Anthropology 102 Introduction to Human Cultural Diversity

Spring Semester 2010; Monday/Wednesday 6:10-8:00pm, Xavier Hall 250 Instructor: Jennifer Carroll

Contact Information
Email: carroljj@plu.edu Campus Voice Mail: 253-539-5342 Office Hours: Xavier Hall 211, 5:00-6:00pm M/W and by appointment

Course Overview Catalog Description

Introduction to social-cultural anthropology, concentrating on the exploration of the infinite variety of human endeavors in all aspects of culture and all types of societies; religion, politics, law, kinship and art.

Course Objectives
This course is intended to provide a general introduction to socio-cultural anthropology. While there are many general concepts that will be covered in this course (such as kinship, gender, symbols, structure, etc) anthropology as a discipline more closely resembles a conversation than it does a growing list of rules and axioms like many mathematical or natural sciences. This means that our textbooks will be different from other textbooks. We will be getting our feet wet, so to speak, in many academic conversations about human life and culture. For every text that we read in this course, there are dozens of others that are equally relevant and informative. This means that we will be merely breaking the surface of topics that have been in discussion for decades. Anthropology is a human endeavor that focuses on human relationships and human behavior. The subject matter of this course and its materials will range from inspirational stories of human support and innovation to deeply moving tales of human cruelty and injustice. Part of the aim of this course is to examine the breadth of human action in the world, from the very good to the very bad, and to highlight how even the definitions of what is good and what is bad are highly varied throughout the world. Completing this course constitutes a partial fulfillment of the PLU diversity requirement, and counts towards your Cross-Cultural Perspectives coursework. This means that the majority, though not all, of the material in this course will be focused on non-US and non-European cultures. The focus of this class is human cultural diversity, and our own culture(s) will be considered as one part of the broad spectrum of human behavior and organization that exists around the globe. This means that American cultures will be open to investigation and interpretation just like every other culture that we may come across during the course of the semester. Likewise, students are encouraged to reject binary ideas like us and them, modern and traditional, advanced and primitive as false and misleading, and to explore with an open, tolerant, and inquisitive mind the ways in which all people are equally unique and basically the same.

Texts
There are three required texts for this course. They are available for purchase at the PLU bookstore: Delaney, Carol. (1991) The Seed and the Soil: Gender and Cosmology in Turkish Village Society. University of California Press. Kirsch, Stuart. (2006) Reverse Anthropology: Indigenous Analysis of Social and Environmental Relations in New Guinea. Stanford University Press. Spradley, James and David McCurdy, eds. (2008) Conformity and Conflict: Readings in Cultural Anthropology. 13th Edition. Allyn & Bacon. Additional readings, when assigned, will be made available on the course website.

Films
During this course, we will also be viewing several films. Students who, for whatever reason, are unable to view these films in class are required to view these films independently. Many of these titles are available in the PLU library. Others may be acquired through Interlibrary Loan. Students experiencing unusual difficulty in acquiring these films for viewing should talk to the instructor. Films for this course include, but are not limited to, the following: The Beauty Academy of Kabul. Dir. Liz Mermin. Magic Lantern Media, Inc, 2004. The Devils Miner. Dirs. Kief Davidson and Richard Ladkani. Urban Landscapes Productions, Inc; La Mita Loca Films, 2005. Life and Debt. Dir. Stephanie Black. Tuff Gong Pictures, 2001. Mardi Gras: Made in China. Dir. David Redmon. 2005.

Course Assignments and Grading Grading

Course grades will be determined on a 100-point scale: 2 Short Papers: 15 points each 2 Tests: 10 points each Reading Responses: 10 points Participation: 20 points Group Presentation: 20

Grades earned for this course will be assigned according to the following scale:
95-100 90-94 87-89 84-86 80-83 77-79 A AB+ B BC+ 74-76 70-73 67-69 64-66 60-63 <60 C CD+ D DF

Reading Assignments and Responses (10 points)

All assignments (including readings) are listed on the course schedule on the day they are due to be completed. Students are required to post a written response to a minimum of ten readings (which means readings from ten different class periods) over the course of the semester on the class website. These responses should be approximately 100 words, excluding any quotations, and should directly address the readings for that day. Appropriate content for these responses include questions that have arisen from the readings, critiques of the authors methods or arguments, and further thoughts relating the readings to other course materials, to content or lessons from other classes, or relevant current events. Reading responses should be posted in the Chat section of the course website under the appropriate conversation heading. Responses must be posted by 5pm PST on the day prior to the class when those readings are due in order to be counted for credit. Students are encouraged to engage in online discussion and respond to each others postings. Expectations for scholarly conduct in the classroom extend to this on-line forum.

Participation (20 points)

Since dialog and debate are central to the discipline of anthropology, the grade for classroom participation in this course is weighted the same as a paper. Satisfactory participation requires students to come to class prepared to discuss all of the readings assigned and to actively engage in discussion about those readings and the topics at hand. Active engagement in discussion does not simply mean talking. Asking questions, active listening, making room for and inviting others to participate, and making other meaningful, if small, contributions to class are all appropriate forms of classroom engagement. Being a part of a class of this size (especially a cultural anthropology class!) requires each of us to recognize that different individuals have different reaction times, different speeds of speech and lengths of conversational pauses. Some students may not be native speakers of English or may process information differently and at different speeds. Some people take a longer time to consider their words, and others sometimes speak without thinking! There is no concrete outline for how a student should participate in class, but everyone is required to make a consistent, concerted effort to actively engage.

Tests (2 @ 10 points each)

There will be two written, in-class tests over the course of the semester. These tests will use multiple choice, labeling, and short answer questions to cover material from readings as well as

from class lectures and discussion. They will be comprehensive. Students should be prepared to identify and define key concepts discussed in class and demonstrate a basic familiarity with the required readings.

Papers (2 @ 15 points each)

This course requires students to write a midterm paper and a final paper. Both papers will follow the same set of guidelines: TOPIC: Prompts for each paper will be distributed one week before the papers are due. Students will be able to choose from the available prompts provided by the instructor. Accordingly, each paper should clearly identify which prompt is being answered in its title or in its heading. If a student wishes to write on a different topic, he or she may do so with instructor permission. FORMAT: Each paper should be approximately 800 words in length. Papers shorter than 600 words and longer than 1000 words will not be accepted. All papers must be titled. Final drafts ready for submission should be in Times New Roman 12-point font, double-spaced, with one (1) inch margins on all sides. Pages should be numbered. Please include a heading with your name, course, and the date. There is no need for a title page. All references must be properly cited. CONTENT: All papers must be organized around an original argument or thesis designed by the student. Properly addressing the prompts that are provided for these papers will require you to make an individualized statement or to take up a position in an argument or debate and defend that statement or position by citing other sources and materials. These papers are your opportunity to display your grasp of the key concepts addressed in this class through the use of course readings and materials. Students do not need to go outside of the course readings for these assignments, but, rather, should make liberal use of sources used in this class in their papers. Papers must have an introductory paragraph, in which the students position or thesis is outlined, and a concluding paragraph, which brings the argument to a close. Students are strongly discouraged from using images in their papers. Images and tables should be included only when their addition is necessary in order to convey particular information or when they make a significant contribution to the students argument or presentation of data. The first paper must be submitted prior to 5:00pm on Friday March 19 in order to be considered on time. The final paper must be submitted by 5:00pm on Friday May 14 in order to be considered on time. There will be no additional readings or work assigned, other than the paper, on these days. The format that will be used for grading papers will be made available on the course website.

Group Presentation (20 points)

During the course of the semester, students will be divided into small groups of 4-5 persons. Each small group will be responsible for conducting a unique ethnography project and presenting this project to the class during the final week (May 17-19). Further details about this project will be provided in the coming weeks.

Extra Credit
Extra credit assignments may be given at the discretion of the instructor. If the instructor specifies a due date for an extra credit assignment, no extensions will be allowed, and the assignment will not be accepted after that date.

Grade Disputes
The PLU Social Sciences Division has written a formal policy for handling grade disputes. This policy is available on the class website.

Student Expectations Attendance

The PLU catalog (under Academic Procedures) states: The university assumes that all registered students have freely accepted personal responsibility for regular class attendance. Students are expected to attend class each and every time it is held. Attendance is necessary in order to participate in classroom discussion; therefore, unexcused absences will have a negative impact on your participation grade. (See section on course grading below) If you are unable to come to class due to illness, personal or family emergency, or any other reason, you are responsible for informing the instructor prior to that class period. If you miss class for a reason that was unforeseen (traffic accident, etc.), you are responsible for informing the instructor as to the reason for your absence as soon as possible. It is expected that the instructor will be informed as to the nature of every absence, regardless of the cause. The excusing of absences is at the discretion of the instructor. Please be on time for class. If you cannot be on time for class, for whatever reason, please enter class without causing too much of a disturbance. This means enter the classroom quietly and sit in the first available seat. The same goes for those who need to leave class early. Please select a location close to the door of the classroom and leave quietly so as to keep the inevitable disruption to a minimum. By acting in such a manner, you are showing respect to your fellow students and the instructor.

Classroom Behavior and Preparation

It is expected each student will be prepared for class. Preparation is defined in this course as having read all of the material prior to the class period, cell phones either turned off or put on silent, possession of a functioning writing utensil and something which to write on, and have on their person the relevant textbooks/reading material for the class period. The student can determine the relevant information for the class period by referring to the course schedule, which is available on the class website. Students will be courteous to fellow colleagues and the instructor, by allowing others to express their points of view in a scholarly manner. The classroom is a place where the free expression of ideas and concepts are expected and allowed, and no other person should inhibit such an opportunity. Students should regulate their statements so that they apply to a wider audience, and should not attempt to dominate class time with individualized statements or stories.

Students are welcome to bring laptops to class for note taking and accessing relevant on-line references and course materials. Email checking, chatting, game playing, and web surfing are highly inappropriate uses of class time and are disrespectful to the instructor and the other students in class. Students blatantly misusing technology in the classroom (including cell phones) will be asked to leave and will receive no credit for classroom participation on that day. Further information on campus-wide expectations for student conduct can be found online at http://www.plu.edu/conduct/.

Individual Student Needs and Disability Support

Every student deserves the opportunity learn in the best and most appropriate environment possible. If you have a question, concern, comment, request or other need please come and talk to me in person or send me a detailed e-mail as soon as possible. I can make adjustments or accommodations for individuals or the entire class, but only if I am made aware of them. Students with medically recognized and documented disabilities and who are in need of special accommodation have an obligation to notify the University of their needs. Students in need of accommodation should contact the Office of Disability Support Services (x7206). If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, if you have emergency medical information, or if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible.

Campus Technology
This class is designed to be as paperless as possible. This means that readings, handouts, course documents, and other distributed materials will be made available electronically on the course website. Students will also submit written assignments (readings responses, papers, and any extra credit assignments) electronically through their drop boxes on the course website. Communications made outside of class will be delivered via PLU email. This means that all students are responsible for setting up their epass accounts and campus email. Students are responsible for regularly checking their email and maintaining regular access to the course website.

Electronic Document Submission

Whenever an assignment is submitted as an electronic document, it is the students responsibility to make sure that the file is correct and complete. If an electronic document is submitted and is unreadable or in anyway corrupted, the assignment will be considered incomplete and late penalties will apply until a proper, functional document is submitted. All written assignments should be submitted in .doc or .pdf format. All filenames should reflect the students name and the assignment.

Late Submissions
Papers that are not submitted by the date and time due and have not been granted an extension will be subject to the following penalties (Papers are worth a total of 20 points each): 4 points will be automatically deducted if a paper is submitted after the date and time due

2 additional points will continue be deducted for every 24-hour period following the original date and time due. This means that a paper submitted 0-24 hours after the deadline will lose 4 points, a paper that is submitted 24-48 hours late will lose 6 points, etc. Papers that are one week late or more will not be accepted, and that student will receive a zero grade for the assignment.

Extensions of the due date will be granted at the instructors discretion. While a request for an extension in no way guarantees that one will be granted, it is absolutely impossible to receive one if you dont ask. I will make every effort to be vigilant in maintaining communication outside of class. However, if a request for an extension is made by phone or email within 24 hours of the submission deadline, there is no guarantee that the request will be received in time. If a student requests an extension less than 24 hours before the due date and has not received confirmation from the instructor, that student should assume that no extension has been granted and that the assignment will be considered late if the deadline is missed.

Academic Honesty
I take academic honesty very seriously. When flagrant cheating or plagiarism occurs, it is an insult to me, to the students in this course, and to the guilty student. It is an insult to the time we spend here teaching and learning from each other. Academic instruction, particularly in the liberal arts, is unique in its focus on intellectual fluency and collaborative effort rather than taskbased competition and self-promotion. Your college education does not consist of a collection of hoops that you need to get through. This course requires you to engage with course materials, with other students, with the instructor, and with the greater academic community in a productive and innovative fashion. Academic dishonesty defeats the purposes of this class and of this institution, and it will not be tolerated. The complete PLU Academic Honesty Policy can be found online at www.plu.edu/academics/integ.html. PLUs expectation is that students will not cheat or plagiarize, and that they will not condone these behaviors or assist others who plagiarize. Academic misconduct not only jeopardizes the career of the individual student involved, but also undermines the scholastic achievements of all PLU students and attacks the mission of this institution. Students are inherently responsible to do their own work, thereby insuring the integrity of their academic records. The most common forms of dishonesty are cheating and plagiarism. Cheating includes, but is not limited to: Submitting material that is not yours as part of your course performance, such as copying from another student's exam, allowing another student to copy from your exam; or Using information or devices not allowed by the faculty; such as formulas or a computer program or data, or unauthorized materials, such as a copy of an examination before it is given; or Fabricating information, such as data for a lab report; or Violating procedures prescribed to protect the integrity of an assignment, test, or other evaluation; or

Collaborating with others on assignments without the instructor's consent; or Cooperating with or helping another student to cheat; or Other forms of dishonest behavior, such as having another person take an exam for you, altering exam answers and requesting the exam be re-graded; or, communicating with anyone other than a proctor or instructor during an exam.

If one or more students are seen looking onto another students papers during a quiz or test, those students will be asked to move to a new location within the classroom. If paper-glancing happens a second time, or if a student or students are caught cheating in a more egregious fashion (using notes, communicating in class, etc.) the test or quiz will be taken from those students and they will be asked to leave the classroom. Those students will receive a zero on that particular assignment and be summoned to a meeting to discuss the matter and potential punishment in accordance with PLUs Academic Honesty Policy. Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to: Directly quoting the words of others without using quotation marks or indented format to identify them; or Using altered wording, materials or ideas of others without properly identifying their source; or Representing an idea or strategy that is significant in ones own work as ones own when it comes from someone else. If you are unsure about something that you want to do or the proper use of materials, then ask your instructor for clarification Especially in a discipline that requires you to be able to engage with the ideas of others and to cite multiple unique sources, plagiarism is an incredibly self-defeating activity. Plagiarism is, at the very least, grounds for a zero grade for that assignment. If a student is suspected of deliberate plagiarism on an assignment, that student will be summoned to a meeting to discuss the matter and potential punishment in accordance with PLUs Academic Honesty Policy.

Academic Emergency
In the case that the normal university semester is interrupted or prematurely ended do to an unforeseen emergency, such as a natural disaster, epidemic, etc., the determination of course grades will be made following the PLU policy governing pandemic emergencies, which can be found online here: http://www.plu.edu/provost/documents-forms/documents/Pandemic Emergencies_final_FA Attach D.pdf The university reserves the right to consider courses complete upon the original date of withdrawl, to make a special designation for an interrupted term on official transcripts, or to cancel the term entirely, depending upon the date of interruption.

Anthropology 102 Introduction to Human Cultural Diversity Instructor: Jennifer Carroll Xavier Hall 250, M/W 6:10pm-8:00pm All readings labeled C&C may be found in the course textbook, Conformity and Conflict. All other readings, excluding The Seed and the Soil and Reverse Anthropology, which you are required to have in hardcopy form, may be found online (in which case a URL is provided in this document) or on the course website (these readings are marked with an asterisk*.) WEEK 1 - Introduction Feb 10 Discussion: Introduction to American anthropology and the study of human culture; Franz Boas and four-field anthropology WEEK 2 Socio-cultural Anthropology and the Culture Concept Feb 17 Readings: Discussion: C&C: Section 1 Intro: Culture and Ethnography C&C: #33. Miner, H. Body Ritual Among the Nacirema Defining culture; the familiar and the exotic Anthropological work and human interaction across cultures (--or-- how to make a fool of yourself in a new place) WEEK 3 Social Identities and Social Difference Feb 22 Readings: Discussion: Feb 24 Readings: Discussion: C&C: #3. Bohannan, L. Shakespeare in the Bush C&C: #24. Fernea, E. and R. Fernea Symbolizing Roles: Behind the Veil Identity, individuality, and the self; the Other; Edward Saids Orientalism. C&C: #25. Fish, J. Mixed Blood The social construction of race and other taxonomies of human difference WEEK 4 Economies of Exchange: Trade, Gifting, and Markets March 1 Readings: Discussion: March 3 Readings: Film: Discussion: C&C: #14. Cronk, L. Reciprocity and the Power of Giving. *Malinowski, B. Selections from Argonauts of the Western Pacific Gifting and the social relations of exchange *Marx, K. Selections from Capital Mardi Gras Made in China (72 min) (see the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kCxvbBsv00) Capitalism and the modern Market.

WEEK 5 Kinship and Family / Gender March 8 Readings: Discussion: March 10 Test #1 WEEK 6 Ethnography: Carol Delaney, The Seed and the Soil March 15 Readings: Introduction, Chapter 1 March 17 Readings: Chapter 3 ***1st Short Paper Due 5:00pm Friday March 19*** WEEK 7 Gender, continued. March 22 Film: Discussion: March 24 Readings: Beauty Academy of Kabul (74 min) (see trailer at www.beautyacademyofkabul.com) Concepts of femininity and masculinity; marked and un-marked categories Wikipedia: Third Gender http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_gender Wikipedia: Intersexuality Part 3 (intersex conditions and scope) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intersexuality (This web page contains pictures of human bodies and their various parts, including genetalia.) *Pointek, T. (2006) Queer Alternatives to Men and Women *Somerville, S. (2007) Queer The gender dichotomy and its limits; Nature/Nurture; Queer Theory C&C: Section 5 Intro: Kinship and Family C&C: #19. McCardey, D. Family and Kinship in a Village in India C&C: #20. Goldstein, M. Polyandry: When Brothers Take A Wife Defining family; kinship analysis; David Schneiders American Kinship

Discussion:

SPRING BREAK MARCH 29 APRIL 4

WEEK 8 Ecology and Environmentalisms April 5 Readings: Discussion: April 7 Readings: C&C: #11. Diamond, J. Adaptive Failure: Easters End C&C: #13. Reed, R. Forest Development the Indian Way The nature/culture divide; debunking the Noble (and Ecological) Savage

*Guha, R. Radical Environmentalism and Wilderness Preservation: A Third World Critique Discussion: American environmentalism, environmental preservation, and other sticky situations WEEK 9 Religion and Beliefs April 12 Readings: C&C: Section 8 Intro: Religion, Magic, and Worldview C&C: #31. Gmelch, G. Baseball Magic Discussion: Systems of belief as systems of explanation. *Evans-Pritchard, E. E. Selections from Witchcraft, Oracles, and Magic Among the Azande The Devils Miner (82 min) (See Trailer at www.thedevilsminer.com) Religion and tradition, magic and ritualare they or arent they the same? WEEK 10 Globalization and World Powers April 19 Readings: C&C: Section 9 Intro: Globalization C&C: #36. Condry, I. Japanese Hip-Hop and the Globalization of Popular Culture Discussion: defining globalization; Appadurais concepts of channels and flows; is a global culture even possible? April 21 Readings: Film: Discussion: C&C: #35. Gmelch, S Why Tourism Matters C&C: #17: Patten, S. Malawi vs. the World Bank Life and Debt (80 min) (see trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWPkOUxxm4M) Human and material movement through global channels

April 14 Readings: Film: Discussion:

WEEK 11 The Ethics of Doing Anthropology April 26 Test #2 April 28 Readings: *Illich, I. To Hell with Good Intentions *Price, D Anthropologists as Spies Discussion: The roles and limits of anthropological advocacy; a brief history of radical activism within the AAA. WEEK 12 Ethnography: Stuart Kirsch, Reverse Anthropology May 3 Readings: May 5 Readings: Reverse Anthropology, Introduction: pg. 1-11, 15-24 Reverse Anthropology, Chapter 2: pg. 57-64, 71-78.

WEEK 13 Ethnography: Stuart Kirsch, Reverse Anthropology May 10 Readings: Reverse Anthropology, Chapters 3 and 4: pg. 95-98, 104-120. Film: After the Gold Rush: Mining the Ok Tedi (60 min) May 12 Readings: Reverse Anthropology, Chapter 4 and Conclusion: pg 120-131, 216-222.

***2nd Short Paper Due 5:00pm Friday May 14*** WEEK 14 Ethnography Presentations May 17 Presentations May 19 Presentations Week 15 Finals Week This course has no final exam.