ANT 2351-004

Introduction to Cultural Anthropology

Section 05229

Fall 2003

TTH 10:35-11:50

Instructor: Michael Pool

Office Hours:

 

·        Pinnacle 413

o       223-8105

o       TTH 12:00-1:12

·        Northridge 2111

o       223-4827

o       MWF 11:00-12:12

 

Home: 280-7654 (Do Not call after 10:00 pm)

E-mail: mpool@austincc.edu

Anthropology Web Page: http://www.austincc.edu/anthro/

Copy of syllabus: http://www.austincc.edu/pool/pool.htm

Syllabus

Classes start Aug. 25

 

Anthropology and Culture

 

Aug. 28

·        Cultural Anthropology: Preface, Putting the World in Perspective, Introduction Part I, and Chapter 1

·        Study Guide: Lesson 1

·       Video 1: The Nature of Anthropology

 

Sept. 1 Labor Day

 

Sept. 2

·        Cultural Anthropology: Chapter 2

·        Study Guide: Lessons 2 & 3

Background Notes: 2A-C & 3A-C

 

Sept. 4

·        Video 2: The Nature of Culture

·        Video 3: How Cultures are Studied

 

Language

 

Sept. 9

·        Cultural Anthropology: Introduction Part II and Chapter 4

·        Study Guide: Lesson 4

·        Video 4: Language and Communications

 

Psychological Anthropology

 

Sept. 11

·        Cultural Anthropology: Chapter 5

·        Study Guide: Lessons 5 & 6

Background Notes: 5A & 6A

·        Video 6: Alejandro Mamani: A Case Study in Psychological Anthropology

Recommended: Video 5: Psychological Anthropology

 

Sept. 18 Test 1 (Chapters 1-5)

              Study Guide Due (Lessons 1-6)

 

Subsistence Strategies

 

Sept. 23

·        Cultural Anthropology: Chapter 6

·        Study Guide: Lessons 7 & 8

Background Notes: 7A-B & 8A-C

 

Sept. 25

·        Video 7: Patterns of Subsistence: Food Foragers and Pastoralists

·        Video 8: Patterns of Subsistence: The Food Producers

 

Economic Anthropology

 

Sept. 30

·        Cultural Anthropology: Introduction Part III and Chapter 7

·        Study Guide: Lessons 9 & 10

Background Notes: 10A

 

Oct. 2

·        Video 10: The Highland Maya: A Case Study in Economic Anthropology

        Recommended: Video 9: Economic Anthropology

 

Social Organization

 

Oct. 7

·        Cultural Anthropology: Chapter 8

·        Study Guide: Lesson 11

·        Video 11: Sex and Marriage

 

Oct. 9

·        Cultural Anthropology: Chapters 9

·        Study Guide: Lessons 12 & 13

Background Notes: 13A-B

·        Video 13: The Yucatec Maya: A Case Study in Marriage and the Family

Recommended: Video 12: Family and Household

 

Oct. 14

·        Cultural Anthropology: Chapter 10

·        Study Guide: Lessons 14 & 15

 

Oct. 16

·        Video 14: Kinship and Descent, Part I

·        Video 15: Kinship and Descent, Part II

 

Oct. 21

·        Cultural Anthropology: Introduction Part IV and Chapter 11

·        Study Guide: Lessons 16 & 17

Background Notes: 17A

 

Oct. 23

·        Video 17: The Aymara: A Case Study in Social Stratification

        Recommended: Video 16: Age, Common Interest, and Stratification

 

Oct. 30Test 2 (Chapters 6-11)

            Study Guide Due (Lessons 7-17)

 

 

Political Organization

 

Nov. 4

·        Cultural Anthropology: Chapter 12

·        Study Guide: Lessons 18 & 19

 

Nov. 6

·        Video 18: Political Organization

·        Video 19: Social Control

 

Religion

 

Nov. 11

·        Cultural Anthropology: Chapter 13

·        Study Guide: Lessons 20 & 21

Background Notes: 21A

 

Nov. 13

·        Video 20: Religion & Magic

·        Video 21: The Asmat of New Guinea: A Case Study in Religion and Magic

 

Arts

 

Nov. 18

·        Cultural Anthropology: Chapter 14

·        Study Guide: Lessons 22 & 23

Background Notes: 23A

 

Nov. 20

·        Video 22:The Arts

·        Video 23: New Orleans Black Indians: A Case Study in the Arts

 

 

Nov. 20 Last Day to Withdraw

 

Culture Change

 

Nov. 25

·        Cultural Anthropology: Chapter 15

·        Study Guide: Lessons 24 & 25

Background Notes: 25A

 

Nov. 27-30 Thanksgiving

 

Dec. 2

·        Video 24: Cultural Change

·        Video 25: Cricket the Trobriand Way: A Case Study in Culture Change

 

Dec. 4

·        Cultural Anthropology: Chapter 16

·        Study Guide: Lesson 26

·         Video 26: The Future of Humanity

 

Dec. 4 Extracredit Book Report Deadline

 

Dec. 11 Test 3 (Chapters 12-16)

            Study Guide Due (Lessons 18-26)

 

 

Texts

 

William A. Haviland (2002) Cultural Anthropology, Tenth Edition. Wadsworth Publishers. ISBN 0534612016.

 

Richard T. Searles and Valerie L. Lee (2002) Study Guide for the Telecourse: Faces of Culture, Eighth Edition. Wadsworth Publishing. ISBN 0-155-06204-2.

Grading

 

Tests (200 points total):  There are three tests.  Each test will be objective, consisting of 50 multiple-choice questions.  The lower of the first two tests will be dropped.  If you miss one of the first two tests, that one will count as the dropped test.  You are required to provide a scantron sheet (available at the Campus Store) and a #2 pencil for each test.

 

Study Guide (100 points):  Complete the Vocabulary Check, Completion, and Self-Test sections of the study guide.  Complete the lessons for any videos not viewed in class.  As a study aid, look at the short-answer essay questions and consider how to answer them; then look at the answer key following them.  Hand the Study Guide on the day of each exam. Used study guides require instructor permission.

 

Participation (100 points):  This part of your grade is based on your attendance and participation in class discussion.  This will consist of three parts: attendance (60 points), chapter summaries (20 points), and class discussion (20 points).

 

        Attendance (60 points) will be taken from Sept. 2 through Dec. 4.  You will receive the following points based on absences:

 

      For the chapter summaries (20 points), write a one-page (minimum 275 words) summary of the chapter.  I will accept the chapter summaries late until the test over that material.  Each summary is worth 1.33 points.  Do not do Chapter 3.

 

      Class discussion is worth up to 20 points.  This means consistently asking questions, answering questions, and discussing the material.  At the end of the semester (Dec. 9), the class will evaluate itself as a whole on how many points each individual should receive.  Not everyone can get the same grade.  I reserve the right to increase anyone’s grade but not to decrease it.

Grades

 

A= 400-356.4 points

B= 356.3-316.4 points

C= 316.3-276.4 points

D= 276.3-236.4  points

F<= 236.3 points

Course Description

This course introduces the student to a holistic study of culture. The major elements of human social behavior, material culture, and cultural diversity are studied as adaptations to social and environmental change--past and present.

Course Objectives

Students who complete this course will:

·        Will be able to describe what anthropology and physical anthropology are.

·        Have gained a broad cross-cultural background against which to view our culture as well as contemporary social problems.

·        Be able to recognize similarities and differences in human cultures.

·        Be aware that there are various valid cultural solutions to the problems of life.

·        Be able to understand the factors involved in culture change.

·        Be able to understand some of the methods, theories, and procedures  anthropologists use in studying cultures.

Course Rationale

 

ANTH 2351 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology is designed to provide students with an understanding of the interaction of culture and biology as it bears on the evolution of hominid and cultural diversity. This course will allow students to apply general anthropological knowledge and skills to everyday life and their chosen careers, to apply the course towards an associate degree at Austin Community College, and to prepare them for success in upper division courses in Anthropology at other institutions.

Policies

 

1.    One point will be deducted from your grade for each calendar day a study guide assignment is late after its due date.  Points will be deducted until a maximum grade of 70 can be earned; points will not be deducted below a grade of 70.  After May 9, a score of zero will be recorded.

 

Chapter summaries will be accepted late until the date of the test for that chapter but will receive half credit.

 

2.  The Study Guide may handed in either by giving it to me in class or during my office hours, placing it in my mail box after getting a date stamp from the receptionist, or by routing it to me from any campus through the ACC mail system after getting a date stamp from the receptionist to Michael Pool at the Riverside Campus.

 

3.  It is not my policy to drop students; it is the student's responsibility to drop the class.

 

4.  Students are responsible for informing me when they show up for class after roll is called.

 

5.  Incompletes are discouraged and will only be given for extenuating circumstances.  Time conflicts and poor time management are not acceptable reasons; ACC has a very liberal drop policy you can use in these circumstances.

 

6.  Acts prohibited by the college for which discipline may be administered include scholastic dishonesty, including but not limited to cheating on an exam or quiz, plagiarizing, and unauthorized collaboration with another in preparing outside work. Academic work submitted by students shall be the result of their thought, research or self-expression. Academic work is defined as, but not limited to tests, quizzes, whether taken electronically or on paper; projects, either individual or group; classroom presentations, and homework.

 

In cases of scholastic dishonesty (cheating) and after meeting with the student or notifying the student of the reasons for believing scholastic dishonesty occurred, a grade of 0 will be recorded for any work determined by the instructor to result from an act of scholastic dishonesty.  The Dean of Student Services will be notified of the incident and the academic penalty and will determine if any further disciplinary penalty will be assessed.  The student can accept the penalty or dispute it in writing to the Dean, within five (5) College class days (excluding weekends) of the student's receipt of written notice of the academic penalty assessed, either the facts of the offense or the academic penalty assessed.  The student is referred to the ACC Student Handbook for further details.

 

7.  Each ACC campus offers support services for students with documented physical or psychological disabilities. Students with disabilities must request reasonable accommodations through the Office for Students with Disabilities on the campus where they expect to take the majority of their classes. Students are encouraged to do this three weeks before the start of the semester.

 

8.  Each student is strongly encouraged to participate in class discussions. In any classroom situation that includes discussion and critical thinking, there are bound to be many differing viewpoints. Students may not only disagree with each other at times, but the students and instructor may also find that they have disparate views on sensitive and volatile topics. It is my hope that these differences will enhance class discussion and create an atmosphere where students and instructor alike will be encouraged to think and learn. Therefore, be assured that your grades will not be adversely affected by any beliefs or ideas expressed in class or in assignments. Rather, we will all respect the views of others when expressed in classroom discussions.

 

Extracredit

 

Internet Quizzes (5 points): You will receive 1/3 point added to your final grade for completing each of the chapter quizzes at the publisher’s web site (http://www.wadsworth.com/anthropology_d/).   Click on Student Resources in the far left column and then click on the icon for Cultural Anthropology by Haviland.  This brings up a new window.  Pick the chapter in the drop down box menu and then click on Tutorial Quiz.  Take the quiz for each chapter and bring me a print out of your completed results.  You can receive this extracredit up to the date of the test covering that chapter.

               There are also links to other resources you may wish to explore.

 

Book Review

You will receive up to 15 points added to your final grade for writing a 5-page review of an ethnography that you select and I approve.  An A on the review will get 15 points, a B 10 points, and a C 5 points.  You will be guarantied at least a C if you meet the following guidelines:

 

·      typed, double-spaced with one inch margins, no more than 12 point type

·      a minimum of 5 pages (not 4 1/2).

·      received by the due date and not later

·      an ethnography of a specific group of people anywhere in the world, but no collections of papers

·      instructor approval of the book

 

Any of the cases studies listed on the back cover of the textbook do not require prior approval.  You can get more information on these case studies at the publisher’s web site (http://www.wadsworth.com/anthropology_d/) by clicking on the Case Studies link in the far left column and then clicking on the Anthropology Case Studies link.