PCM Cultural Anthropology Syllabus
ANTH 2351-
Fall 2009 – 8 week session
October 19 – December 12
Please email me if you have any questions about the course before you
register:
If you register for the course, you must do the
Online Orientation at my website: www.austincc.edu/sheiden
by the end of the first week of class (by Saturday, 10/24). It is posted now and you may do it
anytime. Select the:
“Online
Orientation – 8wk ANTH 2351-
The Online Orientation will ask you some
questions that demonstrate you understand the material in this Syllabus and how
the course works, so read the Syllabus thoroughly before doing the Online
Orientation. The Online Orientation also
sends me your information, such as address and phone numbers, etc.
ACC now furnishes all ACC students with an ACC
student email address. If I email you,
it will be using your ACC student email address. If you do not already have one, you must go
through the process of getting an ACC user name and password as soon as
possible to access Blackboard, the Library, etc. Instructions on how to do it is at the ACC
homepage, go to eServices, then ACCeID above the “Golden Key”
There is a REQUIRED series you must view for this
course, called “Our Diverse World” that can be streamed online or watched in
the Media Areas in the main campus Libraries.
It is 17 thirty minute programs and details on how to access them are
given below.
Instructor: Sherry
Heiden, Ph.D. sheiden@austincc.edu
(When you email me, please
include in your subject line “8wk PCM” (I teach several sections and can answer your question quicker if I do not
have to find your name among
several rolls.)
Office Hours:
PLEASE
call me, 922-8980, to tell me that you would like to meet.
Other
times can be arranged.
Office Phone: 922-8980, call
anytime (it is my cell phone) and leave message.
If you take
tests at the ACC Campus Testing Centers, you must specify on the Test Request forms
to mail your tests to me at the Pinnacle campus. (Note:
another instructor, Carol Hayman, also teaches PCM Cultural Anthropology. Be sure you are taking a test that says
Sherry Heiden as the instructor, and be sure your test is sent to me at the Pinnacle
campus.)
________________________________________________________________
> PCM courses
are one type of
> Course Objectives: This course
will introduce the basic concepts of cultural anthropology – the study of human
cultures. We will cover the basic
theoretical perspectives, trace the discipline’s historical development, and
study how different cultures approach the problems of survival and organize
themselves to thrive socially, economically, and face the unknown. Cultures deal with these activities in
interesting and diverse ways. Hopefully
you will gain a broad view of human cultures that, in addition, will help you
have a better understanding of your own.
> The
required text is: Cultural Anthropology, by Nancy Bonvillain. Either
the first edition (ISBN 0-13-045545-8) or the new second edition (ISBN
978-0-205-68509-7) is fine. The chapters are numbered the same in both editions.
The text is sold at the ACC Rio Grande
bookstore, Bevo’s Books, and the University Co-Op. If the ACC bookstore at the
campus nearest you does not carry this text, you can request that it be sent to
any ACC bookstore from the main ACC bookstore. The main ACC Bookstore is
located at
>Course Organization: You must access
the Objectives & Notes for each Chapter through Blackboard; printing them
out would be helpful. With Objectives in hand, skim each assigned Chapter to
get familiar with it. Note that all
17 Chapters in the text will be covered. Then go back and read it in depth,
making notes if necessary. Then watch
the required “Our Diverse World” Series, either online or at an ACC campus
library.
The course has four Units with four Unit Tests,
with one optional Essay Final taken at the end of the semester. The
score on the optional Essay Final will replace the lowest of your 4 Unit Test
scores. Each Unit Test is 50 multiple
choice questions. They can be taken
online through Blackboard or can be taken at any of the 10 ACC Testing Centers;
go to www.austincc.edu/testctr
for their hours and locations. Note that
only Northridge and
The deadline for taking each Unit Test falls on a
Thursday (except for Unit Test 3 which falls on the Wednesday before
Thanksgiving.) The deadlines are the same whether you take the Unit Test online
or at an
Each of the 4 Unit Tests has a firm deadline. I will ask for a doctor’s excuse, funeral
notice, or police report to get an extension. Lacking these, there will be a 10 point
penalty for taking a Unit Test late. See
the attached schedule for the deadlines.
There is the option for one Extra Credit Video Review,
4 full pages in length, worth a maximum of 20 points. This is due by
The optional Essay Final must be emailed to me by
Note: There are two things that interfere with
taking tests online in Blackboard: You must turn off any spam-blocker programs
running on your computer for the test questions to appear on your computer
efficiently and it works best if you are not using a computer with a wireless
connection. If you have problems with
test questions loading while taking a test online CALL ME IMMEDIATELY, LEAVE
MESSAGE IF NECESSARY, THEN ALSO EMAIL ME. DO NOT
To take a test at an ACC testing center: you must present valid identification, typically an ACC ID and a
drivers license
>Required series – “Our Diverse World” can
be viewed in 2 ways:
1) View anytime, streamed online at: http://irt.austincc.edu/streaming/telecourses/dw.html This will take you to the Table of Contents page, so select a program. Before you hit the “play” triangle in the middle of the small black screen, paste this at the end of the URL for that program:
&width=700&height=450
THEN hit play. This will increase the size of the black screen.
You can play around with the 700 and 450, but larger may loose image crispness.
2) On campus, look on the shelves under
Anthropology in the Media Areas of the 8 ACC Libraries for the “Our Diverse
World ”
>Your grade: Your grade for the course depends on the total points you accumulate
on 4 Unit Tests (4 x 100 points/test = 400 points) plus an optional Extra Credit
Review (20 possible points). (One Unit Test score can be replaced by the
optional Essay Exam at the end of the semester.) If you fail to take a test for
a unit, it will result in a 0 for that unit.
All 4 Unit Tests must be taken.
>90% of 400 total points or >360 pts = A
>80% of 400 total points or
>320 pts = B
>70% of 400 total points or
>280 pts = C
>60% of 400 total points or
>240 pts = D
>Blackboard: Blackboard
is an on-line classroom management tool. On Blackboard, I will post the
Syllabus, an Announcements page, Objectives for the Units, and a Gradebook. The
Tests can be taken either online or at the 10 ACC testing centers. The URL for
ACC’s Blackboard site is http://acconline.austincc.edu. (Do not go to blackboard.com, the company's
own site.) On the Log-In page there is a student tutorial that is helpful if
you are a first-time user.
> Scholastic
dishonesty will not be tolerated. If
a testing center informs me of an occurrence, you will receive a grade of 0 for
that unit, with no retest option. Scholastic dishonesty is defined in the
Student Handbook as: “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.”
> Support
Services: 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.
Each instructor must be provided with a copy of the form requesting
accommodations, you can mail it through campus mail to: Sherry Heiden, Pinnacle
campus. For this course, this typically
is the option to take the Unit Tests at a Student with Disabilities office,
which you arrange with me and also sign up for a time at the Office.
Extraordinary events such as accidents or illnesses that might
interfere with your ability to complete the course must be reported to me as
soon as possible but in no case more than 8 days after the occurrence or on-set
of such events. Incompletes will not be given to students who are behind
schedule when the semester nears its end. Nor will incompletes be given to
students who need just a few more points to make the next higher letter grade.
Plenty of opportunity exists during the semester to accomplish your goals.
>Withdrawals: If you find yourself way behind or many points
short toward the end of the semester, you may withdraw yourself without a grade
penalty on or before. This should be
done in person at an Admissions and Records office at one of the 10 main
campuses. The absolute deadline for
withdrawals is Monday, December 7th.
Please read the following ACC Withdrawal Policy: “Students are responsible for withdrawing
themselves from this course if that is what their personal situation requires.
If you do not have enough points to finish the course and you have not withdrawn
yourself, then you will receive an F in the course. The instructor will not
withdraw students from the course unless asked by the student if the student is
unable to go to an Admissions office.”
The Texas Legislature passed a bill, effective fall 2007, that limits incoming freshmen to six course withdrawals over their undergraduate years at state colleges. Colleges are responsible for implementing and enforcing this restriction. Though not explicitly spelled out, students may be penalized if they exceed this limit. So regardless if a withdrawal is done by the student or by the instructor, any withdrawal done after the 12th class day will be included in this six course limit. Any withdrawal done prior to the 12th class day will not be counted toward the limit of six. Here is a link to the relevant parts of this bill:http://www.austincc.edu/SOCSCI/CoreCurriculum/WithdrawalLimitation.pdf
Below are two schedules. The first lists the Text
Chapters in each Unit with Test Deadlines.
The second schedule matches each Text Chapter with the 17 “Our Diverse
World” programs. Please be careful in
reading these schedules. The Chapter
numbers do not always match the program numbers for “Our Diverse World” and
some “Our Diverse World” programs accompany more than one text chapter. Deadlines are firm.
8wk PCM Cultural Anthropology Fall 2009
Units and Assigned Chapters
Unit Text
Chapters Chapter Titles
Unit I Chap 1 What
is Anthropology?
Chap 2 The Nature of Culture
Chap 3 Studying Culture
Chap 4 Language and
Culture
Chap 5 Learning
One’s Culture
____________________________________________Test
1 Deadline Thursday
Unit II Chap
6 Making a Living
Chap 7 Economic Systems
Chap 8 Kinship and Descent
Chap 9 Marriage and Family
Chap 10 Gender
________________________________________ _Test 2 Deadline Thursday
Unit
Chap 12 Political Systems
Chap 13 Conflict and Conflict Resolution
_________________________________________ Test 3 Deadline Wednesday
Unit IV Chap
14 Religion
Chap 15 The Arts
Chap 16 Colonialism & Cultural Transformations
Chap 17 Living in a Global World
_____________________________________________Test
4 Deadline Thursday
Also remember these two deadlines:
“Our Diverse World” program numbers and
titles with corresponding text chapters
Goes with
Text Chap. Program Titles
1 1. Essence of Anthropology
17
Applied Anthropology
2 2. Characteristics of Culture
3
& 5 3. Becoming Human
4 4. Communication & Culture
5 5. Social Identity, Personality & Gender
(Chapter 10 will cover aspects of Gender
presented in this program) Unit 1 Test
6 6. Subsistence Systems
7 7. Economics Systems
8
10. Kinship & Descent
9 9. Marriage & Family
8. Sex & Marriage
10 5. Social Identity, Personality &
Gender Unit 2 Test
11 11.Grouping by Gender, etc.
12
& 13 12. Politics, Power &
Violence Unit 3 Test
14 13. Religion and Spirituality
15 14. The Arts
16 15. Process of Change
17 16. Global Challenges Unit
4 Test