Anthropology 109: Introduction to Cultural
Anthropology
Dr. Edmund (Ned) Searles
Fall 2006
Location: Coleman 252
Class Meeting Times: M-W-F 9:00 – 9:52 am
To contact me:
My office: Coleman 214
My office hours: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 2-3 pm, and by
appointment
Phone: x7-1070
E-mail: esearles@bucknell.edu
Required Reading:
Matthiasson, John S. 1992. Living on the Land: Change among the
Inuit of Baffin Island. (Referred to as LOL in the syllabus).
Delaney, Carol. 2004. Investigating Culture. Malden, MA:
Blackwell Publishing. (Referred to as IC in the syllabus).
Available at the bookstore.
I also assigned a series of articles you can download or read
online at the course’s electronic reserve (ERES) webpage. The
address is http://eres.bucknell.edu , and you will need the
following password to access the site: searles109.
Course Description:
Cultural anthropology explores how people shape and are shaped by
the world around them. Cultural anthropologists study a wide range
of topics, including art, cuisine, consumption, economics,
philosophy, politics, psychology and religion, and they study how
they are practiced by groups of people in different parts of the
world. Cultural anthropologists use various methodologies to
gather information on different subjects and then they use theories
of culture and society to analyze the meaning and significance of
these subjects. I will provide you with a number of opportunities
to study and analyze other cultures as well as our own with the
help of various readings, films, and assignments.
Course Goals:
1) understand and appreciate the variety of human cultures
2) be familiar with the discipline of anthropology and its five
subfields (archaeology, physical, linguistic, cultural, and
applied)
3) understand the central organizing concepts of anthropology (e.g.
culture, social organization, culture change, ethnography, etc.)
4) understand the methods of anthropological research
5) appreciate anthropology’s usefulness in understanding aspects of
one’s own culture
6) challenge the stereotype that cultural varieties are the product
of biological differences
7) encourage students to appreciate the effects on human cultural
life of globalization and other agents of cultural change.
Grading Criteria:
Attendance: 5%
Participation: 5%
Two Synthesis and Critique Papers: 10% each
One Ethnographic Assignment: 10%
One in-class midterm: 30%
Take-home final exam: 30%
Grading Criteria:
Attendance and Participation: Attendance and participation
constitutes 10% of your final grade (5% for attendance and 5% for
participation). I expect you not only to come to class on time,
but to participate in class discussions by raising questions and by
responding to the comments and questions of other students. Your
attendance grade will be calculated according to the number of
classes you miss without a legitimate excuse. Class participation
will be graded as follows:
5/5:
You participate fully in discussion, bringing up your own
points as well as responding to classmates’ points.
4/5: You do a good job answering questions, occasionally adding
your own comments and questions.
3/5: Your preparation is obvious in some way (e.g. you consult your
notes) but you add little to class interaction; or you join in
class discussion but do not show much if any preparation of
material.
1/5: You are in class, but don’t participate or show evidence of
having prepared the readings.
0/5: Unexcused absences and/or you are frequently inattentive in
class.
Synthesis and critique (S&C) paper: You are required to
complete two S&C papers based on articles you choose that were
assigned for class discussion. Due dates are September 25 and
November 13. Below are guidelines for the paper:
1) You may write on any article or book chapter assigned prior to
or on the due date of the S&C paper.
2) An introduction identifying the main theme of the article or
chapter you are synthesizing and critiquing;
2
3) Several paragraphs addressing the main points of the article
or chapter;
4) A paragraph or two evaluating the contents of the article or
chapter (e.g. did the author use relevant examples to support
her claims; did the author clearly present an argument or set
of arguments; did the author’s claims seem plausible).
Provide specific examples to support your evaluation.
5) A concluding paragraph tying your ideas together…
6) No more than three pages (double-spaced) in length
Ethnographic Assignment:
You will be responsible for
researching and writing a one page ethnography following a
fieldtrip to the Lewisburg Farmer’s Market scheduled for November
8. I will give more details about the specific criteria about the
project in class. The assignment will be due November 20 in class
and it will count for 10% of your final grade.
Midterm exam:
There will be one midterm October 6. I will
provide more details the week prior to the exam. The midterm
constitutes 30% of your final grade.
Final exam:
Your final exam will be a take-home final involving
several questions drawn from the readings, class discussions and/or
films. Details about the length, format, and due date of these
papers will be distributed in class.
The final exam will be worth
30% of your final grade.
Other information:
Writing Center: Students are strongly encouraged to get writing
help from the Writing Center on campus. Call 577-3141 to make an
appointment. The Writing Center is an excellent place to receive
feedback on your writing assignments for the course.
Late Work: Without a legitimate excuse, you will be penalized for
an assignment handed in late. A computer problem does not
constitute an excuse, so think ahead and make back-up files of your
work! You will lose 5% for each day the assignment is late, and I
will not accept papers handed in more than three days after the due
date (e.g. if you turn in your assignment three class days late,
you will receive a 15 % reduction on your overall grade). I will
make exceptions only in cases of emergency approved by one of the
deans.
Academic Responsibility: This is a note about Bucknell’s policy on
plagiarism found in the 2002-03 Bucknell University Catalogue:
“Bucknell students are responsible for the preparation and
presentation of work representing their own efforts. Acceptance of
this responsibility is essential to the educational process and
must be considered as an expression of mutual trust, the foundation
upon which creative scholarship rests. Students are directed to use
3
great care when preparing all written work and to acknowledge fully
the source of all ideas and language other than their own.
In cases of alleged academic dishonesty, procedures involving the
student, the instructor, the department chair, the appropriate
dean, and a Board of Review on Academic Responsibility have been
established to assess the facts and determine appropriate
penalties, which range from a grade of F on the work to permanent
dismissal from the university.” (p. 283-4)
Persons with Disabilities: Bucknell is committed to providing
reasonable accommodations to students with disabilities. If you
have a learning disability and have documentation, we can devise a
plan to provide you with reasonable accommodations. If you think
that you may have a learning disability, but aren’t sure, contact a
staff member in the disabled student services office, counseling
services, or learning assistance center on campus.
Class Agenda
Unit 1 – Culture:
August 23:
Syllabus)
Concepts and Methods
Introductions (Ourselves) and Expectations (the
August 25: What Cultural Anthropologists Do.
Reading: Delaney, “Disorientation and Orientation,” pp. 1-25 in
IC.
August 28: Naïve Realism
Reading: Bohannan, Laura, “Shakespeare in the Bush,” pp. 25-31 in
IC.
August 30: Shifting Perspectives
Reading: Stoller, Paul. “Eye, Mind and Word in Anthropology.”
Available on electronic reserve (ERES) (password:
Searles109).
September 1: The Vicissitudes of Fieldwork
Reading: Rosaldo, Renato.
“Grief and a Headhunter’s Rage.”
ERES.
Unit 2:
Ethnography in the Arctic
September 4: Fieldwork in the Arctic
Slide show of my research in the Canadian Arctic.
September 6: Fieldwork in the Arctic, continued
Reading: Searles, Edmund. “Interpersonal Politics, Social Science
Research, and the Construction of Inuit Identity.” ERES.
September 8: John Matthiasson and the Tununermiut
Read:
Pp. 9-23 in LOL.
4
September 11: History of the Tunermiut
Read: Pp. 24-40 in LOL.
September 13: Settlement and Camp Life
Read: Pp. 40-90 in LOL.
September 15: Inuit in the Global Village
Film: Between Two Worlds
September 18: The Coming of the Qallunaat
Read: Pp. 91-117 in LOL.
September 20: Inuit in the Modern Era
Read: Pp. 118-157 in LOL.
September 22: Inuit Historical Consciousness
Read: Graburn, Nelson, “Weirs in the River of Time.”
ERES.
September 25: Theories of Identity and Inuit Politics
Pp. 158-169 in LOL
FIRST S&C PAPER DUE—you may synthesize and critique any one of the
articles or chapters from IC or LOL that have been assigned. Check
the description above for more details about the Synthesis and
Critique paper.
Unit 3:
Space and Place
September 27: Cultured spaces and places
Reading: Delaney, Carol. “Spatial Locations,” pp. 33-63 in IC.
September 29: What is a liminal space?
Reading: Beckham, Sue Bridwell.
“The American Front Porch:
Women’s Liminal Space,” pp. 64-74 in IC.
Unit 4:
Cultural Constructions of Time
October 2: On Time, Out of Time, In Time
Reading: Delaney, “All We Have is Time,” pp. 77-109 in IC.
October 4: Affluent Foraging and Time Perspective
Reading: Sahlins, Marshall. “The Original Affluent Forager,” pp.
110-133 in IC.
October 6:
MIDTERM.
October 9: Dobe Ju/’hoansi Time
Film: “The Making of Mankind: A Human Way of Life,” by Richard
Leakey
Unit 5:
Language, Culture and Communication
October 11: You Are What You Say
Reading: Delaney, “Language: We Are What We Speak,” pp. 135-168
in IC.
5
October 13: Seeing and Believing
Reading: LeGuin, “She Unnames Them,” pp. 169 in IC; and Dundes,
Alan, “Seeing is Believing,” pp. 170-174 in IC.
October 16:
NO CLASS—FALL RECESS
October 18: Dialects of America
Film: Do You Speak American?
October 20: The Language of Play and Emotions
Reading: Briggs, Jean. 1991. “Expecting the Unexpected….”
ERES.
October 23: Experiencing theWorld through Symbols
Reading: Ortner, Sherry, “On Key Symbols.” ERES.
Unit 6:
How We Relate to Others
October 25: Relatives and Relations
Reading: Delaney, “Relatives and Relations,” pp. 209-222 in IC.
October 27: Kinship in America
Reading: Modell, “Rights to the Children:
Reproduction in Hawai’i”. ERES.
Foster Care and Social
October 30: Adoption and American Ideology
Film: For the Love of Katelyn: A Dateline Special
November 1: Kinship and Power in India
Reading: Menon, “Male Authority and Female Authority: A Study of
the Matrilineal Nayars of Kerala, South India.” ERES.
November 3: Kinship in the Alaskan Arctic
Reading: Bodenhorn, Barbara, “’He used to be my relative’:
exploring the bases of relatedness among Inupiat of northern
Alaska.” ERES.
Unit 7:
Our Bodies, Our Selves
November 6: To Be a Body or To Have a Body
Reading: Delaney, “Our Bodies, Our Selves,” pp. 229-265 in IC.
November 8: Food and Taste
Field trip to the Lewisburg Farmer’s Market
One page ethnographic write-up due November 20.
discussed in class.
Details will be
November 10: Inscribing the Self
Reading: Benson, “Inscriptions of the Self: Reflections on
Tattooing and Piercing in Contemporary Euro-America.” ERES.
November 13: Transgendered Persons and Bodies
Film: National Geographic Documentary Film on Sexuality, Taboo
Series
6
SECOND S&C PAPER DUE. You may write your paper on any of the
articles or book chapters assigned since due date of the first S&C
paper.
Unit 8:
Food for Thought
November 15: Cuisine and Culture
Film: Italian: Culture and Cuisine
November 17: NO CLASS. On this day, I will give a paper at the
American Anthropological Association Meetings in San Jose,
California.
November 20: What Makes A Meal?
Reading: Delaney, “Food For Thought,” pp. 271-310 in IC.
ETHNOGRAPHIC ASSIGNMENT DUE.
November 22-24:
NO CLASS—THANKSGIVING RECESS
November 27: Food and Social Movements
Reading: Dubisch, Jill, “You Are What You Eat…,” pp. 311-319 in
IC.
November 29: Food and Ideology
Reading: Mintz, Sidney, “Eating American.” ERES.
Unit 9: Very Important People, Places and
Performances
December 1: Culture as Performance
Reading: Delaney, “Very Important People, Places, and
Performances,” pp. 367-410 in IC.
December 4: Coming Back to the Culture Concept
Reading: Geertz, Clifford, “The Impact of the Concept of Culture
on the Concept of Man,” pp. 410-422 in IC. Take-home final to be
distributed in class.
7