Hawaii Pacific University
ANTH 2000 Introduction to Anthropology Section ____
Semester and year, meeting times
Instructor: Name, contact information and other relevant information about the instructor.
Course description: A general introduction to cultural anthropology. Topics covered include: the nature
of culture; basic concepts for analyzing cultural behavior; and consideration of the effects of culture upon
the individual and society.
Course prerequisite: None
General Education Requirement: This course is classified under the World Cultures Theme and meets
the requirement for a course in World Cultures B: Engaging with Difference.
General Education Student Learning Outcomes and the Five Themes: HPU’s general education
curriculum is focused around five themes. This course emphasizes the World Cultures Theme and
provides students with opportunities to achieve the following related general education student
learning outcomes.

Students will investigate the roles that race, ethnicity, class, power, belief systems, and
gender play in past and present cultural systems. (WC 3) These factors are among those
studied by anthropologists as part of the cultural forces that are used to define status,
personhood and identity and which in turn shape the way in which groups are ranked
within a society. At the introductory level anthropology explores the social/power
dynamics that shape and are shaped by cultural contexts.

Students will analyze cultural forces that have influenced customs and choices in
contemporary lifestyles and world views. Anthropology takes the analysis of cultural
forces to be one of its primary goals. (WC 4) in this section this outcome is examined in
relation to (1) violent conflicts in the “Third World” through reading and discussing
Shadows of War, (2) America’s relations with Haiti through reading and discussing AIDS
and Accusations, and (3) reflective of American anthropologists’ relation to the people
they study through reading and discussing Yanomami.
 Students will engage with and interpret the various manifestations of cultures including
verbal and visual texts, institutions, behavior, and performance. (WC 5) Anthropology
gives students the vocabulary and techniques to interpret behavior that comes from a
different cultural context than the observer’s own. In this section, the outcome will be
examined in relation to (1) how Americans aesthetically interpret difference through
reading and discussing The Family of Man, (2) how a Maori interprets the modern Maori
experience in a novel through reading and discussing Once Were Warriors, (3) how
through a French movie, some French reflect back on their colonial experience in French
Indochina through watching and discussing the film Indochine, and (4) how individuals in
Brazil and Guatemala find ways to be resilient and even flourish in a set of rather
oppressive conditions through reading and discussing Death Without Weeping and
Paradise in Ashes
 Students will develop skills that will enable students to assess and engage with cultural
difference in a compassionate and systematic fashion. (WC 6) Students will read a range
of books that draw them into analyzing not only other societies but their own. The goal is
to have students understand how anthropologists use ethnography – in an imperfect
manner – to engage with cultural difference for Western audiences so these audiences
can understand others beyond their ken as well as better understand themselves.

Students will develop the ability to use other people’s experiences as a way to reflect
critically on their own ways of understanding the world. (WC7) As a part of the process of
cultural translation, anthropology students must learn how their own cultures both help
and hinder the understanding of others. The experience of the readings, class discussions,
and field trips repeatedly and cumulatively draw students into the process of using their
reading and personal experiences with others to reflect on themselves and how they
engage with the world.
Optional: Add additional outcomes as relevant to your specific section of the course. For instance the
syllabi submitted to the gen ed committee also cited Values and Choices 2, 6 and 8 and Communication
Skills 4 and 7. To use outcomes from a theme other than the primary one (World Cultures), include them
in this manner, introducing the theme:
The course also addresses the Values and Choices Theme by providing students with opportunities to
achieve the following related general education student learning outcomes:
 List each related outcome and explain how it applies (as shown above for the required
World Cultures outcomes).
Note: Purple text shows places where specific course information must be filled in. Red text contains
explanatory notes to the instructor which should be deleted before using the syllabus. Blue explanations
above should be rephrased by the individual instructor to reflect the specific approach in that section of
the course. Course specific outcomes below are an example and may also be rephrased or modified by
the instructor.
Student Learning Outcomes for ANTH 2000
The following are learning outcomes specific to the course. Some address the Gen Ed outcomes above
Students will:
(1)
Gain a sense of relationship with people possessing different experiences from yourself (WC 5,
WC 6).
(2)
Grasp the importance of cultural and historical context for understanding people and their
behaviors (WC 3, WC 4).
(3)
Develop a sense of place and time that may differ from your own (WC 6).
(4)
Understand and be able to use basic anthropological vocabulary and concepts such as “culture,”
“ethnocentrism,” “cultural relativism,” “personhood,” “symbol,” and “ritual.”
(5)
Gain an appreciation of the way in which cultural frames of understanding (including your own)
affect the way you and other people think and behave (WC 7).
(6)
Learn how an understanding of global issues is fundamentally connected to understanding local
phenomena.
(7)
Engage with the idea that a good global citizen has fundamental responsibilities to the locality in
which she or he actually lives.
(8)
Learn how to use writing effectively when thinking about human culture and cultural activity .
For the rest of these required syllabus items see the details in the faculty handbook. Delete this note
once the syllabus is complete. For online courses there are some additional requirements given at this
link.
Texts List textbooks with ISBN’s and include this language as well
All textbook information (pricing, ISBN #, and e-books) for this course can be found on the HPU
Bookstore website: hpu.edu/bookstore.
If you have any questions regarding textbooks, please contact the HPU Bookstore at:
Phone:
808-544-9347
Or e-mail:
jyokota@hpu.edu
mmiyahira@hpu.edu
Assignments and mode of evaluation
Summary of important dates and deadlines (if the schedule is a separate document and due dates are
not given with the description of the assignments).
Class rules and policies (including regarding attendance, late work and academic dishonesty)
Schedule of events (may be attached separately)