Anthropology 111b Culture and Communication Department of Anthropology Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Fall 2013 Course Instructor Dr. Chad Huddleston Office: Peck 0231 Email: chhuddl@siue.edu (please identify which class you are in by time or section) Phone: 6502742 (please identify which class you are in by time or section) Office hours: 1011 M/W; 9.1510.30 T/TH or by appt Course Description Anthropology is the study of human experience in all its diversity. This class will introduce students to a small range of that diversity by focusing on some of the main interests in Anthropology and how anthropologists study those topics. These concepts will be illustrated through various examples from different groups of peoples from around the world. I want you to carefully consider the following themes as they apply to the examples we will be discussing in class: Adaptation: How did these practices help this specific group adapt to their surroundings and conditions? Power: Who has power in this situation? What kind of power is it? How is the situation at hand determined by who has power and the kind of power they have? Have their adaptations helped in the acquisition of power? How so? Change: How have conditions changed over time? How are they changing now? What is making the situation/people change? These themes are important in understanding how people experience the world, why they do the things they do and why situations are the way they are. They will reoccur often in our discussions. Objectives At the conclusion of this course, each student will be able to answer the following questions: What is anthropology and what are some of its key concepts? What is diversity? Why is it important? What is culture? How do people get culture? How do society, politics, economics, and religion affect my daily behavior? How do those topics influence how I see the world? What is globalization? How is it affecting me and other cultures? How does culture change? Why is that important? What is ethnographic technique? How do anthropologists get their data? This class is not based solely on the memorization of facts. You will need to understand and integrate concepts and theories as we progress through the class. These concepts and theories will all be illustrated with ethnographic examples. Many of these examples will come from your
weekly readings. I will explain others during the lecture portion of our class time. The exams will test you on your comprehension of the concepts and theories we will cover. Class will consist of roughly 45 minutes of lecture and a discussion period (this will vary). Several films may be scheduled depending on time available (see below). On these dates, the lecture section may be shorter and discussion may be held after the film, depending on the topic and length of the film. Please feel free to ask question throughout the lecture portion of the class. In order to do well in this class you must attend all scheduled classes. You must also participate in discussions. To properly participate in class you will need to complete the readings before the class for which they are assigned. Your participation grade is determined by attendance and your participation in discussions. Please bring to class any questions you may have while completing the reading. This will help you to understand the material and clarify that understanding by asking questions. Class Expectations 1. Attend classes and be sure to ask questions when you are unclear about a topic. Readings should be done before class so that you are prepared to participate in discussions. You will be graded on class participation. 2. Classroom respect Everyone in the class, including the instructor, is expected to respect others at all times. This is especially important during debates where differences of opinions are discussed. While I want you to voice your opinion in class, that is no excuse to be disruptive. 3. Students that interfere with the class through disruptive behavior will be asked to leave the class. Disruptive behavior includes talking, eating (snacks are allowed within reason a whole meal is not) and most especially cell phones. Turn off your phone or other devices before class begins this includes texting. 4. Late papers will not be accepted without medical explanation. 5. There will be no make up tests. 6. Cheating is unacceptable and will result in failure. Plagiarism is a form of cheating and will result in a failing grade in the class. It will also be reported to the Provost, which may result in expulsion from the University. 7. If you require special accommodations please tell me immediately so that we can discuss how to best meet your needs. 8. If you have any concerns about the class or your assignments please come see me. Do not wait until it is too late. 9. Any exception to these policies must be discussed with me in advance to action Class Attendance You must attend all class meetings to get full participation marks, unless otherwise excused by the instructor. If you miss class, it is your responsibility to get notes from another student. Excessive tardiness will cause a reduction in your attendance grade. Class Participation Discussion will make up some part of each class period. I expect each student to participate in the discussions throughout the semester. Participation means asking questions, answering a question, or making a comment. I hope that we can have lively discussions and debates as that is the best way to get an indepth understanding of the different aspects to some of these issues.
The only way to get full participation points is to be in class and actively engaged asking questions, answering questions, taking part in discussions. Anything less will result in less than full points. Showing up to class and signing the attendance sheet does not ensure full participation points. Communication The best way to reach me, besides after class and during office hours, is by email. Please use the email address listed above. If you send me a message, I will respond as soon as possible. Please note: I will ALWAYS respond. If you do not receive a response within 24 hours (usually much sooner), then you can assume that I did not receive your email. This is especially important if you are emailing assignments. Email issues are not an excuse for late assignments. If necessary, send me a test email before the assignment is due to make sure I will receive it. THE EXCEPTION: I do not have email at home. If you email me over the weekend (Friday after 2pm through Sunday night), please know that I will likely not get your message until Monday morning. Please take this into consideration when emailing. Exams There will be four exams. Each exam will only cover the material (readings, lectures, films) in that section since the last exam. The final may revisit some of the key questions throughout the course. There will be a review before each exam. There is NO cumulative final for this class. Exams will be made up of multiple choice and matching. YOU must provide one 8 ½ x 11 scantron sheet for the exams (the blue one). They are available at the front counter in the bookstore in MUC. If the Bookstore is closed, you can get them at the little shop across the hall from the Bookstore. Makeup exams will be given only under real and extenuating circumstances. You MUST contact me within 24 hours of the scheduled exam. A documented excuse is required in addition to approval by the instructor. Do not assume you can just take a makeup. All effort must be made on your part to contact me as soon as the situation develops and you are responsible for scheduling the makeup. Makeup exams will be primarily essay. No cheating will be tolerated. Assignments You will write one paper for this class. Anthropology is a writing discipline. Writing is a way to get a thorough understanding of particular concepts by applying them. For this essay you will be choosing a social practice or cultural belief in your own culture to describe and analyze. This will require you to first describe the practice or belief relativistically and then crossculturally. These terms will be explained in class. You will need to turn in a short proposal a couple of sentences so that I can make sure you have a feasible topic. The paper will be 1000 words in length, typed, 1.5 spaced and submitted on the day due or before. Your paper will be graded on content. You are required to have two paper (or its online version) academic references in this essay. Any web reference must be academic in nature (i.e. not from About.com, Wikipedia, etc). We will cover this in class and a guide will be posted on Blackboard. You will also complete a fieldwork assignment. You will record your trash for one week, writing a report on the patterns you find. We will discuss this in class and information explaining the assignment will be posted in Blackboard.
Late assignments will get fewer points: 1 day = 3 points, 2 days = 5 points, 3 days = 7 points. If you have not turned the assignment in by the 3 rd day, I will not accept it. Inclass assignments We may have a number of inclass assignments that will be based on the topics for the day. We will discuss these as they come up on the syllabus. These will be individual and small group assignments Required Texts These texts are required and available in the Campus bookstore: Podolefsky, Aaron, Peter J Brown, and Scott Lacy, eds 2012 Applying Anthropology. 10 th edition. McGrawHill: Boston. Robbins, Richard and Rachel Dowty 2012 Cultural ANTHRO2. 2 nd edition. Wadsworth: Belmont. Other readings may be posted on Blackboard. These will be announced in class in advance. Evaluation Assessment in this course will be based on five factors: Class Participation 100 pts Fieldwork Assignment 100 pts Paper 75 pts Proposal and Works Cited 25 pts Exams 100 pts each (total for 4 this may change) This is a total of 700 points (depending on the number of exams). I will use a straight scale for grading all pieces of assessment. A = 10090%; B = 8980%; C = 7970%; D = 6960%; F = 590% I reserve the right to add assignments and to change the assessment points for this class. BLACKBOARD: This is a course web site that will be used as a closed interactive environment for the students and instructor of this class. Many useful items will be available throughout the semester on this site including: grades (broken down by item), exam study guides, and writing assignment criteria. You will find it a useful tool for the duration of the semester, especially for monitoring your course progress. The web address for this is: http://bb.siue.edu. You then click Log in. A window will come up asking for your ID and Password. Example: student s SIUE email address is atorrel@siue.edu. That would make her ID=atorrel. The Password is the same as for your SIUE email account. Then click ANTH111B_(section number) Human Culture & Communication." If you are having any trouble, check out http://www.library.siue.edu/ftc/blackboard/support/student.htm for assistance. DISABILITY SUPPORT SERVICES: Students with disabilities will be happily accommodated, but all arrangements must be made through Disability Support Services office located in Student Success Center, room 1270, and the student must present to me his or her ID CARD. If the student must take an exam at DSS, a
DSS Test Release Form must be given to me by the student during the class period prior to the exam. CHEATING AND PLAGIARISM: Cheating and plagiarism of any kind will not be tolerated. During all exams and quizzes ALL portable electronic devices (i.e. cell phones, laptops, ipods, etc) MUST be turned off AND put away. If you are found with an accessible device it will be considered cheating; no exceptions. Plagiarism includes either presenting someone else s words without quotation marks (even if you cite the source) or presenting someone else s ideas without citing that source. If you plagiarize, your instructor cannot evaluate your understanding of the topic. When paraphrasing from another source, at the very least the student should change the wording, sentence syntax, and order of ideas presented in the paper. Ideally, the student will integrate ideas from multiple sources while providing critical commentary on the topic in a way that clearly identifies whether words and ideas are those of the student or are from another source. University policy states that Normally a student who plagiarizes shall receive a grade of F in the course in which the act occurs. The offense shall also be reported to the Provost. (http://www.siue.edu/policies/1i6.html). The University policy discusses additional academic sanctions including suspension and expulsion from the University. FINAL NOTE: I am here to help YOU learn about anthropology. We will be covering many diverse topics having to do with anthropology this semester. Some you may find more difficult than others. PLEASE do not let a bit of confusion or a particular topic get you frustrated or upset. Come and talk with me and if I can t help, I ll find someone who can.
Schedule The readings listed for the week should be read prior to class that week. This schedule is subject to modification. CA2 = Cultural ANTHRO2 AA = Applying Anthropology Date Topic Required Reading for week 08/19 Introduction and Syllabus What is Anthropology? 08/23 AA 29 and 30 and 47 08/26 08/30 09/02 09/06 09/09 09/13 09/16 09/20 09/23 09/27 09/30 10/04 10/07 10/11 10/14 10/18 10/21 10/25 10/28 11/01 11/04 11/08 How do we learn about Culture? Methods and Founders AA 1 CA2 Ch 1 Monday No Class Why is modern Language so important? AA 24 and 28 Language continued AA 27 Review for Exam Exam 1 How do we get our identities? CA2 Ch 6 Is Gender the same as sex? How is Ethnicity different from Race? AA 36 and 38 AA 8 How are families organized around the world? AA 6 and CA2 Ch 5 Trash Assignment Due Friday How do people make a living? AA 31 and 35 CA2 Ch 3 Exam 2 Review for Exam Proposal Due Friday Why are politics so important? Where did it come from? FILM: Out of the Past Collapse What is Religion? What is magic? FILM: Exam 3 How did Colonialism change the world? What is development? What is Globalization? Is it good or bad? How do groups survive it? Film: Mardi Gras 11/11 Film con t Tba AA 7 and 18 CA2 Ch 4 Review for Exam AA 49 AA 48 and 50 CA2 Ch 2 and Ch 7
Is anthropology another form of colonialism or 11/15 globalization? 11/18 Is all Violence like on tv? Film: 11/15 11/18 Wed: tba 11/22 Fri: tba 11/25 Thanksgiving Break 11/29 12/02 Conclusion and Review 12/06 12/09 Finals Week Papers Due Friday CA2 Ch 8