ANT-1010-VT01 - Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
Synonym: 183564
Location: Brattleboro
Credits: 3 (45 hours)
Day/Times: Tuesday & Thursday,
02:15P - 03:40P
Semester Dates: 09-03-2019 to 12-12-2019
Last day to drop without a grade: 09-23-2019 - Refund Policy
Last day to withdraw (W grade): 11-04-2019 - Refund Policy
Faculty: Ananda Forest
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View Faculty Credentials
Materials/Lab Fees: $5.00
This course has started, please contact the offering academic center about registration
Comments: No class 11/28.
Course Description:
This course is a survey of basic issues, concepts, theories, and methods of cultural anthropology. Students think critically about the nature of culture and society from the perspective of the past and the present. Topics include social and political organization, gender, myth and religion, language, adaptation, and cultural change.
Essential Objectives:
The successful student will be able to:
1. Describe the origin and development of anthropology as a social science and as a humanities field, the subject matter it includes, and how anthropology is related to other disciplines.
2. Explain and apply key anthropological concepts, including culture, ethnocentrism, cultural relativism, adaptive strategies, agency, social stratification, magic, ritual, cultural change, and world-view.
3. Discuss the application of quantitative and qualitative anthropological methods to the study of human culture, and examine the relationship between method and theory.
4. Describe the development of anthropological theories such as cultural evolution, structural functionalism, cultural ecology, and symbolic interactionism, and understand how current theoretical approaches are used to explain cultural phenomena.
5. Examine the role and importance of fieldwork in cultural anthropology and discuss ethical conduct within the discipline.
6. Discuss the diversity of humans past and present by identifying differences, similarities, and interrelationships among individuals, cultures, and societies.
7. Apply basic anthropological concepts to better understand and respect the characteristics of unfamiliar cultures, and critically examine aspects of familiar cultures.
8. Describe the various roles that cultural anthropologists play in today's world, and give examples of current research questions and applied cultural anthropology in business, medicine, education, development, and advocacy.
Textbooks:
Fall 2019 textbook data will be available on May 13.
On that date a link will be available below that will take you to eCampus, CCV's bookstore. The information provided there will be for this course only. Please see this page for more information regarding the purchase of textbooks.
Methods:
--Readings in current editions of the texts: JIVARO: People of the Sacred Waterfall by Michael Harner; The Forest People by Colin Turnbull; The World is as You Dream It, by John Perkins;
--Lectures by instructor.
--Group discussion of assigned readings.
--Weekly journal.
--Films
--Fieldwork project
--Reading quizzes.
--Midterm examination.
--Experiential exercises: fieldwork, shamanic journey.
--Although the field of anthropology grew out of cultural imperialism ("Look at what these weird savages are doing!"), it has evolved into an incredible study of human wisdom ("Look at all the amazing ways humans make sense of reality!"). Perhaps the greatest teaching of anthropology is that there is no "one" or "right" way of doing things. In this time of increasing chaos and social breakdown, the wisdom of other, more earth-connected cultures becomes increasingly valuable. This course will approach the subject of cultural anthropology from 3 angles: 1) we will study classics of traditional ethnography to see how different cultures can be understood; 2) we will explore what we in the West have to learn from these different cultures in order to better weather these crazy times; 3)each student will do his or her own fieldwork project examining a specific sub-culture in our own society.
Evaluation Criteria:
Midterm Examination—30%
Participation in discussion—20%
Fieldwork project—30%
Weekly journal—20%
Grading Criteria:
A+ 97-100
A 93-96
A- 90-92
B+ 87-89
B 83-86
B- 80-82
C+ 77-79
C 73-76
C- 70-72
D 60-69
F Less than 60
Attendance Policy:
Attendance
Regular attendance and participation in classes are essential components of a student's success in college and are completion requirements for courses at CCV. Punctuality is also important; three 'LATES" will be counted as an Absence. Please be aware that missing more than three (3) classes (i.e., Absences) will result in a non-satisfactory grade.
Contact Faculty:
Email: Ananda Forest
Hiring Coordinator for this course: Philip Crossman
Syllabus:
''ASSIGNMENTS FOR FALL 2019-- INTRO TO CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY''
Week 1—Sept. 3 & 5
Introduction to discipline of anthropology--study of humans-- and concept of culture, the 'software' of being human.
Week 2—Sept. 10 & 12, Jivaro, ch. 1 & 2
Overview of human evolution from discovery of fire (indicator of human language and culture) to agriculture; approaches to shelter, subsistence and technology; role of myth; introduction to structuralism and structural functionalism
Week 3—Sept. 17 & 19 Jivaro, ch. 3(skip 97-105)
Discussion of social relations and theories of kinship; myth, ritual and religion; law, feuding and war;
Week 4--Sept. 24 & 26 Jivaro, ch. 4
Ethnocentrism and cultural relativism; magic, ritual and culture change
Week 5--Oct. 1 & 3 Finish Jivaro
Various roles of cultural anthropologists; symbolic and psychological anthropology
Week 6--Oct. 8 & 10 Perkins, Author's Note, Prologue, ch. 1-5
Compare and contrast perspectives on the Shuar; explain and discuss key anthropological concepts; discuss relationship between fieldwork and theory; explore developments in the field over the past fifty years
Week 7--Oct. 15 & 17 Perkins, ch. 6-11, Epilogue
View and discuss film, "Avatar"
Week 8--Oct. 22 & 24 Midtermdue; Forest People, ch. 1 &2
Week 9--Oct. 29 & 31 Forest People, ch. 3-6; pick fieldwork topic
Compare and contrast values and behaviors among Shuar and BaMbuti; introduce fieldwork project: choose a subculture, interview members in order to understand how they define membership, social order, values and behaviors; examine use of humor, social rituals, story and 'myths' to determine status and role; apply theories covered in class to explain a group's 'culture' and how it affects behavior of members; 5 week project
Week 10--Nov. 5 & 7 Forest People, ch. 7-10; Begin fieldwork
Field trip to Healing Gate as opportunity to be on sacred land, to compare tribal concepts of 'sacred' with modern notions of what makes a place special; individual sharing of fieldwork experience so far
Week 11--Nov. 12 & 14 Finish Forest People; article; continue fieldwork
Discuss book and also how beliefs affect an anthropologist's perspective;is 'science' possible in fieldwork?
Week 12--Nov. 19 & 21 Continue fieldwork
View film, "Darshan: The Embrace," discuss
Week 13--Nov. 26 Complete fieldwork; write paper
Future possibilities for humankind; is significant evolution possible or likely and what will it look like?
Week 14--Dec. 3 & 5 Final paper due
Hand in 5-7 page ethnographies in research paper form;Final presentations begin.
Each student does a 15 minute multimedia presentation on his/her
fieldwork(power point, film, lecture, music, games, etc).
Week 15--Dec. 10 & 12 Final presentations
Accessibility Services for Students with Disabilities: CCV strives to mitigate barriers to course access for students with documented disabilities. To request accommodations, please
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Provide disability documentation to the Accessibility Coordinator at your academic center. https://ccv.edu/discover-resources/students-with-disabilities/
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Request an appointment to meet with accessibility coordinator to discuss your request and create an accommodation plan.
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Once created, students will share the accommodation plan with faculty. Please note, faculty cannot make disability accommodations outside of this process.
Academic Honesty: CCV has a commitment to honesty and excellence in academic work and expects the same from all students. Academic dishonesty, or cheating, can occur whenever you present -as your own work- something that you did not do. You can also be guilty of cheating if you help someone else cheat. Being unaware of what constitutes academic dishonesty (such as knowing what plagiarism is) does not absolve a student of the responsibility to be honest in his/her academic work. Academic dishonesty is taken very seriously and may lead to dismissal from the College.
Course description details subject to change. Please refer to this document frequently.
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