Anthropology 1000B
The Anthropological Perspective
Winter 2007
University of Lethbridge
Instructor: Dr. Judy Whitehead
Office: TH 218
Telephone: 329-2011
e-mail: whitja01@uleth.ca
Time: MWF 9:00-9:50
Place: L1060
Office Hours: MW: 12:00-2:00 p.m
The name and address of the person sitting beside you:___________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Course Description: Social and cultural anthropology studies the diversity in cultures throughout
the world, at the same time that it searches for general patterns in the ways that human beings
organize themselves in societies and are, in turn, shaped by these social patterns. Hence,
anthropology is energized by a search for both human universals and a reflection on the profound
differences in language, cultural values and social organization throughout the world. Since social
life is very complex, anthropologists produce models of fairly general patterns and relationships
between institutions, values and language. These models provide the basis for theories in the
discipline. Anthropology 1000 will introduce you to the major concepts, theories, topics and issues
in contemporary social and cultural anthropology.
Course Prerequisites: Since this is an introductory course, there are no prerequisites for it.
Course Material: There are three textbooks and a reading packet for this course. The textbooks
are available at the University of Lethbridge Bookstore, as is the CLRC reading packet. Readings
from the booklet are indicated on the lecture outline with an asterix. Audio-visual material will also
be used when appropriate. 2 articles are taken from the library’s on-line holdings.
The course texts are as follows:
M. Mamdami, The Myth of Population Control: Family, Caste and Class in an Indian Village.
P. Reeves Sanday, Fraternity Gang Rape: Sex, Brotherhood and Privilege on Campus.
J. Monaghan and P. Just, Social and Cultural Anthropology: A Very Short Introduction.
Course Assignments: You are expected to do the readings assigned to lectures for that particular
lecture date. There are four (4) in-class tests for this course. The first and last tests will consist of
multiple choice questions, each counting for 20% of your final mark. The second and third tests
will include both multiple-choice and short answer questions. The multiple-choice questions will
count for 20% and the short answers for 10% for a total of 30% for each of these tests. You are
responsible for information from the class readings, lectures and films, although more emphasis
will be placed on knowledge in the readings for the tests. There is no final exam in the exam
period for this course.
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Mark Breakdown:
1st Test: 20%
2nd Test: 30%
3rd Test: 30%
4th Test: 40%
Grading: The following grade scale will be followed:
A+
95-100
B+
77-79
C+
67-69
D+
57-59
F Below 50
A
B
C
D
86-94
73-76
60-62
53-56
A- 80-85
B- 70-72
C- 60-62
D-50-52
NB: Plagiarism is a serious offence and will be treated accordingly. Plagiarism consists of
using someone else’s ideas or writing and presenting them as your own without citation. This can
take the form of directly using someone’s material or of paraphrasing it. It would also involve
purchasing essays from an internet provider or handing in the same paper to two courses without
prior permission of each instructor. University policy on plagiarism is covered in the calendar, p.
63-68 and a useful guide can be found at uleth.ca/lib/guides/plagiarism.asp.
Lecture, Reading and Film Timetable
Subject to change if necessary
Jan. 5: Introduction to the Course
No reading assignment
Part I: Departures: Perspectives, Methods, Some History
Jan. 8: Anthropological Perspectives and Cultural Relativism
Reading: H. Miner, ‘Body Ritual Among the Nacirema’*
Jan. 10: Anthropological Perspectives on ‘First Encounters’
Film: Couple in the Cage
R.B. Lee, ‘Eating Christmas in the Kalahari’*
Jan. 12: Anthropology and the Social Sciences: The Fieldwork Tradition
Reading: Monaghan and Just, Chapters 1 & 2.
Jan. 15: Anthropological Perspectives on ‘Race’ and Culture
Reading: N. Cohen, ‘Culture, Not Race Explains Human Diversity’*
Jan. 17: Film: Skin Deep
Jan. 19: Founding Concepts: Society
Reading: Monaghan and Just: Ch. 3
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Jan. 22: Founding Concepts: Culture
Reading: Monaghan and Just: Ch. 2
Jan. 24: First In-Class Test
Part II: Society
Jan. 26: Diversity and Difference in Economic Activities
Reading: Monaghan and Just, Ch. 6
Jan. 29: Modes of Production
Reading: R.B. Lee, ‘The Hunters: Scarce Resources in the Kalahari’*
Jan. 31: Modes of Exchange and Consumption
Reading: P. Bohannon, ‘The Impact of Money on an African Subsistence Society’*
Feb. 2: Film: Asante Market Women
Feb. 5: The Agricultural Revolution
Reading: J.L. Weisdorf, ‘From Foraging to Farming: Explaining the Neolithic Revolution’*
Journal of Economic Surveys, Vol. 19 #4, pp. 561-585. Journal available on-line through the U of L
on-line collection.
Feb. 7: Social Stratification and Power: Caste, Class and Nation
Reading: Monaghan and Just, Ch. 5
Feb. 9: Kinship and the Idiom of Belonging
Monaghan and Just, Ch. 4
N. Scheper-Hughes: ‘Death Without Weeping’*
Feb. 12: Film: Kinship and Descent, Part 1
Feb. 14: Forms of Belonging: ‘Tribe’, Caste, Class and Nation
Monaghan and Just, Ch.5
Feb. 16: Second In-Class Test
Feb. 19-Feb. 24: Reading Week
Part III: Culture
Feb. 26: Language and Difference
Reading: E. Martin, ‘The Egg and the Sperm’*
Feb. 28: Metaphors as Cultural Codes
Reading: G. Lakoff and M. Johnson, Ch. 1 & 2 from Metaphors We Live By*
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Mar. 2: Gender and Power
Reading: P.R. Sanday, Fraternity Gang Rape, Introduction and Ch. 1+ 2
Mar. 5: Masculinity and Campus Culture
Reading: P.R. Sanday, Fraternity Gang Rape, Ch. 3, 4, +5.
Mar. 7: Gender and Conflict
Reading: P.R. Sanday, Fraternity Gang Rape, Ch. 6, 7, + 8.
Mar. 9: Gender, Class and Power
Film: The Sterilization of Luhani Muir
Mar. 12: Selfhood and Identity
Reading: Monaghan and Just, Ch. 8
Mar. 14: Identity and Embodiment
Reading: A.E. Becker: ‘Body Imagery, Ideals and Cultivation’*
Mar. 16: Embodiment and the Fashion Industry
Film: McGiver Undercover in the Fashion Industry
Mar. 19: Religion and magic
Reading: Monaghan and Just, Ch. 7
Mar. 21: Religion as Ecology
Film: The Goddess and the Computer
Mar. 23: Third Test
Mar. 26: Instructor at Conference
Part III: The West and the Rest: Colonialism and Development Discourse
Mar. 28: Colonialism and the Creation of the ‘Third World’
Reading: I. Wallerstein, ‘The Rise and Future Demise of the World System’*
F. M. Lappe and J. Collins, ‘Why Can’t People Feed Themselves’?*
Mar. 30: Globalization and its Discontents: Flexible Specialization and World Factories
Reading: A.L. Freidman, 2000, ‘Micro-regulation and Post-fordism: Critique and Development of
Regulation Theory’, New Political Economy, Vol. 5, #1, pp: 59-76, Available on-line through U of L
Journal Holdings.
April 2: Film: The Global Assembly Line
April 4: Development Discourse and Power
M. Mamdani, The Myth of Population Control: Introduction
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April 6: Western Concepts and Population Planning
M. Mamdani, Ch. 1 & 2
April 9: Local Context: Khanna and its Social Structure
M. Mamdani, The Myth of Population Control, Ch. 3 & 4.
April 11: Agriculture and Joint Families
M. Mamdani, The Myth of Population Control, Ch. 5, 6.
April 13: The Local and Anthropological Perspective(s)
M. Mamdani, The Myth of Population Control, Ch. 7.
April 16: Fourth Test
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