Course Syllabus

Spring 2024 | ANT-1010-VO01 - Introduction to Cultural Anthropology

Online Class

Online courses take place 100% online via Canvas, without required in-person or Zoom meetings.

Faculty

Martha Lance
View Faculty Credentials
View Faculty Statement
Hiring Coordinator for this course: Gilberto Diaz Santos

General Education Requirements

VSCS Humanistic Perspectives

Note

Many degree programs have specific general education recommendations. In order to avoid taking unnecessary classes, please consult with additional resources like your program evaluation, your academic program catalog year page, and your academic advisor.

Courses may only be used to meet one General Education Requirement.

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

1. Describe the origin and development of anthropology as a social science and as a humanities field, the subject matter it includes, and how it relates 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, including bias in research design and practice.
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, cultural conflict, and systemic racism.
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.

Required Technology

More information on general computer and internet recommendations is available on the CCV IT Support page. https://support.ccv.edu/general/computer-recommendations/

Please see CCV's Digital Equity Statement (pg. 45) to learn more about CCV's commitment to supporting all students access the technology they need to successfully finish their courses.

Required Textbooks and Resources

ANT-1010-VO01 Link to Textbooks/Resources Information for this course in eCampus.

The last day to use a Financial Aid Advance to purchase textbooks/books is the 3rd Tuesday of the semester. See your financial aid counselor at your academic center if you have any questions.

Evaluation Criteria

Midterm: 25 % of grade

Final: 25 % of grade

Paper and Fieldwork Assignments: 25 % of grade

Discussion Participation: 25% of grade

For the fieldwork portion of the course, you will have several short assignments that require you move from your armchair.

Weekly Quizzes: 5% of grade

You will have weekly vocabulary quizzes. These are mostly multiple choice and designed to help you master course content and prepare for written assignments and exams. Included are electronic flashcards of important concepts and terms that will help you study for the quizzes. You can take the quizzes as many times as you like until you earn an “A.”

Grading Criteria

CCV Letter Grades as outlined in the Evaluation System Policy are assigned according to the following chart:

	High	Low
A+	100	98
A	Less than 98	93
A-	Less than 93	90
B+	Less than 90	88
B	Less than 88	83
B-	Less than 83	80
C+	Less than 80	78
C	Less than 78	73
C-	Less than 73	70
D+	Less than 70	68
D	Less than 68	63
D-	Less than 63	60
F	Less than 60
P	100	60
NP	Less than 60	0

Weekly Schedule

Attendance Policy

Regular attendance and participation in classes are essential for success in and are completion requirements for courses at CCV. A student's failure to meet attendance requirements as specified in course descriptions will normally result in a non-satisfactory grade.

• In general, missing more than 20% of a course due to absences, lateness or early departures may jeopardize a student's ability to earn a satisfactory final grade.
• Attending an on-ground or synchronous course means a student appeared in the live classroom for at least a meaningful portion of a given class meeting. Attending an online course means a student posted a discussion forum response, completed a quiz or attempted some other academically required activity. Simply viewing a course item or module does not count as attendance.
• Meeting the minimum attendance requirement for a course does not mean a student has satisfied the academic requirements for participation, which require students to go above and beyond simply attending a portion of the class. Faculty members will individually determine what constitutes participation in each course they teach and explain in their course descriptions how participation factors into a student's final grade.

Accessibility Services for Students with Disabilities:

1. Provide disability documentation to the Accessibility Coordinator at your academic center. https://ccv.edu/discover-resources/students-with-disabilities/
2. Request an appointment to meet with accessibility coordinator to discuss your request and create an accommodation plan.
3. Once created, students will share the accommodation plan with faculty. Please note, faculty cannot make disability accommodations outside of this process.

Academic Integrity