Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Prince Edward Island
Anthropology 106
Instructor: Lawrence H. LeClair BA, B.Ed, MA.
Contact : lhleclair@upei.ca
Office hours: Monday 11:50 -12:45, Wednesday 11:50 – 12:45, Main 526
“People are everywhere the same, except in the ways that they differ.”
…Monaghan & Just, 2000
Course description:
This course provides a survey of the development, contributions, and
contemporary socio-cultural issues of selected non-Western peoples and cultures.
Anthropology is the study of what it means to be a human being in cultural
contexts. In this light, we will be discovering the many ways in which humans
around the world live and adapt to varying conditions and environments and how
that affects culture. In addition, the course addresses how contact with nonWestern cultures over the last 5 centuries has played a substantial role in
developing modern Western thought. We will also discuss the many ways in which
cultures have adapted to their environments, be it a static, unchanging environment
or an environment of upheaval and dramatic change over the last few decades or
centuries.
Purposes of the course are to give the student an introduction to the ways in
which people, through the intermediary of their cultural experience, adapt to a
changing world.
Assessment…class structure.
The course will follow a traditional format of mid-term and final exams as
well as a project which will be completed by the end of the course. Classes will
consist of lecture material, discussions based on readings assigned for the class
and ethnographic video.
Assessment will be in the form of class tests, mid-term and final, a project
which will be explained during class, and video responses which will be done in class.
Required Text: “Social and cultural Anthropology: A Very short Introduction,” by
Monaghan and Just 2000 (available in the UPEI bookstore)
Timetable…
(Note…readings other than the primary text are subject to change as we cover
course material)
Week 1 July 9, 11: Re-introduction to Anthropology,
Introductory lecture
Readings: “A Dispute in Donggo: Fieldwork and Ethnography,” Chapter 1 in
Monaghan & Just
“Strange Island: Pacific Tribesmen Come to Study Britain”, by Guy Adams,
The Independent
Videos: “The Human Planet”, Episode 1. Strangers Abroad Series, “Off The
Verandah: Bronislaw Malinowski”
Week 2 July 16 & 18: Culture
Readings: “Bee Larvae and Onion soup: Culture”, Chapter 2 in Monaghan &
Just
Plus…“A Brief Encounter: Society”, Chapter 3 in Monaghan & Just
“When Does Life Begin? A Cross-Cultural Perspective on the Personhood of
Fetuses and Young children” by Lynn Morgan
“Good Muslim, Bad Muslim: A Political Perspective on Culture and Terrorism”
by Mahmood Mamdani
Video: “Millenium: The Shock of the Other”, Episode 1. Strangers Abroad:
Margaret Mead
Week 3 July 23 & 25:
Readings: “Fernando seeks a Wife: Sex and Blood”, Chapter 4 in Monaghan &
Just
Video: The Human Planet, Episode 2. The Kayapo: Indians of the Brazilian
Rain forest
Week 4 July 30, Aug 1
Readings:” LaBose Becomes Bakar: Caste, Class, Tribe, Nation” Chapter 5 in
Monaghan & Just
“Learning how to Bribe a Policeman”, by Sean McNamara
Video: The Human Planet, Episode 3.
Aug 1: Mid-term exam…Chapters 1,2,3, and 4
Week 5 August 6& 8:
Readings: “A Feat in Nuyoo: Peple and their Things”, Chapter 6 in Monaghan
& Just
“A Drought in Bima: People and their Gods”, Chapter 7 in Monaghan & Just
“Doing Fieldwork: Thomas Maschio, The Refrigerator and American Ideas of
Home”
“You’ve Gotta Have ‘Wa’!” by Robert Whiting
Video: to be determined
Week 6 August 13 & 15:
Readings: “Nanuu Maria gets hit by Lightning: People and Their Selves”,
Chapter 8 in Monaghan & Just
Video: to be determined
Week 7 August 20… Final Exam, Project due