ANTH 2233-001 - INTRODUCTION TO
CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Spring 2008
TR 8:00-9:15 AM or 12:30-1:45 PM,
Wilson 216
Course
Description:
Cultural anthropology is the study of human societies and the
underlying patterns of human culture. This course seeks to develop
studentsÕ 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:
Dr. Richard Burns
email: rburns@astate.edu
Website: www.clt.astate.edu/rburns Office:
Wilson 213 Office phone: 972-2164
Office Hrs: TR:
2-4 PM (or by appointment)
Required
Texts:
Elizabeth W. Fernea. Guests of the
Sheik: An Ethnography
of an Iraqi Village.
Waveland, 1990.
Serena Nanda and Richard Warms, Cultural
Anthropology, 9th ed.
Wadsworth, 2007. (=Nanda)
Recommended: Karen K, Daar
and Richard L. Warms. Study guide for Nanda and WarmsÕs Cultural
Anthropology, Ninth Edition. Wadsworth, 2007.
Course
Outline:
Jan. 15:
Course Introduction
17:
The Nature of Anthropology and Human Diversity
Reading: Nanda,
Chapter 1, pp. 2-25.
22:
Doing Anthropological Fieldwork
Reading: Nanda, Chapter 3, pp. 59-83.
24:
Doing Anthropological Fieldwork
Film: Margaret Mead
29: The Concept of
Culture
Reading: Nanda, Chapter 4, pp. 85-113.
31:
Culture Shock in Iraq
Reading: Guests of the Sheik, pp. ÒIntroductionÓ and 3-48.
Feb. 5:
Language and Communication
Reading: Nanda, Chapter 5, pp. 115-143.
7:
Exam #1
12:
Subsistence Strategies
Reading: Nanda, Chapter 6, pp. 144-173.
14:
Subsistence Strategies: Case Study (Film)
19:
Economics
Reading: Nanda, Chapter 7, pp. 175-203.
21: Marriage and Family
Reading: Nanda, Chapter 8, pp. 204-233.
26:
Film: Strange Relations
28: Kinship
Reading: Nanda, Chapter 9, pp. 234-257.
Mar. 4:
Exam #2
6:
Gender
Reading: Nanda, Chapter 10, pp. 258-283.
11:
Fieldwork from a WomanÕs Perspective
Sample ethnography: Guests of the Sheik, pp. 49-
94.
13:
Political Systems and Conflict Resolution
Reading: Nanda, Chapter 11, pp. 284-313.
17-22:
SPRING BREAK
25:
Stratification: Class, Caste, ÒRace,Ó and Ethnicity
Reading: Nanda, Chapters 12-13, pp. 314-371.
27:
DELTA BLUES SYPOSIUM (no class) More on this later.
Apr. 1:
Social Stratification: Case Study.
Reading: Guests of the Sheik, pp. 95-170
3: Exam
#3
8:
Belief Systems
Reading: Nanda, Chapter 14, pp. 372-407.
10:
Case Study
Reading: Guests of the Sheik, pp. 174-248.
15:
Anthropology and the Arts
Reading: Nanda, Chapter 15, pp. 408-435.
17:
Culture Change
Reading: Nanda, Chapter 16, pp. 436-469.
22:
Culture Change and Sample Ethnographies
Reading: Guests of the Sheik, pp. 251-333.
24:
Review
May 1: Final
Examination, 8:00 – 10:00 AM
Course Requirements:
NOTE: You must turn off your cell phone and put it away before entering the
classroom.
Examinations: (7 February, 4 March, 3 April, 1
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 assigned readings, which you need to read
before each class meeting. I will give several quizzes throughout the
semester and will take the ten best scores to determine your quiz average,
which will count 20% toward your final course grade. To take a quiz, you
must be in your seat at the time I distribute it, which is often at the
beginning of class. Because I give so many (nearly every class meeting), I
generally do not give make-up quizzes.
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 studentÕs 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.