ANTHROPOLOGY ANTH A104 Intro to Cultural Anthropology Spring 2008
ANTH A304 Social & Cultural Behavior Bob Mucci, PhD
Office: Lindenwood 231 Office Telephone 219-980-6607 (voice mail also).
Office hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays from about 1:30 pm to 2 pm and from about 4 pm til 5 pm; and I will stay in the classroom after class if anyone needs to meet with me then. You are welcome to stop by my office at any time, I am here most days from morning until late, and I am usually happy to visit with you; even if I am very busy I usually can give you at least a few minutes for a quick question or visit. To leave a message or a paper at any time from 8 am to 5 pm, go to the Sociology & Anthropology Main Office: Lindenwood 214 (tel 219-980-6789); my mailbox is there. Also go there if you can't find me during office hours, or otherwise need to see me; Kristie, the secretary there, can tell you if, say, I've gone over to the Anthropology Resource Center in Marram 341. You may call me at home if necessary: 773-929-0456. My cell is 312-806-8722. I encourage you to contact me by E-mail: Rmucci@IUN.edu The IUN Anthro home page is at http://www.iun.edu/~anthronw/
My web page for this course, with interactive syllabus and quiz files, is http://www.iun.edu/~anthonw/A104quizzes
Required Readings:
Cultural Anthropology: the Human Challenge, 12th edition, by William A Haviland et al (“CA”)
Annual Editions: Anthropology 08/09, [NOT the “Physical Anthropology”] ed. by Angeloni ("AE")
Yanomamo, 5th edition, by Napoleon Chagnon ("YANO")
Suggested study aids:
Study Guide and Workbook to accompany Haviland Cultural Anthro 12th ed by ML Miranda.
(I make no reference to this book in this syllabus, nor to the study CD-ROM included in some versions of the textbook, nor to the web sites that the CD accesses or the publishers build for the books; you are on their own as far as all this optional material that is there to help you learn the basics of the course as covered in the lectures and required readings. Use any or all of them in whatever way fits your personal style of learning.) But I have noted that the three sources of optional material are quite different from each other, and the paper study guide has some good material on maps, kinship charts, etc. and more ‘thought’ questions than the others, so browse thru it online and consider purchasing it online if you like it and can afford it.
Other Requirements:
Conduct an interview of a foreign-born informant, and write a report of it; note that this is done early in the semester; you have only six weeks from today to find an informant, get them approved, conduct two interview sessions, and type it up . Instructions will be posted next week at http://www.iun.edu/~anthronw/interview.pdf; I will also hand out printed copies of the instructions in class.
COURSE NUMBERS: There are both A104 and A304 students in this classroom; you can register for either, but you can never get credit for both. If you already have credit for an Indiana University Anthropology course numbered ANTH A104, E105, E303, or A304, you will lose that credit now. A304 students get both upper level credit and COAS Intensive Writing credit for this course; in addition to the A104 work, they must read additional articles in the AE book and submit four written reports on them. The portfolio of those four reports counts as one fourth of your A304 grade. See me for a copy of the A304 report instructions if you wish to consider that option. There are no prerequisites for A104. Besides the willingness to do the extra work, the prerequisite for A304 is English W131 and any one of these: one course in anthropology or Junior standing or honors standing or consent of instructor. If you think you might want to change your registration from A304 to A104 or vice versa, you should do it before the end of the refund period and you must do it before the end of the automatic ‘W’ period (see IUN timetable schedule of classes). It should cost no more than $30 to change; see me if they try to charge more.
COURSE OBJECTIVES: to try to answer the basic question people have about other people: “Why do they do things their way when we think it is right to do things our way?” That is, this course tries to provide a basic introduction to the anthropological study of human culture, and, through movies and readings, the experience of cultural diversity.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS: This is not the most difficult course you will take in college, but it is not the easiest, either. To do well, you will have to read and study regularly. I expect that you will attend all of the lectures, read and study all the assigned readings, and relate the two via your class notes. Take general notes in class, and add to them as you read and reflect on what you remember from the lectures. The average student should spend SIX hours per week just studying for this course – not including your interview report. Because of the large amount of assigned reading, and the necessity of understanding each topic before proceeding to the next, there will be a 15 minute QUIZ at the beginning of class every Tuesday. Quizzes will emphasize the readings and lectures since the previous quiz or exam. (Eg, the FIFTH week's quiz will cover the FOURTH week's readings and lecture. (I suggest you read ahead in the textbook as well as review for the quizzes.) There will be at least twelve quizzes, I'll drop each student's lowest ones and count their ten best. There are NO make-up quizzes; if you miss one, that's a zero and one that I will drop. (If you come to class late and miss a quiz for a valid reason, I may let you take that quiz later in the day.) Some quizzes may be take-home. Note that the quizzes are 25% of your grade. There is a file of old quizzes on reserve in the library (look under MUCCI A104), and a different set on the web page for this course: http://www.iun.edu/~anthronw/A104quizzes.htm
Quiz questions tend to be multiple choice and short answer type. The midterm and final exams will include a variety of types of questions (multiple choice, short answers, essays, etc.) and will cover a wide range of material, some difficult. In general, we touch on nearly every topic and controversy of interest to cultural anthropologists; in an introductory course we cannot cover it all in depth, so be sure to get an overview of the cultural characteristics of each group that we study as examples, as well as a solid understanding of basic anthropological concepts such as subsistence strategy, kinship terminology, etc. Finally, as we come across new terms, look them up in the glossary found near the end of CA. Words such as "horticulture", "tribe" and "lineage" have exact meanings that we must agree on in order to communicate clearly!
Attendance: Since participation in the lectures, discussions, and audio/visual events is a part of what you are being given credit for, multiple unexcused absences will result in a lower score and hence a lower grade (miss Tuesdays and you will be getting zeros on those quizzes; miss Thursdays and you will bomb the following quiz; the real effect, however, is that you will do much worse on future quizzes and exams). College classes are tough! Students who fall behind tend to do poorly. Students who come to class regularly tend to do well in this course. I take attendance by noting who takes each quiz, and who picks up the graded one the next class; if you come in late and miss the quiz or don't get to pick up your old quiz, be sure to check in with me after class so that I don't mark you absent. I will notice if you cut out early – that's an absence even if you took the quiz. Tell me if you are ill; call or email me if you must miss a class so that I can excuse you. NOTE: if you have a life crisis during the semester, call me right away so I can work with you regarding the class.
Grade Breakdown: Interview Report 20%, Midterm Exam 25%, Best Ten Quizzes 25%, Final Exam 30%. The total scores are averaged by percentage and not by letter grades; the grades will be quite fair, but ultimately your grade is determined by how much you learn this semester, and the harder you work, the more you will learn. In general the break between A's and B's is at about 88%, the break between B's and C's at about 74%; you must get a 50% average on the combined quiz, midterm, and final to pass. Borderline grades are affected by poor attendance.
If you need assistance with a learning, physical or psychological disability that may affect your academic progress, I encourage you to contact the Disability Services Coordinator at 219-980-6943. If you are unsure of your status or needs, call the disability services coordinator for a confidential discussion, or visit HH235.
Study Sessions, Discussion Sessions, and Reviews. I have been promised that there will be group study sessions this semester: They are led by a “Supplemental Instructor” who is an advanced anthropology student; the SI will come to class and give more information and arrange scheduling of these sessions. These sessions are intended for, and will benefit, students of all abilities; the benefits to struggling students are obvious, but even “A” students benefit not only because they can ask advanced and off-the-track questions, but also because they can learn the material better by sharing their knowledge with others. Students who participate in the study groups tend to get a full letter grade higher by doing so. These sessions are most beneficial if you start attending them early on in the semester. In fact if not enough students attend them early on, they will cancel the discussion sections and then there will be no sessions for people to attend to review for the midterm and final; this has happened a couple of times in the past few years, so if you want reviews for the exams, sign up for and attend the discussions.
What to do every week if you can:
CA: Glossary terms that you must know appear in bold type: look them up in the Glossary in the back of the book. (Some are defined on the page in green boxes, but not all.) STUDY the glossary terms and add them to your course notes. Use the index to find out more about terms. At the end of each chapter you will find additional important information: a useful summary and some study questions for you to ponder – which may appear on quizzes. (No, I won’t quiz you on the “suggested” readings.)
YANO: There is a good glossary in this book, too, and it has important terms that the CA glossary omits or is vague on.
AE: Each set of articles is preceded by a “Unit Overview”, a page that introduces the articles in that unit; it is a good idea to read that overview each week. Feel free to read articles that were not assigned, they may help your general understanding and some are quite interesting.
On Line: Textbook web site: http://www.wadsworth.com/cgi-wadsworth/course_products_wp.pl?fid=M20b&flag=student&product_isbn_issn=9780495095613&discipline_number=15
There is a wonderful set of tutorials that match our book and class very closely at: http://anthro.palomar.edu/tutorials/cultural.htm
Study your maps in the CA book (especially the ones on the pages before the Table of Contents); pay attention to the map that I use in class, and locate the societies we study on the maps – many appear on the map on pages vi-vii. Learn the regions, countries, and continents, too — there will be maps on exams. Here is a map similar to the ones I put on exams; don’t be afraid to mark it up as you study.
A104/A304 SCHEDULE OF TOPICS, READINGS, AND EXAMS:
Week One January 8 & 10 "What is anthropology, anyway?" The subfields of anthropology. Franz Boas & cultural relativism.
READ CA book thru page 22; that’s the preface stuff, the section called “Putting the World in Perspective”, the maps themselves (especially the Robinson projection), and Chapter One. Compare the maps and try to understand the reasons for the differences. Note that within each chapter there are readings in "boxes", and longer “Original Study” and “Anthropology Applied” and “Anthropologists of Note” readings; always read them carefully; you do not need to remember the details of every single one of the anthropologists noted, but I will point out which ten or so you must know in detail, and give more info on them. (Hint: the first one is Franz Boas). Glossary terms that you must know appear as footnotes in green; STUDY them and add them to your course notes. If you need to find one later, use the index. At the end of each chapter you will find additional important information: a useful summary and some critical questions for you to ponder (and they may appear on quizzes).
READ in AE, # 29 "Body Ritual among the Nacirema” (This week, and every week, if you want to read more articles in AE related to the topic of the class, look thru the “Contents” section of that book.)
On line options: learn more about Boas at: http://www.bartleby.com/65/bo/Boas-Fra.html
Find an informant for your interview project, it is due in six weeks.
Week Two January 15 & 17 “What is Culture, anyway?” Malinowski & culture shock. Participant observation. Emic/etic distinction VIDEO: Man Called Bee
READ CA all of Chapter 2
READ in AE, # 5 “One Hundred Percent American”
READ in YANO everything up thru the middle of page 31; that’s prefaces, forwards, prolog, etc., and half of Chapter 1
Week Three January 22 & 24 Fieldwork: Ethnographic Research
Culture: Real vs. Ideal. VIDEO: Trobriand Island women
READ CA all of Chapter 3
READ in AE, # 1 “Before: The Sixties”.
READ in YANO thru page 43 (ie, finish chapter one)
NOTE: we are going to skip most of the material in Chapter 4 in CA; you are welcome to look thru it, and if you want to study the topics in detail, they are the content of the course ANTH A105 Human Origins. We will cover the topic of “race” from chapter 4, and also chapter 5 on language, after our mid-term exam.
Week Four January 29 & 31 Culture & Personality; Margaret Mead. Independence training. We will watch a short video called Children
READ Chapter 6 in CA
READ in AE # 21 “The Berdache Tradition” & # 23 “Where Fat is a Mark of Beauty”
Week Five February 5 & 7 Subsistence strategies — getting food.
READ Chapter 7 in CA
READ Chapter 2 of YANO up to mid page 71.
READ in AE # 11 “Understanding Eskimo Science”
Try here for a look at Pastoralism: http://anthro.palomar.edu/subsistence/sub_3.htm
Darwin Day speakers in LCC 105C noon to 2 on Wed Feb 13; if you come and take notes, you can get credit for a bonus quiz.
Week Six February 12 & 14 Economic systems
READ in CA Chapter 8
READ in AE # 15 “Ties that Bind” & # 14 “Too Many Bananas”
Week Seven February 19 & 21 Interviews are Due on Tuesday;
NO QUIZ THIS WEEK
Groupings; Political Systems: Bands, tribes, chiefdoms, states
READ in CA: Chapters 11 & 12
READ in AE # 2 “Eating Christmas in the Kalahari”
READ in YANO: rest of Chapter 2.
Week Eight February 26 & 28 Quiz covers weeks 6 & 7
The Supernatural: Religion & Magic; Arts
READ Chapters 13 & 14 in CA.
READ Chapter 3 in YANO
READ in AE # 30 “Baseball Magic” & # 25 “Ancient Teachings, Modern Lessons”
Week Nine Tuesday March 4: Quiz, then lecture on shamanistic healing
STUDY for exam: Placebo Effect Handout
Thursday March 6: Midterm Exam
SPRING BREAK March 10-14 One Dollar Used Book Sale is week of March 17-21
Week Ten March 18 & 20 – info is on next page
Week Ten March 18 & 20
SEX, marriage, family, residence, and how to draw kinship charts.
READ in CA Chapter 9
READ in YANO Chapter 4 up to middle of page 137
READ in AE # 20 “Who needs Love in Japan?”
Week Eleven: March 25 & 27
Descent Groups & Kinship Terminology Systems
READ in CA Chapter 10
READ in AE # 16 “When Brothers Share a Wife”
READ in YANO rest of Chapter 4
Week Twelve: April 1 & 3 Language
Caution: students tell me this is the most difficult material in the course
READ Chapter 5 in CA.
READ in AE # 10 “Shakespeare in the Bush” & # 6 “Whose Speech is Better?”
Week Thirteen: April 8 & 10 Evolution of complex societies VIDEO: The Feast
REVIEW Chapters 11 & 12 in CA as needed
READ in YANO Chapters 5 & 6
READ in AE # 13 “Meeting the Massai”
READ handout “Life without Chiefs”
Week Fourteen April 15 & 17 Culture Change I Video: Sami Herders
READ Chapter 15 in CA
READ Chapters 7 & 8 in YANO
READ in AE # 31 “Why can’t People Feed Themselves?” & # 32 “The Arrow of Disease”
Week Fifteen Culture Change II; the cultural construct of “Race”
READ Chapter 16 in CA and also Pages 91 to 95 on Race.
READ in AE # 34 “The Price of Progress”
READ handout on Race
FINAL EXAM Thursday May 1, 2008; same time, same room; two hour exam. There will also be an optional quiz on Week Fifteen readings and lectures.
http://www.iun.edu/~anthronw/A143syllabus.htm rev 1.1, January 4, 2008. Comments: Bob Mucci