Anthropology 161
World Cultures
Fall, 2014
CRN: 10295
PLC 180
Tu/Th 10-11:20
Prof. Diane Baxter
dbaxter@uoregon.edu
Office Hours: Fridays 1-3
GTFS:
Rucha Chandvankar
Joseph Henry
Jonathan Turbin
Cultural anthropology is the study of individuals and groups in the context of
culture. Your textbook refers to culture as a “system of knowledge, beliefs, patterns
of behavior, artifacts, and institutions that are created, learned, and shared by a
group of people. The study of cultural anthropology is “holistic,” in that it examines
the sociocultural, political, economic, and psychological lives of people and the
interconnections among these. In this course, we will examine many fundamental
topics in cultural anthropology. We begin with an overview of the field of cultural
anthropology and the concept of culture. We will examine the ways in which culture
impacts thinking, feelings, and moral beliefs in virtually all areas of life. We also
look at what cultural anthropologists actually do and what tools they use to do it.
Doing “fieldwork” can be an amazing, rewarding, and very difficult experience. How
do anthropologists prepare for it? What happens when they get to “the field?” How
does their own personality and culture impact what they see? We then turn to
specific issues in cultural anthropology. We examine, for example economies
(especially capitalism/consumerism), gender, sexuality, marriage, and
health/illness. All of the topics (gender, etc.) just mentioned have been deeply
affected by globalization and technology and so we will focus on globalization
particularly as we examine traditional anthropological concepts. During week four,
we will discuss the book, Where Am I Wearing? Which examines our clothes—where
they’re made, who makes them, sells them and buys them and how the global
clothing industry has affected and continues to affect the lives of people and their
cultures all over the world. During week eight, we put to use all we’ve learned as we
discuss The Ponds of Kalambayi, a Peace Corps memoir. We will focus on the impact
of (European) colonialism on societies and cultures in most parts of the world.
European colonialism changed the history of tribal people (who were the majority
at the time) and set world history on a new course. You cannot begin to understand
contemporary cultures without a look at colonialism. We will also examine many of
the cultural norms and values of the Kalambayan people. By the end of the course,
you will have acquired basic knowledge about cultural anthropology and its topics,
understand what cultural anthropologists do, and how the world continues to be
deeply affected by globalization, transnationalism, and technology.
Readings:
1. Textbook: Cultural Anthropology: A Toolkit for a Global Age. Kenneth Guest.
Norton & Company, 2014. At the UO Bookstore
2. Where Am I Wearing? A Global Tour to the Countries, Factories, and People
that Make Our Clothes. Kelsey Timmerman. John Wiley & Sons. 2012.
Available online through the UO Library. FREE
3. The Ponds of Kalambayi: A Peace Corps Memoir. Mike Tidwell. Lyons Press.
1990. At the UO Bookstore
Course Requirements
1. Discussion Section Attendance: 10 points possible, which includes a “free
point” given during Thanksgiving week.
2. Five Quizzes, weeks 2, 4, 6, 8, 10. Each quiz will contain 26 multiple choice
questions and will be based on our course readings. Each question is worth
½ a point for a total of 13 points possible. The total number of points
possible is 65. Students will take the quizzes online on the Blackboard site.
Each quiz covers course readings for two weeks. Quizzes are due on
Thursdays at 5 pm. Quizzes will be available between noon-5 on the days
they are due.
Quiz One: Covers readings weeks 1 and 2. Due: Oct. 9
Quiz Two: Covers readings weeks 3 and 4. Due: Oct. 23 (including Timmerman)
Quiz Three: Covers readings weeks 5 and 6. Due: Nov. 6
Quiz Four: Covers readings weeks 7 and 8. Due: Nov. 20 (including Tidwell)
Quiz Five: Covers readings weeks 9 and 10. Due: Dec. 5
3. Essay, 5 pages, 40 points possible. Due: Friday, Nov. 14 by 6 p.m. Essays will
be submitted through Safe Assign (on Blackboard).
4. Final Exam: The final exam consists of 60 multiple choice questions, worth
one point each and 3 short essays (one page each), worth 8 points each for a
total of 84 points possible. The final exam is on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 8-10 am in
PLC 180.
5. 1 additional “free” point as a gift!
Summary of Points Possible:
Attendance: 10
Quizzes:
65
Essay:
40
Final Exam: 84
Free Point:
1
Total Points Possible: 200
EXTRA CREDIT: There is no possibility for extra credit in this course. No requests
regarding extra credit will be granted!
Grading Guideline:
A: Overall, outstanding essays, exams, quizzes, and participation. Shows a very high
quality of understanding of course material.
B: Overall, very good essays, exams, quizzes, and participation. Shows a high
quality of understanding of course material.
C: Overall, acceptable essays, exams, quizzes, and participation. Shows an
understanding of course material.
D: Overall, poor essays, exams, quizzes, and/or participation. Shows minimal
understanding of course material.
F: Incomplete work and/or shows an overall lack of understanding of course
material.
Grading Rubric:
196+ A+
185-195 A
180-184 A-
176-179 B+
165-175 B
160-164 B-
156-159 C+
145-155 C
140-144 C-
124-139 D
123-F
Points are NOT rounded up so, for example, a score of 175.5 translates to a B grade.
Please don’t ask for your grade to be rounded up. The answer will be “NO!”
Course Policies:
Accessible Education for All Students: The University of Oregon works to ensure
inclusive learning environments for all students. We recognize that students bring a
variety of learning styles to the course, and that some learning styles may require
adjustment to course structure. We are happy to talk with you about such
adjustments. Please be in touch with the professor early in the quarter if there are
aspects of the instruction or design of this course that result in barriers to your
participation as a result of a disability. For more information, you are also
encouraged to contact the Accessible Education Center (formerly Disability
Services) in 164 Oregon Hall at 346-1155 or uoaec@uoregon.edu.
Inclusion and Collegiality: Our community that values inclusion. We are
committed to equal opportunities for all faculty, staff, and students to develop
individually, professionally, and academically regardless of ethnicity, heritage,
gender, sexual orientation, ability, socio-economic standing, cultural beliefs and
traditions. We are dedicated to an environment that is inclusive and fosters
awareness, understanding, and respect for diversity.
Academic Honesty: Students at the UO are expected to act with academic honesty.
It is the official policy of the University of Oregon that all acts of alleged academic
dishonesty by students be reported to the Director of Student Conduct and
Community Standards in the Office of Student Life. The two most prevalent forms of
academic dishonesty are cheating and plagiarism. For more information, see the UO
Website.
Policy on Classroom Behavior: In a large lecture hall, as is our class, it is extra
important for students to be respectful of other students, the GTFS, and the
professor. For our purposes this means: paying attention to the lecture, no talking,
and no use of any electronics for purposes other than taking notes. If you use a laptop or i-pad to take notes, you must sit in the first five rows of the center section.
Policy on Late Quizzes/Exams/Papers: No late quizzes, exams or papers will be
accepted unless a student has an extraordinary circumstance. If a student is ill and
asks for a delay, a note from a medical professional must be presented. No
extensions will be given for travel, the birth of puppies (really), or because a friend
is having “issues.” If you are ill and are unable to turn in work, let your GTF know in
advance. If an extension is granted—due almost exclusively to illness—a deadline
will be arranged. Beyond that deadline, the work will not be accepted. Students
may lose points for turning in late work.
Policy on Incompletes: By university regulations, incompletes can only be
considered if a student has finished almost all of the course work. Taking an
incomplete is almost never a good idea! Many students who do get incompletes
never finish the course and wind up with an automatic FAIL. Therefore,
incompletes are rarely given and are solely up to the discretion of the professor.
Policy on Emails: The professor and GTFS will respond to your emails within 48
hours (except on the weekends which could take longer). Before you email, make
sure the answer to your question is not in this syllabus. We will not answer
questions that have answers in the syllabus! If you email, put ANTH 161 Question as
your subject and begin with “Dear _______________.” Salutations are important!
Key Terms: In the course outline below, you will note that there are key terms listed
for each week. These terms are from your textbook. They are important terms to
understand and to be able to apply to “real life.” There will be key term questions
on all of the exams. In addition to the terms listed below, other key terms will be
given in lecture. You are also responsible for those key terms.
Class Schedule:
Week One: Cultural Anthropology & Being an Anthropologist
Sept. 30:
Oct. 2:
Key Terms:
Introduction to the Course and the Field
Read Guest 1
Doing Cultural Anthropology: Fieldwork
Read Guest 3
G1: ethnocentrism, ethnographic fieldwork, holism, cultural
anthropology, participant-observation, ethnology, globalization,
uneven development, rapid change.
G3: reflexivity, anthropologist’s toolkit, qualitative data, rapport, emic,
etic
Week Two: Culture
Oct. 7:
Read Guest 2, Pp. 33-56
Begin Timmerman (1-5)
Oct. 9:
Read Guest 2, Pp. 57-72
Continue Timmerman (6-11)
Film: Sex and Social Dance
Key Terms:
G 2: norms, values, symbol, cultural relativism, unilineal cultural
evolution, historical particularism, structural functionalism,
hegemony, agency, cosmopolitanism
Week Three: Structures of Power One
Oct. 14:
Race and Racism
Read Guest 6
Continue Timmerman (12-18)
Oct. 16:
Ethnicity and Nationalism
Read Guest 7
Continue Timmerman (19-25)
Key Terms:
G 6: race, racism, colonialism, Jim Crow, eugenics, institutional racism
G 7: ethnicity, genocide, ethnic cleansing, melting pot, assimilation,
multiculturalism, state, nationalism, imagined community
Week Four: The Global Economy and You
Oct. 21:
The Global Economy: How We Got Here
Read Guest 12
Oct. 23:
Where Am I Wearing?
Finish Timmerman (26-30)
Week Five: Structures of Power Two
Oct. 28:
Class and Inequality
Read Guest 11
Oct. 30:
Films: Caste at Birth (clip) and The Subtext of a Yale Education
Begin Tidwell (1-4)
Key Terms:
G 11: class, egalitarian society, reciprocity, ranked society,
redistribution, means of production, life chances, social mobility,
cultural capital, caste, achieved status, ascribed status, dalits
Week Six:
Structures of Power Three
Nov. 4:
Gender
Read Guest 8
Continue Tidwell (5-9)
Nov. 6:
Sexuality
Read Guest 9
Continue Tidwell (10-13)
Key Terms:
G 8: sexual dimorphism, cultural construction of gender, gender
stratification, gender ideology, transgender, structural gender
violence
G 9: No key terms
Week Seven: Politics and Power
Nov. 11:
Political Organizations
Read Guest 14, Pp. 531-545
Continue Tidwell (14-16)
Nov. 13:
Militarization and Warfare
Read Guest 14, Pp. 545-570
Key Terms:
G 14: band, tribe, chiefdom, state, hegemony, civil society
organization, militarization, agency, social movement
Week Eight: The Ponds of Kalambayi
Nov. 18:
History, Environment, Sharing
Finish Tidwell (17-19)
Nov. 20:
When Values Collide
Week Nine: Transnationals
Nov. 25:
Migration
Read Guest 13
Film: Uneasy Neighbors
Nov. 27:
Thanksgiving Break
Key Terms:
G 13: chain migration, hometown association, labor immigrant, guest
worker program, social capital, refugee, internally displaced person,
internal migration, transnationalism
Week Ten
Culture and Power
Dec. 2:
Health and Illness
Read Guest 16
“My” Anthropology
Dec. 4:
Culture and Dance
Film: Sex and Social Dance
Key Terms:
G 16: illness, ethnomedicine, biomedicine, critical medical
anthropology, illness narratives
Dec. 9:
FINAL EXAM, 8-10 a.m.