Dr. Robert Rotenberg
SAC 528b VoiceMail: 325-7460
Office Hours: Email: rrotenbe@wppost.depaul.edu

TEXTS:

All of the following are available in the DePaul Lincoln Park Bookstore.

Kertzer, D. Comrades and Christians.

LeWita, B. French Bourgeois Culture

Kideckel, D The Solitude of Collectivism

Special Issue "Europe and Its Cultures" Anthropological Quarterly 36(3) 1963
 

The following articles are available from the instructor for a modest photocopying fee:

Brandes, S "Like Wounded Stags: Male Sexual Ideology in an Andulusian Town' (In S. Ortner and H. Whitehead eds., Sexual Meanings Pp. 216-239)

Bull, M. "Widening versus Deepening the European Community: The Political Dynamics of 1992 in historical Perspective." (Wilson and Smith)

Goody, J. Article from The Development of Family and Marriage in Europe.

Herzfeld, M. "Within and Without: The Category of 'Female' in the ethnography of Greece" (Dubisch p215-233)

Kiernan European Family article from The Development of Family and Marriage in Europe.

McDonogh G.  "The Face behind the Door: European Integration, Immigration and Identity." (Wilson and Smith)

Modensen "Black markets in Scandinavia"

Oliver-Smith "Informal street markets"

Rotenberg, R  "Austrians: The Development of a National Culture."

Rotenberg, R  "Price and Status in Vienna's Naschmarkt."

Sabean European Family article

Thirsk European Family article

Thompson European Family article

Varenne The Question of European Nationalism. (Wilson and Smith)

Verdery The Production and Defense of the "the Romanian Nation," 1900 to World War II.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

Is there a European experience that knows no national borders? This course attempts to define the cultural features of the European experience (ethnology)using ethnographic sources. The assumption of regional ethnology is that people who share similar natural and social environments will make similar adaptations of behavior and forge similar values and meanings for the world around them. By reading ethnographies that explore European life at the local level, the class will explore the relevance of this perspective for Europe. One special unit will explore the implications of European Community integration on the lives of people in various countries. A second special unit will explore the causes of the war among the Yugoslavs.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

1. Achieve competency in the cultural geography and recent culture history of European peoples.
2. Gain literacy in European area studies by exploring the possibilities for defining a European experience that transcends national boundaries.
3. Critically read a series of ethnographies and other scholarly writing on European life. Become familiar with the comparative method that lies at the base of ethnology.
4. Discuss cultural issues of contemporary concern to Europeans.

1. There will be four short papers and a final essay. The short papers will all be take-home essays that will count 15% each towards the final grade. The final essay will also be an take-home essay and will count 20% towards the final grade. These essays will be based on the readings, and the lecture / discussions. Exams must be turned in on the specified day and at the stipulated time. Permission for extensions are available for extraordinary life events, but will not be granted for the mismanagement of time. Students will be penalized one .35 grade points (1/3 of their base grade) for each additional 24 hour period (or portion thereof) the paper is late. Students must retain complete copies of the exams they hand in. In case an essay is lost, it is the student's responsibility to produce a replacement copy. Midterm essays are returned with comments. Final essays can be picked up at the beginning of the next term and do not include comments unless the student specifically requests them in writing (i.e. on the exam) at the time the exam is handed in.

2. Class participation component. The instructor will award a grade equal to 10% of the final grade for the following features of class participation: Students will be assigned essays to read and summarize for the class. Students who renege on their assignment will not receive passing grades in this component. All students are expected to read everything that is assignment and be prepared to discuss the readings on the day indicated on the class schedule below. Students who consistently show up unprepared will be evaluated lower than those who show up prepared. Students are expected to have ideas about the assignments and offer those ideas during discussion. Students who consistently offer questions or statements that distract the class, change the direction of the discussion (tangents), or show a lack of familiarity with the assigned readings will be evaluated lower than those whose ideas advance the class discussion. Attendance will not be required at all class meetings, but students are responsible for all information presented in class, including films and changes in the syllabus, whether they have attended class or not. Most students who are attentive to the class requirements will earn a B in this component unless they can offer challenging insights into the material, or show a strong commitment to the idea through thoughtful discussion.

3. Newspaper article assignment. Every student will collect at least four newspaper articles by reporters based on Europe. This assignment is in two parts. The first part is due at Mid-Term. The second is due on the last day of class. Each part contributes 5% toward the final grade. The articles must concern different issues. The articles must be submitted on the last day of class with a paragraph or two for each of them that outlines your thoughts about what is discussed in the article and how it relates to something we have discussed this term. A nine week, weekday subscription to the New York Times is available through the International Studies Program office for a substantial discount over newsstand prices.

Components of the Final Grade (Summary):

4 short papers 60
Newspaper assignments 10
Class participation 10
Final Essay 20

Criteria:

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

Time Management: It is absolutely crucial that you do not fall behind in these courses, or the workload will become unmanageable. If you have any problems, you must alert the instructor. Do not wait until the last minute.

Make-Up Policy: It is the policy of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences that instructors schedule make-up exams through the College Office. These make-up exams are scheduled for a week or two after the regular midterm and final weeks. These make-up exams entail a modest fee that the student has to pay. These make-up exams are conducted in quiet surroundings, enabling the student to concentrate on the work without the distractions of normal business in office corridors. Department secretaries, office workers and graduate assistants are not permitted to give make-up exams. The instructor may give a make-up exam at his discretion during his normal office hours only (see the first page header). Students with written, excused absences due to university functions (athletic competitions, debate meets, Model UN conferences, etc.) may not have to pay the make-up fee. All arrangements for make-up exams are handled by the college office in the campus where the class meets (LPC 362-8200; LC 362-8870). It is the student's responsibility to schedule their own make-up exams.

Student Record Keeping Responsibilities: Be sure to keep a copy of all your work notes, and drafts. Always make photocopies of everything you turn in and keep these copies in a safe place until your graded work has been returned to you. You are entirely responsible for reconstructing "lost" papers.

Paper Standards: Since all papers must be typed, if you do not have access to a typewriter or computer, you ought to arrange for typing as soon as possible. If your printer should break or something else goes wrong, you may be turned in a diskette formatted for DOS. At this time, Macintosh, Brother, Wang, or similar dedicated word processing disks cannot be accepted. You may use WordPerfect (5.1 or earlier), Wordstar (4.0 or earlier), or Word (5.1 or earlier), or you can save the file in ASCII format. It is important that you mark which word processing program you are using on the diskette. You may use 5.25" diskettes DOS formatted for 360 kb, 720 kb or 1.44 Mb, or 3.5" diskettes DOS formatted for 1.2 Mb. The diskettes will be returned with comments printed on paper.

Short Papers

SOC 300 Regional Ethnology: Peoples of Europe Winter, 1996

Directions:  Write an essay dealing with the topic below for each of the due dates.  Papers must be typed, double-space, with one inch margins.  Use a typewriter style font (Courier 10 pitch (12 pt.)).  If your printer breaks or malfunctions, you can submit a disk as long as it is not in Wang, Brother or Macintosh format.  Average length is 5-6 pages.

Topic: The articles and books you have read present you with a varied approach to understanding the European family. This social experience has been defined as regionally variable. How do you account for the variations in family form in Europe? Give examples from all of the reading.

Second Short paper is due: February 6. Late essays will not be accepted. See syllabus for additional conditions.

Topic: Based on your reading of the Kideckel book and the short papers on markets, describe the various ways in which economic organization can be distorted by the actions of powerful groups in European society.

Third Short paper is due: February 20. Late essays will not be accepted. See syllabus for additional conditions.

Topic: Through your readings you have explored a number of instances in which religious experiences unique to European societies are described. We often make the mistake of thinking that just because the Europeans are Christian, that they are religious in the same way that Americans are. Show how this is not the case by describing at least three different ways in which European religiosity is different from American religiosity (based on your experience).

Fourth Short paper is due: March 5. Late essays will not be accepted. See syllabus for additional conditions.

Topic: How do European cities shape the lives of the people who live there. Draw on information and examples from Kertzer, Rotenberg and LaWita to support your argument.

Final Exam

SOC 300 Regional Ethnology: Peoples of Europe Winter, 1996

Directions:  Write an essay dealing with the question below.  Papers must be typed, double-space, with one inch margins.  Use a typewriter style font (Courier 10 pitch (12 pt.)).  If your printer breaks or malfunctions, you can submit a disk as long as it is not in Wang, Brother or Macintosh format.  Average length is 3-5 pages per essay.

Essay 1: Delamont's book describes ten different areas of cultural contestation within Western Europe. Select three of these areas (chapters) and describe how each other will effect the future of Western Europe's plans for economic, political and social integration.