globe and people of diverse cultures University

Department of Geography and Anthropology

ANTHROPOLOGY 161
Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
Spring 2005

 

                              

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..

 

 

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.

 

READINGS                                                                                                  
Textbook: Nanda and Warms, 1998, 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

 

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 21.      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.  If there is time on the last day of class, up to 15 students can volunteer to report on their research  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; sock folding

 

 Student presentation of articles  A group of two or three students will prepare questions to lead the class in discussion of a specific article. The sign-up list will be passed around in class.   

 

 

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 @ 88)                  176                  A   350

Final                                          60                  B   301                   

Quizzes  (5 @ 20)                  100                  C   275

Reports  (2 @ 20)                     40                  D   238

                                               376 points

 

 

COURSE SYLLABUS

 

Jan. 27    Anthropology and Culture

                Video:  Bridging the Culture Gap  425

 

Feb. 1     Introduction

   Text Ch. 1 (skip "Cultural Construction of Race", "Racism and  

      Racialism")

   Diamond "Race without Color"

   Features of an anthropological perspective

 

Feb. 3     Anthropological perspectives

    Ch. 1 (include 12-14 apricot); Ch. 4 pp. 76-77, 80;

                Body Ritual among the Nacirema additions

                Emic and etic perspectives

 

Feb. 8     Ferraro  “Excerpts from Cultural Anthropology”

               Boss "Anthropologists on the Job" Questions

 

Feb. 10   Fieldwork   Field Methods

               Ch. 2 pp. 19-26 (include 21-24 apricot)

                  

Feb. 15    Lurie "Two Dollars" 

                Quiz: “Two Dollars”, Ch. 1, Ferraro; Ch. 2 19-26             

 

Feb. 17    Gmelch "Lessons from the Field"

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

                 Ch. 2 pp. 26-35

                 Quiz: Gmelch, Koltyk, Ch. 2 pp. 26-35

                  Information on Hmong

 

Feb. 22   Idea of culture

                 Ch. 3 (include 43-44 apricot, 52 blue)

                 Guest speaker on Study Abroad Opportunities

 

Feb. 24    Learning Culture

                Ch. 5 (include 98-101 apricot)

                Video: All-Japan Picture Forming Contest           

 

 

Mar. 1     Rites of Passage

   Turnbull "The Mbuti Pygmies"

               Small "Our Babies, Ourselves"

               Breast feeding recommendations

 

Mar. 3     Midterm  

 

Mar. 8     Foragers

               Video: The Hunters GT5856.84 H86 1989

               Ch. 6 pp. 107-117; Ch. 7 p. 135;  Ch. 11 p. 224;

               Ch. 12 pp.  251-252

             

Mar. 10  Turnbull “The song of the forest”

               Nelson "Understanding Eskimo Science"

               Lockwood “The master hunter’s apprentice”

               Quiz: Text on foraging, 3 articles

 

Mar. 15  Food Producers  Tribes and States

              Farming sheet     Farming      

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

              Ch. 6 pp. 114-121(skip 118-119), 124; Ch. 7 p. 136-140;

              Ch. 12 pp. 252-259;  Ch. 12 261-265  

 

Mar. 17   Social stratification

   Ch. 11 pp. 226-236 (232-234 apricot); Anand “The sweeper”

 

Mar. 29   Cultural Change  Colonialism

               Ch. 15 pp. 322-325; 327-331(include 328-329 apricot);

               Ch. 6 pp. 124-125; 127-128

 

Mar. 31    World Systems

   Janus "Advertising and Global Culture"

   Ch. 15 pp. 334-343; p. 112 blue, p. 149 blue  

 

 

Apr. 5    Video: Sisters and Daughters Betrayed HQ411 .A4 S57 1995 

 

Apr. 7    Midterm 

 

Apr. 12  Kinship  Kinship terms

              Ch. 9 pp. 181-182; 191-192; 194-197

             

Apr. 14  Ch. 9  pp. 182-190

 

Apr. 19    Marriage and Family

    Mace "Cultural Differences in Mate Selection" 

                Ch. 8 pp. 158-162; 165-170

                Quiz: Mace, Ch. 9

 

Apr. 21   Ch. 8 pp. 162-165; 171-177

               Terry "Cultural Tradition and Law Collide in Middle America"

               Lessinger "Family, Gender Relations & the                     

                Second Generation"

               Turley "Polygamy laws expose our own hypocrisy"

                Quiz: Terry,  Lessinger, Turley, Ch. 8

 

Apr. 26   Gender

               Ch. 10 202-205, 208

               Marie-Claire "You're not fat; you're living in the wrong country"

               McClelland "Distorted Images"    

 

Apr. 28   Religion    Religion sheet

               Ch. 13 pp. 275-286

            

May 3     Ch. 13 pp. 287-298

               

May 5    Healing

              Sandner "Symbolic Healing"

              Grunloh "The Body's War and Peace"

              Goode "The Cultures of Illness"  

              Johnson "African Healing"             

              Quiz: 4 healing articles

 

May 10  Video: Split Horns: Life of a Shaman in America

 

May 12  Field work reports

 

 Final

 

Section 003  Friday, May 20  10:00 am P219   (or Monday, May 16 at

      1:30 pm in P413)

Section 004  Monday, May 16 1:00 pm P413

 

   

 

                    

 

  

  

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Updated:  June 06, 2005

Contact:  Helaine Minkus (minkushk@uwec.edu)