globe and people of diverse cultures University

Department of Geography and Anthropology

ANTHROPOLOGY 161
Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
Spring 2008

Dr. Helaine Minkus                     Office hours: MTWTh 1:15-2:00

Office Phillips 252                                             TTh  10:30-11:00

Phone: 836-5481

Home phone 832-5391

Email: minkushk@uwec.edu

 

Section 002 TTh 11:00-12:15 P106

Section 005 TTh 2:00-3:15  P276

 

Course Goals and Methods

The central concept of this course will be culture. We will consider the nature of human nature and the many ways of being human--the vast number of alternative life styles found in societies around the world. The course will use lecture, whole class discussion and small group discussion. Students will teach by leading discussion of some of the articles. A panel of international students will be invited to interact with the class. Videos will be an important part of the course.

 

UWEC Academic Goals

The UWEC Academic Goals which will be addressed by this course are primarily:
  • Ability to inquire, think, analyze
  • Ability to write, read, speak, listen An historical consciousness
  • International and intercultural experiences An understanding of values
  • An understanding of human behavior and human institutions

The course readings and lectures focus on understanding the worldwide diversity of human behavior and values and appreciating the historical development of humankind. The cross-cultural report will require each student to have an intercultural experience. The field work assignment will provide an opportunity to collect and analyze data.


The course will be most effective and enjoyable for all of us if you actively participate in class discussion. To participate successfully will require that you keep up with the assigned reading and attend class. Meaningful contributions to class discussions will be considered very favorably when averaging grades.

I consider any academic misconduct in this course as a serious offense, and I will pursue the strongest possible academic penalties for such behavior.  The disciplinary procedures and penalties for academic misconduct are described in the UW-Eau Claire Student Services and Standards Handbook(http://www.uwec.edu/sdd/publications.htm) in Chapter UWS 14—Student Academic Disciplinary Procedures. 

Any student who has a disability and is in need of classroom accommodations, please contact the instructor and the Services for Students with Disabilities Office in Old Library 2136 at the beginning of the semester.

 

 

ATTENDANCE POLICY                                                                                             

You will be expected to attend regularly and will be held responsible on the exams and quizzes for all material presented in class. Excessive absences may result in a lowering of your grade: if there are 5 unexcused absences, the course grade may be lowered by 1/3 (e.g. from B to B-); if 10 unexcused absences, the grade may be lowered by 2/3.

ATTENDANCE SLIPS

All students will be expected to hand in a slip of paper at the end of each class to demonstrate attendance and to provide feedback. Write your name, the date and at least one sentence referring to the day’s class. The feedback might report on something you learned during class, an idea you found interesting in the material covered, anything that was not clear in the lecture and needs more explanation, thoughts you have about the ideas covered, a question, suggestions about the class...

 

READINGS                                                                                                  

Textbook: Ferraro, Gary Cultural Anthropology, 6th edition. Available at Textbook Rental Library.
CRIM: Articles listed on syllabus by author's name. All articles are available on electronic reserve.  Instructions for Ereserve readings
All the PowerPoint slides are available .Go to the  course Web page http://www.uwec.edu/minkushk/anthropologysyllabus_161.htm and click on the lecture topic that is highlighted in yellow.  It would be a very good idea to print the slides before class so that during class you won’t have to copy the slides but can listen and take additional notes.   Instructions for printing PowerPoint slides

 

Color coding:

PowerPoint slides

Important information

For your information

 

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Exams:  Two midterms:  multiple choice questions and essay.  Final:  multiple choice
Quizzes:  6 quizzes will be given during the term, each worth 20 points. The lowest  grade will be dropped. You can make up the quiz if you see me before they are handed back.

 

Reports:  You will be expected to complete two reports during the semester.  Each report will be worth a maximum of 20 points. Both due Thursday, April 24.      Writing Standards

 

Cross-cultural report .  One will be a report of a cross-cultural experience such as an interview with a person from a culture different than yours or attendance at a lecture, concert, film or other event.  A listing of some of the events that qualify for the report:

Coming events

 

Fieldwork report  One report will involve your careful observation of behavior.  Garbage on a dorm corridor; Crowded parking lot; Tendency to lean; Behavior at Tyme machine; Urinal etiquette; Experiment in McIntyre Library; Eating alone; Behavior at a stoplight; Gender and exercise machines; Money on a bar counter; Greeting experiment

Student presentation of articles

A group of two or three students will prepare questions on a specific article which members of the class will discuss in small groups.  The group should come up with about  4 questions which relate to the main points of the article and which will be interesting for other students to discuss.

Write brief and clearly stated questions. The questions must be sent to me the day before the class discussion. A sign-up list will be passed around in class. You can find the name of your partner(s) for the discussion on the: Presentation schedule

 

Determination of Course Grade

 

The principle that will be used to determine grades is the following:  94% of all points= A; 90%  A-; 87%  B+, 84%  B, 80% B- and so on. The total number of points on midterms and final may vary slightly from what is listed below, but the distribution of points will be close to the following:

 

Midterms (2 @ 92)                  184                  A   360

Final                                          60                  B   322                   

Quizzes  (5 @ 20)                  100                  C   284

Reports  (2 @ 20)                     40                  D   245

                                               376 points

 

 

COURSE SYLLABUS

 

Jan. 22    Anthropology and Culture

                Video:  Bridging the Culture Gap  E184.2 .B68 1983

 

Jan. 24    Introduction

   Text Ch. 1 pp. 2-16

   Features of an anthropological perspective

 

Jan. 29    Anthropological perspectives

    Ch. 1 pp. 17-23

    Diamond "Race without Color"

    Miner "Body Ritual among the Nacirema"

                Emic and etic perspectives

                Toilets

 

Jan. 31      Concept of Culture; Anthropological Theory; Applied Anthropology

                Ch. 2

                Cross-cultural miscues p. 37, 43, 163, 425

                Applied Perspectives pp. 272-273; 278-9

       

Feb. 5     Fieldwork    Field methods

               Ch. 5 pp. 94-110

                  

Feb. 7     Lurie "Two Dollars" 

               Quiz: “Two Dollars”, Ch. 1,  Ch. 5 94-110; Cross-cultural Miscues             

               Ho-Chunk honor Nancy Lurie 

 

Feb. 12    Video: Split Horn: Life of a Hmong Shaman in America

 

Feb. 14    Gmelch "Lessons from the Field"   

                Koltyk "Fieldwork Among the Hmong" pp. 12-16

                Ch. 5 pp. 110-118

                Quiz: Gmelch, Koltyk, Ch. 5 pp. 110-118

                Information on Hmong

 

Feb. 19    Learning Culture

                 Turnbull "The Mbuti Pygmies"    

                 Whitaker "Ancient Bodies, Modern Customs and Our Health"

                 "Cross-Cultural Comparisons: Preschools in Japan, China and the U.S."               

                 Video: All-Japan Picture Forming Contest  

 

Feb. 21    Language and Non-verbal Communication 

                 Ch. 6 pp. 122-125; 132-148

         

 

Feb. 26    Cross-cultural Miscues p. 71; 85; 99; 127; 138; 268; 308; 412

                 English bloopers

 

   

Feb. 28    Midterm  

Mar. 4     Foragers

                Video: The Hunters GT5856.84 H86 1989

 

Mar. 6     Ch. 7 pp. 151-162 Ch. 8 p. 182;  Ch. 12 pp. 290-292;

               Ch. 13 pp.  323-324

               ** Turnbull “The song of the forest” 

              

Mar. 11   ** Nelson "Understanding Eskimo Science"

              ** Lockwood “The master hunter’s apprentice”

               Quiz: Text on foraging, 3 articles

 

Mar. 13    Food Producers  Tribes and States

                Farming sheet     Farming      

                Video:  Food Producers GN31.2 .F32 1994 pt. 8

                Ch. 7 pp. 162-170; Ch. 8 p. 183; Ch. 12 pp. 292-294

 

Mar. 25    Ch. 7 pp. 170-176; Ch. 8 pp. 184-186; Ch. 12 pp. 295-300

                Video:  Food Foragers & Pastoralists GN31.2 .F32 1994 pt. 7

 

Mar. 27    Social stratification

    Ch. 11 pp. 321-322; 325-334

    ** Anand “The sweeper”

 

Apr. 1     Colonialism; Globalization

                Ch. 16 pp. 416-430

               

 

Apr. 3    ** Janus "Advertising and Global Culture"  

              ** Marie Claire "You're not fat, you're living in the wrong    

                  country"      

              Bestor "How Sushi went Global"

 

Apr. 8    Midterm   

 

Apr. 10    Kinship  Kinship terms

               Ch. 10 pp. 237-242  

             

Apr. 15  Ch. 10  pp. 243-251  include p. 247

                I am my own Grandpa 

                      

 

Apr. 17    Marriage and Family

    Mace "Cultural Differences in Mate Selection" 

                Ch. 9 pp. 209-223  Cousin marriage

                Quiz: Mace, Ch. 10

 

Apr. 22    Ch. 9 pp. 224-234

                ** Terry "Cultural Tradition and Law Collide in Middle America" 

                ** Lessinger "Family, Gender Relations & the Second Generation"  

                Quiz: Terry,  Lessinger, Ch. 9

 

Apr. 24    Gender

               Ch. 11    

              

Apr. 29    Religion    Religion sheet

               Ch. 14 pp. 348-359

            

May 1     Ch. 14 pp. 360-376

               Video: Mammy Water excerpts 2151

 

May 6     Healing

               Plotkin "Shamans" disc

               ** Johnson "African Healing"  am pm

               ** Goode "The Cultures of Illness"    am    pm  

               Quiz: 3 healing articles

 

May 8   Video: 3 Worlds of Bali

 

 

 

Final

 

Section 002  Wednesday, May 14  10:00 am P106

 

Section 005  Thursday, May 15 3:00 pm P276 (or Wednesday, May 14 10:30 am P106)

   
   

 

                    

 

  

  


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Updated:  May 06, 2008

Contact:  Helaine Minkus (minkushk@uwec.edu)