Introduction to Socio-cultural Anthropology
ANTH 102
Spring 2015
Course Schedule #: 20127
Instructor: Prof. Savanna Schuermann
Classroom: SEE-1401
Office hours: W, F 2:15-3:15 or by appointment
Office: Arts & Letters 480 (AL-480)
Email: sschuermann@mail.sdsu.edu
MWF 1:00-1:50pm
Telephone: 619-594-7296
Course website: Blackboard
TA: Clarissa Dieck
Office hours: Th, 12:30-1:30 in SH-231
Email: clarissadieck@gmail.com
Course description:
Introductory socio-cultural anthropology is a course where you will learn about “exotic”
peoples living around the world and about your own cultural assumptions. From hallucinogen
snuffing South American Indians to Melanesian fisher people to impoverished Bangladeshi
peasants to suburban San Diegans, this class will introduce you to different ways of life. It will
familiarize you with other societies while also making aspects of our society seem strange. From
this course you will be able to more fully understand and explain differences in the ways that
various groups of people organize and give meaning to their experience of a common world.
To understand human diversity we will go deeper and further than the superficial national
geographic specials we see on cable TV by thoroughly comparing our own lives with others of
the past and present. In the process you will come to see that our lives, and the epoch in which
we live, maybe just as strange and exotic as the lives of people inhabiting the Bongobongolands
of Africa, Asia, or the Pacific. Our way of life is just one among innumerable ways human
beings have created a life-world. In fact we, along with face-painted inhabitants from far away
places, are living an immense social “experiment” which we call the modern or post-modern
world.
Unfortunately one defining characteristic of our current epoch is unprecedented cultural
and ecological destruction as more and more forests are destroyed, livelihoods undermined, and
languages lost. The result being that the central interest of socio-cultural anthropology—cultural
diversity—is vanishing before our eyes. What, if anything at all, should be done about cultural
loss is one of anthropology’s most intriguing and challenging puzzles. During our path of
discovery in this course, you will gain an understanding of the issues addressed and methods
employed by cultural anthropologists to comprehend human diversity, and in so doing it will
encourage you to accept, embrace, and defend a culturally rich and diverse world.
Learning Goals:
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Define anthropology and holism; explain the role of socio-cultural anthropology in the
context of the discipline.
Explain and apply the ethnological or comparative approach to various socio-cultural
phenomena to demonstrate its value.
Differentiate between emic and etic perspectives; demonstrate how each can be used to
enhance our understanding of cultural variation.
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Define the ethnographic genre; enumerate and explain some basic ethnographic field
methods, including participant observation.
Define and illustrate the difference between ethnocentrism and cultural relativism;
acknowledge and identify some of the assumptions inherent in one’s own cultural frame
of reference that may bias how one understands other cultures.
Define, identify assumptions inherent in, and apply selected theoretical perspectives to
various socio-cultural phenomena. Perspectives will include but are not limited to:
Evolutionary, functionalist, ecological/materialist, interpretative/constructivist.
Demonstrate familiarity with basic focal areas in socio-cultural anthropology; compare
and contrast different expressions of these across cultures; predict how varied forms of
each will affect daily life in particular cultural contexts; demonstrate holistic connectivity
between selected focal areas in particular cultural contexts. Basic topics will include but
are not limited to: Ethnicity, kinship and marriage, gender, religion/supernatural
Subsistence mode, life stages, medicine/health, dispute resolution, language,
economy/exchange, culture change/interaction, domination/inequality.
Apply basic concepts of socio-cultural anthropology self-reflexively to one’s own culture.
Demonstrate the value of applied socio-cultural anthropology to contemporary real-world
problems.
General Education Foundations:
This course is one of nine courses that you will take in general education foundations.
Foundations courses cultivate skills in reading, writing, research, communication, computation,
information literacy, and use of technology. They furthermore introduce you to basic concepts,
theories and approaches in a variety of disciplines in order to provide the intellectual breadth
necessary to help you integrate the more specialized knowledge gathered in your major area of
study into a broader world picture.
This course is also one of two foundations courses that you will take in the area of Social
and Behavioral Sciences. Upon completing this area of foundations, you will be able to:
1. Explore and recognize basic terms, concepts, and domains of the social and
behavioral sciences;
2. Comprehend diverse theories and methods of the social and behavioral sciences;
3. Identify human behavioral patterns across space and time and discuss their
interrelatedness and distinctiveness;
4. Enhance your understanding of the social world through the application of conceptual
frameworks from the social and behavioral sciences to first-hand engagement with
contemporary issues.
Required Texts & Materials:
Texts: There are two books that you need to purchase for the course:
1. Peoples, J. and G. Bailey 2011. Humanity: An introduction to cultural anthropology.
Belmont, CA,Wadsworth. ISBN-1111978034 (9th edition)
2. Shostak, M. 2000. Nisa: The life and words of a !Kung woman. Cambridge, Mass.:
Harvard University Press. ISBN-0674004329
You will also be responsible for reading several online course articles and book chapters. These
readings are downloadable from Blackboard as pdf documents. You will need the free program
Adobe Reader to view the pdf articles. Reading assignments for each class meeting should be
completed before the start of class that day.
I will provide weekly study questions related to the readings each week. I recommend you fill
them out as you complete the readings. They should help you digest the course material in
general and aid you in studying for exams.
Materials: Students are required to bring a scantron and a pencil to class every day. You’ll
need a total of eight scantrons for the semester (aside from those you will need for exams).
Scantrons are necessary for random participation quizzes (see Course Assessment – participation
quizzes below).
Course Assessment:
Students will be assessed based on:
Exam 1
Exam 2
Exam 3
Participation Quizzes
Total
25%
25%
25%
25%
100%
Exams: All students are required to take exams on Feb 25, April 8, and on the final exam day,
which is May 8. The final exam will be given from 1:00-3:00pm in the same classroom where
lectures are held (SEE-1401). The exams will consist of multiple-choice, true-false questions, fill
in the blank, and in-class essays. Material for the exams will be drawn equally from lectures and
readings. Films are also fair game for exams. Pay particular attention to material covered both in
lecture and your readings.
Students who require accommodations or special services for testing should contact me
privately several weeks before the exams to discuss the specific accommodations for which they
have received authorization. If you have a disability, but have not contacted Student Disability
Services at 619-594-6473 (Calpulli Center, Suite 3101), please do so before making an
appointment to see me.
In fairness to all the students in the course, no makeup exams will be allowed unless you
have evidence of a legitimate excuse (as demonstrated by a note from a doctor, etc.).
Participation Quizzes: All students are expected to take participation quizzes, which will be
worth 25% of your final grade. A total of 8 participation quizzes will be given at random
throughout the semester, usually at the start of class.
Questions: Each quiz will contain approximately 5 multiple choice questions. Questions will
typically be one of the following:
- Questions on the assigned reading for that day
- Questions on the topic/s of the previous class
Format: Each quiz will be either handed out to students as a hard copy or questions will be
displayed on the projector. As quizzes will be random, you are required to bring a scantron
and pencil to every class meeting. Quizzes should take no longer than 5-10 minutes to
complete, although it will likely be less. A time limit will be announced at the start of the quiz
and enforced.
Scoring: Quizzes are not designed as punishment (I promise!), but rather to encourage class
attendance, participation, and engagement with the course material. Therefore, quiz points are
earned as follows:
- If you are not present to take the quiz that day you will receive a 0.
- Taking the quiz will automatically result minimally in half credit (10 out of 20
points)
- The remaining half (10 points) of your score will be earned by providing correct
answers
- E.g. if you take the quiz and get all 5 questions correct, your score would be
20/20. If you get 3 out of 5 questions correct, your score for that quiz would
be 16/20 (10 points for taking the quiz and 2 point for each correct answer). If
you take the quiz and get every question wrong your score would be 10/20. If
you are not present to take the quiz your score for that quiz would be 0/20.
Each student will be granted three free quiz days, meaning that I will omit your worst three quiz
scores, and only 5 of the 8 quizzes will count towards your final grade. These free quiz days
include all eventualities, including days when you are absent, forgot your scantron, or days when
you have a personal or family emergency. No make-up quizzes will be given.
It is strictly forbidden to take someone else's quiz for them (or turn a scantron in with any name
on it other than your own). If you are discovered doing this, then both you and the person whose
quiz you took/turned in will receive an F (see Academic Dishonesty below). If you see a
classmate filling in or turning in more than one scantron, please bring it immediately to my
attention.
Grading breakdown:
Assuming student performance in the course is as expected and follows trends established by
those who have previously taken this class, letter grades will correspond with the following
percentages and performance descriptions.
Grade Percent range
A
90%-100%
B+
87.5%-89.9%
B
82.6%-87.4%
B80%-82.5%
C+
77.5%-79.9%
C
72.6%-77.4%
C70%-72.5%
D+
67.5%-69.9%
D
62.6%-67.4%
D60%-62.5%
F
0-59.9%
The professor reserves the right to alter this grading scale in an appropriate manner should the
class perform in a way that does not correspond to her expectations. Students taking this course
on a credit/no-credit basis need to receive over 70% to pass the class.
Academic Dishonesty (Cheating policy):
Cheating will not be tolerated. Anyone caught cheating in this class will receive an "F" for the
course, be removed from the classroom immediately, and be reported to SDSU’s Judicial
Coordinator for further disciplinary action.
Classroom Conduct Policy:
Be responsible. Communicate as adults and treat others courteously. Our classroom should be
considered a safe place by all to share their questions, personal thoughts, and experiences.
Disrespect in any form will not be tolerated!
Note-taking on personal computers is permitted. Any use of any other electronic device
for any purpose other than note-taking will result in that individual immediately being asked to
leave class for that day. This is extremely disruptive to your peers. Should it become an issue
computers will no longer be allowed in the classroom for any purpose.
Blackboard:
This course uses Blackboard, a web-based course aid that enables students to access important
course information from any computer connected to the internet. It will allow you to check your
grades, contact other students in the course, as well as access lecture outlines, reading
assignments, study questions for readings, study guides and the course syllabus. Blackboard also
contains an announcement page that I will use to post information and last-second changes. For
example, if class were to be canceled, students would likely be able to find out about it first
through Blackboard. To access Blackboard go to: https://blackboard.sdsu.edu/. Any technical
questions regarding Blackboard should be directed to SDSU’s Instructional Technology Services
department. Their e-mail is scc@rohan.sdsu.edu and their website is: http://wwwrohan.sdsu.edu/dept/its
NOTE: Although I will be posting my lecture slides on Blackboard before class (should you
wish to print them out and bring them to class), it is vital that you do not use them as “standalone” notes. Lecture slides will only provide an outline of what we will discuss in class and are
available to aid you in note-taking. Without actually attending lecture, the lecture slides will
make little sense. I also reserve the right to make last minute changes (and most likely will) to
lectures before class. These changes should be relatively minor and I will post updated slides
following our class meeting.
Contacting me:
I encourage you all to visit me individually or in small groups at least once during the semester.
You can contact me by email or during my office hours. Feel free to discuss the course,
assignments, lectures, readings, study strategies or anything else. I maintain an "open door"
policy and will be available to help you whenever I am in my office.
Tentative Course Schedule & Assigned Reading (subject to change):
Wednesday Jan 21 INTRODUCTIONS. Logistics of course.
Reading: No reading assignment
Friday Jan 23 WHAT IS SOCIO-CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY? What do anthropologists
do? What are the different subfields of the discipline? How do anthropologists do what
they do?
Reading: Peoples and Bailey pp.1-20 (Chp1)
Online article: “Body ritual among the Nacirema”, Miner
Monday Jan 26 WHAT IS CULTURE? How is culture studied? Where did it come from? What
does it do for us? Why do cultures exist?
Reading: Peoples and Bailey pp.21-46 (Chp2)
Wednesday Jan 28 FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF ANTHROPOLOGY: WHAT ARE WE?
Where did culture come from? Are we apes? What can we learn about ourselves from
studying primates?
Reading: Shostak pp.1-40
Film: First half of “Nai: The story of a !Kung Woman”
Friday Jan 30 FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF ANTHROPOLOGY: WHAT ARE WE? Where
did culture come from? Are we apes? What can we learn about ourselves from studying
primates?
Reading: No reading assignment
Monday Feb 2 LANGUAGE AND CULTURE: HOW DO WE CONNECT? Why does culture
depend on language? Why do we need social categories and cultural symbols?
Reading: Peoples and Bailey pp.47-67 (Chp3)
Wednesday Feb 4 HOW HAVE CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGISTS THEORIZED ABOUT
DIFFERENT SOCIETIES? (1) What is 19th century unilineal Evolutionism? Interpretive
approach? Materialist approach?
Reading: Peoples and Bailey pp.68-83 (Chp4)
Friday Feb 6 HOW HAVE CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGISTS THEORIZED ABOUT
DIFFERENT SOCIETIES? (2) What is 19th century unilineal Evolutionism? Interpretive
approach? Materialist approach?
Reading: Peoples and Bailey pp.83-93 (Chp4)
Monday Feb 9 HOW HAVE CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGISTS THEORIZED ABOUT
DIFFERENT SOCIETIES? (3) What is 19th century unilineal Evolutionism? Interpretive
approach? Materialist approach?
Reading: Shostak pp.41-72
Wednesday Feb 11 WHY ARE SOCIETIES DIFFERENT? What is “progress”? How and why
have societies changed over the past 10,000 years?
Reading: Peoples and Bailey pp.112-135 (Chp6)
Friday Feb 13 WHY ARE SOCIETIES DIFFERENT? What is “progress”? How and why have
societies changed over the past 10,000 years?
Reading: Peoples and Bailey pp.135-140 (Chp6)
Film: “Nanook of the North”
Monday Feb 16 WHY ARE SOCIETIES DIFFERENT? What is “progress”? How and Why
have societies changed over the past 10,000 years?
Reading: Online article: “The worst mistake in human history”, Diamond
Wednesday Feb 18 WHY ARE SOCIETIES DIFFERENT? What is “progress”? How and Why
have societies changed over the past 10,000 years?
Reading: Shostak 73-131
Friday Feb 20 TBA
Reading:
Monday Feb 23 CATCH UP DAY
Reading:
Wednesday Feb 25 Exam 1
Friday Feb 27 HOW IS WEALTH PRODUCED AND CREATED IN DIFFERENT
SOCIETIES AND HOW DOES THIS CHANGE HUMAN BEINGS? What is wealth?
Reading: Online article: “Eating Christmas in the Kalahari”, Lee
Monday March 2 HOW IS WEALTH PRODUCED AND CREATED IN DIFFERENT
SOCIETIES AND HOW DOES THIS CHANGE HUMAN BEINGS? (2) What is
wealth?
Reading: Peoples and Bailey pp.142-162 (Chp7)
Wednesday March 4 HOW IS WEALTH DISTRIBUTED AND EXCHANGED IN
DIFFERENT SOCIETIES? What is reciprocity? What is money? What are markets?
Reading: Shostak pp.133-157
Friday March 6 HOW IS WEALTH DISTRIBUTED AND EXCHANGED IN DIFFERENT
SOCIETIES? What is reciprocity? What is money? What are markets?
Reading: Shostak pp.159-191
Monday March 9 WHY DO WE HAVE FAMILIES? Why do we marry? Who is my ‘father’?
Reading: Peoples and Bailey pp.163-189 (Chp8)
Wednesday March 11 HOW DO I KNOW WHO MY FAMILY IS? Kinship and descent.
Reading: Peoples and Bailey pp.191-212 (Chp9)
Friday March 13 US AND THEM: HOW DO I KNOW WHO YOU ARE (1)? Identity and
ethnicity.
Reading: Peoples and Bailey pp.387-410 (Chp17)
Film: “Becoming American”
Monday March 16 US AND THEM: HOW DO I KNOW WHO YOU ARE (2)? How are
gender differences constructed? Races?
Reading: Peoples and Bailey pp.237-267 (Chp11)
Wednesday March 18 US AND THEM: HOW DO I KNOW WHO YOU ARE (3)? How are
gender differences constructed? Races?
Reading: Online article: “Race without color”, Diamond
Friday March 20 WHY DO WE FIGHT AND WHY DO WE COOPERATE? Why do we have
politics? Why do we need authority?
Reading: Peoples and Bailey pp.276-278 (Section on social control and law)
Shostak pp. 213-258
Film: “Ax fight”
Monday March 23 HOW DO WE KNOW WHAT WE KNOW – AND IS IT TRUE? Do
religion and magic serve a function? What is science?
Reading: Peoples and Bailey pp.313-327 (Part of Chp14)
Shostak pp.259-308
Wednesday March 25 WHAT IS GLOBALIZATION AND HOW IS IT CHANGING
ANTHROPOLOGY (1)? How have small scale societies been effected by globalization?
Does it matter?
Reading: Peoples and Bailey pp.363-386 (Chp16)
Friday March 27 WHAT IS GLOBALIZATION AND HOW IS IT CHANGING
ANTHROPOLOGY (2)? How have small scale societies been effected by globalization?
Does it matter?
Reading: No reading assignment
Monday March 30 – Friday April 3 –NO CLASS (SPRING BREAK)
Monday April 6 CATCH UP DAY
Wednesday April 8 Exam 2
Friday April 10 HOW HAVE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE REACTED TO CHANGE (1)?
Reading: Shostak pp.193-212
Film: Second half of “Nai: The story of a !Kung woman”
Monday April 13 HOW HAVE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE REACTED TO CHANGE (2)? How
have indigenous groups organized politically? Do they have a chance to protect their
lands?
Reading: Shostak pp.309-332
Wednesday April 15 WHY IS LIFE UNFAIR (1)?
Reading: Online: Hartmann and Boyce, Chps1-4
Film: “T-shirt Travels”
Friday April 17 WHY IS LIFE UNFAIR (2)? What is social hierarchy? Why do we have it?
What are “developed” countries? How is life in poor countries? Should we care?
Reading: Peoples and Bailey pp.290-312 (Chp13)
Monday April 20 WHY IS LIFE UNFAIR (3)? What is social hierarchy? Why do we have it?
What are “developed” countries? How is life in poor countries? Should we care?
Reading: Peoples and Bailey pp.290-312 (Chp13)
Wednesday April 22 WHAT IS THE MEANING OF POVERTY (1)? What is poverty, and
what are its causes? Is it “natural”? Is it a state of mind? A social condition? A symptom
of economic inefficiency? Or of political inequality?
Reading: Online: Hartmann and Boyce, Chps6-8
Friday April 24 WHAT IS THE MEANING OF POVERTY (1)? What is poverty, and
what are its causes? Is it “natural”? Is it a state of mind? A social condition? A symptom
of economic inefficiency? Or of political inequality?
Reading: No reading assignment
Film: “The legacy of Malthus”
Monday April 27 WHAT DO ANTHROPOLOGISTS KNOW, DOES IT MATTER, AND
HOW CAN THEY HELP? How have anthropologists tried to help? Is applied
anthropology hopeless? What matters most in development projects: economics?
Politics? Social organization? Do anthropologists have the know-how to advise on
development or direct development projects?
Reading: Peoples and bailey pp.411-420
Wednesday April 29 WHY ARE HUMANS DESTROYING THE EARTH’S LIFE SUPPORT
SYSTEMS?
Reading: Peoples and Bailey pp.420-438
Friday May 1 HOW CAN ENVIRONMENTAL ANTHROPOLOGY HELP SOLVE THE
ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS? What is community-based resource management? How
have indigenous people protected their lands and what issues have been raised in this
process?
Reading: Online article: “Quality of life: When less is more”, Moran Chp
Monday May 4 TBA
Reading: TBA
Wednesday May 6 CATCH UP
Reading: No reading assignment
Friday May 8 – Exam 3 (Final) from 1:00-3:00pm in SSEC-1401
Good luck!