ANTH 53 Cultural Anthropology
MWF 9:30-10:45am, Spring 2013
Classroom: George Wilson Hall
Professor: Sarah M. Mathis
School of International Studies
Office hours: TF 2-4 or by appointment
Email: smathis@pacific.edu
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Cultural anthropology provides an introduction to the anthropological view of humanity, the
character and nature of culture, and the diversity of the human species. The major concepts and
theoretical assumptions of the discipline will be illustrated by applying anthropological
perspectives to peoples from around the world. Topics include culture, ethnicity, and language;
kinship, marriage, and social organization; time and space; religion, magic and rituals; gender
and sexuality; power, inequality, and political relations; economic production, circulation, and
consumption; social control; and the various forces and forms of change.
As this course satisfies the University Diversity Requirement, students will be able to:
• Articulate, in both written and oral forms, how notions of difference work within
frameworks of social hierarchy and the similarities and differences between these
frameworks cross-culturally.
• Articulate their own developing understanding of social difference and its impact on
anthropology, their own personal life and society or societies as a whole.
• Express, in both written and oral forms, their understanding of how ideas and beliefs
about diversity and difference in the United States have changed over time, identifying
relevant historical movements and players, and how anthropology, as a discipline has
both shaped and been shaped by these changes.
• Demonstrate a satisfactory understanding of how social institutions and individuals
respond to issues of difference.
• Apply their understanding of relevant theory and history of diversity to a specific
“societal problem” for the purpose of developing solutions.
TEXTS
Applying Cultural Anthropology by Podolefsky, Brown and Lacy
The Gebusi by Bruce Knauft
In Search of Respect by Philippe Bourgois
Social and Cultural Anthropology: A Very Short Introduction by Monaghan and Just
Other readings will be available on Sakai. You may find the readings and many other useful
course materials after logging in (using your Inside Pacific ID and password) at
pacific.rsmart.com. E-mail me at the address above if you have problems.
COMMUNICATION
You are welcome to visit me during my office hours or by appointment to ask for further
explanations, to get help, to introduce yourself, etc. You may also contact me by email but
please allow 24 hours for response during the week.
REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING
Class Participation (including attendance):
National Geographic Assignment
Reading Quizzes:
Ethnographic Assignment 1:
Ethnographic Assignment 2:
Midterm:
Final Exam:
5%
5%
10%
15%
20%
20%
25%
Class Participation will be graded on the basis on your attendance, your verbal participation in
small and large group discussions and your evident preparedness for class. Just showing up for
class every day will earn you a grade of a “C” for participation. Earning a higher grade requires
active engagement with the material of the class.
Eleven Reading Quizzes will be given over the course of the semester on random days at the
beginning of class. You will be awarded a percentage point for each reading quiz that you pass.
Please note that this means you have one potential extra credit point! You cannot make up
reading quizzes if you are absent or if you are late, so be sure to come to class on time. These
questions will be simple to answer if you have read the texts for the day and understood the basic
points.
The Assignments will require you to study a community or culture that you are not already
familiar with.
The Midterm and the Final Exam will consist of short answer questions and essay questions.
You will be given some choice in both sections. Some of the questions will require definitions
of key anthropological concepts and the ability to provide examples. You will also be expected
to discuss the readings in the exam questions. I do not expect you to memorize all the names of
the authors, but you will need to remember the key points of the articles. For example, I might
start a question in the following way: “Bohannan’s description of Hamlet to the Tiv
demonstrated…”
Calculating your Grade - due to the numerous requests I receive every semester asking “what
is my grade,” I am including this handy guide to calculating your final grade. I will not respond
to grade requests made by email. Please use this handy guide first, and then visit my office
during office hours if you wish to ask me further about your grade. You should record each
grade as a percentage. Each quiz passed will be 10% (so if you pass 8 out of 10 quizzes, record
it as 80). If you receive a letter grade, you need to turn it into a percentage as follows:
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD+
D
F
95
91
88
85
81
78
75
71
68
65
50
Participation
NG Assign.
Quizzes
Ethn. I
Ethn. II
Midterm
Final Exam
Final Grade
(94 - 100)
(90 - 93)
(87 - 89)
(84 - 86)
(80 - 83)
(77 - 79)
(74 - 76)
(70 - 73)
(67 - 69)
(60 - 66)
(50 - 59)
Weight Your Grade (out of 100%)
0.05
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.2
0.25
1
-----------------------------------
Multiple the two columns
for your weighted grade
Add this column:
CLASS RULES
1. You will be expected to attend every class session. However, in case of unavoidable
illnesses or conflicts, you will be allowed to miss up to 3 classes with no deduction to
your class participation grade. You do not need to send me your excuses. However,
please save this allowance for your sick days! Once you have used up this allowance,
you will be penalized, even if you are sick. If you experience significant or long-term
illness during the semester, please see me as soon as possible for special accommodation.
If you are attending a school sponsored event (including athletics), please also come to
me well ahead of time for special accommodation. Absences will be tallied on Sakai.
2. In-class work cannot be made up. Late assignments will be accepted but a third of the
grade will be deducted for every day that the assignment is late unless you have cleared
an extension with me ahead of time. Extensions will only be granted if you have a
legitimate excuse! Recognizing the night before the assignment is due that you won't
finish in time does not count as a legitimate excuse.
3. Use of wireless devices is prohibited during all class meetings and exams. The only
exception to this rule is the use of electronic devices for taking notes.
4. Copies of student work may be retained to assess how the learning objectives of the
course are being met.
5. Revisions to this syllabus will be announced in class and will take precedence over this
document.
HONOR CODE
The Pacific policy on academic honesty is detailed in Tiger Lore. You may be failed in the
course and reported to the Director of Judicial Affairs in the Office of Student Life for violating
the honor code, so please read this policy. See Tiger Lore for details about the university’s
proceedings and punishments. Cheating and plagiarism are academically dishonest. Please see a
good style manual for what constitutes plagiarism and how to avoid it. Turning in someone
else’s work with your name on it will be reported. This includes any work that you didn’t write,
whether you copied it from a roommate, an internet site, or a book. You are encouraged to
discuss your ideas with each other, but do your own work. Turning in identical or nearly
identical assignments is a violation of the Honor Code.
LEARNING OR PHYSICAL DISABILITIES
If you need accommodations because of a certified learning or physical disability, you must
contact Mr. Daniel Nuss, Coordinator of the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities, in
101 Bannister to obtain an Accommodations Request Letter. Once you have obtained the letter, I
will happily work with you to make appropriate arrangements to accommodate your needs.
Please see me after class or in office hours.
COURSE CONTENTS
Please prepare readings for the day on which they are listed. Reading, being prepared for class
and participating in discussions is a crucial part of the learning experience in this course.
Week 1: Introduction, (Jan. 7-11)
M: First Day of Classes
W: M&J Chapters 1&2
F: P&B&L Introduction and Miner (Chapter 1)
Week 2: Practicing Anthropology, (Jan. 14-18)
M: Gebusi, Introduction and Chapter 1
W: P&B&L Sterk (Chapter 3) and The Cultural Experience pg. 13-32 (Sakai)
F: Malinowski Introduction to Argonauts
Film Clip: Strangers Abroad excerpts
Week 3: Culture and Cultural Relativity, (Jan. 21-25)
M: MLK Holiday
W: M&J Chapter 3 and The Cultural Experience pg. 33-41 (Sakai)
F: P&B&L Bohannan (Chapter 4)
Week 4: Economics, (Jan. 28-Feb. 1)
M: M&J Chapter 6 and and Cronk on Reciprocity
W: P&B&L Lee (Chapter 8)
F: Gebusi Chapter 2
Film Clip: The Goddess and the Computer
Week 5: Kinship and Marriage, (Feb. 4-8)
M: M&J Chapter 4
W: P&B&L Chapters 14-16 (Section on Kinship, Marriage and Family)
F: Gebusi, Chapters 3 and 4
First Ethnographic Assignment Due Monday, February 11th by 9:30am
Week 6: Gender and Sexuality, (Feb. 11-15)
M: M&J Chapter 8, and Roscoe (Chapter 18)
W: Abu-Lughod Fieldwork of a Dutiful Daughter (Sakai)
F: Gebusi, Chapter 5
Film Clip: Paradise Bent
Week 7: Religion and Ritual, (Feb. 18-22)
M: President’s Day Holiday
W: M&J Chapter 7 and P&B&L Sois(Chapter 29)
F: Gebusi, Chapter 6 and Shore Loading the Bases (Sakai)
Film Clip: El Sebou
Week 8: Religion (cont.) and Midterm, (Feb. 25-29)
M: Deeb Enchanted Modern Chapter 3 (Sakai)
W: Midterm review
F: MIDTERM
SPRING BREAK
Week 9: Cultural Change, (March 11-15)
M: Gebusi, Chapters 7-9
W: Gebusi, Chapters 10-Conclusion
F: P&B&L Diamond (Chapter 7) and Daniel Smith (Chapter 36)
Film Clip: Trobriand Cricket
Week 10: Cultural Change and Representation, (March 18-22)
M: Lutz and Collins, Reading National Geographic (Sakai) Part 1
W: Lutz and Collins, Reading National Geographic (Sakai) Part 2
F: National Geographic Assignment reflection
Film Clip: Gods Must be Crazy and N!ai
National Geographic Assignment Due Friday, March 22nd in class
Week 11: Politics, Power and Social Control, (March 25-29)
M: M&J Chapter 5, P&B&L Gibbs (Chapter 25) and Podolefsky (Chapter 26)
W: Scott Cities, People and Language (Sakai)
F: Pacific Day
Week 12: Race and Ethnicity, (April 1-5)
M: P&B&L Diamond (Chapters 11)
W: Fish Mixed Blood (Sakai), Bourgois, Introduction
F: Bourgois, Chapter 1
Film Clip: Race, the Power of an Illusion
Week 13: Language and Communication, (April 8-12)
M: P&B&L Basso (Chapter 5), Maltz & Borker (Chapter 6) and
W: Thomson, "The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis: Worlds Shaped by Words" (Sakai)
F: Bourgois, Chapter 2
Film Clip: American Tongues
Week 14: In Search of Respect, (April 15-19)
M: Bourgois Chapter 3
W: Bourgois, Chapter 4
F: Bourgois, Chapter 5
Second Ethnographic Assignment Due Friday, April 19th by 9:30am
Week 15: Wrap Up (April 22-24)
M: Bourgois Chapter 6 and Conclusion
W: M&J Afterword, wrap-up
Final Exam Friday, April 26th 8-11am