Instructor Insights

Instructor Insights pages are part of the OCW Educator initiative, which seeks to enhance the value of OCW for educators.

Course Overview

This page focuses on the course 21A.506 The Anthropology of Politics: U.S. Presidential Election Edition as it was taught by Maria Vidart-Delgado in Fall 2016.

This course examined the birth and international expansion of an American industry of political marketing. It focused attention on the cultural processes, sociopolitical contexts and moral utopias that shape the practice of political marketing in the U.S. and in different countries. By looking at the debates and expert practices at the core of the business of politics, the course explored how the "universal" concept of democracy is interpreted and reworked through space and time, while examining how different cultural groups experimenting with political marketing understand the role of citizens in a democracy.

Course Outcomes

Course Goals for Students

  • Identify key debates in the anthropology of politics
  • Apply anthropological concepts to the analysis of politics
  • Distinguish between democracy as ideal, and democracy as practice
 

Instructor Insights

We need more classroom discussions about uncomfortable topics. I strived to provide a safe space in which all points of view were welcome, but in which we could also openly discuss the real-world implications of our assumptions.

— Maria Vidart-Delgado

Below, Maria Vidart-Delgado responds to questions about how she taught 21A.506 The Anthropology of Politics: U.S. Presidential Election Edition.

OCW: Some educators might shy away from facilitating classroom discussions about emotionally heated topics, like elections. Tell us about your decision to create a course around this topic.

Maria Vidart-Delgado: We need more classroom discussions about uncomfortable topics. I strived to provide a safe space in which all points of view were welcome, but in which we could also openly discuss the real-world implications of our assumptions. I wrote a blogpost about this issue. 

OCW: Please tell us about the mini-ethnography assignment.

Maria Vidart-Delgado: I included fieldwork in the course to give students hands-on experience with the questions and answers that one can approach through ethnography, which are very different from, for example, political science methods. Instead of asking whether elections worked or not, we were asking about particular people's relations to elections and the types of social and political bonds that elections forge. A student found out that in Reddit's “The Donald,” the conversation about white supremacy was transnational; there were eastern European participants. Another student went to a Trump rally to uncover that what bound people together wasn't Trump's political platform, but their suspicion of Hillary Clinton. Another student found out that third party candidates' online tactics are the only means available for them to build a political base, and that these online media platforms tend to be strident in tone. This student questioned the type of political bond forged in these online communities and the type of political activism that third parties promote. This assignment required supervision. I would encourage other educators to check in regularly with students to ensure that they do not get overwhelmed by the possible questions they can ask.

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Curriculum Information

Prerequisites

None

Requirements Satisfied

HASS-H

21A.506 can be applied toward a Bachelor of Science in Anthropology, Humanities and Engineering, or Humanities and Science, but is not required.

Offered

This course was only offered in Fall 2016.

The Classroom

  • A well-lit, medium-sized room with a couple of rows of desks and chairs facing a small table positioned in front of two blackboards.

    Room 1 of 1

    Seminar

    This course was taught in a medium-sized classroom equipped with a chalkboard and LCD projector.

 

Assessment

Grade Breakdown

The students' grades were based on the following activities:

The color used on the preceding chart which represents the percentage of the total grade contributed by research questions and preliminary observations for final paper. 30% Research questions and preliminary observations
The color used on the preceding chart which represents the percentage of the total grade contributed by presentations. 5% Presentations
The color used on the preceding chart which represents the percentage of the total grade contributed by attendance and class discussion. 15% Attendance and class discussion

Student Information

Less than 10 students took this course when it was offered in Fall 2016.

Breakdown by Year

Mostly seniors

Breakdown by Major

Several students were majoring or minoring in anthropology.

Typical Student Background

All of the students were interested in politics. Some had taken anthropology classes and were interested in the anthropological approach to politics.

Ideal Class Size

The ideal class size for this discussion-based course is 8-15 students.

 

How Student Time Was Spent

During an average week, students were expected to spend 12 hours on the course, roughly divided as follows:

Seminar

3 hours per week
  • Met twice a week for 1.5 hours per session; 27 sessions total; mandatory attendance.
  • Class sessions were discussion-based.
 

Out of Class

9 hours per week
 

Semester Breakdown

WEEK M T W Th F
1 No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. Class session scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
2 Class session scheduled. No session scheduled. Class session scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
3 Class session scheduled. No session scheduled. Class session scheduled. No session scheduled. No classes throughout MIT.
4 Class session scheduled. No session scheduled. Class session scheduled and an assignment due. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
5 Class session scheduled and an assignment due. No session scheduled. Class session scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
6 No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. Class session scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
7 Class session scheduled and an assignment due. No session scheduled. Class session scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
8 Class session scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled but an assignment due. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
9 Class session scheduled. No session scheduled. Class session scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
10 Class session scheduled. No session scheduled. Class session scheduled. No session scheduled. No classes throughout MIT.
11 Class session scheduled. No session scheduled. Class session scheduled and an assignment due. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
12 Class session scheduled. No session scheduled. Class session scheduled. No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT.
13 Class session scheduled. No session scheduled. Fake news exercise scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
14 Class session scheduled. No session scheduled. Class session scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
15 Student presentation scheduled. No session scheduled. Student presentation scheduled. No session scheduled. No classes throughout MIT.
16 No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT.
Displays the color and pattern used on the preceding table to indicate dates when classes are not held at MIT. No classes throughout MIT
Displays the color used on the preceding table to indicate dates when class sessions are held. Class session
Displays the color used on the preceding table to indicate the date when a fake news exercise is held. Fake news exercise
Displays the color used on the preceding table to indicate dates when no class session is scheduled. No class session scheduled
Displays the color used on the preceding table to indicate dates when student presentations are held. Student presentations
Displays the symbol used on the preceding table to indicate due dates. Due dates