Chabot College
Fall 2010
Course Outline for Anthropology 3
SOCIAL AND CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Catalog Description:
3 - Social and Cultural Anthropology
3 units
How human beings in different cultures meet basic biological, social and cultural needs, including
kinship and marriage practices, political and social organization, economic institutions, religious and
childrearing practices, social change, as well as other aspects of cultural behavior. Emphasis on
understanding other cultures on their own terms. Includes the many subcultures making up North
American populations. 3 hours.
[Typical contact hours: 52.5]
Prerequisite Skills:
None
Expected Outcomes for Students:
Upon completion of this course the student should be able to:
1. describe the methodologies of the social and behavioral sciences;
2. identify the basic subject matter of social and cultural anthropology;
3. demonstrate an ability to study cultural issues objectively, including the issues of cultural
diversity.
Course Content:
1. What is Anthropology? Historical development of the field, its scope, aims and relationships with
other disciplines;
2. The aims and methodology of Social Anthropology;
3. The concept of human culture;
4. Distinctions between societies and culture;
5. Language and abstract symbolization as the basis for human culture;
6. Sex, marriage and the family;
7. Post-marital residence, kinship and extensions of kinship, e.g., clans and castes;
8. Associations and interest groups;
9. Social stratification;
10. The enculturation process including education, socialization and personality formation;
11. Morals, ethics, values and laws;
12. Magic, religion and science;
13. Aesthetic expression;
14. Food and economic systems;
15. Political organization;
16. Cultural stability and change, e.g., through acculturation and diffusion.;
17. Applied Anthropology;
18. Anthropology and the modern world.
Methods of Presentation:
1. Lecture
2. Small and large group discussion
Chabot College
Course Outline for Anthropology 3. Page 2
Fall 2010
3. Audio-visual material (ethnographic documentary)
Assignments and Methods of Evaluating Student Progress:
1. Typical Assignments
a. Observe, record, and analyze ethnographic materials.
b. Answer study questions relating to world cultures.
2.
a.
b.
c.
d.
Methods of Evaluating Student Progress:
Midterm Examinations
Individual and/or group projects
Essays
Final Examinations
Textbook(s) (Typical):
Cultural Anthropology: A Problem-Based Approach, 5th Edition, Richard Robbins Cengage
Advantage Books, 2009
Annual Editions: Anthropology 09/10, Elvio Angelon, McGraw-Hill/Dushkin, 2009
Special Student Materials:
None.
ANTH 3, revised 9/09: cs