INTRODUCTION TO CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY (ANTH 2233-002)
Fall 1998
TR 8-9:15 AM, LSE 203
Instructor: Richard Burns
Office: Wilson 213
Office phone: 972-3043
Office hours: TR 12:30-1:45 PM; or by appointment

Required Texts:

Hicks and Gwynne, Cultural Anthropology, 2nd edition (=CA).
Chagnon, Yanomamö, 5th edition.
Ward, Them Children.

Course Outline (subject to modification):

Aug. 20: Course Introduction
25: The Nature of Anthropology (CA, Ch. 1)
27: The Concept and Nature of Culture (CA, Ch. 2)
Sept. 1: Theories in Anthropology (CA, Ch. 3)
3: Fieldwork and Ethnographic Research (CA, Ch. 4)
8: Sample Ethnography #1: Yanomamö (pp. 1-43)
10: Examination #1
15: Language and Culture (CA, Ch. 5)
17: Language and Culture (Video: American Tongues)
22: Subsistence Patterns (CA, Ch. 6)
24: Sample Ethnography #1: Yanomamö (pp. 45-97)
29: Economic Systems (CA, Ch. 7)
Oct. 1: Sex, Gender, and Culture (CA, Ch. 8)
6: Family and Descent (CA, Ch. 9)
8: Examination #2
13: Marriage (CA, Ch. 10)
15: Groups and Social Stratification (CA, Ch. 11)
20: Sample Ethnography #1: Yanomamö (pp. 121-158)
22: Political Organization (CA, Ch. 12) Sample Ethnography #1: Yanomamö (pp. 159-183)
27: Sample Ethnography #1: Yanomamö (pp. 185-226)
29: Your instructor will be out of town this day, but will assign an activity in lieu of a class meeting Nov 3: Belief Systems (CA, Ch. 13)
5: Sample Ethnography #1: Yanomamö (pp. 99-119)
10: Examination #3
12: Sample Ethnography #2: Them Children (pp. 1-30)
17: Sample Ethnography #2: Them Children (pp. 31-57)
19: Sample Ethnography #2: Them Children (pp. 58-94)
24: Expressive Culture (CA, Ch. 14)
26: Thanksgiving Holiday
Dec. 1: Folklore
3: Culture and the Human Body (CA, Ch. 15)
8: Culture Change (CA, Ch. 16) Sample Ethnography #1: Yanomamö (pp. 227-260)
Dec. 10: Final Examination, 8-10 AM (only for 8-9:45 AM class)

Course Requirements:

1. Examinations: (10 Sept., 8 Oct., 10 Nov., and 10 Dec.). 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; otherwise, each exam counts 20% of your final grade.

2. Reading Quizzes: Expect short multiple-choice quizzes over assigned readings, which I will frequently give at the beginning of class. Since I will give numerous quizzes during the semester, I will average your ten best scores, which will count 20% of your final grade. There are no make-up quizzes, regardless of the reason(s) you might miss taking one or more. To take a quiz, you must be seated at the time I distribute it.

3. Make-Up Work: Exams can be made up only with a verified, justifiable excuse (illness, serious family emergency, university business, 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 a required exam, you will receive a zero for 20% of your final average. Quizzes may not be made up under any circumstances (see #2).

4. Attendance Policy: The university attendance policy specifies that missing more than two weeks' worth of classes (four classes) without a verified, justifiable excuse (illness, serious family emergency, university business, inclement weather [commuter students only]) may result in a failing grade for the course. However, I have moderated this policy for this course by lowering your final average by one grade if you miss six classes and failing you if you miss eight. Leaving a class immediately after taking a quiz will be considered an absence. Similarly, excessive tardiness will also be considered an absence.

5. Grading Scale: The numerical ranges of letter grades for mid-term and final reports will be: A = 90-100, B = 80-89, C = 70-79, D = 60-69, F =below 60.