Course Exam
240512 VO MM3 Anthropology of emotions (2024W)
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Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).
- Registration is open from Sa 15.02.2025 00:01 to Tu 11.03.2025 23:59
- Deregistration possible until We 12.03.2025 23:59
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Examination topics
Five titles and authors of book length ethnographies eligible for review by students in preparation of the examination are marked *ETHN in the reading list below (books by Michelle Rosaldo, Catherine Lutz, Robert Levy, Jean Briggs, Unni Wikan).Two titles marked *PHIL (Jesse Prinz) and *PSY (Richard Lazarus) are textbooks / overviews of the philosophy and psychology of emotions respectively and will not be examined separately. Selected chapters of these books are assigned as part of the assigned literature supporting the unit lectures and exam questions and must be studied just like the assigned journal articles (one article will be assigned per unit if assigned readings not already covered by a book chapter) for the open-ended exam questions corresponding to the fourteen units.A sample of 4 out of 14 open ended questions will be randomly selected and assigned on the day of each exam. Students will not be informed in advance which 4 questions will be tested but instead ought to memorize in advance and demonstrate a sufficient command of the entire course materials.
Here is a full list of 14 open ended questions (one question for each lecture) students ought to study for and learn to answer in preparation for the written exam:1.) Is affect (subjective feeling) responsive to reason and if so, how does this work?
2.) How does my experiencing an emotion (knowing how to emote) relate to my understanding his or her emotions (knowing how to recognize or emotionally prime others)?
3.) Is a feeling (sensory perception of pain, pleasure, or distaste at an eliciting event) enough, or can one speak of an emotion only if cognitive appraisal is a causal factor in the reaction?
4.) Is physiological activity (body response) necessary to say that a person is experiencing an emotion?
5.) Are there basic emotions and what’s basic about them?
6.) What core relational theme (=eliciting event or situation) is the Ilongot emotion of “liget” an embodied appraisal of?
7.) Are there emotions like the Ifaluk “fago” and “song” that are absent from, or for which there is no word in, another culture?
8.) Does (only) the culturally variable level and specificity of disembodied conceptualization of an emotion affect the nonconceptual embodied appraisal of its core relational theme, or do other, nonconceptual cultural variables also play a role in appraisals?
9.) If infants lack emotional agency at birth, how can they subsequently acquire emotion skills nonetheless?
10.) Do human selves have the ability to be ashamed or proud of other people than themselves?
11.) Does emotional agency involve the ability to prompt and respond to emotions in others?
12.) Do display rules requiring or prohibiting the expression of a given identified emotion match with the level of conceptualization (cultural objectification) of that emotion, or is the degree of permissible display inversely proportional to the degree of conceptualization?
13.) Are display rules successful in muting, conjuring, eliciting or modulating the first person experiencing of emotions?
14.) Are culturally variable display rules for the same primary identified emotion successful in orienting, directing, motivating dissimilar secondary coping responses?
The import of these questions within the overall logical scheme (systematic layout) of the course, as well as connections between particular questions and specific items of assigned literature can be appreciated from the reading list. The open questions are repeated there as unit by unit content indications for my lectures and reading assignments.N.B. Students who hand in one or several book reviews in preparation for the written exam by the last week of November are eligible for bonus points (1 book review = 0.1GP). Bonus points are not required to earn regular credits and excellent students without bonus points may still attain 100 points. However bonus points may improve the grade by up to 0.5 grade points.
Here is a full list of 14 open ended questions (one question for each lecture) students ought to study for and learn to answer in preparation for the written exam:1.) Is affect (subjective feeling) responsive to reason and if so, how does this work?
2.) How does my experiencing an emotion (knowing how to emote) relate to my understanding his or her emotions (knowing how to recognize or emotionally prime others)?
3.) Is a feeling (sensory perception of pain, pleasure, or distaste at an eliciting event) enough, or can one speak of an emotion only if cognitive appraisal is a causal factor in the reaction?
4.) Is physiological activity (body response) necessary to say that a person is experiencing an emotion?
5.) Are there basic emotions and what’s basic about them?
6.) What core relational theme (=eliciting event or situation) is the Ilongot emotion of “liget” an embodied appraisal of?
7.) Are there emotions like the Ifaluk “fago” and “song” that are absent from, or for which there is no word in, another culture?
8.) Does (only) the culturally variable level and specificity of disembodied conceptualization of an emotion affect the nonconceptual embodied appraisal of its core relational theme, or do other, nonconceptual cultural variables also play a role in appraisals?
9.) If infants lack emotional agency at birth, how can they subsequently acquire emotion skills nonetheless?
10.) Do human selves have the ability to be ashamed or proud of other people than themselves?
11.) Does emotional agency involve the ability to prompt and respond to emotions in others?
12.) Do display rules requiring or prohibiting the expression of a given identified emotion match with the level of conceptualization (cultural objectification) of that emotion, or is the degree of permissible display inversely proportional to the degree of conceptualization?
13.) Are display rules successful in muting, conjuring, eliciting or modulating the first person experiencing of emotions?
14.) Are culturally variable display rules for the same primary identified emotion successful in orienting, directing, motivating dissimilar secondary coping responses?
The import of these questions within the overall logical scheme (systematic layout) of the course, as well as connections between particular questions and specific items of assigned literature can be appreciated from the reading list. The open questions are repeated there as unit by unit content indications for my lectures and reading assignments.N.B. Students who hand in one or several book reviews in preparation for the written exam by the last week of November are eligible for bonus points (1 book review = 0.1GP). Bonus points are not required to earn regular credits and excellent students without bonus points may still attain 100 points. However bonus points may improve the grade by up to 0.5 grade points.
Assessment and permitted materials
There will be a single written examination in presence mode. Students will be offered 4 possible dates to take the exam. The first one will be at the end of the lecture period, and the other three at the beginning, middle, and end of the following semester. The exact dates will be communicated in due course.
The single written examination will consist of two parts:
1.) writing a book review of one (1) ethnographic monograph on the emotions randomly assigned from the full set of five (5) book-length ethnographies listed in the readings that students will have pre-reviewed and memorized in preparation of the exam (50%)
2.) answering four (4) open questions on the contents of the individual units covering both lecture notes and assigned readings. The four exam questions will be randomly chosen from a list of 14 open questions the students will have rehearsed and memorized in preparation for the exam (50%).
Both parts of the exam will have to be completed from memory and in handwriting within 90 minutes in a classroom setting. No aids (such as written notes, phones, or laptops) will be allowed during the written examination.
The single written examination will consist of two parts:
1.) writing a book review of one (1) ethnographic monograph on the emotions randomly assigned from the full set of five (5) book-length ethnographies listed in the readings that students will have pre-reviewed and memorized in preparation of the exam (50%)
2.) answering four (4) open questions on the contents of the individual units covering both lecture notes and assigned readings. The four exam questions will be randomly chosen from a list of 14 open questions the students will have rehearsed and memorized in preparation for the exam (50%).
Both parts of the exam will have to be completed from memory and in handwriting within 90 minutes in a classroom setting. No aids (such as written notes, phones, or laptops) will be allowed during the written examination.
Minimum requirements and assessment criteria
The overall grade results from the single written examination in presence mode. A positive evaluation requires the completion of each part of the exam (one book review, each of the four content questions) and the minimum score of 30 points for each part.The exam consists of two parts. For each part students must attain at least 30 points in order to complete the exam successfully. In total a maximum of 100 points can be attained. The maximum number of points for each open question is 12.5 points (x 4 questions = 50 points) and the maximum number for the book review is also 50 points.The book review should contain a statement of the main ethnographic ideas and arguments of the ethnography assigned for review on the day of the exam (20 points), assess the theoretical relevance of the reviewed ethnography for an anthropology of emotions (15 points), and contrast the anthropological contribution with other disciplinary perspectives on emotion from psychology and philosophy, particularly how to overcome disciplinary tunnel visions that oppose human universals and cultural relativism (15 points).Students will not be told in advance which one out of the five ethnographic books they will have to review for the exam. Thus students will have to prepare for any one of the five potential reviews. The same holds for the 4 open questions which will only be communicated once the exam starts. Students will be required to prepare for the total of 14 open questions although they will only have to answer four of them at the exam.The open questions (12.4 points x 4 questions = 50 points) should be answered in full sentences (no lists) and present the essential aspects of the scientific methods and results touched upon during the unit lectures and demonstrate a knowledge of the literature (assigned readings) besides the ethnographic monographs.The weighting of the overall grade is as follows:
91-100 points = 1 (very good)
81-90 points = 2 (good)
71-80 points = 3 (satisfactory)
61-70 points = 4 (sufficient)
0-60 points = 5 (not enough)Students who hand in one or several book reviews in preparation for the written exam by the last week of November are eligible for bonus points (1 book review = 0.1GP). Bonus points are not required to earn regular credits and excellent students without bonus points may still attain 100 points. However bonus points may improve the grade by up to 0.5 grade points.
91-100 points = 1 (very good)
81-90 points = 2 (good)
71-80 points = 3 (satisfactory)
61-70 points = 4 (sufficient)
0-60 points = 5 (not enough)Students who hand in one or several book reviews in preparation for the written exam by the last week of November are eligible for bonus points (1 book review = 0.1GP). Bonus points are not required to earn regular credits and excellent students without bonus points may still attain 100 points. However bonus points may improve the grade by up to 0.5 grade points.
Last modified: We 29.01.2025 12:06