Dr. John Ambenge
Tel. 860-343-5810
ANTH 205D Cultural Anthropology SPRING 2008
CRN 1010 Online
Course Description: The course will deal with cross-cultural study of social structure including an analysis of political and economic institutions, marriage and family, marital residence and kinship, sex, gender and culture, religion and magic, and the role of the individual in these institutions. This course fulfills the general education/liberal arts requirements.
Why Cultural Anthropology is important: Cultural anthropology contributes to understanding human beings everywhere. It helps us avoid misunderstandings between peoples everywhere. Exposure to cultural anthropology might help us to alleviate some of the misunderstandings that rise between people of different cultural groups, and as the world becomes increasingly interconnected or globalized, the importance of understanding and trying to respect cultural differences becomes necessary. Furthermore, this course fulfills the general education/liberal arts requirements.
D (Diversity) Course Requirement: The course is meant to foster understanding, open- mindedness and the valuing of others through an appreciation of human differences. This may include race, ethnicity, culture, religion, physical disability as well as class, age, gender, sexual orientation, or other considerations. This requirement mandates that Middlesex students must have had two L courses and one D course by the time they have completed 60 credits.
Course Objectives/Goals: To ensure that students:
1. Think critically about the differences and similarities among human groups (e.g., race, ethnicity, gender, and religion).
2. Understand why people vary culturally and biologically and the role of the environment in shaping culture.
3. Have a basic appreciation for how cultural anthropology draws on the field of linguistic.
4. Understand and appreciate the breadth and diversity of religious beliefs and practices throughout the world.
5. Understand and be able to discuss the psychological impact of racism on both those who are targeted by it and those who perpetuate it.
6. To understand and explain the main reasons why the male supremacist complex is so widespread.
7. Identify and distinguish the differences between anthropology and other social sciences
Course Requirements: Assigned readings must be done thoroughly as the topics will provide the basis for class discussion. Failure to prepare adequately may impede your participation and the ability to benefit fully from the course.
Textbook: Bonvillain,
Weekly Discussion: Students must and are expected to participate in the weekly discussions, while creating a comfortable learning environment regardless of ideological or personal differences of opinion.
NB: Weekly discussion questions are available from Monday 12.00 am to
Sunday 6.00 pm. However, students are expected to post their responses in good
time to give others enough time to respond. Dont wait until very late to make
your submissions. Any submissions after 6.00 pm on Sunday will be late
submissions and therefore a zero grade will be assigned.
Maximum Points: The maximum points a student can earn on any weekly discussion topic is 5 points. And in order to earn the maximum points, a student MUST submit not less than 5 responses on each topic. For more information on scoring, please read the instructions. Failure to submit and/or make contributions as expected will affect your final grade negatively.
Method of Evaluation:
Bi-weekly Tests = 30%
Weekly Discussion (on
Discussion Board) = 25%
Weekly Quizzes = 30%
Final Exam =
15%
Grading System:
95 - 100 = A
90 94 = A-
87 89 = B+
84 86 = B
80 83 = B-
77 79 = C+
74 76 = C
70 73 = C-
67 69 = D+
64 66 = D
60 63 = D-
Below 60 =F
* Do not wait until the last week of the semester to inquire about how not to fail.
Availability: Just because this is an online course does not mean that the instructor has to be available 24/7. However, I will respond to your queries and emails on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. If you send me an email, dont expect to receive a response immediately unless it is on the above days.
Plagiarism:
At
Students found guilty of academic dishonesty will receive a FAILING (F) Grade in the course and could be subjected to further punishment deemed necessary by the college authorities.
Withdrawal from Courses: A student who wishes to withdraw from the course must obtain a withdrawal form from the Records Office, fill in and sign the form, obtain the signature of the course instructor and return the completed form to the Records Office. Please dont ask me over the phone or via email to withdraw you from my class. It is your responsibility to do so by observing the protocol.
Required
Textbook: Bonvillain,
Reading Assignments, Tests, and Exams:
Week 1 What is Anthropology?
01/22 01/27 The Study of Humanity
The Four Subfields of Anthropology
Applied Anthropology
Week 2 The Nature of Culture
01/28 02/03 Characteristics of Culture
Global Culture
Test 1 2/7 2/10
Week 3 Studying Culture
02/04 02/10 Explanation of Cultural Diversity
Ethnography and Fieldwork
The Anthropology of Anthropology
Week 4 Language and Culture
02/11 02/17 The Components of Language
Nonverbal Communication
Linguistic Anthropology
Ethno-semantics
Processes of Language Change
Test 2 2/21 2/24
Week 5 Learning Ones Culture
02/18 02/24 The Process of Enculturation
Informal and Formal Learning
Psychological Anthropology
Deviance and Abnormal Behavior in
Cross-Cultural Perspective
Week 6 Making A living
02/25 03/02 Economic Anthropology
Understanding Human Subsistence Patterns
Foraging, Pastoralism, Horticulture, Agriculture
Subsistence and Culture Change
Test 3 3/06 3/09
Week 7 Economic Systems
03/03 03/09 Economics of Agriculture
Analyzing Economic Systems
Market Economies and Capitalism
Impacts of Colonial Expansion, Industrial, and
Globalization
Comparing Subsistence Strategies
Week 8 Kinship and Descent
03/10 03/16 Kinship & terminology Systems
Matrilineal and Patrilineal Systems
Unilineal Descent Groups
Patterns of Relationships
Patterns of Change
Test 4 3/20 3/23
Week 9 Marriage and the Family
03/17 03/23 Families and Ideal Types
Endogamy, Exogamy, and the Incest Taboo
Forms of Marriage
Marriage as
Patterns of Residence after Marriage
Widowhood and Divorce
03/24 03/29 Spring Recess
Week 10 Genders
03/31 04/06 Sex and Gender
Gender roles and Relations
Gender and Subsistence
Globalization and Gender
Test 5 4/10- 4/13
Week 11 Equality and Inequality
04/07 04/13 Equality, Inequality, and Social Stratification
Caste and Class
Race and ethnicity
Class, Race, Ethnicity, and Ideology in the
American Society
Week
12 Political
Systems & Conflict Resolution
04/14 04/20
Types
of Political Organization
Characteristics
of State Societies
Internal
Political Change and State Societies
Evolutionary
Perspectives on Conflict
Avoiding
Conflict
Witchcraft
and Ritual in Conflict resolution
Patterns
of Family and Community Conflict
Patterns
of conflict between Groups
Test
6 4/24 4/27
Week
13 Religion
04/21 04/27 Spirit Beings and Forces
Religious
Practitioners
Religious
Practice
The
Origins and Functions of Religion
Religion
and Culture Change
Week
14 Colonialism & Cultural Transformation
04/28 05/04 European Colonialism
The
European Slave Trade
Trade
and Settlement in
Spanish
Colonization in the
Agents
of Directed Culture Change
Justification
for Colonial Rule
Reactions
to European Colonizers
Week
15 Living in a Global World
05/05 05/11 Migration: Ethno-genesis and ethnic Identities
Cultural
Minorities in Global World
Legal
Rights and International Recognition
Ecotourism
and Indigenous Lands
5/11-
5/18 FINAL EXAM - Chapters
14, 15, 16, 17
*Students will be duly notified of any changes to the syllabus.