Introduction to Cultural Anthropology

50:070:213:01
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays 9:05-10:00am
Cooper Street 213

Professor Cati Coe

405-407 Cooper Street, Room 214
Office hours: Mondays, 1-3pm or by appointment
phone: (856) 225-6455
email: ccoe@camden.rutgers.edu

Course Description

The purpose of this course is to introduce you to one of the four major fields of anthropology---cultural anthropology---and to give you an appreciation of ways outside your own experience. After a brief introduction to key concepts in the field of cultural anthropology and a discussion of methods of research, we will begin to immerse ourselves in the lives of: the !Kung bands in the Kalahari Desert, a Shi'ite village in southern Iraq, an Apache community in the Southwest US, a Puerto Rican sugar cane plantation, and a Tongan migrant community. We will examine the cultures as well as the lives of particular individuals in these communities. Attention will be given to issues of cultural continuity and change, the relationships between individuals and their society, and what is universal in the human experience.

Five books are available at the campus bookstore.

shostak

Nisa
by Marjorie Shostak

Guests of the Sheik
by Elizabeth Fernea

basso

Wisdom Sits in Places by Keith Basso

Worker in the Cane by Sidney Mintz

small

Voyages
by Cathy Small

Please note: This is a reading intensive course. The readings are central to the lectures. Do not let yourself fall behind!

Requirements

1) Two Examinations (30% each)

Dates: March 7th and Thursday, May 8th (9am)
Questions (short answer and essay) on the exam will be derived from the readings, films, class lectures and discussions

2) Five Quizzes (6% each)

Dates: February 6th, February 20th, March 10th, April 2nd, April 21st
Quizzes (short answer, multiple choice, true and false) are to measure your comprehension of material in the assigned readings
These quizzes are given at the start of class, with closed notes and closed book
No one will be admitted once the quiz begins until after the quizzes are collected.
No make-ups

3) Attendance and Participation (10%)

Please note that there are several films scheduled for the course. Due to library policies, these films are not available for viewing at any time other than those listed on the syllabus. Material from the films will be included in the comprehensive exams.
Participation is strongly encouraged.

To do by Friday, January 25th at the latest:

Get a NetID if you don't already so that you can access library resources online and from home: http://oit.rutgers.edu/services/account/quick.html
Update your email address if necessary at https://www.acs.rutgers.edu/studentdir. This is important for receiving course emails. Be sure to keep your registered email address current in order to receive important course information.
Get a Student Photo ID (available from the Impact Booth in the Campus Center) if you don't have one.
Go to the bookstore to get the books and print out the one reading at the library reserves.
Review Rutgers's policy on academic integrity.

Schedule of Readings, Films, Quizzes and Examinations

Date	Topics	Quiz/Exam	Where to be in the Readings
January 23	Orientation and Requirements
January 25-February 1	Some Concepts, A Bit of History, and a Guide to Reading the Texts and Viewing the Films
January 25	Lec: What is Cultural Anthropology?		"Nacirema" by Harold Miner (1965) (on reserve)
January 28	Lec: The Concept of Culture and the Nature of Cultural Systems		Begin reading Nisa
January 30	Lec: The Concept of Culture and the Nature of Cultural Systems (continued)
February 1	Lec: On the Conduct of Inquiry in Cultural Anthropology
February 4	Lec: What to Look for in Assigned Texts
February 6-18	!Kung Bands of the Kalahari Desert
February 6	Lec: Intro to the !Kung	Quiz #1	Nisa completed
February 8	Lec: Hunting and Gathering Societies		Begin reading Guests of the Sheik
February 11	Lec: Social and Political Organization
February 13	Lec: Changes among the !Kung
February 15	Film: "N!ai: The Story of a !Kung Woman" (1980)
February 18	Conclusions
Feb 20-March 5	A Shi'ite Village in Southern Irag
February 20	Lec: Intro to the Study of Shi'ites in Southern Iraq	Quiz #2	Guests of the Sheik completed
February 22			Begin reading Wisdom Sits in Places
February 25	Lec: Fieldwork, Women's Worlds, the Abayeh, and Religion Film: "Shi'ism: Awaiting the Hidden Imam" (2005)
February 27	Lec: History of Islam and Shi'ism
February 29	Lec: Family Farming and Kinship
March 3	Conclusions
March 5	By way of transition: Film: "A Veiled Revolution" (1982)
March 7	Midterm Exam	Midterm
March 10-April 4	An Apache Community in the Southwest
March 10	Lec: Intro to the Study of the Apache	Quiz #3	Wisdom Sits in Places completed
March 12	Film: "Geronimo and the Apache Resistance" (1988)		Begin reading Worker in the Cane
March 14	Lec: Kinship
March 17-21	Spring Break
March 24	Lec: Ways of Speaking Link: Whiteriver Unified School District
March 26	Lec: Ways of Seeing the World
March 28	Lec: Sense of Place and Use of the Land
March 31	Conclusions
April 2-18	A Capitalist Economy in Puerto Rico
April 2	Lec: Sidney Mintz and Fieldwork	Quiz #4	Worker in the Cane completed
April 4	Lec: Cash Crop Production: The Case of Sugar		Begin reading Voyages
April 7	Lec: Politics & Gender
April 9	Film: "Mi Puerto Rico"(1995)
April 11	Film: "Mi Puerto Rico" continued
April 14	Lec: Medicine
April 16	Lec: Religion & Race
April 18	Conclusions
April 21-May 2	A Pacific Island Community and its Diaspora
April 21	Lec: Introduction to Tonga	Quiz #5	Voyages completed
April 23	Lec: Rank & Political Organization
April 25	Lec: The Gift Economy and Commodities
April 28	Lec: The US Economy and Migration
April 30	Lec: Transnational Migration & Tonga
May 2	Conclusions
May 5	By way of Conclusion Lec: Summary of the Themes of the Course
May 8, 9am		Final Exam