ANTH 3131
CONTEMPORARY CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
SYLLABUS & WORKBOOK
FALL 2005
CONTEMPORARY CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
ANTH 3131, FALL 2005: WEDNESDAYS 4-7PM – BAYOU BLDG., ROOM 1211
INSTRUCTOR: DEEPA S. REDDY
OFFICE: SUITE 2617-2
PHONE: 281/283-3331
EMAIL: REDDY@UHCL.EDU
OFFICE HOURS: WEDNESDAYS 7-8:30PM; THURSDAYS 4-6:30PM
HTTP://COURSESITE.CL.UH.EDU/HSH/REDDY AND HTTP://HOME.EARTHLINK.NET/~DEEPAREDDY
TEACHING ASSISTANT: SANDRA NELSON
PHONE: 281-482-6914 EMAIL: NELSONS3915@UHCL.EDU
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This is an upper level course which will focus on reading and analyzing ethnographic
texts. The course aims to explore the methods by which anthropology attempts to study and understand “culture.”
COURSE OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this course are fourfold: (1) to explore the concept of “culture,”
definitions of cultural difference and diversity; (2) to introduce students to important topics in cultural
anthropology such as kinship, gender, economy, religion, and ethnicity; (3) to examine the nature of ethnographic
fieldwork and the specific ways in which it fosters cultural analysis; and (4) to enable students to reflect critically
on aspects of our/their own societies.
COURSE FORMAT: This course will be structured around lectures, group-work assignments and discussions based
on assigned texts and ethnographic films.
REQUIRED TEXTS:
o Matthews Masayuki Hamabata (1990) Crested Kimono: Power and Love in the Japanese Business
Family
o Lila Abu-Lughod (1986) Veiled Sentiments: Honor and Poetry in a Bedouin Society
o Cori Hayden (2003) When Nature Goes Public: the making and unmaking of bioprospecting in Mexico
o Kirin Narayan (1992) Storytellers, Saints and Scoundrels: Folk Narrative in Hindu Religious Teaching
WORKBOOK: All students will be provided with a workbook with questions related to the readings. These are
meant to help you identify important themes, concepts and vocabularies in the assigned texts and films, and to
function as exam-reviews/ study-guides once they are completed. You will be given some time after each classsession to look over the relevant questions in the workbook, but will not be filling out the answers during class
time. You are required to do that as you are doing the readings in preparation for class, or on your own time after
the class has ended.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Exams (4 exams, each worth 20%)
Attendance and Participation
80%
20%
Attendance and Participation: Since participation accounts for a substantial part of the final grade, attendance is
mandatory, and all students are expected to do the assigned readings before each class in order to participate fully
in class discussion (See also “Attendance Policy” below). A good attendance record (no more than two missed
sessions in the semester) is necessary for a good grade in this class.
Exams: There will be four exams held on the dates indicated on the
schedule below. Exams will be held at the beginning of class on the
day scheduled, and must be written in class. They may cover
material from one or more of the required texts, class-discussions,
and ethnographic films; and they may be each structured differently,
depending on the specific material covered. You will have 45
minutes to 1 hour to complete the exam, depending on its length.
Further details will be discussed in class.
Note: All students are required to
take all four exams. If you do so, the
lowest grade of the four will be
dropped to calculate your total
exam grade. If you miss one or more
of the exams, however, the “0” grade
for the missed exam(s) will be
included to calculate your total
exam grade (in other words a “0”
grade for missed exams will not be
dropped).
Exam Material Covered
Readings: “One hundred percent American,” “Body Ritual among the Nacirema” and
#1
Crested Kimono, Chapters 1-7
Films: Stranger with a Camera & Keeping it Real
Readings: Veiled Sentiments, Chapters 1-8
#2
#3
Readings: When Nature Goes Public, Introduction, Chapters 1-8
#4
Readings: Storytellers, Saints and Scoundrels, Introduction & Chapters 1-7, 10-11
Film: The Three Worlds of Bali
COURSE POLICIES
Academic Honesty Policy
As a UHCL student, you are responsible for knowing and observing the University’s standards for academic
honesty, which are set forth in the UHCL Catalog and Section 4.2 of the UHCL Student Handbook (available
online at: http://b3308-adm.cl.uh.edu/PolicyProcedures/studentlife/acadhone.html).
Plagiarism
The most serious breach of academic integrity is handing in others’ work as your own. Any words, phrases, or
sentences taken from another text must be enclosed in quotation marks. Whether you are quoting word for word
or borrowing an idea and putting it in your own words, you must credit your source. All instances of plagiarism
will be referred to the Dean of Students.
Absences
I realize that illness or unforeseen crisis can make attendance impossible. I also know that excessive absences hurt
the class as a whole. Class attendance and your participation are important parts of the educational process in this
seminar. Two absences will pass without mention. Additional absences will lower your final grade. If you
are facing a situation that will result in an inordinate number of absences or an inability to complete assignments
on schedule, please let me know as soon as possible. AFTER 9/28/05: Only ONE additional absence will pass
without mention. All others will result in the reduction of your participation grade. Given that we have missed
two weeks of class, I cannot stress how much more important regular class attendance becomes, as it is ONLY in
class that I will be able to give you an accurate picture of what we will be emphasizing and pulling out of readings
from this point on, given the compressed reading schedule ahead.
Changes to the Syllabus
The dates on the schedule represent my best estimate of the time we will give each text. Dates will change if we
choose to devote more or less time to one of the readings. AFTER 9/28/05: As indicated in the schedule below.
Withdrawal
The last date for drops without penalty is listed in this semester's schedule of classes and on the UHCL web:
http://www.uhcl.edu/admissions/. You are responsible for independently verifying that date.
Incompletes
A grade of "I" is granted only when a documented emergency arises late in the semester. An "I" is not an option
for someone who has been behind all semester.
Students with Disabilities
If you have a disability that requires special accommodation, you must:
. talk with the Coordinator of Health Disability Services (x. 2627);
. talk with me and we’ll make all necessary arrangements.
You must do this at the start of the semester, or as soon as possible after the disability is diagnosed during the
semester.
ANTH3131 Fall 2005: Syllabus and Workbook/
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SCHEDULE OF READINGS
Week 1
August 24
Introduction and Overview
Reading
“One Hundred Percent American” (Workbook)
“Body Ritual Among the Nacirema” (Workbook)
Week 2
August 31
Films
Experience, authenticity and “culture”
Week 3
September 7
Readings
1. Fieldwork in urban environments
2. The organization of the business family
Crested Kimono, Chapters 1-5
Week 4
September 14
Readings
3. Gender, family, structures of feeling
4. Kinship systems & terminologies
Crested Kimono, Chapters 6-7
Keeping it Real and Stranger with a Camera
1.
2.
Week 7
October 5
Readings
Week 8
October 12
Readings
Week 9
October 19
Readings
Week 10
October 26
Readings
EXAM 1
1. Kinship systems and terminologies
2. Fieldwork in the Western Desert
3. The construction of Bedouin identity
Veiled Sentiments, Chapters 1-4
4. Codes of Honor and Modesty
5. Veiling and Gender
6. The Discourse of Poetry
Veiled Sentiments – Chapters 5-8
EXAM 2
1. Introduction to Science Studies (or Culture meets Nature – again)
2. The issues and their contexts Note: skip pp. 109-122
When Nature Goes Public – Chapters 1-3
3. Sites, Methods, Epistemologies
When Nature Goes Public – Chapters 4-5
ANTH3131 Fall 2005: Syllabus and Workbook/
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Week 11
November 2
Readings
Week 12
November 9
4. Chains, Channels, Gatekeepers
When Nature Goes Public – Chapters 6-8
EXAM 3
Film
1. Introduction to Hindu Cultures
The Three Worlds of Bali
Week 13
November 16
Readings
2. Authority and Fieldwork
3. Kinship and Asceticism
Storytellers, Saints and Scoundrels – Introduction, Chapters 1-4
Week 14
November 23
THANKSGIVING BREAK
Week 15
November 30
Readings
4. Forms of Belief and Critique
5. Conceptualizing Individual Action
Storytellers, Saints and Scoundrels – Chapters 5-7, 10-11
Week 16
December 7
EXAM 4
ANTH3131 Fall 2005: Syllabus and Workbook/
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