ANTH 2233-001 - INTRODUCTION TO CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Fall 2004
Instructor: Richard Burns Email: rburns@astate.edu Web-site: www.clt.astate.edu/rburns
Office: W 213 Office Hours: TR 11-12 PM., 3:30-4:30 P.M., M 3:30-4:30 PM,
and by appointment (972-2164)
Course Description:
Cultural anthropology is the study of human societies and the underlying patterns of human culture. This course seeks to develop students’ skills in the understanding of unfamiliar cultures and in the interpretation of cultural differences and similarities of people all over the world.
Required Texts:
Roberta Edwards Lenkeit, Introducing Cultural Anthropology, 2nd edition (=CA)
Joan C. Barker, Danger, Duty, and Disillusion: The Worldview of Los Angeles Police Officers
Fredrik Barth, Nomads of South Persia (1986 reissue)
Debra Picchi, The
Bakairí Indians of Brazil
Aug. 24: Course Introduction
26: The Anthropological Perspective (CA, Ch. 1)
31: The Concept of Culture (CA, Ch. 2)
Sept. 2: Ethnographic Fieldwork (CA, Ch. 3)
7: Case Study: The History and Ecology of a Pastoral Group (Barth, pp. vii-23)
9: Shifting Residence Among the Basseri (Barth, pp. 25-69)
14: Basseri Politics and Economics (Barth, pp. 71-111)
16: Demographics and Ritual Life Among the Basseri (Barth, pp. 113-153)
21: Exam #1 (click here to see the study guide)
23: Language and Communication (CA, Ch. 4)
28: Food-Getting Strategies (CA, Ch. 5).
30: Marriage and Family (CA, Ch. 6)
Oct. 5: Residence and Kinship Systems (CA, Ch. 7)
7: Sex and Gender (CA, Ch. 8) For the answer key to quiz #9a, click here.
12: Exam #2 (click here to see the study guide)
14: no
class – your instructor will be out of town but will plan an alternate
activity.
19: Political Order, Disorder, and Social Control (CA, Ch. 9)
21: Case Study of an Urban Subculture: The World View of the LAPD (Barker, pp. xi-41)
26: Policing and Hitting the Streets (Barker, pp. 44-85).
28: Hitting Their Stride, Hitting the Wall, and Regrouping (Barker, pp. 88-154)
Nov. 2: Retirement and Reflections of a Police Officer (Barker, pp. 155-212)
4: Exam #3 (click here to see the study guide)
9: Belief Systems (CA, Ch. 10)
11: Expressive Culture (CA, Ch. 11)
16: Culture Change (CA, Ch 12)
18: Case Study: The Bakairí Indians (Picchi, pp. xi-45)
22-27: Fall Break/Thanksgiving Holiday
29: Bakairí Households and Making a Living (Picchi, pp. 47-119)
Dec. 2: The Bakairí and Their Masks (Picchi, pp. 121-183) Click here for answers to Quiz #19.
9: Final Exam (8-10 AM or 2:45-4:45 PM, depending on when your class meets)
Course Requirements:
Examinations: (21 September, 12 October, 4 November, 9 December). These will be objective and use a variety of testing methods. The final will have a comprehensive component and is mandatory to pass the course. Each exam counts 20% of your final grade.
Reading quizzes: Expect short multiple-choice quizzes over the reading assigned for each class meeting. I will give several quizzes throughout the semester but will only count the ten best scores for your quiz average, which will count 20% toward your final course grade; consequently, I generally do not give make-up quizzes. To take a quiz, you must be seated at the time I distribute it, which is often at the beginning of class.
Make-up work: Exams may be made up only with a verifiable, justifiable excuse (illness, serious family emergency, university business, or inclement weather [commuter students only]). A make-up examination must be taken within one week of a student’s return to class. If you do not take an exam, you will receive a 0 for 20% of your final course average. You must take the Final Exam to pass.
Attendance Policy: Please consult the Undergraduate Bulletin regarding attendance policy. I have modified this policy by lowering your final average by one grade if you miss four and failing after you miss six. Leaving class immediately early or after immediately taking a quiz will be considered an absence. Similarly, excessive tardiness will also be considered an absence.
Grading Scale: The numerical ranges of letter grades for mid-term and final grades will be: A = 90-100, B = 80-89, C = 70-79, D = 60-69, F = below 60.