ANTH 1616: Family and Kinship in Africa Spring 2010, Harvard University

KINSHIP IS A SOCIAL FACT. “Social facts exist outside of individuals and are not reducible to psychological facts. A great deal of social research is based on the assumption that people are influenced by social forces that emerge from the interaction of humans but that transcend individuals.”

The Mamas and the Papas Alliance Theory vs. Descent Theory Alliance Theory vs. Descent Theory Matrilineal and Patrilineal Descent Matrilineal and Patrilineal Descent The Mother’s Brother (your uncle) The Mother’s Brother (your uncle) Age Sets Age Sets

What makes a family? Kinship occurs when people give cultural recognition and cultural significance to biological facts of relatedness

LINEAGE: The Search for Continental Kinship Blood is thicker than water. Even ocean water.

Compared to U.S. Small Scale Patriarchal Very white Also weird.

Koli vs. Sumo Modernity & Tradition Modernity & Tradition Modernity vs. Tradition Modernity vs. Tradition Modernity/Tradition Dualism Modernity/Tradition Dualism

The Changing African Family NuclearKinship

Anthropological Understandings of the World The Social Body The Political Body The Individual Body Scheper-Hughes and Lock

The Patrimonial State

Les Feministas Mothernity: “Motherhood is a more powerful metaphor for the commonality of women’s experiences than sisterhood.”

Kinship Problems in the Anthropology of Africa Biological antecedents & political entitlements Biological antecedents & political entitlements Social changes emerging from modernizing passions Social changes emerging from modernizing passions How religion mucks things up How religion mucks things up Violence and rupture Violence and rupture Gender-Based Violence Gender-Based Violence Reproductive Health Reproductive Health State Construction and State Corruption State Construction and State Corruption Citizenship, Legal Change, and Human Rights Citizenship, Legal Change, and Human Rights