Lahore University of Management Sciences

ANTH 280 Ethnography of Pakistan

Instructor
Room No.
Office Hours
Email
Telephone

Dr. Anjum Alvi

216, New SS Wing
TBA
Anjum.alvi@lums.edu.pk

Fall 2014 - 2015

COURSE BASICS
Credit Hours
Lecture(s)

Recitation/Lab (per
week)
Tutorial (per week)

2 lectures per
week
Nbr of Lec(s) Per
Week
Nbr of Lec(s) Per
Week

COURSE DISTRIBUTION
Core
Elective
Open for Student
Category
Close for Student
Category

Duration 1hr 50mins

Duration
Duration

Yes
N/A

COURSE DESCRIPTION

In our daily life we live our culture. The way we talk, the things we do, the expectations to which we would like to
come up, the things which we think we should be doing, the way we perceive how people belonging to other
cultures live, all this is culture. The course intends to look at all such aspects of our daily life so that we may
discuss them scientifically.
We take aspects of our own culture as self-understood and natural, that is, we think our way of living is how one
should live. Yet within Pakistan alone exist very different ways of being in the world, that is, different world views.
Generally, a Punjabi persons world view differs in some ways from the ways how Sindhi, Pakhtun and Balochi, or
persons from Chitral or Hunza perceive their lives. Even within one province live different groups of people who
hold different views about their existence. Yet there are also basic similarities between many people of Pakistan,
while others stand more apart.

The existing anthropological material on Pakistan will be divided into several regions, and each will be selectively
considered. In order to evaluate the different ethnographies, we will also look at their different analytical topics
and theoretical perspectives, thus taking Pakistan as an example of an ethnographic context.

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COURSE OBJECTIVES

It will show how different people of Pakistan view themselves.

What anthropology tells us about us.
How different views may be related.
How everyday life is understood anthropologically.
How different theoretical perspectives reveal different aspects of social reality, and the same reality in
different ways.
Which anthropological aspects of Pakistan most urgently wait for further exploration.

(What makes the course to be of level II?)

a)
b)
c)
d)

There will be a choice in each exam.

In the group presentation the work load will be divided among the members.
Lecture will be given on every author.
The authors are discussed in depth with reference to their theoretical frameworks.

FOLLOWING OBJECTIVES OF THE DISCIPLINE WILL BE MET

Through the instruments of essay-type exams and extensive presentations accompanied by a viva it is aimed to
develop and enhance the students' capacity for critical analysis. The following goals of the discipline are met:

Instill in the students an awareness of the overall unifying concerns of the disciplines
Goal # 1:
of sociology and anthropology. Provide them with a solid grounding in the core concepts,
theoretical perspectives, and bodies of knowledge used and produced by the
twin disciplines.
Goal # 2:
Familiarize students with the basics of academic ethics and research strategies used
by social scientists in their attempts to understand and analyze the world in a systematic
manner.
Equip students with the ability to engage with and reflect on arguments in a critical
Goal # 4:
manner, develop their own arguments systematically, and polish their academic
writing skills.

COURSE ORGANIZATION

For presentation one author will be given to two to six students depending on the number of students in
the class.

There will be no midterm or final exam as such. Instead there will be three exams in intervals of a few
weeks. Literature covered for one exam will not be questioned in the later exams.
There will be bonus questions to improve your grades.

There will also be a retake, but only for the first exam and on the condition that the student is able to score
in the second exam above 80%.

The retake will be allowed to students who are below A minus grade.

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It is expected that you will come to my consulting hours to talk about your weaknesses in exams so that
you can perform better for the next ones.
You are also supposed to discuss with me your outline for the presentation one week before.

Points to be taken care of:

Attendance is obligatory. Absence of up to three times is allowed if not wishful, but any further absence
no matter for what reason will result in a reduction of 1% of grade. For being regular all through the
semester in your attendance you will be given 2% as a bonus.

It is expected that you come a few minutes earlier in the class. There will be a 2% grade reduction on
entering the class after the lecture has started, no matter whether a few seconds or a few minutes have
passed. It is expected that if you come you will attend the whole session. Leaving the class earlier will also
be marked with a 2% reduction.
Please switch off your mobile-phones. Receiving any message will result in a 2% reduction of your grades.

Students who fail to appear for the consultation on outline for presentation will be marked zero on those
works. Only on a doctor's attestation, or because a participation in sports activities for LUMS missed work
may be repeated.
You can discuss your exam with me if you want to make improvement in the next exam, or if you think I
have miscalculated the numbers, but you may not just argue that you deserve more numbers than what
I have already given to you.

COURSE EVALUATION

The distribution of grades will be as follows:

Presentation 20% (10 % outline, 10% presentations),
Exams 80% (divided into 3 parts and each part will be an essay type question of about 500 to 1000 words;
for details see below the literature list).
Presentation

A presentation has to be prepared by each student in collaboration with others 7 to 9 days before the date
of the presentation students are expected to send their outline as a group to me which we will discuss in
the consulting hours. In other words, the outline should be submitted always on Sunday evening, and
should be discussed with me in my next consulting hours. For not submitting in time the outline will be
downgraded to C plus. Also, if you do not provide the outline for the presentation to the students on the
day of the presentation your presentation will be two grades downgraded.
IMPORTANT: It is expected that each student has to write her or his own part in the outline, and will be
graded individually both for the outline and the presentation.

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The followings points concerning the structure should be taken regard of when writing an outline for or
when giving a presentation:
i)

introduction which includes the following headings:

About the author: biography, work, etc.
What is the author's intention?
Against or in favor of which other authors does he or she argue?
In which theoretical framework her or his arguments are embedded?

ii) detailed outline (that is, between two and four pages) but formulated in
points consisting of full sentences

iii) significance of the work

iv) significance in relation to the other presentations or upcoming presentations or

lectures
v) some extra research
vi) conclusion of the work as thought by the author

vii)

your opinion, what you think about the work? (Please base your argument on an
interpretation of the text rather than stating any personal opinion.)

viii) critical questions or critique of the work

ix)
x)

a)
b)

Are there any contradictions in the work?

each participant should discuss presentation in her or his own words, that is, orally.
Direct formulations of the author should be avoided, otherwise you will be
downgraded.
The grades will be marked on an absolute basis.

The following is the distribution of grades according to the percentage.

DISTRIBUTION OF GRADES
Outstanding Work
A+
100 96
A
95 91
A90 86

Good work, distinctly above average

B+
85 81
B
80 76
B75 71

Average Work
C+
C
C-

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70 66
65 61
60 56

Work distinctively below average

D
55 50
Work that does not meet the minimum standard for passing
Fail
49 and below.

COURSE ETHICS

Please arrive on time in order not to disturb the concentration of the other students.
Please switch off your mobile phones before entering the class.
Please note that sometimes, due to the given amount of time for each session, I will short questions or to
limit them to the topic under discussion. Such an act under no have to cut circumstances reflects on the
discussant.
Please have respect for different opinions. Anthropology is a study of differences as well as of similarities
between various people, and not an imposition of one's
own world view on others.
Please respect your class fellows' opinions also when they differ from your own, even when they trigger
strong feelings in you. This should not lead to the interruption of a student or the instructor, or to a
dismissal of anyone's opinion out of hand. In brief, it is expected to deal with differences in a wellbehaved manner worthy of your own self-respect.
Please keep silence during the class-work or exam. It is expected that students will neither talk, nor
help, nor cheat. Transgressions will affect everybody involved irrespective of who did what.
In accord with institutional policy, there will be no discrimination in this course on the basis of race,
ethnicity, sex/gender, ability/disability, religion/spiritual beliefs or class. Your political beliefs and moral
values will not be considered relevant for your grading and evaluation.
Cheating and Plagiarism: If you take an idea from any text, book, newspaper, or any other source, you
have to give the author credit. Furthermore, changing one or two words in a sentence is not acceptable as
a substitution for quotation marks. All assignments must represent original work not previously or
simultaneously handed in for credit in another course. Cheating, plagiarism, or any other violations of the
honour code will be dealt with according to LUMS policy. Other serious ethical violations include re-use of
essays, improper use of the Internet and electronic services, unauthorized collaboration, alteration of
graded essays, forgery, lying, and unfair competition. For further instructions please check with the latest
Student Handbook.

LITERATURE

Please start preparing your presentations and assignment early enough, because there will be no extension of
time given, and the outlines and assignments which are submitted to me after the deadline will be
downgraded.
Reference letters will be written only for students who have attended at least three of my courses, and have
shown me that they take their studies seriously and are not only madly running after A+ grade.

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1st Session and 2nd Session: Add and Drop (introduction to methodology, evaluation
criteria, organization, the subject matter)
3rd and 4th Session

Marsden, Magnus
2007. Love and elopement in northern Pakistan. JRAI (Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute) (N.S.) 13,
91-108. (Chitral)
5th Session:

Pastner, Stephen
1971. Ideological Aspects of Nomad-Sedentary Contact: A Case from Southern Baluchistan. Anthropological
Quarterly, Vol. 44, No. 3, Comparative Studies of Nomadism and Pastoralism (Special Issue), (Jul., 1971), pp. 173184.
6th Session:

Pastner, Carroll McC.

1981. The negotiation of bilateral endogamy in the Middle Eastern context: the Zikri Baluch example. Journal of
anthropological research Vol 37; pp 305-18.
7th Session:
Haller, Dieter
2005. Let it flow. Economy, spirituality and gender in the Sindhi network. Anthropological Theory
Vol 5(2): 154175. (Sindh)
8th Session:

Gold, Daniel
2007. Internal Diasporas, Caste Organizations, and Community Identities: Maharashtrians and Sindhis in Gwalior,
Madhya Pradesh. International Journal of Hindu Studies 11/2, 171 190.
9th Session:
10th Session:

Exam 1 20%

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Alavi, Hamza
1972. Kinship in West Punjabi villages. Contributions to Indian Sociology 14: 6, 1-27.
11th Session:

Kurin, Richard & Carol Morrow

1985. Patterns of solidarity in a Punjabi Muslim village. Contributions to Indian Sociology 19/2: pp. 235-250.
12th and 13th Session:

Ahmed, Amineh
2005.Death and Celebration among Muslim
Women: A Case Study from Pakistan. Modern Asian Studies 39, 4; pp. 929980. C 2005 (Pathans)
14th and 15th Session:

Gilmartin, David
1994. Biraderi and Bureaucracy: The Politics of Muslim Kinship Solidarity in Twentieth Century Punjab.
International Journal of Punjab Studies, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 1-29.
16th and 17th Sessions:

Rao, Aparna
1988. Levels and Boundaries in Native Models: Social Groupings among the Bakkarwal of the Western Himalayas.
Contributions to Indian Sociology 22; 195. (Jammu and Kashmir)
18th Session: Discussion, Revision
19th Session: Exam 2 30%
20th and 21st Session:

Ewing, Katherine P.
1991. Can Psychoanalytic Theories Explain the Pakistani Woman? Intrapsychic Autonomy and Interpersonal
Engagement in the Ex-tended Family. Ethos,1 9(2):131-60.

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22nd

and

23rd

Session:

Parkes, Peter
1987 Livestock Symbolism and Pastoral Ideology Among the Kafirs of the Hindu Kush. Man, New Series, Vol. 22,
No. 4; pp. 637-660.
24th Session:

Hegland, Mary Elaine

1998.Flagellation and Fundamentalism: (Trans)Forming Meaning, Identity, and Gender Through Pakistani
Women's Rituals of Mourning. American Ethnologist, Vol. 25, No. 2. pp. 240-266.
25th and 26th Session:

Tapper, Richard and Nancy Tapper

1986. "Eat This, It'll Do You a Power of Good": Food and Commensality among Durrani Pashtuns American
Ethnologist, Vol. 13, No. 1; pp. 62-79.
27th Session: discussion, revision,
28th Session: Exam 3 30%