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ANT 2000
Introduction to Anthropology
SYLLABUS AND COURSE INFORMATION
SPRING SEMESTER 2014
Instructor:
Mr. Benjamin Wells
Email:
bcw15@students.uwf.edu
Credit Hours:
3 credit hours
Required Textbook: Anthropology: Appreciating Human Diversity (15th ed.). Conrad Phillip
Kottak (McGraw Hill 2012; ISBN 978-0078035012).
Course Description: Introduction to Anthropology is designed to provide you with an
understanding of what anthropology and its sub-disciplines in cultural, physical, linguistic, and
archaeological anthropology are. This course focuses heavily on the study of humans and their
ancestors through time and covers a range of topics including human development, kinship and
descent, political organization, social structure, and many more. Anthropology is a vast and
varied field, ever-evolving to better study its subject matter- man.
General Course Information: Introduction to Anthropology is designated as a General Studies
course. The General Studies curriculum at the University of West Florida is designed to provide
a cohesive program of study that promotes the development of a broadly educated person and
provides the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in university studies. This course has been
approved as meeting your requirement in the Behavioral area. The major General Studies
learning outcomes for this course are Writing and Diversity.
If you are interested in a major in anthropology you should contact the Department of
Anthropology at 850-474-2797. If you are undecided about your major you should contact your
academic advisor or the Career Center at 850-474-2254.
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Course Objectives: By the end of the course I hope you will be able to:
 Demonstrate a clear understanding of the different sub-fields of anthropology and
how all work together to some degree.
 Illustrate the breadth of what culture is and the variety of ways it can be studied and
observed, not only scientifically, but in an everyday setting.
 Demonstrate an understanding of anthropological perspectives on cultural issues from
the past and present, and some of the solutions anthropology can offer on current
global problems.
 Be able to identify how anthropology works in the world today and the range of
possibilities and benefits it offers to students of any field of study.
Specific Course Requirements:
 Textbook assignments: Weekly reading will be assigned from the textbook. This
information will be necessary to complete assignments, essays, essay reviews and to
actively participate in weekly discussions.
 Discussions: Each week you will be required create a topic of discussion and respond
to another classmate’s topic. Topics such as “This week’s reading was interesting” or
“Culture is cool” will be considered unacceptable and not count toward your grade.
Likewise, responses such as “I agree/disagree” or “That’s a good point” will also not
count. I am looking for fully developed and defended thoughts and opinions. This
does not mean I expect page long essays. Please feel free to respond more than the
required amount; it may benefit you in the end!
 Live Chat: Keep in mind I am constantly monitoring the course online and may be
available throughout the week via live chat, though email will always be the best way
to contact me.
 Weekly Assessments: Each week you will be assigned an essay. I will provide you
with one or more concepts/questions that you must fully answer through a minimum
of a one-page essay. The specific requirements will be provided in the assignment
each week. Every written assignment must also be turned in via Turn-it In. This
program allows me to monitor potential plagiarism. Failure to submit your work to
Turn-it In will result in a reduction of 1 point from the assignment (i.e. assignment
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value is 10, you did not submit it to Turn-it In and you missed 2 points you would
receive a 7 out of 10).
 Essay Reviews: Due to the nature of the material, three equally weighted essay
reviews will be given during the course of the class. Each of these will be worth 50
points. There will be one final essay review worth 100 points. Reviews will draw
from readings and discussions. Specific instructions on how to complete these will be
provided with them. Every essay review must also be turned in via Turn-it In. This
program allows me to monitor potential plagiarism. Failure to submit your work to
Turn-it In will result in a reduction of 1 point from the assignment (i.e. assignment
value is 10, you did not submit it to Turn-it In and you missed 2 points you would
receive a 7 out of 10).
 Due Dates and Assignments: All discussions and assignments are time sensitive.
They will open at 12:00 a.m. Friday morning and close at 11:59 p.m. the following
Thursday night. This gives you an entire week to complete all the required
assignments. It is your responsibility to ensure all material is turned in before the
deadline. Late work will not be accepted. Dropboxes and discussion boards close
promptly at 11:59 p.m. and cannot be accessed after that time. I will not accept work
after the deadline via email.
 Extra credit: There will be no extra credit work for this course.
Grading system: Letter grade to percentage equivalents (see Evaluation and Grades document
on eLearning for grades per assignment breakdown).
A 100-93%
A- 92-90%
B+ 89-87%
B 86-83%
B- 82-80%
C+ 79-77%
C 76-73%
C- 72-70%
D+ 69-66%
D 65-60%
F
59-0%
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Evaluation and Grades
Introduction Discussion Post -
10 pts
Weekly Assessments
-
120 pts (10 points per assessment)
Discussion Board Posts
-
120 pts (5 points per post = 10 points per week)
Essay Reviews
-
150 pts (50 pts per essay review)
Final Essay Review
-
100 pts
TOTAL
500 pts
Technology Use: This course is entirely online. All instructional content and interaction occurs
over the internet, namely through eLearning. As this course is completely online, you must have
continual access to the internet. All essays, essay reviews, discussion boards, and other
assignments are fulfilled online.
University policy on academic conduct/plagiarism: As members of any academic setting, such
as the University of West Florida, we commit to honesty and integrity. The Student Code of
Conduct sets forth the rules, regulations, and expected behavior of students enrolled here at
UWF. It is your responsibility to read the Student Code of Conduct and act accordingly in all
situations. You may access the current Student Code of Conduct at
http://uwf.edu/osrr/documents/BOTApprovedStudentCodeofConduct-2010edition.pdf. This is
the most up-to-date version. As far as plagiarism is concerned, UWF defines it as “The act of
representing the ideas, words, creations, or work of another as one’s own.” The penalty for being
caught plagiarizing is failure for the assignment, and perhaps the whole course. It is up to the
instructor whether that student should be recommended for suspension from the university as
well. Please see the UWF Student Handbook for further information. Additionally, the full
statement of the university’s academic integrity policy and misconduct procedures can be found
here http://uwf.edu/academic/policies/misconduct/misconduct.cfm.
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Statement about assistance for students with special needs: The Student Disability Resource
Center (SDRC) at the University of West Florida supports an inclusive learning environment for
all students. If there are aspects of the instruction or design of this course that hinder your full
participation, such as time-limited exams, inaccessible web content, or the use of non-captioned
videos and podcasts, please notify the instructor or the SDRC as soon as possible. You may
contact the SDRC office by e-mail at sdrc@uwf.edu or by phone at (850) 474-2387. Appropriate
academic accommodations will be determined based on the documented needs of the individual.
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Course Schedule1
Week 1 (January 6): Chapter 1 of Kottak – What is Anthropology?
Week 2 (January 9): Chapter 2 – Everything is Culture?!
Week 3 (January 16): Chapters 5 & 6 of Kottak –Evolution and human variation
Week 4 (January 23): Chapters 15 of Kottak – Race, ethnicity, population
Week 5 (January 30): Essay Review 1
Week 6 (February 6): Chapters 7 & 8 of Kottak – Distant cousins, their relationship to us, early
Homini
Week 7 (February 13): Chapters 9 & 4 of Kottak – Our genus, how we study past cultures
Week 8 (February 20): Chapters 10 & 11 of Kottak – Let’s Move and Settle!
Week 9 (February 27): Essay Review 2
Week 10 (March 6): Chapters 16 & 17 of Kottak – Adaptive strategies, Political organization
Week 11 (March 20): Chapters 18 & 19 of Kottak – Kinship, Descent, Gender
Week 12 (March 27): Chapters 20 of Kottak – Marriage
Week 13 (April 3): Essay Review 3
Week 14 (April 10): Chapters 13, 22-24 of Kottak – Studying present cultures, cultures in flux
Week 15 (April 17): Chapters 14 & 21 of Kottak – Belief systems and language
Week 16 (May 2): Final Essay Review Due 5:00 p.m.
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I reserve the right to alter the schedule throughout the course of the semester.