400016 SE Uses and Abuses of the Concept of Ontology (2016W)

The ontological turn in anthropology - for more than 10 years in the making - has opened up a number of possibilities for conceptualising the more-than-human or beyond-the-human dimensions of reality. While attempting to go beyond the confines of constructivist approaches, ontological anthropology has been accused of resurrecting essentialist notions of otherness and cultural difference. The course will provide a broad assessment of ontological approaches within the social sciences with a particular emphasis on anthropology by reading and discussing critical and affirmative contributions to the debate. At the same time, students will be encouraged to explore potential applications of these approaches to their own Ph.D. projects.