ANTH 216D
CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Fall 2009
TR 1200 - 1350; meets in HSS 327

INSTRUCTOR
Dr. Robin L. Smith
smithr@wou.edu
Phone: 838-8357
Office: HSS 209
Office Hours: MW 1200-1400, R 1600-1700

Note: If you have a disability that might require assistance or accommodations for any aspect of this course, please come and discuss this with me early in the term. You may also contact the Office of Disability Services, at 838-8250 V/TTY, for information about accessibility and accommodations.

DESCRIPTION
Cultural Anthropology is the scientific study of living peoples with the goal of explaining cultural similarities and differences among the diverse groups that compose humankind. In this course we will 1) explore the basic concepts and methods employed by anthropologists, 2) become familiar with several different cultures, 3) and be challenged to apply the insights of anthropology to contemporary problems at home and throughout the world.

TEXTS
Kerttula, Anna M.
2000 Antler on the Sea: The Yup'ik and Chukchi of the Russian Far East. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

Yan, Yunxiang
2003 Private Life under Socialism: Love, Intimacy, and Family Change in a Chinese Village, 1949-1999. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

Barker, Holly M.
2004 Bravo for the Marshallese: Regaining Control in a Post-Nuclear, Post-Colonial World. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thompson Learning.

EVALUATION
1. PREPARATION & PARTICIPATION. Attendance and participation are mandatory. In order to participate, you must prepare by reading the assignments and writing answers to the discussion questions. It is not enough to note page numbers on which relevant information appears, nor simply to copy phrases from the ethnography. Instead, in your own words define and use terms and concepts from the lecture together with information and insights from the ethnography to compose a substantive response. Write or type these reponses directly on your print-out of the study questions. BRING THESE TO CLASS ON DISCUSSION DAYS. BE PREPARED TO SHARE AND TURN IN. 20% total.

2. ESSAYS. Three formal essays are required. Each is a review essay based on one of the ethnographies that also incorporates information from a recent journal article and from lectures. Papers are due as indicated on the schedule; no late papers. Since the essay must reflect ideas presented in class and issues raised in discussion, take notes on lecture, discussion, and films. 20% each, 60% total.

More detailed information is provided in this Essay Guide.

3. FINAL EXAM. An essay style exam that incorporates specific terms and concepts presented in lecture as well as content of films and readings. 20%.

Grades are assigned using the following scale: A = 93-100, A- = 90-92; B+ = 87-89; B = 83-86; B- = 80-82; C+ = 77-79; C = 73-76; C- = 70-72; D+ = 67-69; D = 63-66; D- = 60-62; < 60 = F.

ACADEMIC CULTURE GUIDE

• You are responsible for a grade if your name remains on the Registrar's role past the last drop date, at the end of week 6.
• The "Incomplete" grade is reserved for the rare case in which the student was making satisfactory progress when documented circumstances beyond the student's control caused a significant but discrete portion of the course to remain unfinished at the end of dead week. If this applies to you, speak to me in person as soon as you become aware of a problem. You must negotiate and sign an Incomplete Contract to receive an I.
• I place a high value on academic honesty and expect my students to do the same.  Please ensure you understand the definition of academic dishonesty in the Code of Student Responsibility. I refer apparent cases of academic dishonesty to the Coordinator of Campus Judicial Affairs for ajudication. If you have any questions or concerns about how you have quoted, paraphrased or cited sources, seek my assistance before you submit your work.
  
• Please make wise use of email:
  • use your WOU email address.
  • use the subject line to identify the course and yourself:"ANTH 216 Last Name". 
  • DO NOT send written assignments by email unless specified in the assignment.
  • avoid sending email messages (to anyone) when angry or upset.
  • use office hours, not email, for requests for special accommodations
    
• Cell phones? Please turn them off at the beginning of class

GOALS
I hope that this brief introduction to the anthropological perspective will give you new insights into the many ways human groups enact and express their humanity. Here are some of the questions we will explore:

• What is anthropology and how is it different from other social sciences?
• What do cultural anthropologists do?
• What are some of the ways in which cultural anthropology has changed during the 20th century?
• What is culture?
• How is culture reproduced from generation to generation? How does it change?
• Why are most human groups strongly ethnocentric?
• What factors shape the differences in lifeways we see when different cultures are compared?
• How do human societies regulate their size and the behavior of their members?
• How do insider's and outsider's perspectives on human cultural behavior differ?
• What can or should anthropologists do to influence the direction of cultural change in the world today?
  

SCHEDULE

*You must take the exam at the scheduled time unless you have written permission for an alternate time from the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.