ANTHROPOLOGY: CULTURAL DIFFERENCE
Instructor: Coleman Nye
Email: alice.nye@salve.edu
Meeting Times: Tuesday and Thursday 4:15-5:30
Location: O’Hare 114
Office Hours: Tuesday 1:30-2:30, Antone 206 and by appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Anthropology is the study of humans – our biology and physiology, our behavior and psychology, our language and technology, our history and social organization, our systems of value and exchange, our belief systems and political formations – and how these traits change over time and across space. The aim of this course is to give students the theoretical and methodological tools necessary to examine human culture and biology in all of its variation. Over the course of the semester, students will work across the four subfields of anthropology -- Cultural Anthropology, Linguistic Anthropology, Physical Anthropology, and Archaeology -- to develop a critical understanding of such diverse topics as the origin and timing of human evolution, what trash can tell us about ourselves, the relation between culture and sexual diversity, and the effects of globalization on health.
COURSE MATERIALS
Required Text:
Bourgois, Phillippe and Jeff Schonberg. 2009. Righteous Dopefiend. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Course Readings:
PDF’s of all other readings will be made available on the course website: http://anthropologyculturaldifference.blogspot.com. If this format does not end up working, pdf’s are also available as e-reserves on the McKillop Library website: http://library.uri.edu/search/r?SEARCH=soa130.
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GRADING BREAKDOWN
Class Participation and Attendance 10%
In-Class Group Presentation 10%
Weekly Writing Assignment 20%
Midterm Paper 25%
Midterm Paper 25%
Final Exam 35%
COURSE EVALUATION CRITERIA
Class Participation and Attendance (10%)
Attendance is mandatory and I will take role in each class. You are allowed two absences. Any additional absences will count against your final grade unless they are excused. In order to get an absence excused, you must provide a note from a doctor or the dean. Come to class ON TIME. Consistent lateness will count as absence.
You will be graded on class participation. Your participation grade will be reflected in evidence that you come to class prepared, having thoroughly read the assigned materials, and that you make valuable contributions to discussions and provide useful feedback during group presentations. I will start giving pop quizzes on the readings if I feel that students are not coming to class prepared.
In-Class Group Presentation (10%):
You will divided into small groups. Your group will be responsible for giving a 10-15 minute presentation related to a project or prompt provided by the professor a week before your assigned day. Your presentation should be designed to generate discussion about the themes, concepts, and arguments brought up by the project/prompt as it relates to the assigned set of readings. If there is more than one reading assigned for the day, you can focus on one text. The goal of this presentation is to demonstrate that you
(1) can understand and synthesize an argument
(2) that you can apply and develop the concepts and/or methods put forth in the reading(s) (3) that you can present this to the class in a clear and interesting way that stimulates discussion.
You are welcome to use audiovisual materials to support your presentation. If you choose to do so, you must let me know 48 hours in advance.
Weekly Writing Assignment (20%):
Once per week beginning on Week 2, you will be required to send a written response to the assigned readings to me via email. Your paper should be roughly 200-300 words long (about one page double-spaced). This should be posted by 2pm on the day class meets. Unless you are given other instructions by me (an explicit assignment or question under the assignment section of the blog), your discussion post should do two things:
(1) give a short description of the key points made in one of the assigned readings in your own words (3-4 sentences)
(2) raise a set of questions, comments, or connections around the day’s assigned materials (3-4 sentences). You are also encouraged to include links to relevant news or media items that relate to the day’s topic and will stimulate a class discussion.
You are allowed to miss one post without penalty. Any more than one missed post will significantly reduce your grade. If you submit all of your reading responses, you can get full credit. I am not grading these; I am only making sure that you are making a consistent effort to engage with the readings.
On the week that you are giving a presentation, you are not required to submit a blog post.
Midterm Paper (25%)
5 pages, due Monday 10/10
Final Exam (35%)
***The instructor reserves the right to make revisions to the syllabus during the course of the semester.
OTHER GUIDELINES
Communication
Office hours and email are the best way to reach me. I will try my best to respond to your emails in a reasonable amount of time but please understand that this might be several hours and if you email me late at night it might not be until the next day. Please do not email me crucially important questions at 2am the night before an assignment is due. I will not respond.
Writing
Like any skill, articulating your thoughts clearly and concisely in text requires rigorous practice. Successful discussion posts and papers show original thought, make a clear argument, and use the texts to support a viewpoint. It is best to write about a single theme in depth, rather than mention a series of concerns. I will offer constructive suggestions about both the content and style of your writing assignments. I also encourage you to make use of other resources such as the Writing Center.
