Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, Anth. 206
Fall 2011
Building 23, room 202, Tue. and Thurs., 10 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., SPSCC Main Campus.
Instructor: Dr. Kathryn (Katy) Fulton. Office: building 23, room 206.
Office hours: Tue. and Thurs., 12:45 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.
Email for class: classdiscourse@yahoo.com
*****
class wiki address: http://thewayweare.wikispaces.com/
”In using portraits of other cultural patterns to reflect self-critically on our own ways, anthropology disrupts
common sense and makes us re-examine our taken-for-granted assumptions.” (George Marcus and Michael
Fischer, authors of Anthropology as Cultural Critique)
Cultural anthropology is the study of the diverse types of knowledge and behaviors that we humans
learn in order to live in our societies. In this course we will study the things people do everywhere, such as
getting food, having kids, sharing religion, living within power systems, and creating identity. While studying
cultures, we learn to appreciate other ways of learning, thinking and behaving. We begin to take a closer look
at things we take for granted about ourselves. Anthropologist Melford Spiro best states one goal of this course.
He said that cultural anthropology makes “the strange familiar and the familiar strange.” This means that what
seems natural to us is most likely culturally constructed. What seems unnatural, bizarre or wrong can often be
understood differently in its own cultural context and through our shared human experience. This class will be a
discussion of how culture influences thinking and behavior in almost all areas of life, such as marriage, gender,
economics, education, and politics. We will also consider multiculturalism and globalization and the ways in
which cultures are being transformed by forces such as immigration, tourism, transnational corporations, and
the Internet.
As the instructor I look forward to an enjoyable, creative and interactive quarter. I am committed to
facilitating open and valuable student discussion. The topics in this class are often serious, but the material
offers us an opportunity to think deeply about relationships between people all over the world, a very necessary
endeavor for this time in our history.
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Cultural anthropology concerns millions of constantly changing cultures and subcultures and
thousands of theoretical viewpoints from which to interpret and compare cultural patterns and
circumstances.
That means a lot of reading and writing.
Books and reading materials:
 James Peoples & Garrick Bailey. 2012. Humanity: An Introduction to Cultural Anthropology.
Wadsworth. Referred to in your syllabus as H.
 Elvio Angeloni (Ed.). 2010/2011. Annual Editions Anthropology. McGraw-Hill. Edition 33. Referred
to in your syllabus as AEA.
 Wallis, Velma. 1993. Two Old Women: An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage, and Survival.
Epicenter Press.
Requirements:
1) Attendance
20 points
3) Discussion leader
20 points
3) One research paper
35 points
4) Two shorter fieldwork exercises (35 points each)
70 points
5) Cultural Project
70 points
6) Quizzes (4 at 25 points each)
100 points
7) Blog discussions
8) Identity/stereotype reflection
45 points
10 points
9) Ethics exercise
10 points
Total:
380 points possible
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Final grade is based on points earned
346 – 380 = A
300 – 303 = C+
342 – 345 = A-
270 – 299 = C
338 – 341 = B+
266 – 269 = C-
308 – 337 = B
262 – 265 = D+
304 – 307 = B-
232 – 261 = D
228 – 231 = D-
I. Attendance: Attendance will be taken before and after mid-class break, using sign-up sheets. If you miss
more than four hours of class, you will begin losing attendance and participation points.
II. Participation: You will receive consideration in your final grade for general participation in class and small
group discussion. Positive consideration is based on: a) being willing to offer your ideas, b) listening carefully
to other people’s opinions and avoiding personal criticism, c) being cognizant of over-participation and
making sure that everyone has enough opportunities to participate, d) respectful behavior towards everyone
in the class.
III. Discussion leader assignment: Each student will lead one small group discussion. Discussions will focus
on articles in the book Applying Anthropology. Leading small groups involves reading the articles thoroughly
beforehand and then bringing to class a summary, questions, critiques, and observations to facilitate
discussion. Your discussion preparation work should be turned into the instructor on the day you lead a
discussion.
IV. Blog discussions: (see description in this syllabus)
V. Mini Fieldwork Exercises: Early on you will choose a culture group to study throughout the quarter. You will be
observing, writing about and perhaps filming or recording aspects of this group for your Cultural Project. In order to
assist you in this project, you will be assigned a fieldwork research exercise, a library research exercise, and a
fieldwork description and analysis exercise. These are designed to be incorporated into your final culture group
paper.
VI. Cultural Project: You will be given alternative ways to approach this project early on in the quarter.
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VII. Quizzes: Quizzes will be multiple choice, short answer, and essay. They will cover materials from texts,
lectures, discussions and films. If you miss class, it is your responsibility to ask fellow students for notes. You can
also go to the class wiki to find lecture notes. Some, but not all of the films are available in the library.
VIII. Lateness: Because life happens, you will be allowed one (only one) late assignment without a reduced grade.
You choose which assignment that will be, but it cannot be your final culture paper. All other assignments will lose
1/8 of the total points possible for each late day. Even so, turn them in. You need all of the points you can get.
IX. Missed Exams, Incompletes, Academic Dishonesty: Exams missed for illness or Acts of God may be taken at
a later date, but the make-up-test questions will likely be different from those on the original test and perhaps more
difficult. Incompletes are strongly discouraged. If you stop attending class, do not assume that you will receive a
grade. You must drop the class yourself or face a failing grade for the quarter. Cheating or plagiarism will result in
a failing grade. Consult the college handbook for specifics of what counts as plagiarism or cheating.
Student Services: Do take advantage of the following services available to all students:

Library - Access in person or online for various books, journals, and other media.

The Writing Center An excellent resource for this class.
(We build on what we know right now, and we celebrate every time we improve. The more we write, the better
we write. The more we read, the faster we read. The more time we spend studying, the better our grades are.
The more effort we make, the more we get out of our classes.)

Computer Labs

Disability Support Services
Your Obligations: I will interpret your continued enrollment in this course as an implicit agreement that you
intend to meet the obligations and requirements of the course with the syllabus serving as a contract.
Extra Credit: There will be a few extra credit assignments. See the class wiki for periodic extra
credit opportunities.
Submitting assignments by email: You are allowed to submit assignments via email
(classdiscourse@yahoo.com). For full credit, submit your assignments by midnight on the day they are due.
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IF YOU SUBMIT AN ASSIGNMENT VIA EMAIL, ALWAYS BRING ME A PAPER COPY WITHIN THE NEXT
FEW DAYS. I won’t grade your work until I have the paper copy.
Class Schedule and Contents
WEEK 1: Introduction to anthropology and the study of culture
Sept. 19-23
Read: ch. 1 and 2 in Humanity: An Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (H)
Read: Slumber’s Unexplored Landscape (available on the wiki in week 1. Blog discussion due by Sept. 23)
Read: Handouts that accompany the video Race: the Power of an Illusion.
WEEK 2: Research methods/Language and culture
Sept. 26-30
Read: chs. 4 & 5 in Humanity: An Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (H)
Read: ch. 2 Eating Christmas in the Kalahari in AEA. (Blog discussion due by Sept. 26)
Read: ch. 3 Tricking and Tripping in AEA (Blog discussion due by Sept. 28)
WEEK 3: Language and communications
Oct. 3-7
Read: ch. 3 in H
Read: ch. 11 Shakespeare in the Bush in AEA. (Blog due Oct. 3)
Read: ch. 6 Lost for Words in AEA (Blog due Oct. 5)
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Culture group proposal due by Oct. 6 – This is simply a paragraph or two briefly describing the group you plan to
observe for your culture project throughout the rest of the term.
Identity/stereotype reflection due by Oct. 6 (At least 1.5, double-spaced page or short video)
WEEK 4: Learning to be human and gender and kinship
Oct. 10-14
Read: chs. 10 & 11 in H
Read: ch. 22 Where Fat is a Mark of Beauty in AEA (Blog due Oct. 10)
Read: ch. 23 … but What if It’s a Girl? in AEA (Blog due Oct. 12)
Read: Choice of article to help inform fieldwork exercise 1 (see wiki for choices) This article is essential for doing
well on your first fieldwork paper.
Quiz 1 Oct. 13
WEEK 5: Gender: Family, Kinship & Domestic Life
Oct. 17-21
Read: chs. 8 & 9 in H
Read: ch. 17 When Brothers Share a Wife in AEA. (Blog due by Oct. 17)
Read: ch. 19 Arranging a Marriage in India in AEA (Blog due by Oct. 19)
Read: ch. 21 The Berdache Tradition in AEA (will be included on the next quiz)
Fieldwork exercise 1 due by Oct. 20
WEEK 6: Economic life
Oct. 24-28
Read chs. 6 & 7 in H
Read: Strings Attached (See wiki, week 6) (Blog due by Oct. 24)
Read: ch. 31 Why Can’t People Feed Themselves in AEA (Blog due by Oct. 26)
Quiz 2 Oct. 27
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WEEK 7: Political Life
Oct. 31-Nov. 4
Read: ch. 12 & 13 in H
Read: The Kpelle Moot (see wiki Week 7. Blog due Oct. 31)
Read: Article on Circle Peacemaking (see wiki Week 7. Blog due Nov. 2)
WEEK 8: Belief systems and cultural expression
Nov. 7-11
Read: chs. 14 &15 in H
Read: ch. 26 The Adaptive Value of Religious Ritual in AEA. (Blog due by Nov. 7)
Read: ch 27 Understanding Islam in AEA (Blog due by Nov. 9)
Quiz 3 Oct. 10
WEEK 9: Contact and change
Nov. 14-18
Read: ch. 16 in H
Read: ch. 33 The Price of Progress in AEA (Blog due by Nov. 14)
Read: ch. 37 Seeing Conservation through the Global Lens in AEA (Blog due by Nov 16)
Read: Two Old Women (at least the first half)
Research writing assignment due Nov. 15
WEEK 10: Contact, change and globalization
Nov. 21-23
Read: ch. 17 in H
Read: ch. 34 Of Ice and Men in AEA (Blog due Nov. 21)
Read: Two Old Women (finish book)
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Week 11
Nov. 28- Dec. 2
Read: ch. 18 in H
Fieldwork exercise 2 due Nov. 29
Quiz 4 Dec. 2
Final paper due Dec. 8, finals week
Blog posts
(You will receive an assigned blog internet address)
Why a Blog?
Article: Blogs help students think for themselves
By Anna Salleh ABC Science
Friday, 2 September 2005
Blogging is helping students to think and write more critically, says an Australian researcher, and can help
draw out people who would otherwise not engage in debate.
These are the preliminary findings of PhD research by Anne Bartlett-Bragg, a lecturer at the University of
Technology, Sydney, who has been using weblogs or blogs in her own teaching since 2001.
"[The students] are thinking more critically," she says. "They are learning to be responsible and they're
communicating outside the boundaries of the classroom and the institution, and they like that."
Bartlett-Bragg says in conventional teaching, students often rely on the lecturer as the main source of ideas
and critique for their work.
"I'm a bit over listening to my students giving me back in an essay what I've told them in class," she says.
"I want them to think for themselves and get different perspectives."
What makes blogs useful is their interactive nature, she says.
These web-based forums for discussing ideas, experiences or opinions allow students to discuss publicly
what they are studying with other students and experts outside their own university.
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"I really encourage them to put their personal opinion in there, provided they are informed and backed up
with evidence."
Blog guidelines:
Blogs have been set up for this class. I will share the address for your group by sending you an email inviting
you to join the blog group. Members of the group that offers the most stimulating and active responses will
receive an extra 10 points at the end of the quarter. The last few quarters this award made a significant
difference in several students’ grades.
1. Blot entry deadlines are on your class calendar and in the weekly content portion of your syllabus.
2. First, read the assignment.
3. Second, get onto the blog and post a response using critical thinking skills. Perhaps you can compare to
something in your own experience or from your own knowledge base. Perhaps you feel something strongly
from reading the article and you explain why. Perhaps you would like to critique some aspect of the article
itself either positively or negatively. Perhaps you can share some research to find out how things might be
changing in the situation described.
4. Third, you are encouraged to respond to other posts in diplomatic language.
Points: (possible 3 points for each of 15 blogs)
1 point will be awarded for each blog that addresses the main points and demonstrates basic understanding of
the material. Two points will be awarded for each blog in which the author practices to engage with the material
using critical, intellectual thinking. Intellectual thinking/writing includes examining a situation using traits such
as logic, accuracy, clarity, precision, relevance, depth, fairness, humility, courage, empathy, autonomy,
integrity, perseverance.
(As an alternative, you may pass in written summaries that engage with the material, but only 2 points
instead of 3 points per reading will be awarded.)
Personal Behavior: In general, it is expected that all participants (both students and faculty) will maintain a
safe, respectful, collaborative blog and classroom environment at all times.
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
Blog discourse should be respectful – students are encouraged to critique and debate others’ ideas but
in ways that are diplomatic and respectful.

Blog discourse should be accurate - students need to back up and site factual information with
creditable sources.

Blog discourse should include citations of information and idea sources that are gathered elsewhere.
As your instructor, I will be looking for the following in your posts:
a. Understanding of the main purpose of the article or reading.
b. A sense of personal engagement with the material that includes critical thinking.
c. Engagement with other students.
Small Group Discussion Leader Assignment
Each student will lead a small, in-class, group discussion about one of the readings. (20 points)
I will pass around a sign-up sheet and post the list on the wiki so you can remember your discussion-leader
date. Dates are tentative and are likely to change, but be prepared by the assigned date, and you will be safe.
1. Be ready to summarize the article to remind everyone about the main points.
2. Prepare a list of questions to inspire reflection, critique, perhaps debate, and comparison. Be prepared to
expand on and answer your own questions to add to the conversation.
(You can review the blog discussion about the article and expand on some of the issues that students chose to
write about, or you can find new questions.)
3. Turn in a copy of your prepared discussion summary, questions, and your answers to your questions to
the instructor at the end of the class.
4. Have some fun with it.
Articles that will be offered for small group discussions include: Eating Christmas in the Kalahari, A Cultural
Approach to Male-Female Communication, When Brothers Share a Wife, Strange Country This, Strings Attached,
The Kpelle Moot, The Adaptive Value of Religious Ritual, The Price of Progress and Two Rights Make a Wrong
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Student Learning Objectives In Anthropology
This class fulfills the following core abilities that South Puget Sound Community College believes
its transfer students should possess.
Knowledge of one’s intellectual and artistic heritage
The ability to explain theories and laws that govern the universe
The ability to understand one’s self and others as one interacts in a social, political, and economic
world
The ability to think logically and critically
The ability to integrate and synthesize knowledge
Course features and policies
Academic Honesty: All work is to represent your own efforts rather than to be copied from another. Cheating
will result in an F grade for the assignment or test. For the Academic honesty policy, refer to the Code of
Student Rights and Responsibilities found on the college’s website.
Financial Aid: Students receiving financial aid should always check with financial aid prior to withdrawing,
signing an incomplete contract, changing to an audit, or receiving an F or V grade in a class.
Missed Exams and/or Assignments
Should you miss an exam, you can do a makeup but be warned that the makeup will probably more difficult
than the in-class exam. Should you miss an assignment, be warned that 10 percentage points will be taken off
for each day that the assignment is late.
Incomplete:
Because of extenuating circumstances, the instructor may consider issuing an incomplete. The student is
eligible if the student is halfway through the course, is earning at least a C, and is able to complete the course
by working with the instructor no later than the subsequent quarter.
Support Services Available:
Library, writing centers, and computer labs
Final Culture Project (Due the day scheduled for your final exam)
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Personal observation fieldwork description + cultural comparison + theory + analysis
Those students who successfully complete the three mini fieldwork/research assignments always have
an easier time with the final culture project. The purpose of the mini assignments is to help you prepare
for the larger paper. The final papers of those who fail to finish the smaller assignments almost always
lack the scope and depth I look for as an instructor.
SUBJECT MATTER OF PROJECT
You will research, write, and present information on a cultural group within the larger community. Choose a group, a place or
an activity(ies) that you have easy access to within the greater Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia area to be the object of your
observations (on at least three separate occasions), description, analysis, and interpretation. This may be an ethnolinguistic
group (Australians, Koreans, Vietnamese, Norwegians); an activity-centered sub-culture (a hospital, church or temple,
school); or another group that can be defined by members' participation in ongoing, recurrent events and a shared identity
(environmentalists, Greeners, loggers, baseball players).
FIELDWORK METHODS Use three methods of analysis in order to triangulate your data: participant observation of the
group/language in action; an interview with a member of the group, and some third method of your own choice
(questionnaire, content analysis, ethnomethodological experiment, ethnohistory, oral history, film, etc.). In your final paper, be
sure to note how each method proved useful in your descriptive and analytic chores.
THE CULTURAL GROUP
In the course of the quarter and in your final paper you will be asked to describe and defend your position that the group you
observe can be defined as a culture. Consider whether or not the group shares specialized knowledge and understanding
about the world. Consider whether or not the group shares a "socially constructed, historically transmitted set of symbols,
meanings, rules and premises." There may be a series of activities, a specific language or terminology, a set of recurrent
symbols, and/or a set of actors that define this place and its activities through shared symbols, meanings, and rules for acting.
Does the group you are considering share its own learned, symbolic, moral, limit setting understanding of how to be together
and with other people? Do people share specialized knowledge, symbols, language etc., and do they teach their culture to
others, such as children, in order to enculturate them?
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PRODUCTION OF THE FINAL PAPER
Somewhere in your final paper (probably near the beginning as you describe the group itself) you will need to defend
your position that the group you observed can be defined as a culture. In the research writing exercise you hopefully did
this and can incorporate your description into the final paper.
Specifically, how does the group meet the criteria of being a culture group?
In other words, consider that culture is learned, shared, symbolic (arbitrary), integrated, moral, limit setting, changing, and
adaptive (or maladaptive). Does the group you are considering share its own learned, symbolic, moral, limit setting
understanding of how to be together and with other people? Do people share specialized knowledge, symbols, language etc.,
and do they teach their culture to others, such as children, in order to enculturate them?
A) THE PAPER FORMAT
Type or computer generate the paper. The margins should be 1-inch on all sides and 12-pt. Type. Use a recognized style
such as MLA for the format. Cite the sources - within the text of your paper - of any information that you use that is not
your own observation or interpretation. (See MLA style for citation, or use the method described on page two of your last
fieldwork assignment.) The more that you back up your observations, comparisons and theoretical descriptions with quality
sources, the more authority and credibility your paper has. Write at least 10-pages, excluding the bibliography. Be neat,
spell-check, and proofread your grammar.
B) THE PAPER CONTENT
Introduction part I
You may want to write part I of the introduction after you’ve written your whole paper. Many people do. This part of the
introduction should include a paragraph outlining what you discovered from your study by combining description,
comparison, and theory.
Introduction part II
This part of the introduction should include:
a.
A description of the particular culture group you chose, including where it meets, its history, who is involved, why
it exists, and your personal interest in the group.
b.
A defense of how the group is a culture group (see above).
You do not have to write the following parts in the order described here, but make sure they are all well addressed in
the content of the paper.
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FIELDWORK METHODS
Briefly describe how you did your fieldwork research to let the readers know that your observation information is valid. In
addition to observing, how did you triangulate or back up your observations with another fieldwork method? Did you talk
with people, interview people, do a survey, etc.?
OBSERVATIONS
Describe what you observed about your culture group, including general and particular observations that are relevant to
the topic or theoretical focus you have chosen.

For example, if you have chosen to focus on some of the language habits of the group, write about some of your
general observations, but include specific conversation or word usage examples as well. How do people speak to
each other? What is the language code, dialect, or slang--that defines them?

If, for example, you are looking at power relations, describe the power dynamics in general, but also include some
specific examples that you observed. How is power performed? How do people in the group react to power? Is there
a ‘hidden transcript’, etc.? How is public or hidden transcript expressed or performed?
COMPARISONS USING AEADEMIC RESEARCH ARTICLES
Consider how your culture group compares and contrasts with a similar group(s) in the U.S. and a group(s) outside the
U.S. (The U.S. is composed of many culture groups and does not constitute one culture, but for this assignment we are
looking also at groups outside of the U.S.) Use your AEAdemic articles as your main sources, but you can also use other
comparison material. Especially consider how the groups compare in relation to the topic or theoretical focus you have
chosen. What do you know about your culture group because of the comparison? How do you know it?
THEORETICAL FOCUS AND DEFINITION
Define and describe the theoretical theme or focus you chose for the purpose of analyzing your fieldwork and comparison.
Use your AEAdemic article(s) to help you do this. Cite from these articles. Explain why you chose this focus.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER. WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
Consider the following questions to help you analyze what you discovered. Create questions of your own to help you with
your analysis. (Make yourself a list of what, how, and why questions that will help you work through your analysis.) As
you brainstorm, consider diagramming or listing (for yourself) your fieldwork observations, your comparison notes and the
main points of your theory. Connect the information with lines and or circles to illustrate relationships. Ask yourself why
questions throughout your brainstorming. For example, you might ask:
1.
What does combining your theoretical focus with your observations tell you about the group culture?
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2. Does your theoretical focus help describe how people relate to one another in this culture group? How and why?
3. Does your theoretical focus help describe why people relate to one another in the ways they do? How and why?
4. Does the culture group comparison you did back up or expand what you found? Why or why not?
5. What do you know about the group that may support your main focus, but which your theoretical sources do not
address?
In other words, describe what you learned from observation, comparison, and analysis and what it means from a cultural
standpoint. Back up your description with logical comparison and theoretical connections.
CONCLUSION
What did you discover about your group? How do you know it? Why is it important as part of the group’s culture?
ETHICS
Make sure to keep names--especially if requested or if it is a sensitive or secretive subject matter--anonymous. Again,
anonymity of persons should be maintained, especially if anything is revealed that could be harmful or embarrassing. Discuss
in your paper how you have attempted to be ethical in your approach to fieldwork (remaining sensitive culturally, showing both
sides of an argument, keeping people's reputations safe, etc.).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
List your resources in MLA style or another consistent style. The resources should be based on your AEAdemic research
assignment and should include any other sources you discovered and used. You need at least three sources, as collected in
the research writing assignment, but more sources help add depth to your paper.
September 2011
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
1
Fri
2
Sat
3
15
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
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Week 1
Blog 1 due on
blog site (see
class schedule
and contents for
article title) See
blog posts
assignment
description on
syllabus.
Day 1
25
26
27
Week 2
Blog due
28
29
30
Blog due
October 2011
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
1
2
3
Week 3
Blog due
4
5
Blog due
6
7
Identity stereotype
exercise due
8
Culture group
proposal
paragraph due
16
9
10
11
Week 4
Blog due
16
17
Week 5
Blog due
23
24
Week 6
Blog due
30
Week 7
31
18
25
12
13
Blog due
Quiz 1
19
20
Blog due
Fieldwork
paper 1 due
26
27
Blog due
14
15
21
22
28
29
Quiz 2
Blog due
November 2011
Sun
Week 7
Mon
Tue
1
No class.
Advising Day.
Wed
Thu
2
3
Blog due
In-class ethics
exercise
Fri
4
Sat
5
Watch video on
wiki under
week 7
17
6
7
8
Week 8
Blog due
13
14
Week 9
Blog due
20
21
Week 10
Blog due
27
28
15
22
10
Blog due
Quiz 3
16
17
Blog due
Research
paper due
23
24
11
12
18
19
25
26
Thanksgiving
holiday
29
Week 11
9
30
Fieldwork
paper 2 due
December 2011
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
18
1
2
3
Week 11
Quiz 4
Last class
day
4
5
6
7
Start of
final exam
week
No classes
11
12
8
9
10
Final
paper
due
13
14
15
16
17
Grades
due
18
19
20
21
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25
26
27
28
29
30
31
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