ANTHR 1: Cultural Anthropology
Prof. Otte
Fall 2005
Anthropology 1: Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
Course Syllabus
Fall 2005
Professor: John Otte, M.A.
Phone: 209.575.6500 ext 8207
Office Hours: by appointment only
Email: jotte@deltacollege.edu
URL: http://virtual.mjc.edu/ottej
Anthropology is the most comparative and holistic of all the social sciences. Its subject matter is
vast and includes everything having to do with human beings past and present. Anthropology is,
quite simply, the study of humans both ancient and modern. Cultural anthropology, the focus of
this course, involves the study of all cultures and their adaptive patterns. Over the course of the
semester, we will explore the basic concepts and methods in anthropology, from the scope of the
discipline to the methods and perspectives used by anthropologists in understanding human culture.
We will also examine the cross-cultural adaptive patterns of various societies to illustrate how culture
has aided human adaptation and survival such as: economic systems, kinship systems, gender and
sexuality, political organization, belief systems, and artistic expression. Finally, we will examine case
studies on how culture change and the anthropological perspective are used in problem solving.
This course is an introductory lower division course comparable to introductory level anthropology
courses at 4-year colleges and universities. If you plan to attend a CSU school this course satisfies
Section D II (Human Social, Political, and Economic Institutions) of your General Education
Requirements. Or if you are following the IGETC program this course satisfies Area 4 (Social and
Behavioral Sciences).
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
Upon completion of the course, the student should be able to:
1. Discuss the areas of emphasis within anthropology.
2. Relate how and why anthropology differs from other disciplines.
3. Explain and evaluate the anthropological meaning of the concept of culture.
4. Describe, illustrate and apply methods employed by cultural anthropologists in gathering and
analyzing data including the approach of cultural relativism.
5. Identify his/her own cultural ethnocentrisms and well as that of others.
6. Explain the functional and ecological approaches to the analysis of cultural data.
7. Contrast the hunting and gathering, horticultural, pastoral, intensive agricultural and
industrial patterns of cultural adaptation.
8. Discuss, analyze and evaluate cross-cultural adaptive strategies in the areas of technology,
economic organization, political organization, law, kinship roles, social organization and
supernaturalism.
9. Illustrate the above with specific examples from the assigned text material and the student’s
own culture (or microculture).
10. Discuss and assess the role of anthropology in the world today (with examples).
11. Discuss and apply the anthropological perspective in addressing multi-cultural issues in
contemporary American society.
12. Compare selected contemporary and aboriginal cultures through film, video, and slides.
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Fall 2005
ANTHR 1: Cultural Anthropology
Prof. Otte
TEXTS:
Lenkeit, Roberta E.
2004 Introducing Cultural Anthropology 2nd edition. Mountain View: Mayfield
Publishing Company.
Angeloni, Elvio
2004 Annual Editions: Anthropology 05/06. McGraw Hill.
Shostak, Marjorie.
2000 [1981] Nisa: The Life and Words of a !Kung Woman. New York: Harvard University
Press.
EXAMS AND GRADING:
Quizzes and Exams will cover both lecture and reading material. There will be two midterms and a
final. Exams will include a combination of multiple choice, short answer, and essay. The final exam
will be comprehensive.
Course grades will be based on a 500-point system and are determined as follows:
Midterm I
50 pts
Midterm II
50 pts
Kinship diagram
60 pts
Dancing Skeletons Journal
90 pts
Ethnography Paper
150 pts
Final Exam
100 pts
Scale for determining your final course grade:
450-500 pts
= A (excellent)
400-449
= B (good)
350-399
= C (satisfactory)
300-349
= D (less than satisfactory)
299 or less
= F (failing)
10%
20%
30%
40%
Be Mindful: Students should retain all graded and returned papers until the end of the
semester. While I rarely make mistakes, retaining your papers is proof of grades.
MAKE-UP POLICY:
1. Make-ups will be given ONLY under the following circumstances: (a) acute illness (b)
extenuating circumstances which affect your performance and presence in the classroom
(e.g., family crisis, auto accident, etc).
2. All make-ups must be requested on the day of the missed exam. This means that
you must contact me the day of the exam and arrange for a future make-up.
Failure to do so will result in denial of a make-up. You may call during my office
hours, leave a message on my voice mail, send an email or send a message with a friend.
Be mindful: If you take a make-up on one exam, you cannot earn higher than a “C” grade on
subsequent make-ups.
3. Make-ups are constructed to be more difficult than scheduled exams.
4. Late projects will NOT be accepted.
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ANTHR 1: Cultural Anthropology
Prof. Otte
Fall 2005
ATTENDANCE POLICY:
Attending class is your responsibility! While I may not take roll every class session, I will assign class
participation assignments periodically in an effort to see who is attending and participating in class.
However, I must warn you that missing class will not only result in missing material but also lower
your participation grade. In addition, arriving late and talking to friends during class is distracting
and rude to other students and me; if you do this, you will be asked to leave.
WITHDRAWAL POLICY:
Withdrawing from the class is your responsibility!
The last day to withdrawal from class without a “W” on your transcript is Friday, September 9th and
the last day to withdrawal from class with a “W” on your transcript is Tuesday, November 15th.
Failure to withdraw by the above dates will result in an “F” grade on your records.
***Please note that I do not drop students. This is your responsibility!***
ACADEMIC CONDUCT:
While in this course you are expected to abide by the rules of academic conduct. For details on
acceptable behavior, please see your course catalog. Specifically, plagiarism, cheating, or other types
of academic misconduct are totally intolerable! If I suspect that any of the above acts are taking
place you will receive a ZERO on that assignment until the issue is resolved. Remember, I have
read all of the material you are reading, and I can easily check web sites for suspicious writing.
These matters will be dealt with according to the fullest extent of the rules of this institution.
CELL PHONES AND PAGERS:
Now for my pet peeve. Active cell phones and pagers will not be tolerated during class so
please turn them off! If your cell phone or beeper goes off during class, you will be properly
chastised. If you leave class to answer a phone call or to make a phone call, do NOT come back.
Cell phones may not be on the desk, in your hand or in any way visible while class is in session—
including during testing. They are distracting to me and the other students when they ring in the
middle of a lecture.
KEEP TRACK OF YOUR GRADES
It is your responsibility to keep track of your grades. If you care about your grades, then YOU keep
track of them. Do not ask me for your grades because I will refer you to this chart.
Assignment
Midterm I
Midterm II
Kinship Diagram
Dancing Skeletons Journal
Ethnography Paper
Final Exam
Total
Total points possible
50
50
60
90
150
100
500
Your total points
Note: The schedules and procedures in this course are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances.
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Fall 2005
ANTHR 1: Cultural Anthropology
Prof. Otte
COURSE TOPIC OUTLINE:
Part 1: Basic Concepts and Methods in Anthropology
WEEK 1
W
8/17 Introduction to Anthropology
WEEK 2
W
8/24 The Nature of Culture
WEEK 3
W
8/31 Fieldwork
WEEK 4
W
9/07 Culture and Language
WEEK 5
W
9/14 ***Midterm I*** (Scantron 886-E)
Part 2: Cross-Cultural Adaptive Patterns
WEEK 6
W
9/21 Subsistence Strategies: Theoretical Models in Cultural Anthropology
WEEK 7
W
9/28 Food Procurement Strategies: Bands and Tribes
WEEK 8
W
10/05 Food Procurement Strategies: Chiefdoms and States
WEEK 9
W
10/12 Diagramming Kinship, Marriage Rules and Residence Patterns
WEEK 10
W
10/19 Kinship and Descent
WEEK 11
W
10/26 Gender and Sexuality
***Kinship Diagram Due***
WEEK 12
W
11/02 ***Midterm II*** (Scantron 886-E)
WEEK 13
W
11/09 Political Systems: Bands and Tribes, Chiefdoms, and States
WEEK 14
W
11/16 Comparative Supernaturalism
***Nisa Journal Due***
WEEK 15
W
11/23 ***Thanksgiving*** Holiday/No Class
Part 3: Applying the Anthropological Perspective
WEEK 16
W
11/30 Culture Change
WEEK 17
W
12/07 Applying Anthropology
***Ethnography Paper Due***
WEEK 18
Wednesday, December 14th 6:30pm-9:30pm
Please note: the Final Exam MUST be taken in order to receive a grade for the course.
You will receive separate hand-outs for each of the above sections which will contain learning
objectives for the section, reading assignments, list of study terms and study questions.
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