anthropology 2: introduction to cultural anthropology - Cabrillo College

Anthropology 2 - Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
Syllabus - Spring Semester 2006
Sections 49926 (MW 9:30-11:10 a.m. Room 834) and 49927 (TTh 11:10 a.m. -
12:40 p.m. Room 5005)
The last thing a fish would notice would be the water ~ Ralph Linton
Instructor Information
Instructor: Chuck Smith. Office: Room 430A. Office Phone: (831) 477-
5211
Office Hours: MW: 12:45-1:45 p.m.; TTh 9:30-10:40 a.m.; or by appointment
Email: crsmith@cabrillo.edu. I get a lot of junk email - if I don't
recognize the sender's name I delete the message without opening it.
Therefore, if you send me an email put your name, class name AND section
number in the subject box. Course Description
Several years ago someone said to me "anthropology is really just the
pursuit of the exotic by the eccentric". In this class we will evaluate
just what that means and whether it represents an accurate picture of the
anthropological endeavor. For example, are we looking for the "exotic"? Who
do we consider exotic and what do we think of as "normal"? What do
anthropologists do anyway and how do they think about what they are doing?
All of us take for granted certain aspects of everyday life and culture and
the point of this class is to explore just what those assumptions might be
and what they look like. We want to consider cultural norms that are
seemingly different from our own - which can mean, among other things,
female husbands, third and fourth genders, witchcraft as a source of
infertility and HIV, epilepsy as a result of slammed doors and spirit
catchers, the use of fetishes by American baseball players, and so much
more. When we learn about these aspects of life elsewhere we begin to
understand and reflect on our own assumptions about our everyday lives. We
want to be the fish that notice the water! In this course you will be introduced to the basic concepts and findings of
cultural anthropology, the systematic and comparative study of human
cultural diversity across space and time. Cultural anthropology is the
branch of anthropology that primarily deals with living human societies and
their culture, as opposed to archaeology, which attempts to reconstruct
"extinct" societies, or physical anthropology, which studies the biological
side, both past and present, of the human animal. We will touch on these
other fields as well, but our main focus in this course will be human
cultural systems. We will cover a wide variety of topics in this course
that will not only teach us about other peoples and cultures different from
our own, but will also help us to improve our understanding of our own
society and its customs, values and beliefs; each can shed light upon the
other. Topics to be explored include economics and cultural ecology, family
and kinship systems, religion and magic, culture change and adaptation,
language and communication, and legal and political systems. Contemporary international migrations and communications are bringing us
into direct contact with peoples of many regions with different values and
ways of life. We are, accordingly, faced with the challenge of tolerating
and appreciating other cultural perspectives in order to avoid the dismal
alternatives of increased ethnic nationalism, hostility, and violence. Over
the next few months, we'll explore the manifold and often highly
contrastive ways in which humans in different societies have dealt with,
and made sense of, diverse life situations. Along the way, you will learn
to understand and (hopefully) appreciate these differences while
simultaneously gaining new insights into the patterns and dynamics of your
own traditions. Moreover, we will ultimately turn the lens back on
ourselves, deconstructing assumptions about 'normalcy' in order to better
understand and appreciate cultural differences and human commonalities not
only outside but also within our own society. Course Expectations
I expect this course will be a fun challenge. It will be a challenge in the
sense that it will suggest to you alternative ways of being and knowing.
All of which I will stress to you are equally as "valid" (talk to anyone
who has taken any class from me before, you will be really tired of hearing
me say that...guaranteed). It will offer the opportunity to explore what we
and other people think is "normal" and how that is valid, interesting and
the means through which we can investigate those ideas. That is, engaging
with many of these ideas, the challenges they present at times will be
intriguing, unsettling and eye opening. That process should be enjoyable
(even though I know it won't always be!) even if what you are learning
sounds completely bizarre. I expect you to learn to be critical. That does
not mean "critical" in the negative sense, but rather, I expect that by the
end of the semester you are able to look for and uncover the assumptions in
any argument and can evaluate data from other contexts in culturally
relative terms. All knowledge is equally as "truthful" - an often difficult
perspective. You can expect that I am personally committed to teaching that
philosophy and will provide opportunities, materials and my own theoretical
and practical data to that end. Basically, I like to talk about how we tend
to naturalize things in the US and how truths really vary worldwide. I
welcome your own perspectives in various formats. Other things I expect and
you are required to do: * You will attend class (I take it as a contractual agreement that you
will be here when you signed up for it)
* You will attend prepared (same deal as above)
* You will actively participate in class. Participating in and attending
class are really important - you cannot participate if you are not
there! We will talk more about what "participation" in class actually
means (don't worry-I certainly do not expect everyone to speak all the
time, there are myriad ways of participating and this includes
questions I will ask you to answer on paper, reflections, your own
observations outside of class, emails, and the letters I will ask you
to write to me), but do realize that it is an important part of the
grade and I expect you to be active, engaged members of this class
community! I urge you to speak to me if you are concerned about your
participation.)
* You will feel free to come and see me if you are having any
difficulties or just want to talk more about the class, anthropology
or whatever else you need
* You will hand in all assignments on time - I will accept a late paper
but will penalize it accordingly in order to be fair to others (that
means for every day an assignment is due it drops one full grade!)
* You will feel free to voice your insights and simultaneously respect
the freedoms of others to voice theirs (hugely important this one!) 1 urge you to do two things this semester: take advantage of the Writing
Center - learning to craft a well written essay and communicate ideas in a
persuasive manner are cornerstones of anthropology, your education at
Cabrillo College and life itself - they are here to help, use the center.
Secondly, make certain that you understand the Academic Integrity Policy
here at the University. If you are at all uncertain about what counts as
plagiarism please ask - what we learn is grounded in the work of others but
learning to interpret and communicate new ideas based upon that knowledge
and in our own manner is essential Course Objectives
In general, you will be expected to evidence critical, creative, thinking
about the course subject matter during class, in assigned writing
exercises, and on course exams. Successful engagement with class materials
should facilitate your ability to productively participate in cross-
cultural dialogue, and thereby more successfully engage with the
multicultural world in which we live. In addition, by the end of the
semester, you are expected to able to:
. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding regarding the scope of
cultural anthropology.
. Discuss the concept of culture, the systems nature of culture, and
culture's various manifestations as well as examine cultural phenomena
from an anthropological perspective.
. Understand the concept of ethnocentrism, to develop the skills for
recognizing and controlling for ethnocentric biases and for validly
understanding other cultural ways.
. Understand the concept of bio-cultural adaptation.
. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the major theories,
concepts, ethics, and research methods employed by cultural
anthropologists.
. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the evolution of
sociocultural groups from foraging bands to modern multicultural
nation-states.
. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding regarding the impact of
culture and language on human behavior and thought.
. Provide examples of anthropological insights into many facets of human
life, e.g., economic systems, kinship and marriage customs, and global
issues.
. Identify and understand conflicts in multicultural societies.
. Understand that different groups may have different perspectives on
the same historical or contemporary event.
. Effectively utilize computer resources and the Internet to explore the
world of anthropology.
. Effectively utilize anthropological techniques of research for mini-
projects.
. Engage in critical thinking, analysis, and problem solving about
social issues.
. Effectively participate in group interactions involving members of
groups other than their own be it based on ethnicity, nationality,
culture, religion, age, gender, se