R663 Spring 2024 Anthropology of Culture Wars, Part 2

R663  Anthropology of Culture Wars, Part 2
Wednesdays, 9:40—11:05, Mar. 27—May 15
Eight sessions
Rose Gallery at Reston Community Center, Lake Anne
Instructor: Tom Carroll
“Today the central problem is to what past, present, or future the young can commit themselves.” In Culture and Commitment, Margaret Mead analyzed how younger and elder generations respond to rapid cultural change. Using anthropological concepts from Part I of this course we will consider, (1) Who owns culture, fake news, and myths; (2) Who makes the rules, who sets the norms; (3) Marginalization, race, class, and gender; (4) Education wars; (5) Public Health: tyranny, or responsibility; (6) Aging in America and lifelong learning; (7) Globalization and human migration; (8) Climate wars in the Anthropocene. Participants in this course will be encouraged to discuss these issues during and between classes.
Tom Carroll served in the Peace Corps in Lesotho, Southern Africa, and then earned a PH.D. in Cultural Anthropology. He is an American Anthropological Association member and did research at Clark University, Columbia University, the U.S. Department of Education, and the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future.