Anthropology has much to say about death. There is foundational literature on sacrifice, suicide, and the rites surrounding the end of life. Anthropology also has a lot to say about violence: war, conflict, revolution. But at the nexus of death and violence lies murder, a culturally and socially salient phenomenon that garners less scholarly attention. This seminar will explore what constitutes murder in different cultural and historical contexts, by reading across anthropology, cultural studies, and film studies.
Anthropology has much to say about death. There is foundational literature on sacrifice, suicide, and the rites surrounding the end of life. Anthropology also has a lot to say about violence: war, conflict, revolution. But at the nexus of death and violence lies murder, a culturally and socially salient phenomenon that garners less scholarly attention. This seminar will explore what constitutes murder in different cultural and historical contexts, by reading across anthropology, cultural studies, and film studies.
