Vassar Moodle

L2-Economie et Droit - L2-Economie et MIA - L2-Economie & Gestion - semestre 2

This course explores the intellectual traditions and debates that make anthropology distinctive among the social sciences. Building upon lessons from ANTH 140 and students’ training across the four subfields, Anthropological Theory is a required class for all anthropology majors. Over the course of the semester, we will read original texts by anthropologists (and other social scientists) to become familiar with key terms, scholars, and theoretical approaches that have shaped the discipline from the late 19th century to the present. As we proceed through this course, I encourage you to approach the history of anthropological theory not as a static “canon” but as a dynamic process of critically mapping, re-making, and questioning knowledge formations. This is a process in which we are all active participants. The course will culminate in each of you constructing your own syllabus – or anti-syllabus, depending on the approach you take. You may build upon the material we have read, selectively draw from it, or critically work against it; the goal is that you will come away from this class not only with a solid grasp of anthropological theories, but with a deeper sense of your own intellectual sensibilities, the research and questions you wish to pursue, and the anthropology you wish to practice.

Revolutions are among the most transformative events in human history. They have the capacity to destroy or undermine powerful social systems while creating new ideas, values, social relations, and futures. From Haiti to Vietnam to Cuba to Algeria, our contemporary world is the outcome of major waves of anti-colonial revolution and, equally so, their uneven, contradictory, and violent aftermaths. This class asks: What does ‘revolution’ – as an idea, as a concrete historical process, and as a horizon of possibility – mean in our global present? In a planet defined by unprecedented migratory movements, ecological crisis, militarized states, and deepening inequalities, how do many of today’s popular movements across the world relate to past revolutionary promises, including the social struggles and conflicts that followed in their wake?

In this class, we will set out to answer these questions through a multidisciplinary inquiry into the global re-making of revolutionary subjects from the turn of the 18th century to the present, beginning with foundational debates in Marxist, feminist, and postcolonial theory. From there, we will move on to ethnographic accounts of wide-ranging political struggles across the world, from the contested afterlives of anti-colonial revolutions to contemporary movements for self-organization and liberation across the world. Through a comparative approach rooted in traditions of critical political economy, cultural studies, and engaged anthropology, students will come away from this class with a deeper understanding of many of the world’s most significant revolutionary questions – including the lessons they may hold for understanding our current planetary predicaments and our shared political futures.

Course Materials for Theoretical Econometrics

This Moodle contains the materials for a course that I taught at Middlebury College in the Fall 2012.  I experimented with flipping the classroom, having the students watch lectures in videos before class and then doing problems together in class.  The videos were produced with Camtasia.  Having made them, I can see lots of ways to improve them.  Comments from others are welcome, too.

Here is the description of the course that I gave to the students:

Theoretical Econometrics will introduce students to the theoretical reasoning underpinning regression analysis as covered in ECON 0211. The course will begin with regression analysis as a method of data summary, focusing on geometric properties that hold for all data sets. We will introduce progressively the assumptions of the classical linear regression model to provide clear relationships between probabilistic assumptions and statistical properties and the arguments that justify them. We will conclude by exploring generalizations to basic regression that are motivated by violations of the classical assumptions. Throughout the course, students will encounter the interaction between economic and econometric modeling. (ECON 0211) 3 hrs. lect.

Beginning Modern Dance is targeted for students with little to no dance experience. This class will focus on core fundamentals of modern dance; specificity, musicality, spacial awareness, floor work, and a variety of movement qualities. Each class will begin with center exercises isolating different sections of the body in contrast with full body movements geared to prepare the dancer to move through the space. Floor work and standing technique will be incorporated throughout.

Students will be required to participate fully by engaging in class material and challenging oneself every class to be mindful and focused. The final grade will be based upon an evaluation of the student’s growth and participation in the class, as well as a mid-term and final that will occur during the regularly scheduled class time (dates below). Arriving on time and ready to dance at 9am is required!