ANTH 2233-002 - INTRODUCTION TO CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY

Spring 2005

Instructor: Richard Burns   Email:  rburns@astate.edu   Web-site: www.clt.astate.edu/rburns

Office: W 213   Office Hours: TR 2:00-5:00 P.M. 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 studentsŐ 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

Kevin Duffy,  Children of the Forest: Africa's Mbuti Pygmies (1996 reissue)

Debra Picchi, The Bakairi Indians of Brazil

 

Course Outline (subject to change):

 

Jan. 11:  Course Introduction

13:       The Anthropological Perspective (CA, Ch. 1)

18:       The Concept of Culture (CA, Ch. 2)       

20:       Ethnographic Fieldwork (CA, Ch. 3)                

25:       Case Study: A Personal Encounter with Africa's Mbuti Pygmies (Duffy, pp. vii-36)              

27:       Strategies for Survival and Traditions Among the Mbuti Pygmies (Duffy, pp. 37-85)

Feb. 1: Hunting Among the Mbuti Pygmies (Duffy, pp. 86-120)                                 

3:         Birth, Death, and Ritual Life Among the Mbuti Pygmies (Duffy pp. 121-177)

8:         Exam #1 (click here for study guide)

10:       Language and Communication (CA, Ch. 4)                     

15:       Food-Getting Strategies (CA, Ch. 5).                         

17:       Marriage and Family (CA, Ch. 6)                                              

22:       Residence and Kinship Systems (CA, Ch. 7) (click here for answer key to quiz #9)

24:       Exam #2 (click here for study guide)

Mar 1: Sex and Gender (CA, Ch. 8) 

3:         Political Order, Disorder, and Social Control (CA, Ch. 9)

8:         Case Study of an Urban Subculture: The World View of the LAPD (Barker, pp. xi-41)

10:       Policing and Hitting the Streets (Barker, pp. 44-85).

14-19: Spring Break

22:       Hitting Their Stride, Hitting the Wall, and Regrouping (Barker, pp. 88-154)

24:       Retirement and Reflections of a Police Officer (Barker, pp. 155-212)

29:       Exam #3 (click here for study guide)

31:       Belief Systems (CA, Ch. 10)

Apr, 5: Expressive Culture (CA, Ch. 11)

7:         Culture Change (CA, Ch. 12)  Note: Delta Blues Symposium (no class)

12:       Case Study: The Bakairi Indians (Picchi, pp. xi-45)

14:       Bakairi Households and Making a Living (Picchi, pp. 47-119)

19:       The Bakairi and Their Masks (Picchi, pp. 121-155)

21:       Ethnic Identity and the Bakairi (Picchi, pp. 157-183) For key to quiz, click here.

28:       Final Exam (see your sepcific class syllabus)

           

                                                       

 

Course Requirements:

 

Examinations: (8 February, 24 February, 29 March, 28 April).  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 studentŐs 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. 

 

Class Attendance Policy:  Arrive to class prepared and on time.  To repeat, I frequently give quizzes at the beginning of class and do not give make-ups.  Once you are in your seat, turn your cell phone off. 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 class meetings and failing you after you miss six.  Leaving class early or after 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.