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Anthropology Program Review, Spring 2006
Las Positas College
Anthropology Program Review
Spring 2006
prepared by
Lauren W. Hasten
Section I: Program Description, Mission and Relationships
A.
Provide a precise and accurate description of the program as it exists today.
Anthropologists study human beings from an holistic and cross-cultural point of view. Encompassing
every aspect of human existence, the subject matter of anthropology is traditionally divided into four
fields: physical or biological anthropology, social or cultural anthropology, linguistics, and
archaeology. Las Positas College offers anthropology classes in three of the four sub-fields (there
are as yet no courses in linguistics) to prepare students for transfer to a four-year institution. All
courses transfer as lower division requirements. There is currently no degree offered.
Las Positas College currently offers five different anthropology classes: ANTH 1, Physical
Anthropology; ANTH 2, Introduction to Archaeology; ANTH 3, Social/Cultural Anthropology; ANTH 5,
Cultures of the U.S. (which fulfills the College's American Cultures requirement); and the recently
introduced ANTH 12, Magic, Witchcraft, Religion and Healing. ANTH 29, an independent study
course, also recurs consistently.
Typically six or seven Anthropology sections are offered during the Fall and Spring semesters -- five
during the day and one or two in the evening; Summer sessions usually offer two courses.
B.
What is the program's mission?
The Anthropology program at Las Positas College intends to communicate a deep respect for and
appreciation of the great diversity of human cultural expression and physical variation. In preparation
for successful transfer to a four-year institution, students will learn to think critically about the
information with which they are presented while developing the tools to analyze human problems
from an evolutionary and/or cross-cultural perspective.
C.
What is the program's relationship to the College's mission?
Simply put, there is no discipline better situated to help fulfill the College's commitment to fostering
"an understanding and respect for difference and diversity;" anthropology is the science of human
difference and diversity. Anthropology coursework compels students to situate themselves within the
greater human community, around the globe and throughout time.
Anthropological study is precisely positioned to "cultivate. . . the ability to think critically," since it
encourages students to approach problems from multiple perspectives. It stimulates them to question
their own cultural assumptions while opening the door to alternate conceptions. While doing so,
anthropology also provides the cross-cultural perspective so necessary to making "humane, informed,
and ethical decisions."
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D.
Anthropology Program Review, Spring 2006
How does the program help fulfill the College's mission?
The Anthropology program "enables students to transfer to baccalaureate-granting institutions" by
offering only courses which articulate to UC and CSU. In so doing, it also "prepares students for
career entry and advancement" by laying the basic foundation for anthropology and social science
majors. The program goes beyond providing students with "basic skills" by fostering in them the
ability to analyze human problems from a variety of perspectives, both verbally and in writing.
Successful performance in anthropology classes requires students to develop the capacity to "think
critically" through the application of numerous, often conflicting, theoretical paradigms. The primary
value communicated by the discipline is that of cultural relativism which, while defined
anthropologically as the notion that all cultural practices make sense relative to culture in which they
are practiced, can be translated in practice to mean that anthropology promotes "an understanding
and respect for difference and diversity."
E.
What is the program's connection to other programs?
At current the Anthropology program maintains ties to the ESL program through a required project
called "The Cross-Cultural Conversation Exchange." This project brings ANTH 5 students together
with ESL students, with whom they engage in one-on-one conversation during the course of the
semester. ANTH 5 students are required to generate a written life history of their ESL counterparts,
detailing the circumstances of their emigration to the U.S. and the consequences thereof. The
Anthropology program relies greatly on International students (often in ESL classes) present on this
campus to extend the diversity of input into classroom discourse.
Anthropology, being perhaps the most interdisciplinary of all the academic disciplines, rightfully claims
ideological ties to nearly every other program on campus; of special importance are the Biology,
Geology, Art History, Sociology and Administration of Justice programs. The department is at
present developing a laboratory class to accompany ANTH 1; when instituted, it should be easy to
facilitate ties to biology projects including -- at some point in the not-too-distant-future -- DNA
analysis. Geology and art history, both particularly relevant to archaeology, are emphasized as
appropriate accompaniments to students studying that branch of the discipline, while sociology is
revealed as anthropology's ancestral source. Forensic anthropology -- the scientific investigation of
human remains -- is crucial to homicide investigation; therefore the program intends to soon launch a
course in cooperation with the Administration of Justice program.
Section II: Program Function and Assessment
A.
Program Access
While the campus wide total number of declared majors has declined by approximately 14% over the
past five years, the total number of declared Anthropology majors has grown by 280%, with the
greatest increase (a jump from 10 to 19 majors) occurring over the past two years; this is too great a
jump to be attributed solely to chance. After three consecutive years with no new majors, the past
two years each saw the addition of two new majors.
The decline in College enrollments overall was accompanied by a precipitous decline in Anthropology
enrollments in the Spring of 2004; this can perhaps be explained by the departure of the sole full-time
instructor and the arrival of a new and unknown faculty member. Both enrollments and FTES have
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Anthropology Program Review, Spring 2006
been climbing steadily since, with enrollments experiencing a 5.4% increase, and FTES rising by
19.48% between Spring 2004 and Fall 2005. WSCH over the same time period saw a 19.77%
increase.
The overwhelming majority of Anthropology students intend to complete their AA degree and move
on to a BA (a range of 44 to 46% over the past three years); only 3 to 8% said they would not transfer
to a four year institution after attending the College.
The department typically offers three to five different courses each semester in seven to ten sections;
night and summer sections often experience lower registration numbers, as do multiple daytime
sections.
B.
Program Resources
1.
Human
At current, the Anthropology program maintains 1.4 FTE faculty, with one full-time instructor
and one adjunct instructor.
2.
Physical
While we look forward to the completion of a new Multi-Disciplinary Building sometime next
year, currently the Anthropology program enjoys no specific physical resources of its own.
Classes continue to be held in environments ranging from the Theater to the smaller rooms of
the lower campus and the larger rooms of the 2200 Building. There are no permanent storage
or display facilities.
The program is, however, in possession of twelve cranial reproductions, as well as a small
sampling of replicas of prehistoric tools and arrowheads. There is, at present, no permanent
location aside from staff offices where students may have continual access to these aids.
The Anthropology program is in the process of developing a laboratory course to accompany
ANTH 1; initiating such a course will require a sizable investment in facilities, computers,
software, site subscriptions, models and other material resources.
3.
Technology
Since Anthropology classes are scheduled in a variety of classrooms across the campus, they
enjoy whatever technological resources are already present in the classroom. Happily, nearly
every class environment is wired for sound, video, and internet access, so problems are rarely
encountered.
As stated above, the development of a laboratory course in Physical Anthropology will require
a sizable investment in technology. Twenty-first century course work will likely include DNA
analysis, which can presently be done via computer linkup with larger institutional research
projects.
Teaching faculty at the College enjoy a productive and efficient relationship with Library staff,
who make the process of acquiring new videotapes and DVDs fast and simple. Problematic,
however, is the fact that so many primary video resources in Anthropology are not yet closed-
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Anthropology Program Review, Spring 2006
captioned, having been filmed, in some cases, decades ago. These films are not replaceable,
as they document lifeways that have since disappeared. Therefore we might wish for a
speedy and effective process for closed-captioning them for ourselves.
Faculty in the Anthropology program have filed repeated unmet requests for access to webdevelopment and graphics software on their office computers. Such software would facilitate
the creation and distribution of innovative course and promotional material.
4.
Financial
The Anthropology program has been budgeted for expenses totaling $500 per fiscal year. No
money has been spent for the past two years; in light of the absence of available storage and
display facilities, no new physical resources have been acquired. Faculty intend to use future
monies for soft acquisitions such as website and research subscriptions.
C.
Program Efficiency
Anthropology courses at the College have traditionally enjoyed fill rates over 90%; these numbers
declined in the Spring of 2004 when, as stated earlier, a popular full-time instructor departed to be
replaced by, in the minds of students, an unknown entity. The new instructor, whose first semester
classes had a fill rate of 72%, saw a return to rates over 90% within one year.
WSCH per FTEF, having peaked at 664.71 in Fall 2002, experienced a similar decline and
subsequent ascent within the same time period, returning to 615.83 by Spring 2005. FTES followed
the same pattern, peaking at 29.83 in Fall 2002 and dropping to 22.48 in Spring 2004; preliminary Fall
2005 numbers show FTES back up to 26.86.
There is a clear and striking pattern to all of the data which indicates that a program that relies heavily
upon a sole full-time instructor will see its efficiency fall as it moves through personnel changes. The
burden of increasing efficiency then falls squarely on the shoulders of the new instructor who, in this
case, appears to have recovered well.
D.
Program Success
Anthropology courses at the College typically terminate with success rates over 60% --sometimes
well over. Interestingly, from the data supplied it appears that success rates are always lower in the
Fall (61 - 69%) than they are in the Spring (71 - 85%). As this cannot be attributed to any major
differences in course times or offerings, we assume that it may be part of a College-wide pattern.
Strikingly, student success was highest (85%) during the semester that fill rates were lowest (72%);
this is a clear argument for the advantages of small class size. As enrollments increased, success
rates returned to the aforementioned pattern of 60's in the Fall and 70's in the Spring.
Course retention is regularly above 90%, while withdrawals hover in the single digits. As the program
currently offers no required classes and no degrees or certificates, fill rates at or near capacity may
be taken as an indication of the program's success.
E.
Dialogue with other programs
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Anthropology Program Review, Spring 2006
As stated in part I, section E, students in the Anthropology program are engaged in an ongoing
project with students in the ESL program; we also enjoy a productive and ongoing dialogue between
faculty members. Anthropology faculty also engage in informal dialogue with other social science
faculty in an effort to determine linkages between coursework -- such as that between political
science and political anthropology, between the sociology of gender and the anthropology of gender,
and between the ethical practices of psychological and anthropological research.
The Anthropology program, in cooperation with the Administration of Justice program, has recently
embarked upon a path toward the introduction of a cross-listed class in Forensic Anthropology. While
the introduction of such a class will help the Anthropology program to grow toward the eventual
establishment of an AA degree in Anthropology, it will also fall into the established track for the
Administration of Justice program's AA degree.
The Anthropology program has also established a connection to the College's Visual
Communications program through a Diversity Week event we initiated last year. VCOM classes will
produce materials for the "I'm LPC" campaign using photos of our diverse student body provided by
members of the LPC Anthropology Club. Anthropology faculty look forward to establishing greater
ties to VCOM in the future through the production of interactive ethnographic projects.
Instructors from the Humanities, Geography, and Counseling programs have provided guest lectures
for Anthropology students, and others from programs as diverse as Art History and Administration of
Justice have been invited to do so. Anthropology faculty have given presentations at Psychology
Club meetings and welcome all speaking invitations.
Section III: Assessment and Recommendations
A.
Program strengths, teaching and learning.
With course success rates regularly above 60%, the Anthropology program considers itself to be on
par with success rates at four-year institutions. The 60 to 70% mark indicates that coursework is
successfully negotiating the space between being too rigorous and not being rigorous enough.
With course retention regularly above 90%, the Anthropology program attributes to its instructors the
talent of attracting and retaining students who do not necessarily "need" to take its classes. Most
notable here is the number of students who take one course in the program and then return for more.
Since there is no official data available, anecdotal evidence will have to do: Instructors have noted
literally dozens of students who have taken multiple courses in the discipline; several have taken
every course offered.
With fill rates regularly above 70% and more commonly above 90%, the Anthropology program
considers its enrollment efforts to be extremely successful, especially in light of the fact that it offers
no required courses and no degrees or certificates. A high fill rate can only be achieved by
maintaining the delicate balance between the number of sections offered and the number of potential
anthropology students present on campus. ANTH 1 typically has the highest fill rates, enabling the
program to offer multiple sections.
Coursework in the Anthropology program encourages students to think and write critically, to drop
their personal biases in favor of scientific research, to engage meaningfully and productively firsthand
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Anthropology Program Review, Spring 2006
with people who differ from themselves, and to acquire a deep appreciation and respect for human
beings of every time, place, and station in life. Anthropology classes help students to learn that their
point of view is one among many, while imparting to them a genuine desire to understand the others.
Anthropology instructors share a unique pedagogical advantage in that the subject of our studies is
ourselves -- humanity; therefore all coursework is personally relevant to every student. It is easy to
engage students in our classes because they are often the ones under discussion -- or they feel
connected somehow to the ones who are. Anthropological studies tie the students in the seats to
every other human being on the planet, and for most of them it proves to be a moving experience.
Instructors in the Anthropology program relate to their students in an informal manner with clear
boundaries: The classes and studies themselves are meant to be enjoyable, but the scholarship is
rigorous, encouraging the development of critical thinking skills and requiring students to elucidate
their opinions through theoretical paradigms both verbally and in writing. Students are taken in by the
personable nature of instructors and then captured by the subject matter of the discipline, which then
trains them to think like social scientists.
B.
Barriers to success.
While the Anthropology program on the whole appears to be operating successfully, there are still
several factors preventing growth at the present time.
1.
Lack of facilities.
As stated above, the Anthropology program does not yet have a dedicated classroom space.
This make it difficult to establish the sense on campus that there is actually an Anthropology
program in which to participate; it also enforces limits on storage and display. Once a
laboratory class is developed, it, too, will need a regular space in which to operate.
2.
Lack of storage and display space.
As stated earlier, a lack of storage and display space makes it difficult for the program to
acquire learning aids and make them available to students on a consistent basis. A laboratory
classroom will likely require lots of storage space.
3.
Lack of staff.
With an FTEF allotment of 1.4, the growth of the department depends primarily upon its sole
full-time instructor, whose pedagogical and administrative responsibilities leave little time for
the marketing and outreach that would likely stimulate growth. It is up to that instructor to build
enrollments to the point where the addition of another full-time instructor is justified; with an
FTF allotment of 2.0, the program may finally find the human resources necessary to actively
pursue faster growth through greater outreach.
Anthropology faculty feel it is important to maintain a full-time presence on campus. There is,
however, good reason to believe that the institution of online, web-based courses will
significantly boost enrollment, particularly with regard to ANTH 1. The program would like to
make this addition, which will require an increase in FTEF, since it will be necessary to add an
adjunct instructor who has previous experience teaching online.
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There is at current no highly experienced field archaeologist on staff whose expertise might
balance out the cultural strengths of the department, and the job contacts of former faculty
have evaporated. The program needs local instructors with real-world experience and
contacts in the field.
4.
Lack of course offerings; lack of curricular flexibility.
With curricular procedures that require new course offerings to go through a year-long drafting
and approval process, it is difficult to offer special courses that capitalize on current interests
and draw new students into the program. It is also difficult to initiate special projects that
demand smaller classes, since we are always seeking to maximize enrollment.
There are at present five different course offerings in the program; current faculty hope to work
with the Curriculum Committee to add a minimum of three new courses over the next five
years. This will indeed be difficult, since the primary goal is for these courses to fully articulate
to UC and CSU before they enter the schedule; adding them will also require an increase in
the program's FTEF.
5.
Absence of a dedicated campus-wide Club Hour.
Anthropology faculty are convinced that a successful Anthropology Club will promote
department enrollments. A Club was established in 2004 which operated on a minimal basis
until it was deactivated a year later due to lack of participation. Instructors found that students
were generally unable to attend meetings due to their enrollment in concurrently scheduled
classes. In the main, college campuses with active clubs set aside time each week for club
activities when no courses are scheduled -- the so-called "College Club Hour." The absence
of a "dead hour" during the day has a crippling effect on club participation.
6.
Low-enrollment night classes.
While the program supports the College's mission of providing classes to all students, low fill
rates in evening sections cause WSCH and FTES numbers to suffer; anthropology students
are typically day-time attendees, since few adults return for retraining in the discipline. These
low nighttime numbers prevent the program on the whole from generating enough FTEF to
introduce additional sections during the day, when they may indeed draw enrollments.
C.
SLO status.
The Anthropology program is one of the first at the College to have written draft Student Learning
Outcomes for every course offered, as well as for the program overall. Faculty have participated in
the College's SLO Pilot Project at the course level, creating grading rubrics and performing statistical
analyses so that student success may be more accurately assessed and teaching techniques
adjusted accordingly. Draft SLO's are as follows:
PROGRAM-LEVEL SLO's
Students who take courses in anthropology at Las Positas College should be able to:
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1. Demonstrate a respect for and appreciation of the great diversity of human cultural
expression and physical variation.
2. Analyze human problems from an evolutionary and/or cross-cultural perspective.
3. Deconstruct the concept of race.
4. Think critically about the information with which they are presented.
1. ANTH 1 – Physical Anthropology:
Students who complete the physical anthropology course at Las Positas College should be able to:
1. Use their knowledge of DNA and genetics to explain the process of evolution according to
the theory of natural selection.
2. Identify and describe the characteristics of the members of the primate order.
3. Identify and describe the physical and cultural characteristics of ancestral hominids.
4. Generate scientific hypotheses to explain superficial human variation; deconstruct the
concept of race.
2. ANTH 2 – Introduction to Archaeology: Prehistory and Culture Growth:
Students who complete the archaeology and prehistory course at Las Positas College should be able
to:
1. Discuss the methodology and ethical practice of American archaeology.
2. Explain the basic subject matter of archaeology including cultural change and diffusion.
3. Describe the archaeological evidence for the prehistoric development of human culture and
technology.
4. Generate scientific hypotheses to explain the processes by which prehistoric civilizations
rose and fell.
3. ANTH 3 - Social/Cultural Anthropology:
Students who complete the social/cultural anthropology course at Las Positas College should be able
to:
1. Explain and apply anthropological concepts including cultural relativism, while demonstrating
an appreciation of cultural difference.
2. Use anthropological theories including cultural materialism and interpretive or emic
approaches to explain cultural phenomena.
3. Collect, describe, use, and interpret the data resulting from anthropological methodologies
including participant observation and ethnography.
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Anthropology Program Review, Spring 2006
4. Summarize and apply relevant published anthropological studies to their own ethnographic
research.
4. ANTH 5 – Cultures of the US:
Students who complete the cultural pluralism course at Las Positas College should be able to:
1. Discuss American majority responses to immigrants and immigrant groups throughout
history.
2. Identify push-pull factors for all of the major ethnic groups in the US.
3. Describe the African American path from enslavement through segregation toward full
equality.
4. Analyze the pattern of government response to immigrant groups, including immigration
policy and miscegenation laws.
5. Analyze the pattern of government response to indigenous groups, including forced
migration and Americanization programs.
5. ANTH 12 – Magic, Religion, Witchcraft and Healing
Students who complete the anthropology of religion course at Las Positas College should be able to:
1. Describe, explain and apply anthropological approaches and theories to the study of religion.
2. Enumerate and describe the different categories of religious knowledge and phenomena
including folklore, mythology, legend, ritual, ghosts and souls.
3. Compare and contrast the different forms that the universal human search for transcendence
through ritual, spiritual journey, prayer, and trance can take.
4. Describe and explain the relationship between religion and healing practices.
D.
Suggested improvements.
1.
Obtain dedicated classroom, storage, study, and display space; create a feeling of
physical presence for the program.
2.
Add online sections and the adjunct faculty to teach them, starting with ANTH 1 and
ANTH 5.
3.
Add new courses and increase the number of sections offered.
a.
Create and institute an ANTH 1 (Physical Anthropology) laboratory course.
b.
Divide ANTH 2 (Archaeology and Prehistory) into two separate, more
comprehensive courses.
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c.
Anthropology Program Review, Spring 2006
Create and institute an ANTH 2 (Archaeology) laboratory course.
d.
In cooperation with the Administration of Justice program, create and institute an
introductory course in Forensic Anthropology. Create and institute a laboratory class to
accompany it.
e.
Create and institute an introductory course in anthropological linguistics.
f.
Create and institute an introductory course in the anthropology of sex and
gender.
g.
Create and institute an introductory course in Native American cultures.
h.
Create and institute a supplementary course in comparative world cultures.
4.
Add faculty.
5.
Establish an Anthropology AA degree program.
6.
Increase outreach and marketing.
Section IV: Planning and Implementation
A.
Resources requested.
1. Faculty. The Anthropology program would like to request an initial FTEF increase of 0.6,
bringing the total allotment to 2.0. This will allow us to add two online courses and one more
afternoon class -- or vice versa, depending on anticipated enrollment.
2. Dedicated space. The Anthropology program looks forward to the completion of the
College's new Multi-Disciplinary Building, where we anticipate the program will be given a
home in the form of permanent physical space. As stated earlier, the absence of storage and
display facilities makes material acquisitions difficult to manage and use, while the absence of
a dedicated classroom space contributes to the lack of program visibility.
The Anthropology program also looks forward to the establishment of student-centered study
and discussion space in close proximity to the department's base.
3. Technology. The Anthropology program looks forward to the fulfillment if its request for
web design and management software including Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Photoshop and
ImageReady.
Once laboratory classes are established, the program will require additional materials yet to be
determined.
B.
Action Plan.
1. Develop curriculum for a course in Forensic Anthropology and schedule it to coincide with
the on-campus availability of Administration of Justice majors; course institution will require
additional staff.
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2. Develop an online section of ANTH 1 and introduce it into the schedule as soon as
possible.
3. Develop curriculum for a laboratory course to accompany ANTH 1 and introduce it into the
schedule as soon as possible; course institution will require additional staff.
4. Develop curriculum for a laboratory course to accompany the new course in Forensic
Anthropology and introduce it into the schedule as soon as possible.
5. Split ANTH 2 into two new courses: Archaeological Methodology and World Prehistory.
6. Develop curriculum for a laboratory course to accompany the new course in Archaeological
Methodology and introduce it into the schedule as soon as possible.
7. Develop an online section of ANTH 5 and introduce it into the schedule as soon as
possible.
8. Split ANTH 3 into two new courses: Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (which will focus
on theory) and Patterns of Culture (which will focus on ethnography).
9. Create an A.A. degree program in Anthropology.
Appendices.