This seminar is part of the “special topics” curriculum and offers an in-depth exploration of specific themes and research methodologies aligned with the expertise of the faculty member leading the course (subject to regular rotation). Each offering of this seminar will focus on a different ethnographic and theoretical problem at the forefront of the discipline, providing students with a unique opportunity to engage in high-level thinking, collaborate with faculty, and contribute to research projects rooted in ethnographic methods and writing.

It is important to note that the course content and structure will be reshaped and adapted for each offering based on the expertise and research agenda of the faculty member leading the seminar. The format, assessment structure, reading list, and schedule will be updated to align with the specific theme and research area of the “special topic.” This seminar provides an unparalleled opportunity for students to engage with cutting-edge research.

Special topics might include the following:

• Multispecies ethnography
• Graphic ethnography: anthropology and comics
• Xenophobia
• Linguistic anthropology
• Anthropology underground
• Pirate cultures
• illiberalism

Topic for Winter Session 2025:

Illiberal Worlds: Anthropological Responses to the Rise of Far Right and Extremist Movements

In recent years societies across the world have been confronted with a steep rise in far-right and authoritarian movements. In the wake of the pandemic, and amidst rising social inequality, reactionary anti-cosmopolitan and anti-liberal ideologies are spreading like wildfire, leading to the increased destabilisation of liberal democratic principles. While media outlets and scholars have written much about right-wing political party strategies, not much is known about the lifeworlds of the ordinary people propelling this shift. Anthropology has a history of solidarising with the struggles of their often-marginalised interlocutors. With few exceptions, anthropologists have therefore long been reluctant to study ideologies they could not empathise with. Yet, in recent years, anthropologists have woken up to the fact that they can no longer afford to ignore the rise of authoritarian movements. In this course we will look at some of these recent anthropological works and tackle the question in how far an anthropological focus on the social worlds of the supporters of exclusionary ideas can contribute to a better understanding of the increased polarisation of the public sphere. How do anthropologists go about studying exclusionary and extremist groups, such as far-right activists, neo-Nazis or the proponents of conspiracy theories? What are the ethical and methodological difficulties involved in studying radical positions that might be diametrically opposed to anthropologists’ own views? And what can ethnographically driven research on illiberal lifeworlds reveal about the state of important tropes underlying modern democracies, such as truth, free speech, openness and participation?

To create a space for in-depth exchange and collaboration, the course will be run as an intensive. Interactive and team-based learning methods will encourage students to switch their roles from passive recipients of knowledge to becoming active co-creators of the course's shape and content. The first three sessions of the course will be dedicated to reading and discussing key concepts and ideas from the anthropology of populism as well as the historical contextualization of contemporary forms of illiberalism. Having established a robust critical analytical framework, the second half of the course will be dedicated to case studies of illiberal lifeworlds from across the world. Based on students' interests, these ethnographic examples will shed light on the everyday micropolitics of exclusionary ideas and practices and highlight the complex social and cultural processes they involve.