Summer 2014 Anthropology 1202 INTRODUCTION TO CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY Department of Sociology, Anthropology & Social Work, Seton Hall University Course Instructor: Dr. Rhonda Quinn COURSE DESCRIPTION Anthropology 1202 is an introduction to the study of humankind with a cross-­‐cultural and holistic approach. We will focus on the processes underpinning culture. We will also emphasize humans as cultural organisms and discuss the adaptive, historical, economic, and ideological basis of human customs, language, and other cultural practices. Topics will include the history of social and anthropological thought, the ethnographic method and cross-­‐cultural comparative approach to understanding human societies, and issues of gender, identity, race, and religion. CLASS MEETINGS Mondays and Wednesdays at 11:30 am – 2:30 pm, Jubilee Hall 223 OFFICE HOURS Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays 10:00-­‐11:30 am and by appointment, Jubilee Hall 522 CONTACT INFORMATION Email is usually the best way to reach me (rhonda.quinn@shu.edu); but you may also call my office (973.761.9211). I will make every effort to reply to all emails within 24 hours. I also encourage you to attend office hours or make an appointment. GRADED WORK Class Participation & Attendance. Participation in class discussion and group work along with attendance will contribute 10% of your total grade. Attendance will be taken each class period to gauge your involvement in the course and will also be used to decide on borderline grades at the end of the semester. Group Discussion Papers (GDP). Five (5) in-­‐class group assignments will be given on the day’s topic. These are composed primarily of open-­‐ended, thought-­‐provoking questions that you as a group will answer and discuss with the class. Completed assignments will be collected at the end of class and will contribute a total of 20% to your final grade. Only official university excuses will be accepted for missed GDPs. If excused, an alternative, take-­‐home exercises will be provided. Film Reaction Assignments (FRA). Five (5) film segments will be shown throughout the course. You will be given open-­‐ended, thought-­‐provoking questions to be answered in short essay format to be completed while viewing the segment and during class discussion. Assignments will gauge your abilities to listen effectively, summarize information throughout the film in an accurate and concise manner, and evaluate the quality of evidence. Completed assignments will be collected at the end of class and will contribute a total of 20% to your final grade. Only official university excuses will be accepted for missed FRAs. If excused, an alternative, take-­‐home exercises will be provided. Exams. You will be given two written hourly examinations, which are objective in nature (short answer, multiple-­‐choice, true/false, matching, and short essay). Each examination is worth 20% of the total course grade. The final exam is not cumulative; however, some concepts are built on previously covered material. Only official university excuses will be accepted for missed exams. Please contact me at least 24 hours prior to the exam day and supply documentation for the excused absence. Mini-­‐Ethnography. You are expected to conduct a small-­‐scale ethnography (5-­‐7 pages, double spaced, 12 point font) on a topic under the large umbrella of cultural anthropology. You may focus your ethnography on one of the topics discussed in class or another relevant topic. The assignment is due on the last day of class and is worth 10% of your total course grade. Only official university excuses will be accepted for late papers. POINT DISTRIBUTION: Class Participation/Attendance 50 Group Discussion Papers (5 @ 20 pts) 100 Film Reaction Papers (5 @ 20 pts) 100 Midterm Exam 100 Final Exam 100 Mini-­‐Ethnography 50 TOTAL COURSE POINTS 500 REQUIRED TEXTBOOK: Invitation to Anthropology, 2nd or 3rd edition, by Luke Eric Lassiter ISBN: 0759111537 SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS/FILMS: Copies of additional readings and film clips will be made available on Blackboard. COURSE WEBSITES Blackboard (http://blackboard.luc.edu). We will use Blackboard for our course website. Please contact me immediately if you cannot access your Blackboard account. I will post all course material: syllabus, readings, study guides, paper guidelines on this site. I will also use the site for occasional announcements. You should feel free to use Blackboard as a class discussion forum and to ask questions about the course, which will be regularly answered by myself and potentially your classmates. Be sure to check Blackboard on a regular basis. LETTER GRADE ASSIGNMENTS Letter grades will be assigned as follows: A: 93 – 100%, A-­‐: 90 – 92%, B+: 88 – 89%, B: 83 – 87%, B-­‐: 80 – 82%, C+: 78 – 79%, C: 73 – 77%, C-­‐: 70 – 72%, D+: 68 – 69%, D: 63 – 67%, D-­‐: 60 – 62%, F: 0 -­‐ 59%. After all graded work of all students has been submitted, I will decide whether some or all of the letter grade assignments should be “curved” to benefit students who are on a grade border. This curve is, in part, the result of the performance of the entire class; however, students who attend class regularly and complete all assignments and quizzes will be considered favorably. CORE CURRICULUM ANTH 1201 fulfills 3-­‐credits of the core curriculum requirement in the Social Science area. LEARNING ASSISTANCE If you are a new student and find you need additional help in general study skills, please visit the Ruth Sharkey Academic Resource Center: http://www.shu.edu/academics/artsci/arc/ STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES If you require accommodations, such as additional time to complete an exam, separate testing space, permission to eat during an exam, or the use of a reader, contact the Office of Disability Support Services (http://www.shu.edu/offices/disability-­‐support-­‐services/). ACADEMIC INTEGRITY Seton Hall University has high standards of academic integrity. Academic dishonesty in any form will not be tolerated in this course. Obtaining, distributing or communicating examination material prior to the scheduled examination without my consent; providing to, or obtaining information from, another student during the examination; or attempting to change answers after the examination has been submitted are all considered a form of academic dishonesty. In class group exercises are team completed; however, the responses must be written by you (and in your own words) and not taken verbatim from another student. Failure to uphold these standards may result in a failing grade for the exam, exercise, and/or entire course. Please consult our Department’s policy on academic dishonesty: http://www.shu.edu/academics/artsci/sociology-­‐anthropology-­‐social-­‐
work/academic-­‐dishnoesty-­‐policy.cfm. FRIENDLY ADVICE There are no secrets to how to be a good student. Attend all class sessions and actively participate regularly in class discussions. This will greatly enhance your understanding of the course material, your exam performance, and ultimately your final grade. Read your textbook and other supplemental readings prior to the class period for which the reading assignment is listed. If you do not understand something you’ve read, class is when you should have those questions answered, either from the lecture or by engaging in discussion. Read your notes shortly after you take them. Make sure they make sense to you and that you have very few gaps. Fill in those gaps by rereading the chapter section, visit me during office hours, or organize a group study session with a few of your classmates. Plan your short semester. Consider our syllabus as a contract between you and me. I will follow the schedule and you should anticipate all exams and assignments. If I absolutely must change a date, which I rarely do, I will give you ample time to prepare and rearrange your schedule. Study smart. Read the text and your notes for an hour or two every day rather than cramming for many hours over a day or two before the exam. My courses usually begin slowly and then ramp up exponentially, so it is very important that you do not fall behind either in your readings or your class attendance. It will be nearly impossible to catch up at the end of the semester, especially given the short nature of the intersession schedule. Note that just because this course is introductory does not mean that it is easy; it just means that you are not expected to have previous knowledge or pre-­‐requisite courses. Finally, if you have a question about your education, please ask, and I will do my best to help you find the answer. COURSE SCHEDULE, LECTURE TOPICS, GRADED WORK, ASSIGNED READINGS Date Lecture Topics & Graded Work 6-­‐10 Course overview Introduction to anthropology; scope of cultural anthropology Assigned Readings Ch 2 A brief introduction to methods 6-­‐11 6-­‐12 What is culture? Our ethnocentric selves (GDP #1: Keesing/Miner) Cultural anthropology history and theory BB 6-­‐13 Cultural anthropology history and theory (GDP #2: Harris/Malinowski) What is race? BB Ch 1 6-­‐16 A cultural construct or a biological definition? (FRA #1: Skin) What is ethnicity? (GDP #3: Abizadeh) BB 6-­‐17 How does ethnicity differ from race? What is gender? How does gender differ from biological sex? 6-­‐18 Midterm Examination Practicing cultural anthropology; ethnography Ch 3 6-­‐19 6-­‐20 Ch 4 6-­‐23 Ethnography (FRA #2: A Man Called Bee, Secrets of the Tribe) Mini-­‐Ethnography Culture and natural selection Culture as (mal)adaptive through time (FRA #3: Womanhood and circumcision)
Gender revisited 6-­‐24 Feminist anthropology (FRA #4: Believing Women) Marriage, family, kinship (GDP #4: TBA) Ch 6 6-­‐25 Marriage, family, kinship Religion (FRA #5: The King Does Not Lie) Religion Ch 7 6-­‐26 Globalization and cultural change (GDP #5: Rao et al.) Globalization and cultural change BB 6-­‐27 Final Examination (Mini-­‐ethnography due in class) Ch 5