ANTHROPOLOGY 100: CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
SPRING SEMESTER 2001
T/TH 1:30-2:45 (section 4); Room 128 EKH; 3 semester hours
INSTRUCTOR: Peter Mills 264 EKH; Email: millspAThawaiiDOTedu
Office Hours: M-11:00-12:00; T/TH 4:30-5:45; W-10:00-11:30; or by appointment.
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course explores human beings from a "cultural" perspective. You will be introduced to the major foundations of cultural anthropology and cover the basic research methodologies employed in the field. I hope to provide you with some understanding of what is unique about cultural anthropology and why it is an important part of the world we live in. Lecture topics will include the history of the field, major current issues, and some practical applications of the discipline. As with any introductory course, you will be given a variety of concepts and terms that form the language of anthropology. We’ll check out some ethnographic films, and hopefully hear from a few guest lecturers on various topics relating to cultural survival in the modern world.
REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS:
Kottak, Philip Conrad
1999 Mirror for Humanity (second edition)
McGraw-Hill, Boston
Shostak, Marjorie
1981 Nisa, Random House, New York.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
There will be two midterms (25% each) a brief outside project (15%) and a final (35%), but no term papers. Some additional readings may be put on reserve in the Library that you will be expected to read. There is no way that you will be able to miss class sessions and do well in this course. While classes will include lectures, I encourage you to ask questions at any time and participate in group discussions. If asking questions in a large group makes you too uncomfortable, please use my office hours. If you have no questions after listening to me tell you a bunch of strange stuff throughout a whole semester, something is terribly wrong. There are no pre-requisites.
STUDENTS WITH DOCUMENTED DISABILITIES:
Any student with a documented disability who would like to request accommodation should contact either the instructor or Barbara Lee in Student Services as early in the semester as possible.
COURSE SCHEDULE
T- Jan. 9- Introduction to the Course
TH- Jan. 11- Collecting “data”
Read Kottak- (Introduction and Chapters 1 and 2)
and Shostak (Introduction)
T- Jan. 16- What makes Humans human?
TH- Jan. 18-Human Evolution, Race, and Ethnicity
Read Kottak Chapter 3
T- Jan 23-The Culture of “Modern” people of the Upper Palaeolithic
TH-Jan. 25-Language and Culture
Read Kottak Chapter 4
T- Jan. 30- Enculturation, culture, and personality
TH- Feb. 1-Gender
Read Kottak Chapter 9
and Shostak Chapters 1 and 2
TERM PROJECT PROPOSALS DUE
T- Feb. 6- Review
TH- Feb. 8- First Midterm
T- Feb. 13- Film- N!ai
Read Kottak-Chapter 5
TH- Feb. 15- Foragers Gatherers/Hunters
T- Feb. 20- Pastoralists, Horticulturalists, and Agriculturalists
TH- Feb. 22- Industrialization and the World System
Read Kottak-Chapter 11
T- Feb. 27-Economic Anthropology and Exchange
Read Kottak-Chapter 5
TH- March 1- Sexual Relations
Read Shostak Chapters 4 and 12
T- March 6-Marriage
Read Kottak-Chapter 6
and Shostak-Chapters 4 and 12
TH- March 8-Understanding Residence Rules in Social Organization
Continue reading Kottak Chapter 6
T- March 13- Kinship and Descent
TH- March 15- Social Stratification
T- March 20- Review
TH- March 22- Second Midterm
T- March 26- Spring Break
TH- March 29- Spring Break
T- April 3- Political Organization-Bands, Tribes, Chiefdoms, and States
Read Kottak- Chapters 7 and 8
TH- April 5- Social Control, Religion, and Warfare
Read Kottak Chapter 10
and Shostak- Chapter 13
T- April 10- Revitalization Movements
TH- April 12- The Invention of Tradition and the Politics of Culture
TERM PROJECTS DUE
T- April 17-Guest Lecture
TH- April 19-Guest Lecture
T- April 24- Cultural Survival
Read Kottak Chapter 12
TH- April 26- Applied Anthropology
Read Kottak Chapter 14
T- May 1- Course Evaluation, Review, and Conclusion
Thursday May 10, 2:00-4:00pm FINAL EXAM
Mini-Ethnography Project Directions
Directions
The purpose of this project is to have you view some aspect of group behavior like an anthropologist. You should pick some place where you can comfortably observe groups interacting for a period of approximately two hours. Examples may be the airport baggage-claim, the Campus Center Cafeteria, a party at one of the residence halls, or off campus, the check-out line at a grocery store, or a Beach Park.
1) Pick some research question that you would like to pay particular attention to, such as: proxemics as they relate to gender, age or ethnicity; kinesics as they relate to gender, age, or ethnicity; gender or age differences in tasks (e.g. who picks up baggage, and who waits); ethnicity and food preferences; or how social class or ethnicity may be expressed through clothing. Be creative, and find something that you’re interested in.
2) Draw a quick sketch of the area you are observing in, and show the general locations and numbers of participants where possible.
3) Write three to five pages (double-spaced and typed) on your observations, and turn in to me on or before April 12 (That is the first Thursday after Spring Break).