Research in China : Introduction to anthropological methods and to anthropology as practiced in China by Chinese and Westerners

Anthropology is often a poorly understood or misunderstood discipline which offers a humanist perspective on the changes under way in China. Based on exhaustive field research, anthropology is able to describe Chinese reality by taking into account the perspectives of the Chinese themselves. The goal of this lecture is to introduce key principles of anthropology, the particularities of Chinese anthropology and the challenges involved in doing in-depth research in the People’s Republic of China.

Lecturer :

Candice Cornet
Lecturer
Department of Antropology
Université de Montréal

Guest speaker :

Elisabeth Papineau
Guest researcher
Deparment of Antropology
Université de Montréal
Researcher at The Institut National de Santé Publique du Québec (INSPQ)

Mandatory readings :

 HANSEN, Mette Halskov, (2006) “In the Footsteps of the Communist Party : Dilemmas and Strategies”, in Heimer, M. & Thøgersen, S. Doing Fieldwork in China. Honolulu : University of Hawai΄I Press, pp. 81-95.

 FEI, Xiaotong (1981). “Toward a people’s anthropology” and “Chinas’s national minorities – an introduction to survey” in Toward a people’s anthropology. Beijing : New World Press, pp.1-35

Suggested readings :

 BAPTANDIER, Brigitte, (2001). « En guise d’introduction : Chine et anthropologie », Ateliers, 21, pp. 9-27.