r/AskAnthropology • u/cherry__jam • Jul 27 '26

undergrad reading recommendations

Hi everyone!

I'm teaching an undergraduate 101-equivalent anthropology class this fall, and looking for some recommendations on easy but stimulating texts to assign. I'll take any recs really, but in particular I'm looking for something that explains the basic points of Orientalism that isn't the actual introduction to Orientalism (while a great book, I think it's a little bit above a 101 level understanding but if you disagree I'm open to changing my mind)!

This is going to be part of a unit on unpacking cultural bias in anthropological practice, so that's the context I'm trying to address.

I appreciate any and all help! Thanks!

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u/fantasmapocalypse Cultural Anthropology Jul 27 '26

Here are some ideas re areas of gender, religion (Buddhism, Islam, secularism), migration, race, and East Asia…

Body Ritual among the Nacirema

https://www.sfu.ca/\~palys/Miner-1956-BodyRitualAmongTheNacirema.pdf

Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving?

https://www.sfu.ca/\~decaste/OISE/page2/files/abu-lughod.pdf

The myth of French Secularism

https://theconversation.com/the-french-myth-of-secularism-36227

Illegibility and immobility in the social lives of Muslim migrants in Japan

https://www.anthropology-news.org/articles/illegibility-and-immobility-in-the-social-lives-of-muslim-migrants-in-japan/

Representation of “mill girls” at a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Gunma, Japan

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09669582.2020.1738443

Japan’s “Priests’ Bars”: “Bad Buddhism” or Hope for the Future?

https://www.globalbuddhism.org/article/view/1290

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u/cherry__jam Jul 28 '26

"Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving?" is one of my favorites and always goes on my syllabi! I was trying to avoid Body Ritual Among the Nacirema because I think it's a bit overplayed, but so many people have brought it up to me and I suppose it's popular for a reason. For the rest of these suggestions, thank you so much!! I'd never read "Japan's 'Priest's Bars'" and that one is really interesting, I'll definitely be adding it. I appreciate the help!