Anthropology 116D Syllabus

Cultures in Context
Survey of Cultural Anthropology and Linguistic Anthropology

Instructor Contact Information

Cynthia Clarke
425.388.9382; cclarke@everettcc.edu
Office hours: http://www.everettcc.edu/directory/faculty/index.cfm?eid=4bb#CynthiaClarke

Course Description

(SS, D) General study of the field of cultural anthropology, which studies humanity from a cross-cultural
perspective and the field of linguistic anthropology which examines human verbal and non-verbal
communication. Writing assignments represent a significant component of coursework. Prerequisite
(Enforced): Completion of ENGL 098 with a grade of C or higher, or eligibility for ENGL &101.

Required Textbooks

1. Crowther, G. (2018). Eating culture: An anthropological guide to food (2nd ed.). Toronto: University of
Toronto Press ISBN: 978-1-4875=9329-2
2. Ottenheimer, H. J. (2018) The anthropology of language: An introduction to linguistic anthropology (4th
ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth. ISBN: 978-1337571005

Attendance

Be on Time and Ready

• Registering for a class implies a commitment to the time allotted for the course. I have observed year after
year that those who do not have a habit of coming to class have a much higher failure rate.
• Students are expected to come to class, arrive on time, and be prepared to work.
o I make the most important announcements in the first 5 minutes of class.
o You miss this time, then you miss the announcements. It is that simple.
• You are expected to come to class with the reading assignments completed. If you do not, you are losing
out on the context of the lectures and other class work.

Late Enrollment in the Course

• If you are given permission to enroll after the quarter begins, this does not imply you have the right to
make up missed work.
• There are extra credit options that can help boost your points.

Missed Coursework

• Absentees are responsible for getting information on their own time, not at the expense of the rest of the
class.
• You are expected to solicit such information or materials from the instructor during office hours or by
appointment.

Inclement Weather/Assignments Due

• If there is inclement weather that closes the campus, then the due date is automatically extended to the
next class day after the campus is reopened.
• No matter what the campus decision is about whether to open the campus during inclement weather, I urge
you to be conservative when making a decision about coming in if there are poor road conditions. No
grade is worth your life or your vehicle.

Vacations and Excused Absences

• Students should avoid scheduling other appointments, vacations, or so forth during class time. I make no
accommodations for these unexcused absences.
• Scheduled absences may be excused by official documentation. If you have an officially documented
excuse at your fingertips, you have the time to complete assignments early.
• I completely adhere to the Federal policies concerning active duty military and absences.

Grade Policies

This instructor follows all grade policies dictated by EvCC. For specifics, visit this link:
http://www.everettcc.edu/enrollment/registration/grades

Short-term challenge

If you have a problem that arises, during the quarter, immediately come see me in my office. A short-term
challenge (a death in the family, theft from your car, and so forth) is not a reason for not finishing the course
and then asking for a grade of I, N, or V. If this type of crisis occurs, contact me for an extension on a single
assignment. Independent documentation will be required for any extension on an assignment due date. I will
ask for a doctor's confirmation, a social worker's letter, or similar form of documentation.

Failure to complete the class

F Grade: Students who simply “disappear” from the class and fail to withdraw from the course will receive a
failing grade (“F”). This grade is extremely serious and will factor as 0.00 into your GPA. Even if you repeat
the course to replace the grade, the “F” will stay on your transcript forever. You are strongly encouraged to
formally withdraw from the class if you choose not to complete the course (see W Grade below).

I Grade: A grade of I (incomplete) will only be assigned in serious cases of need AND where the amount of
work already completed is significant (80% or more). I will only consider this where a situation beyond the
control of the student occurs. I NEVER assign this grade without the student's permission; EvCC requires
paperwork to be signed by both the student and the instructor and submitted to the Registrar’s Office.

I will be expecting independent documentation to be available at the time you contact me for an I grade. This is
more than your statements that you had a hard quarter. I require a doctor's confirmation, a social worker's
letter, or similar form of documentation. This paperwork must indicate the situation precluded you from
completion of coursework, starting from the time of the student failed to submit assigned work.

N Grade: This is called the audit grade. I never change a grade to this option.

V Grade: A grade of V (Instructor withdraw) will only be assigned if the student has finished an insufficient
amount of work to be considered for a grade of I (<80% of the required course work), but circumstances
beyond their control occurred. I rarely give a V grade (it encourages a student to give up who might otherwise
succeed).

I will be expecting independent documentation to be available at the time you contact me for a V grade. This is
more than your statements that you had a hard quarter. I require a doctor's confirmation, a social worker's
letter, or similar form of documentation. This paperwork must indicate the situation precluded you from
completion of coursework, starting from the time of the student failed to submit assigned work.
W Grade: If a student stops attending class and/or submitting assigned work, it is the student's responsibility
to request the W grade (Student withdraw) through the Registrar’s Office (Parks Student Union, Room 201).
Assigning a W grade is not the responsibility of your instructor; in fact, the instructor can’t assign this grade.
ONLY the student can do the paperwork (through the Registrar’s Office) to receive this grade. Check with the
Registrar’s Office to verify the appropriate date by which this must be submitted.

Do not take the W (Student withdraw) grade lightly. Please visit this page for specifics:
http://www.everettcc.edu/enrollment/tuition/enrollment-procedures

Grading Schedule

Type of Assignment Points Number Subtotal

Bi-Weekly Quizzes 50 X 5 250

In-Class Assignments:
• Assignment 1 Prep 5 X 1 5
• Assignment 3 Prep 5 X 1 5
• Assignment 3 Prep 5 X 1 5

Written Assignments:
• Assignment 1: Focus on Topic 50 X 1 50
• Assignment 2: Literature Review 50 X 1 50
• Assignment 3: Field Research 35 X 1 35
• Assignment 4: Report of Findings 60 X 1 60

Grading Assignment

Grade Points G.P.A. Grade Points G.P.A.

A 437+ 4.0 C 336-353 2.0
A- 414-436 3.7 C- 322-335 1.7
B+ 400-413 3.4 D+ 308-321 1.3
B 382-399 3.0 D 290-307 1.0
B- 368-381 2.7 D- EvCC eliminated in Fall 2013
C+ 354-367 2.4 F <290 0.0

Grading Expectations

Late Work
• You are expected to make your own arrangements for submission of assignments that are due on dates
you fail to attend class. Elsewhere in the syllabus additional policies about late work are outlined, but in
particular:
o You are welcome to have a surrogate deliver your work to class only if they come before the lecture
commences.
o Work submitted, in class on the due date. after class starts is 1 day late (-10%).
o Late work submitted on Canvas is penalized at -10%/day or partial day).
o Yes, weekends count.
• I will not accept emailed work in this class. Canvas is set up for late submissions.
Extra Credit and Cheating
• In the event of my determination that a student has cheated, I will make that student ineligible for any
extra credit points of any kind.
• These extra credit points are not a guaranteed point option for the student; they are a privilege.

Plagiarism/Cheating

While you are encouraged to document others' opinions and data, the writing of the responses must be only
your own. If I determine another has written any part of the response, I will note this as plagiarism and reserve
the option of: 1) failing the paper, 2) failing you for the course, or 3) referring you for additional academic
action, which may include suspension from this institution with a permanent note in your file. I have VERY
strong feelings on this subject; if you value your education don't do it. Below is a brief guide to what is
considered plagiarism/cheating by this instructor.

Cheating during testing

• 'Spontaneous' cheating, such as copying of another student's paper during examination. Penalty: from F on
the test to F in the course.
• 'Non-spontaneous' cheating, which includes, but is not exclusive to, conspiracy to copy from another
student's paper during an examination, obtaining unauthorized (not previously distributed to any class)
copies of examinations administered prior to the time of the examination, employing 'crib' notes during an
examination. Penalty: From F in the course to suspension.

Plagiarism

• Unknowable misuse of material Penalty: Require student to correct or re-do paper.

• Intentional failure to cite references Penalty: Require student to re-do paper to F on paper.
• Cutting and pasting from the Internet is, without any question, one of the most blatant forms of plagiarism
and is treated harshly when I identify it as this type of cheating. Penalty: F in the course to suspension.
• Submitting as one's own work done by or copied from another. This includes work done by a fellow
student, or work done by you, work done by a former student or work done by a 'ghost' writer. Penalty:
From F in the course to suspension.

Falsifying data/ Duplication of work assigned

• Falsely reporting data obtained from fieldwork experiences, including falsely reporting having met
responsibilities of attendance in such experiences. Penalty: From F in the course to suspension.
• Submitting work to meet the requirements of one course when it was done to meet the requirements of
another. Penalty: from F on the project to F in the course.

Doing it the right way

• Often the main problem the student has with plagiarism is due to his/her lack of knowledge about what
correctly using others' work encompasses. Generally, at the college level, you are expected to read the
materials, watch the videos and from your own perspective about the materials, given these opportunities
to use these sources. This perspective is not a personal opinion, but an informed, scientific discussion of
the issues under consideration.
• This means that you should write "fresh"; do not simply change a few of the words to avoid plagiarism.
Even though you are putting the information into your own words, you did not do the original research, so
tell me by whom you were influenced (cite your sources).
• ALWAYS, feel free to check with me about your understanding of how to properly cite sources by
bringing samples of your writings to me for guidance. I won't leave you hanging out there without a safety
harness.
• The following link is one I found that shows both the correct and incorrect ways to use information from a
reference. I found it to be easy to follow and helpful as an illustration for students.
http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/QPA_paraphrase.html

Adapted from: Author unknown (n.d.). Plagiarism guidelines. Unpublished manuscript. Bremerton, WA:
Chapman University: Bangor Annex.

Course Objectives

Anthropology 116D Outcomes

• Discuss the scientific world view and why it is often seen as in conflict with other world views, especially
those that are religion-based.
• Explain the importance of cultural relativism in anthropology.
• Assess the significance of culture change in terms of both temporal and geographical dimensions.
• Discuss the status of cultural survival/ethnic revitalization in relation to contemporary peoples.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the connections between language and culture.
• Apply the biocultural perspective to the study of humanity.
• Explain the need to be culturally literate in a pluralistic society
• Explain the origin of race as a biological concept and why this concept is no longer seen as scientifically
supportable.
• Examine gender issues from a cross-cultural perspective. Discuss the characteristics of a kin-based society.

Anthropology Program Core Learning Outcomes

• Collect information from different types of written sources.
• Present a synthesis of the data they collect in the form of written and/or oral presentations.
• Incorporate a cultural relativistic perspective into all course work.
• Demonstrate how the biocultural model is integral to understanding the world from a holistic perspective.
• Analyze the human condition both in a historical context and from the stance as a global citizen.

Social Sciences-specific Outcomes

• Demonstrate knowledge of a range of facts, terminology, events, and/or methods that social scientists in
various disciplines must possess in order to investigate, analyze or give a history of, or predict human,
group, or societal behavior.
• Demonstrate the ability to apply classifications, principles, generalizations, theories, models, and/or
structures pertinent to social scientific efforts to organize conceptual knowledge in various fields.
• Demonstrate the ability to reach conclusions/make arguments across a range of social science topics that
are tied to a defensible sifting of appropriate evidence relative to the questions involved.
• Demonstrate an understanding and tolerance of the diversity of perspectives, cultural understandings, and
ways of thinking that others bring to bear on social science questions.