stephen. Amazonian Caboblo Society. An Essay on Invisibility and Peasant Economy, Providence / Oxford: Berg.

PERRUCHON, Marie 2003 I am Tsunki. Gender and Shamanism among the Shuar of Western Amazonia, Uppsala: Acta Universitatis Uppsaliensist, Uppsala Studies in Cultural Anthropology n.33.

REICHEL-DOLMATOFF, Gerard. 1968 Desana. Simbolismo de los indios Tukano del Vaupés, Bogotá: Universidad de los Andes.

1978(1975) El chamán y el jaguar, Mexico:Siglo XXI.

RENARD-CASEVITZ, France-Marie, SAIGNES, Th. TAYLOR, Anne Christinne. 1986 L'Inca, l'espagnol et les sauvages, Paris: Recherches sur les civilisations. Trad: 1988 Al este de los Andes, Quito:Abya-Yala.

REYES-GARCÍA, Vicky. Y Tomás HUANCA (Eds.) 2014 Cambio global, cambio local. La sociedad Tsimane' ante la globalización, Barcelona: ICaria/ICA.

RIVERA ANDÍA, Juan J. (ed.) 2019 Non-Humans in Amerindian South America, New York and Oxford: Berghahn.

RIVIERE, Peter 1984 Individual and Society in Guiana. A comparative Study of social organization, N.Y., Cambridge U.P.

SANTOS, Fernando (ed.) 1996 Globalización y cambio en la Amazonía indígena, Quito: Abya-Yala.

SANTOS, Fernando (ed.) 2012 La vida oculta de las cosas. Teorías indígenas de la materialidad y la personeidad, Quito: Abya-Yala

STEWARD,Julian (ed) 1948 Handbook of South American Indians, Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution.

SURRALLÉS, Alexandre 2009 [2003] En el corazón del sentido. Percepción, afectividad, acción en los candoshi, Alta Amazonía, Lima: IFEA / IWGIA.

SURRALLÉS, Alexandre y Pedro GARCÍA HIERRO (eds) 2004 Tierra adentro. Territorio indígena y percepción del entorno, Copenhague: IWGIA.

VARGAS CANELOS, Luis (con Grégory Deshouillères) 2022 La posición achuar: la corriente de mi vida, Quito: Abta-Yala

VENTURA I OLLER, Montserrat 2009 Identité, cosmologie et chamanisme des Tsachila de l’Équateur. À la croisée des chemins, Paris: L’Harmattan.

VIVEIROS DE CASTRO, Eduardo 1993 From the Enemy’s Point of View. Humanity and Divinity in an Amazonian Society, Chicago & London: The University of Chicago Press.

A list of texts by thematic blocks will be delivered at the beginning of the course, with the specific and compulsory bibliography.

Software

Microsoft Word, PowerPoint.

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(TE) Theory 1 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 Catalan first semester morning-mixed