Introduction to Cultural Anthropology - Fall 2014 Dr. Ather Zia [email protected] ; 970-351-2153 Candelaria Hall 83 Office Hours: Monday, Wednesday & Friday 1:15 – 2:15 & Friday 9-11 or by appointment ANT 110-10053 - 12:20 -01:10; M-W-F; Candelaria 2220 Final Exam & & Final Assignment: December 8 2014 at 1:30pm 4:00pm ANT 110-10054 - 02:30 -03:20; M-W-F, Michener L0108 Final Exam & Final Assignment: December 10 2014 at 1:30pm 4:00pm Pre-requisite: An Open Mind Course Description This course introduces students to the field of sociocultural anthropology—the study of human cultures in their diversity and variation. For the most part, this class while understanding the past will direct its attention to contemporary societies and cultures. It examines a diverse range of issues, from the diversity of cultures, local biologies, gender & kinship, identity and difference, war and peace, gender, identity and human rights, to name just a few. The aim of this course is not to provide a collection of facts about these topics, but to expose students to some of the core concepts of anthropology like fieldwork and ethnography, and questions that guide sociocultural anthropological understandings of contemporary human societies. At the end of the course, you should be able to “think anthropologically” as you reflect on other cultures, as well as your own. Another important component of this course is to make you grasp the wonderful implications of making Anthropology your major and a future career. Grading Policies Attendance Midterm Essay Two Quizzes Final exam 10 points 25 points 25 points 10 points 30 points Evaluations are based on UNC grading system: 100-97% = A; 96-93% = A-; 92-89% = B+; 88-85% = B; 84-81% = B-; 80-77% = C+; 76-73% = C; 72-69% = C-; 68-66% = D+; 65-63% = D; 62-60%= D-; Below 60% = F Attendance & Class participation (10 points) Your attendance and participation in all lectures is mandatory. There should be no unexcused absences. I will do a roll call for the first few weeks and then randomly take attendance. I look forward to your spirited participation in the class discussions. Assignment (25 points) Students are required to conduct a 3-part ethnographic research project. This assignment is designed to assess your grasp of the core concepts of anthropology in a phased manner. A rubric will be provided in class for completing this assignment. Part 1 – 7 points/500 words/ submit 26th September Part 2 – 7 points/500-1000 words/submit 31st October Part 3 -.16 points/1000-1500/ submit in class before or after the Final Exam Midterm Exam (30 points) There will be a midterm examination during regular lecture time on 24th October 2014. It will consist of multiple choice questions only. Please note the date of the exam and clear your schedule now so you will be able to take it. There will be no early, make-up or late exams for the midterm. You DO need a scantron form. Final exam (30 points) Your final, comprehensive final exam will consist of short-answer, and multiple-choice questions. You will need a scantron form and a bluebook for the final. No early final examinations before the scheduled date and time will be allowed; plan your travel arrangements accordingly. In case of unforeseen emergency please come see me! Quizzes (5 points each) There will be two unannounced quizzes based on lecture and reading materials. Course materials In addition to articles which will be posted on the course website both of these books and readings are important to meet our course objectives.  Delaney, Carol. Investigating Culture: An Experiential Introduction to Anthropology. Oxford: Blackwell, 2004 (Abbreviation “IC”)  Mead, M. 1963. Sex and temperament in three primitive societies. New York: William Morrow. (Abbreviation “MM”) Reading Resources Additional reading is posted on the class website. Several readings are available online via the Library website and AnthroSource, the American Anthropological Association’s online collection of journal articles. You must access AnthroSource to download these articles. One of the course objectives is to teach you how to use AnthroSource, and we will show you how to do so during lecture. Improving Reading You might sometimes think the assigned readings for this class are excessive and I might agree with you. However, if you check the schedule of weeks closely you will find that readings are spread throughout the semester and each class is complemented by one reading, which is a realistic reading load for the average college student. One very important thing that we will focus upon during the lectures is how to read smartly and quickly. I will be providing handouts and exercises for achieving better reading skills. Making Anthropology your major and a future career What Do Anthropologists Do? What kinds of jobs are available to anthropologists? Is anthropology for me? What after getting Anthropology major? These are some important questions we will explore together throughout the semester. I have included three special classes that will be dedicated to understanding and exploring Anthropology as a major or a future career. We will learn about the scope of contemporary Anthropology as a fulfilling career, and acquire tools for breaking into the field, like how to write cover-letters, get internships or find your way to studying anthropology in grad school. Please bookmark websites: American Anthropological Association (AAA) at http://www.aaanet.org/resources/students/ More on careers in anthropology: http://www.aaanet.org/profdev/careers/index.cfm and http://www.thisisanthropology.com/index.cfm Email I will use email often for a variety of reasons including but not limited to, sending information about changes in the weeks agenda, notifying students about an exercise, and maintaining contact with students. I encourage students to use email if they want more information about something mentioned in lecture, if they have a question about lecture material and assignments or if they have something to say about the day’s lecture or film. I will respond quickly to your emails and will only use your university designated email. If you have another email account, it is your responsibility to see to it that the mail in your other mailbox is forward to your University e-mail. Look for instructions for forwarding email on the blackboard or ask for technical help. I suggest you check your email mailbox at least three times a week. Student Code of Conduct All students are expected to adhere to the University’s Student Code of Conduct, designed to promote a safe and respectful learning environment. For more information about your rights and responsibilities as a UNC student see http://www.unco.edu/dos/honor_code/index.html Academic Integrity: Plagiarism/Consequences It is expected that members of this class will observe strict policies of academic honesty and will be respectful of each other. Any instances in which cheating, including plagiarism and unauthorized use of copyrighted materials, computer accounts, or someone else’s work is determined, will be referred to Student Services and will be investigated to its full extent. For more on definition of plagiarism and examples please visit: http://www.unco.edu/dos/honor_code/understanding_plagiarism.html Students with disabilities Any student requesting disability accommodation please inform immediately giving appropriate notice. Students are encouraged to contact Disability Support Services at (970) 351-2289 to certify documentation of disability and to ensure appropriate accommodations are implemented in a timely manner. Schedule of Classes Assignments and Readings are subject to change WEEK 1: Origins & History of Anthropology Readings for August  25: Introductions & Mechanics  27: Franz Boas, “The Aims of Anthropological Research,” in Race, Language, and Culture, Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1940; orig. publ. 1888; pp. 243-259. o Special lecture component: Why Anthropology as a major and a career? Part I o In class: video excerpts from Stories from the Jungle  29: IC, Chapter 1 pp. 25-31 -Laura Bohannan, “Shakespeare in the bush” o In class: video excerpts from Stories from the Jungle o Begin reading MM- Introduction by Helen Fischer pages i-xxxi WEEK 2: Culture and Diversity Readings for 1/3/5 September  1: Boas, Franz. “Race and Progress” in in Race, Language, and Culture, Franz Boas (Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1940); orig. publ. 1888  3: Regna Darnell, History of Anthropology in Historical Perspective, Ann. Rev. Anthropology 1977. 6:399-417  5: Steven J. Gould: The Mismeasure of Man o Finish reading MM- Introduction WEEK 3: Diversity of Cultures Readings September  8: Benedict, Ruth. “The Diversity of Cultures”  10: Geertz, Clifford J. The Impact of the Concept of Culture on the Concept of Man, in Delaney, pp. 410-422.  12: Malkki, Lisa. “National Geographic: The Rooting of Peoples and the Territorialization of Nation Identity among Scholars and Refugees” o Begin Reading MM -Part 1, page 1 - 24 WEEK 4: Fieldwork and Ethnography Readings for September  15: Chapter 1 The Subject, Method and Scope of this Inquiry from Malinowski, Bronislaw. 1922. Argonauts of the Western Pacific; an account of native enterprise and adventure in the archipelagoes of Melanesian New Guinea. New York: Dutton, 1961 & In class: video excerpts from Stories from the Jungle o Begin thinking about your ethnography project  17: The Social Scientist as Author: Clifford Geertz on Ethnography and Social Construction, Gary B Olson,  19: Why Anthropology as a major and a career? Part II o Read MM - Part I, pg. 24-44 WEEK 5: Local Biologies Readings for September  22: Delaney, Chapter Six  24:Emily Martin: The woman in the body  26: MM-Part I, pg. 44-74 o Submit part 1 of Assignment WEEK 6: Gender & Kinship Readings for September/October  29: IC, Chapter 5 - pg 209-222 (optional): Read 222-227, A.M. Hocart, Kinship Systems  1: holiday  3: Milton Kay, 1979, Male Bias in Anthropology, Man, New Series, Vol. 14, No. 1 WEEK 7: Identity and Difference Readings for October  6: Emily Martin “The Egg and the Sperm”  8: Ortner, Sherry B. 1974. Is female to male as nature is to culture? In M. Z. Rosaldo and L. Lamphere (eds), Woman, culture, and society. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, pp. 68-87.  10: IC, Chapter 8 o Begin MM Section 2 WEEK 8: Identity and Difference (continued) Readings for October  13: Worthman Carol, 1995, Hormone, Sex and Gender, Annu. Review of Anthropology 1995.24:593-616  15: Conley, Robin. 2008. “At the Time She Was a Man”:The Temporal Dimension of Identity Construction. PoLAR  17: Film screening Navajo: Four Sexes WEEK 9 -- Midterm Readings for October  20:Continue Reading MM Section 2  22: Review  24: Midterm Test WEEK 10: Anthropology in War and Peace Readings for October  27: Aretxaga, Begoña. “Dirty Protest: Symbolic Overdetermination and Gender in Northern: Ireland Ethnic Violence”  29: Farmer, Paul. “On Suffering and Structural Violence”  31: Finish Reading MM Section 2 o Submit part 2 of Assignment WEEK 11: Anthropology on ground Readings for November  3: Scheper-Hughes Nancy, 1995, The Primacy of the Ethical: Propositions for a Militant Anthropology Current Anthropology, Vol. 36, No. 3  5: Engle, Sally Engle, 2001, Changing rights, changing culture. In Cowan, Jane K. MarieBenedicte, Dembour, and Richard A.Wilson (eds.) Culture and Rights: Anthropological Perspectives. New York: Cambridge University Press.  7: Margaret Mead Section 3 WEEK 12: Anthropology of Human Rights Readings for November  10: 2000 Talal Asad What Do Human Rights Do? An Anthropological Enquiry  12: 2003 "Human Rights Law and the Demonization of Culture (And Anthropology Along the Way)” Polar: Political and Legal Anthropology Review 26:1: 55-77.  14: Read Section 3 MM WEEK 13: Feminist Anthropology Readings for November  17: 2002 Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving American Anthropologist104(3)  19: Das Veena, 2008 Violence, Gender, and Subjectivity, Annual Review of Anthropology, Vol. 37: 283-299  21: De Mel N. 2003 Agent or victim? The Sri Lankan woman militant in the interregnum. In Feminists Under Fire: Exchanges Across War Zones, ed. W Giles, M de Alwis, E Klein, N Silva, WEEK 15: Feminist Anthropology (continued) Readings for November  24: 2006. Human rights and gender violence: Translating international law into local justice. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. o Special lecture component: Why Anthropology as a major and a career? Part II  26-30 : Thanksgiving break WEEK 16: Anthropology and the Wider World Readings for December  1: Behar, Ruth. 2008. “The Anthropologist’s Son.” Chronicle of Higher Education, Finish Reading MM  3rd December – Fieldwork  5th December – TBA  WEEK 16 – Finals Week  Final Exam & Final Assignment due