COURSE NUMBER: ANT 140


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ANT 140

I. TITLE: Introduction to Cultural Anthropology

II. CATALOG DESCRIPTION: A survey of diverse ways human societies are organized with an analysis of how cultures meet the common and distinctive needs of these societies, with emphasis placed upon non-literate peoples.

III. PURPOSE: The course will survey the major branches and some sub areas of cultural anthropology through an examination of data from the studies of primitives, peasants and urbanites that represent a cross cultural sample of world societies. The major methodology used in the field is ethnography, and it will be utilized as a technique for exploring the view of the world held by those being studied. A number of ethnographic investigations will be read and interpreted by the class.

Characteristic number six is addressed because it also reflects a basic premise in the field of cultural anthropology, namely that the use of cross cultural comparisons (equated with “cultural diversity”) is fundamental to the way that the discipline has approached its subject matter dating back to its inception in the late 19th century. Cultural anthropology has always sought to comprehend the nature of the basic institutional structures of non-western societies (“international perspective”) on a comparative basis. The dominant emphasis in the course on ethnographic methodology (characteristic number two: “scientific methodology”) stresses the most utilized technique cultural anthropologists employ to collect data. In addition, students are instructed on how to apply standard tools of analysis in the evaluation of ethnographic studies.

IV. COURSE OBJECTIVES:
A. Students will develop skills necessary to understand and utilize the basic concepts in cultural anthropology, especially related to theories of culture and culture change, the intellectual history of the main conceptual frameworks and the key methodologies employed in the discipline.

B. A central goal will be to introduce students to a sample of ethnographic studies conducted on primitives, peasants and urbanites in order to explain the parts of the methodology, such as participant observation. It will be important for students to be able to explain the methodologies used in a variety of settings, and to be capable of evaluating cultural studies according to some of the standards used in the profession.

C. The elements of critical thinking will be stressed throughout the course. These elements include asking the following questions where they apply: What theoretical orientation is being used to explain the data? What are the political and social biases of the sources of information? How old is the data, and is it relevant to the case in question? How was the data collected (ethnography, survey methods, historical records)?

In the area of “skills development” critical thinking is emphasized. This element is routinely integrated into a number of areas in the course. In the journal review assignment, the student must address the stated and unstated biases of the ethnographer. In the textbook chapter on historical development of theories in cultural anthropology, each theory is discussed in the context of its place in the intellectual history of the discipline, and what fieldwork techniques were the standard at this given point in time--to mention two illustrations.

D. The structure and dynamics of American culture will be examined by employing cross cultural comparisons, especially ones that exist outside the western world. Students will be encouraged to reflect on attitudes and behaviors that are subtle, often existing below the level of consciousness, such as prescriptions about how far to stand when interacting with different categories of people (strangers vs. intimates).

V. CONTENT OUTLINE (a partial list)

READINGS CLASS TOPICS

Chapter 1 (mt*) Introduction to Field of Anthropology
“Nature of Anthropology”, “Going Native”

Chapter 2 (mt) Ethnographic Method
‘Fieldwork in Home Countries,” “Doing Fieldwork Among the Yanomamo,” “Studying Crack in Spanish Harlem,”
“Going Native: In the Field with Native Americans”

Chapter 3 (mt) The Nature of Culture
“Cargo Inventories, Shipping List and Desire,” “The Anthropologist as Mother: Culture of Childbirth,”
“Learning How to Bribe a Policeman”

Chapter 4 (mt) Culture Change
“The Ugly American Revisited,” “In the Disaster Zone—Anthropologists and the Ambiguity of Aid,” “A New World
Dilemma: the Indian question in the Americas”

Chapter 6 (mt) Kinship and Marriage
“Is the Female Husband a Man?”, Why Migrant Women Feed their Husbands Tamales,” “Kinship, Fieldwork and
Understanding Matrilineal Descent”

*mt = main textbook

VI. INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES
Students are required to read the assigned material before it is scheduled for discussion in class. Class lectures
stress reading the assigned material before it is discussed in class inasmuch as material in the readings are rearranged, outside material is included in every lecture, and students are rewarded if they respond in class. Unannounced quizzes are also given on some class periods. In addition, students are required to participate in one panel discussion with approximately five to seven fellow students.

Each student is required to produce two journal article reviews. The articles must deal with some aspect of cultural anthropology and be selected from one of six designated journals. An outline is provided and explained in class. Some of the items on the outline include: noting the biases of the author if possible, a step-by-step account of the author’s argument, and a discussion of the contribution the article makes to the field of cultural anthropology.

While this course is an introduction to the field, a significant amount of reading is required. The tests include a fair amount of essay questions that place an emphasis on defining operational terms and being able to explain and use appropriate examples and not conflise the latter mentioned items. The ethnographic material has to be interpreted in the context of the application of selected theory and concepts. Students are discouraged from “just telling the story” of some lone anthropologist in the field.

All students are required to participate in a field work experience through the use of computer simulation. They have the opportunity to make certain key decisions by using a computer program that simulates a fieldwork experience in a society outside the western world. Each student must also write a scaled down version of the ethnographic study depicted in the computer simulation.

VII. FIELD, CLINICAL, AND LABORATORY EXPERIENCES
Students will be required to work in the archaeology laboratory for one hour in order to develop a feel for what anthropologists in this area do in actual practice. For extra credit, students can participate in a weekend dig or participate in one of a number of programs at our facility at Wickliffe Mounds.

VIII. GRADING PROCEDURES
15 points 3 quizzes
5 oral report
20 2 journal article reviews
20 midterm exam
40 final exam

Examinations will consist of objective and essay questions. Objective questions will include term identifications, matching and fill-in-the-blank. The essay questions are very specific, requiring operational terms to be defined within the context of the essay questions and discussion of positions taken in the readings and in class lectures.

Specificity is highly encouraged. The application of theory to ethnographic data is
included as a general strategy throughout the essay testing experience. The final exam is comprehensive and includes primarily essay questions.

IX. ATTENDANCE POLICY
Regular attendance at all class sessions is highly recommended because each class session will include outside material and because of the rearrangement of information in the readings. The effectiveness of class notes will certainly be affected by consistent missing of class sessions. Students will be permitted three unexcused absences; each additional absence will result in 4 points being subtracted from the total score. Documented excuses will not count against the student. Such excuses must be presented within 24 hours of the missed class session.

X. ACADEMIC HONESTY POLICY
Each student is responsible for being familiar with College of Humanistic Studies Academic Integrity Policy on cheating. This document can be obtained from the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work, the office of the College of Humanistic Studies, and on the College of Humanistic Studies homepage. Any studentcaught cheating will fail the course.

XI. TEXT AND REFERENCES
Ember, Carol, and Melvin Ember. Cultural Anthropology. 7th ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Prentice Hall, 1994.
Gordon, Robert, ed. Talking About People. New York: Mayfield Publishers, 1996.
Occasionally other articles are added to the readings, depending on such factors as
the direction of class discussions and student interest in a given topic.

XII. PREREQUISITES: None

Last updated February 8, 2000. Designed and maintained by Kyosung Koo

READINGS	CLASS TOPICS
Chapter 1 (mt*)	Introduction to Field of Anthropology “Nature of Anthropology”, “Going Native”
Chapter 2 (mt)	Ethnographic Method ‘Fieldwork in Home Countries,” “Doing Fieldwork Among the Yanomamo,” “Studying Crack in Spanish Harlem,” “Going Native: In the Field with Native Americans”
Chapter 3 (mt)	The Nature of Culture “Cargo Inventories, Shipping List and Desire,” “The Anthropologist as Mother: Culture of Childbirth,” “Learning How to Bribe a Policeman”
Chapter 4 (mt)	Culture Change “The Ugly American Revisited,” “In the Disaster Zone—Anthropologists and the Ambiguity of Aid,” “A New World Dilemma: the Indian question in the Americas”
Chapter 6 (mt)	Kinship and Marriage “Is the Female Husband a Man?”, Why Migrant Women Feed their Husbands Tamales,” “Kinship, Fieldwork and Understanding Matrilineal Descent”