ANTHROPOLOGY 2250 INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOCULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY Spring, 2009 Dr. Ann T. Jordan COURSE DESCRIPTION A survey of anthropological attempts to understand and explain the similarities and differences in human behavior, social institutions, and total ways of life. Extensive use will be made of descriptions of cultures from around the world. COURSE GOAL To enrich the student=s awareness and appreciation of Anthropology, particularly as it focuses on the cultural basis for human behavior. COURSE OBJECTIVES 1) To acquaint the student with the central and basic concepts of sociocultural anthropology necessary for understanding humans and their behavior. 2) To develop appreciation and awareness of culture and its role in human behavior. 3) To develop understanding and awareness of the different approaches used in the study of culture and human behavior. 4) To develop within every student an awareness of the consequences of ethnocentrism and the need for sensitivity and appreciation for cultures of others. 1 ANTHROPOLOGY 2250.001 INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOCULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY COURSE SYLLABUS Required Reading: Cultural Anthropology: An Applied Perspective by Gary Ferraro Selected Articles: ABody Ritual Among the Nacirema@ by Miner AUnderstanding Eskimo Science@ by Nelson AToo Many Bananas, Not Enough Pineapples, and No Watermelon At All: Three Object Lessons in Living with Reciprocity@ by Counts AWhen Brothers Share a Wife@ by Goldstein AYellow Woman and a Spirit of Beauty@ by Silko ARituals of Death@ by Purdum and Paredes ANandi: Cattle-Keepers to Cash Crop Farmers@ by Oboler “Barbie’s Taiwanese Homecoming: A Plastic, Fantastic Tale of Globalization” by Dmitri Class Topics and Assignment Schedule: 1/20 Introduction 1/22 The Anthropological Perspective 1/27-2/3 The Meaning of Culture Reading Assignment Due: 2/5-10 2/12 Ferraro, Chapters 1 - 2 Ethnographic Fieldwork In-Class Exercise: Doing Fieldwork in the Student Union Reading Assignment Due: Ferraro, Chapter 5 ABody Ritual Among the Nacirema@ In-Class Exercise: Doing Fieldwork in the Student Union Field Assignment Due: Symbols 2/17-19 Adaptation: Environment, Subsistence and Cultures Reading Assignment Due: Ferraro, Chapter 7 AUnderstanding Eskimo Science@ Video: Patterns of Subsistence: Hunters and Gatherers Patterns of Subsistence: Food Producers 2/24-26 Exchange and Economic Systems Reading Assignment Due: Ferraro, Chapter 8 AToo Many Bananas, Not Enough Pineapples, and No Watermelon At All 2 In-Class Exercise: The Penny Economy 3/3 3/5 Religion and the Supernatural Reading Assignment Due: Ferraro, Chapter 14 ARituals of Death@ Field Assignment Due: Ritual Video: AAlejandro Mamani@ Exam Review 3/10 EXAM 3/12 Domestic Life: Marriage and Household Patterns Reading Assignment Due: Ferraro, Chapter 9 AWhen Brothers Share a Wife@ Kinship Reading Assignment Due: Ferraro, Chapter 10 In-Class Exercise: Survivor Anthropology Style: Marriage on a Remote Island Field Assignment Due: Kinship Chart 3/24-26 3/31 4/2 4/7-9 Gender Reading Assignment Due: Political Organization Reading Assignment Due: Video: ADead Birds@ Ferraro, Chapter 11 AYellow Woman and a Spirit of Beauty@ Ferraro, Chapter 12-13 4/14 Revisiting The Meaning of Culture, Part I: Culture as a Holistic, Integrated System Reading Assignment Due: ANandi: Cattle-Keepers to Cash Crop Farmers@ Writing Assignment Due: Fitting the Pieces Together: Cultural Integration among the Nandi 4/16 Revisiting The Meaning of Culture, Part II: Culture Falls Apart Video: AMirrors of the Heart@ 4/21-28 Culture Change and Globalization Reading Assignment Due: Ferraro, Chapters 16 “Barbie’s Taiwanese Homecoming: A Plastic, Fantastic Tale of Globalization” Video: ATrinkets and Beads@ In-Class Exercise: Cultural Rights and Human Rights Case Study: Saudi Arabia 4/28 3 4/30 Applying Anthropology Reading Assignment Due: Ferraro, Chapter 3 Writing Assignment Due: Applied Perspective In-Class Exercise: Today’s News (Bring News Examples to Class) 5/5-7 Pre-Finals Week Exam Review 5/12 EXAM 1:30-3:30 PM PROCEDURES AND POLICIES Grading Procedure: Grades in this course will be based on four field assignment written reports, two major exams, one writing assignment, and class participation. Three Field Assignments at 50 pts each Midterm Exam Two Writing Assignments at 50 pts each Final Exam Class Participation Total 150 pts 100 pts 100 pts 100 pts 50 pts 500 pts Students are expected to complete the reading assignments listed for each day prior to that day's class and to come to class prepared to discuss the reading assignments to be covered that day. For articles with discussion questions in this study guide, students should be prepared to answer all the questions in class. Professor will call on students to answer the questions. Ability to answer the questions will figure in the Class Participation points. Final Grades will be determined as follows: 100-90% of pt total = A 89-80% of pt total = B 79-70% of pt total = C 60-60% of pt total = D 59% and below = F Attendance: Attendance is mandatory. Students who miss 5 classes will have their grade dropped one letter grade. Other Information: Professor's Office: Chilton 330; Tel: 940/565-3443; e-mail: jordan@unt.edu Office Hours: Tuesday, Thursday 1:00-2:00. Students will be notified in class of any changes in the information given above. Anthropology does not discriminate on the basis of an individual's disability as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act. The program provides academic adjustments and aids to 4 individuals with disabilities in its programs and activities. 5 FIELD ASSIGNMENTS 1. Symbols Due: 2/12 Spend one hour walking the North Texas campus and listing all symbols you see and the number of times you see each symbol. Type up this list of symbols with the frequency. Explain briefly the meaning of each symbol which you understand. Turn in your field notes from your walk and your typed list and explanations. 2. Ritual Due: 3/5 Attend a ritual which is unfamiliar to you. If possible, take notes during the ritual. If note taking is inappropriate, then make notes immediately after leaving the ritual. Write up your experience in the following way. Name of the Ritual Place, Date and Time of Day Description of the Ritual: Estimate number of people present, number of males, females, children Describe the actions, music or other Anoise@ if any. Describe the symbols used and explain, if you can, their meaning. Explain if there are ways in which this ritual is marked off in time and or in space. Length of typed, written report: one to three pages Turn in your field notes about the ritual and your typed report. 3. Kinship Due: 3/26 Make a kinship chart for your family including as many relatives as you know from memory. Interview another person about their family and make a chart for that person=s family as well. Explain in one typed page the ways in which the two charts are similar and different. Turn in the two charts and your one-page explanation. 6 WRITING ASSIGNMENTS 1. Fitting the Pieces Together: Cultural Integration among the Nandi Due: 4/14 Read Nandi: From Cattle-Keepers to Cash-Crop Farmers The point of this exercise is to work out all the ways in which the characteristics of a culture are integrated with each other. In the figure on the following two pages you see 8 circles each labeled with one of the topics of culture we have studied. In each circle, write a list of all the characteristics of Nandi culture which fit under the topic. To simplify things, use the characteristics of the culture at the time Oboler studied the Nandi. After you have written all the lists, draw lines between integrated characteristics which are in different circles. For example, in the circle labeled ASubsistence@ you may write Acattle herding@ and in the circle labeled AMarriage and Household Patterns@ you may write Abridewealth in cattle, sheep and goats.@ The subsistence strategy of cattle herding is integrated with the bridewealth gift in cattle and so you will draw a line connecting cattle herding in the ASubsistence@ circle with bridewealth in the AMarriage and Household Patterns@ circle. Some characteristics may seem to fit equally well in more than one circle. In this case, you may either list them in both circles and draw a line connecting them, or you may list them in one circle and draw a line to the other relevant circle(s). Write a two page, typed report explaining the connections. Tear out the two pages with the figure from this Study Guide and turn them in with the report. 2. Applied Perspective Due: 4/30 Choose two of the AApplied Perspective@ boxed inserts found in your textbook (Cultural Anthropology: An Applied Perspective by G. Ferraro). These can be from any chapter in the book but the two should be from different chapters. Do the following for each: In one paragraph, summarize the example. Then answer the Aquestions for further thought@ found at the end of the boxed insert. Total assignment length: four pages. 7 8 9 CLASS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR ARTICLES Body Ritual Among the Nacirema 1. Describe the magic-ridden practices of the Nacirema people. 2. What appears to be the most important focus of this culture? 3. What is the point Miner is making in this article? Understanding Eskimo Science 1. What is Nelson=s background and how did he gain knowledge of the Koyukon Indians and the Inupiaq Eskimos? 2. What are Nelson=s main points? Do you agree or disagree with him? 3. What traditional Koyukon and Inupiaq practices do you find contrary to values professed in your society? How are they important to survival? 4. Is there a difference in how the Inupiaq and Koyukon (as described by Nelson) and people in your society experience nature? What is the difference? 5. Compare western and Eskimo science. Too Many Bananas, Not Enough Pineapples, and No Watermelon at All: Three Object Lessons in Living with Reciprocity 1. What is Counts= background and how did he gain knowledge about the Kaliai people? 2. What are the three lessons he learned? 3. What do you learn from this about reciprocity? Rituals of Death 1. What are Purdum and Paredes= backgrounds and how did they gain knowledge of death rituals among the Aztec and in Florida? 2. How are the death rituals among the Aztec and the Floridians similar and different? 3. In what way are the explanations for Aztec death ritual and for Florida death ritual nonrational? 4. What do the authors consider to be the scientific explanations for the death rituals among the Aztec? Among the Floridians? 5. What are the main points the authors are making in this article? 10 When Brothers Share a Wife 1. What is Goldstein=s background and how did he gain knowledge of Tibetan marriage practices? 2. What is fraternal polyandry? How are husbands and wives expected to treat each other? 3. Why do Tibetans practice fraternal polyandry? 4. Fraternal polyandry functions similarly to what western inheritance practice? What are the advantages/disadvantages of each? 5. What underlying values about marriage are different for the Tibetans practicing fraternal polyandry from the values about marriage in your society? Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit 1. What is Silko=s background and how did she gain knowledge about the cultural ways she describes? 2. How did the beliefs of the old-time people compare with the beliefs of modern times? 3. How was beauty manifested in the old time Pueblo world? How was health manifested? 4. How was difference celebrated? Give an example? 5. What would be the reaction to attempts to keep young looking or to have cosmetic surgery? 6. What values of the Pueblo world did you learn from this article? Barbie’s Taiwanese Homecoming: A Plastic, Fantastic Tale of Globalization 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Why did Matel locate a factory in Taishan? What kinds of jobs did the town’s inhabitants perform for Matel? What do the inhabitants describe as the benefits of Matel’s presence? Why did Matel close its factory in Taishan? What are the inhabitants doing now to continue to capitalize on the Matel experience? How do the inhabitants of Taishan exhibit “agency?” 11 STUDY OUTLINE 11 INTRODUCTION: THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE ANTHROPOLOGY=S BEGINNINGS: A SOCIAL SCIENCE WHAT ANTHROPOLOGY BRINGS TO THE SOCIAL SCIENCES 1. HOLISM 2. COMPARATIVISM 3. RELATIVISM 4. TIME DEPTH 5. IMPORTANCE OF PHYSICAL BODY CONTRIBUTIONS OF ANTHROPOLOGY 1. CONCEPT OF CULTURE 2. DATA ABOUT NON-WESTERN SOCIETIES 3. SEPARATION OF BIOLOGY AND CULTURE IN UNDERSTANDING DIVERSITY 4. AWARENESS OF CULTURAL SENSITIVITY AND CULTURAL RELATIVISM 12 THE MEANING OF CULTURE DEFINITION OF CULTURE: AN INTEGRATED SYSTEM OF LEARNED PATTERNS OF BELIEF, BEHAVIOR AND ARTIFACTS CHARACTERISTIC OF A SOCIETY CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURE 1. ADAPTIVE 2. LEARNED 3. SHARED 4. SYMBOLIC 5. INTEGRATED CULTURAL UNIVERSALS SUBSISTENCE RELIGION ECONOMIC SYSTEM POLITICAL SYSTEM LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND KINSHIP ART ESSENTIAL CULTURAL SKILLS FOR ANTHROPOLOGISTS ETHNOCENTRISM CULTURAL RELATIVISM 13 SYMBOLS DEFINITIONS: EXAMPLES: 1. FOOD 2. SPACIAL ARRANGEMENTS 3. THE HUMAN BODY AS SOCIAL GROUPING 4. SPORTS 14 FIELDWORK 1. ANTHROPOLOGY AS A SOCIAL SCIENCE 2. THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD $ HYPOTHESIS $ RESEARCH DESIGN $ COLLECT DATA $ ANALYZE DATA $ ACCEPT OR REJECT HYPOTHESIS VALIDITY RELIABILITY REPLICATION 3. THE FIELD SITUATION AND THE USES OF QUALITATIVE METHOD VERSUS QUANTITATIVE METHOD 4. TECHNIQUES OF THE QUALITATIVE METHOD $ PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION DON=T ASSUME ANYTHING RECORD THE SETTING LOOK FOR PATTERNS ETHNOGRAPHIC CENSUS TAKING IMPORTANCE OF TIME, DATE AND CYCLE OF BEHAVIOR $ INTERVIEWS DON=T ASSUME ANYTHING DON=T ASK LEADING QUESTIONS 15 ADAPTATION: ENVIRONMENT, SUBSISTENCE AND CULTURES SUBSISTENCE SYSTEMS I. HUNTERS AND GATHERERS CHARACTERISTICS: 1. FLEXIBLE CAMPS 2. GATHERING MORE IMPORTANT THAN HUNTING, UNLESS QUITE FAR NORTH 3. LOTS LEISURE TIME 4. GOOD DIET (LOTS PROTEIN AN D CALORIES) 5. FAMILISTIC ETHIC 6. NOT AGGRESSIVE OR TERRITORIAL 7. POPULATION STABILIZES BELOW THE MAX THE ENVIRONMENT CAN SUPPORT 8. NO FORMAL LEADERSHIP / LEADERSHIP IS USUALLY CHARISMATIC AND BASED ON AGE 9. INFORMAL SANCTIONS TO ENFORCE MORAL BEHAVIOR - SAHLINS= TWO WORLD VIEWS: GALBRAITHIAN: ZEN: 16 II. HORTICULTURALISTS/AGRICULTURALISTS SLASH AND BURN (SWIDDEN) IRRIGATED TERRACING HOE FARMING EUROPEAN MIXED FARMING 17 III. PASTORALISTS DEFINITION OF PASTORALISTS HOW H/G BECOME PASTORALISTS: REINDEER DOMESTICATION OF SIBERIA CHARACTERISTICS: 1. ANIMALS EVEN MORE IMPORTANT IDEOLOGICALLY THAN IN REALITY 2. MORE WEALTH DIFFERENTIATION THAN AMONG H/G 3. RARELY ECONOMICALLY SUFFICIENT 4. PATRILINEAL 5. TRANSHUMANTS 6. EFFICIENT, SKILLED RAIDERS 7. EMOTIONAL COMMITMENT TO ANIMALS 8. CARE OF ANIMALS IN HANDS OF YOUNG BOYS 18 IV. INDUSTRIALISTS V. POST-INDUSTRIALISTS 19 EXCHANGE AND ECONOMIC SYSTEMS 1. POLANYI'S ECONOMIC TYPES 1. RECIPROCITY 2. REDISTRIBUTION 3. EXCHANGE 2. SAHLINS’ ECONOMIC CONTINUUM I------------------------------I-------------------------------I GENERAL BALANCED NEGATIVE RECIPROCITY RECIPROCITY RECIPROCITY 20 RELIGION AND THE SUPERNATURAL I. UNIVERSAL COMPONENTS OF RELIGION 1. BELIEF 2. RITUAL 3. ETHICS II. FUNCTIONS OF RELIGION 1. MALINOWSKI'S 2. RADCLIFFE-BROWN AND DURKHEIM'S III. TYPES OF MAGIC 1. CONTAGIOUS 2. SYMPATHETIC IV DEFINITIONS SHAMANISM PRIESTHOOD 21 DOMESTIC LIFE: MARRIAGE AND HOUSEHOLD PATTERNS AND KINSHIP I. UNIVERSAL INCEST TABOO II. FUNCTIONS OF THE MARRIAGE AND THE FAMILY 1. SOCIALIZATION OF CHILDREN 2. ECONOMIC COOPERATION 3. REPRODUCTION 4. IDENTIFICATION OF KINSHIP POSITION IN THE FAMILY AND NAME IDENTIFICATION IN SOCIETY III. TERMINOLOGY A. TERMS DESCRIBING TYPES OF DESCENT OR KINSHIP RELATIONSHIPS BILATERAL DESCENT UNILINEAL DESCENT PATRILINEAL DESCENT MATRILINEAL DESCENT CROSS COUSIN PARALLEL COUSIN 22 B. TERMS DESCRIBING TYPES OF MARRIAGE PATTERNS OR MARRIAGE RULES NEOLOCAL MARRIAGE PATTERN NATOLOCAL MARRIAGE PATTERN PATRILOCAL MARRIAGE PATTERN MATRILOCAL MARRIAGE PATTERN ENDOGAMY EXOGAMY BRIDE PRICE DOWRY LEVIRATE SORORATE C. TERMS DESCRIBING FAMILY OR MARRIAGE TYPES NUCLEAR FAMILY TYPE EXTENDED FAMILY TYPE MONOGAMY MARRIAGE TYPE POLYGAMY MARRIAGE TYPE POLYGYNY MARRIAGE TYPE POLYANDRY MARRIAGE TYPE D. KIN TERM TYPES 23 GENDER I. BIOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES VERSUS GENDER DIFFERENCES II. SEXUAL DIMORPHISM III. DIVISION OF LABOR AND WORK PATTERNS AGTA OF THE PHILIPPINES TCHAMBULI OF NEW GUINEA TODA OF INDIA IV. POLITICS AND WARFARE IROQUOIS OF NORTH AMERICA MENDE OF SIERRA LEONE V. STATUS MBUTI OF CENTRAL AFRICA IROQUOIS VI. HOMOSEXUALITY LEPCHA OF THE HIMALAYAS SIWAN OF NORTH AFRICA ETORO OF NEW GUINEA 24 POLITICAL ORGANIZATION TYPES OF POLITICAL SYSTEMS 1. BAND 2. TRIBE 3. CHIEFDOM 4. STATE SOCIAL CONTROL 1. INTERNALIZED 2. EXTERNALIZED 25 REVISITING THE MEANING OF CULTURE PART 1: CULTURE AS A HOLISTIC, INTEGRATED SYSTEM COMMONLY FOUND SYSTEMS SUBSISTENCE ECONOMIC ORG. POLITICAL ORG. KINSHIP RELIGION HUNTER/ GATHERERS RECIPROCITY BAND EGALITARIAN DECENTRALIZED BILATERAL UNILINEAL SHAMANISM HORTICULTURALISTS RECIPROCITY TRIBE HEADMAN/ ADVISOR DECENTRALIZED UNILINEAL SHAMANISM HORTICULTURALISTS REDISTRIBUTION CHIEFDOM RANKED CENTRALIZED UNILINEAL SHAMANISM OR PRIEST-HOOD PASTORAL-ISTS RECIPROCITY TRIBE HEADMAN/ ADVISOR DECENTRALIZED UNILINEAL PRIEST-HOOD AGRICULTURE MARKET EXCHANGE STATE STRATIFIED CENTRALIZED VARIES PRIEST-HOOD INDUSTRIAL/ POST-INDUST. MARKET EXCHANGE STATE STRATIFIED CENTRALIZED VARIES PRIEST-HOOD PART 2: CULTURE FALLS APART: MIXED SALAD OR MELTING POT YOUR CULTURAL FINGERPRINT 26 CULTURE CHANGE AND GLOBALIZATION WHAT WE KNOW FROM CULTURE CHANGE 1. INVENTIONS / INNOVATIONS 2. DIFFUSION 3. ACCULTURATION 4. LINKED CHANGES ISSUES OF CULTURAL CHANGE 1. OBSTACLES TO CULTURAL CHANGE 2. CULTURAL SURVIVAL OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES 3. URBANIZATION AND CHANGE 27 GLOBALIZATION AND WORLD CULTURES EXAMPLE: THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA TRADITIONAL CULTURE RELIGION AND VALUES SUBSISTENCE POLITICAL SYSTEM MODERN CULTURE RELIGION AND VALUES SUBSITENCE POLITICAL SYSTEM MECHANISMS OF CULTURE CHANGE 28 APPLYING ANTHROPOLOGY DEFINITIONS APPLIED VERSUS PURE ANTHROPOLOGY APPLIED ANTHROPOLOGY IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY SPECIAL FEATURES OF ANTHROPOLOGY 1. PARTICIPANT-OBSERVATION 2. HOLISTIC PERSPECTIVE 3. REGIONAL EXPERTISE 4. EMIC VIEW 5. CULTURAL RELATIVISM 6. TOPICAL EXPERTISE 7. DRAWBACKS SPECIALIZED ROLES OF APPLIED ANTHROPOLOGISTS EXAMPLES 29 READING ASSIGNMENTS: SELECTED ARTICLES 30 ANTHROPOLOGY 2250 INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOCULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY SYLLABUS ASSIGNMENTS STUDY GUIDE SELECTED READINGS Spring, 2009 DR. ANN T. JORDAN TABLE OF CONTENTS Course Description, Goal and Objectives 1 Syllabus 2 Procedures and Policies 4 Field Assignments 5 Writing Assignments 6 Class Discussion Questions for Articles 9 Study Outline 11 Reading Assignments: Selected Articles 30