ANTH 2233-001 - INTRODUCTION TO CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Spring 2003
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. One aim of the course is to suggest what we can learn about our own culture by studying how others do things differently.
Instructor: Richard Burns email:
rburns@astate.edu
Web-site:
www.clt.astate.edu/rburns
Office:
Wilson 213 Office
phone: 972-3043
Office Hrs: 11-12 P.M., 2-3 P.M., or by appointment
Required Texts:
Koyo A. Dei.
Ties That Bind: Youth and Drugs in a Black Community.
Waveland, 2002.
David M. Hayano. Road Through the Rain Forest: Living Anthropology in
Highland Papua New Guinea. Waveland, 1990.
Serena Nanda, Cultural Anthropology, 7th edition. Wadsworth, 2002. (=Nanda)
Be
sure to check out Wadsworth’s very helpful web-site:
http://anthropology.wadsworth.com
Recommended: Karen K. Daar. Study Guide for Cultural Anthropology.
Course Outline:
Jan. 9: Course Introduction
14: The Nature of Anthropology and Human Diversity
Reading:
Nanda, Chapter 1, pp. 1-17.
16: The Nature of Anthropology and Representations of
the “Other”
Reading: Nanda, Chapter 3, pp. 49-69.
21: Doing Anthropological Fieldwork
Reading: Road Through the Rain Forest, pp. ix-35.
23: Doing Anthropological Fieldwork
Reading: Road Through the Rain Forest, pp. 37-86.
28: Sample Ethnography
Reading:
Road Through the Rain Forest,
pp. 87-116.
30: The Concept of Culture
Reading: Road Through the Rain Forest, pp. 117-159.
Feb. 4: The Concept of Culture
Reading: Nanda, Chapter 4, pp. 71-91.
6: Exam #1
11: Language and Communication
Reading: Nanda, Chapter 5, pp. 93-117.
13: Language and Communication Learning Culture
Video:
American Tongues.
18: Learning Culture
Reading:
Nanda, Chapter 6, pp. 123-143.
20: Making a Living
Reading:
Nanda, Chapter 7, pp. 145-167.
25: Economics
Reading:
Nanda, Chapter 8, pp. 169-193.
27: Exam #2 (To see study guide, click here.)
Mar. 4: Marriage and the Family
Reading: Nanda, Chapter 9, pp. 195-217.
6: Family and Kinship
Reading: Nanda, Chapter 10, pp. 219-239.
11: Gender
Reading:
Nanda:, Chapter 11, pp. 241-260.
13: Social Stratification and Ethnicity
– Case Study
Reading: Ties That Bind, pp. xi-52.
Spring Break
25: Social Stratification and
Ethnicity – Case Study
Reading: Ties That Bind, pp. 53-94.
27: Delta Blues Symposium IX: no class meeting.
Apr. 1:
Social Stratification and Ethnicity – Case Study
Reading: Ties That Bind, pp. 95-163.
3: Exam #3 (To see study guide, click here.)
8: Political Systems and Conflict
Resolution
Reading:
Nanda, Chapter 12, pp. 263-285.
10: Stratification
Reading: Nanda, Chapter 13, pp. 287-307
15: Ethnicity
Reading: Nanda, Chapter 14, pp. 309-331.
17: Belief Systems
Reading: Nanda, Chapter 15, pp. 335-363.
22: Expressive Culture
Reading: Nanda, Chapter 16, pp. 365-383.
24: Culture Change
Reading: Nanda, Chapter 17, pp. 385-411.
29: Review
May
1: Final Exam (check your syllabus for the exact time) Click here for a study guide.
Course Requirements:
Examinations: (6 February, 27 February, 3 April, 5 May). 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. 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. To repeat, there are no make-up quizzes.
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 six and failing after you miss eight. 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.