Introduction to Cultural Anthropology

50:070:213:01
Mondays & Wednesdays, 1:20-2:40
Armitage Hall, Room 121

Professor Cati Coe

405-407 Cooper Street, Room 214
Office hours: Mondays 11:30-12:30, Wednesdays 3-4, 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: !Kung bands in the Kalahari Desert, a Shi'ite village in southern Iraq, a Puerto Rican sugar cane plantation, a Puerto Rican community living in the inner-city of East Harlem, and a Hmong family from Laos running up against Western medical practice as they struggle to care for their very sick daughter. 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 and on reserve at the circulation desk at Robeson library.

shostak

Nisa
by Marjorie Shostak

Guests of the Sheik
by Elizabeth Fernea

Worker in the Cane by Sidney Mintz

respect

In Search of Respect by Philippe Bourgois

spirit

The Spirit Catches You by Anne Fadiman

Please note: This is a reading intensive course. You will fail this course if you do not keep up with the readings. Do not let yourself fall behind!

Requirements

1) Two Examinations (30% each)

Dates: March 7th in class and Monday, May 7th, 2-5pm
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 19th, April 4th, and April 18th
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.

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 Monday, January 23rd 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 http://search.rutgers.edu/changes.html. This is important for receiving course emails. Be sure to keep your registered email address current in order to receive important course information.
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	Exams	Readings due
January 18- February 1	Some Concepts, A Bit of History, and a Guide to Reading the Texts and Viewing the Films
January 18	Orientation and Requirements Lecture: What is Cultural Anthropology?
January 23	Lecture: What to Look for in Assigned Ethnographies and Films		"The Body Ritual of the Nacirema" by Harold Miner American Anthropologist (1965) (on reserve) due Begin reading Nisa
January 25	Lecture: The Concept of Culture and the Nature of Cultural Systems		Continue reading Nisa
January 30	Lecture: The Concept of Culture and the Nature of Cultural Systems continued Links: Classic Highlife and Obrafor, "Kwame Nkrumah" and Cloth		Continue reading Nisa
February 1	Lecture: On the Conduct of Inquiry in Cultural Anthropology		Continue reading Nisa
February 6-15	!Kung Bands of the Kalahari Desert
February 6	Lecture: Intro to the !Kung	Quiz #1	Nisa completed Begin reading Guests of the Sheik
February 8	Lecture: Hunting and Gathering Societies		Continue reading Guests
February 13	Lecture: Changes among the !Kung		Continue reading Guests
February 15	Film: "N!ai: The Story of a !Kung Woman" (1980) and Conclusions		Continue reading Guests
February 20- March 5	A Shi'ite Village in Southern Irag
February 20	Lecture: Intro to the Study of Shi'ites in Southern Iraq	Quiz #2	Guests of the Sheik completed Begin reading A Worker in the Cane
February 22	Film: "Shi'ism: Awaiting the Hidden Imam" (2005)		Continue reading Worker
February 27	Lecture: History of Islam and Shi'ism		Continue reading Worker
February 29	Lecture: Agriculture, Hierarchy, and Kinship		Continue reading Worker
March 5	Film: "A Veiled Revolution" (1982) by Elizabeth Fernea		Continue reading Worker
March 7	Midterm Exam	Midterm
March 19- April 2	A Capitalist Economy in Puerto Rico
March 19	Lecture: Sidney Mintz and Fieldwork	Quiz #3	Worker in the Cane completed Begin reading In Search of Respect
March 21	Lecture: Cash Crop Production: The Case of Sugar		Continue reading Respect
March 26	Lecture: Cash Crop Production: The Case of Sugar		Continue reading Respect
March 28	Film: "Holy Ghost People" (1968) by Peter Adair		Continue reading Respect
April 2	Lecture: Race, and Conclusions Class Resources: American Anthropological Association's Race Exhibit		Continue reading Respect
April 4-30	A Puerto Rican Community in the American Inner City
April 4	Lecture: Philippe Bourgois and Fieldwork, Comparison with Worker in the Cane Righteous Dopefiend exhibit at the University Museum, University of Pennsylvania	Quiz #4	In Search of Respect completed Begin reading The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
April 9	Lecture: The US Economy and Work		Continue reading Spirit
April 11	Lecture: Social Class and Cultural Capital		Continue reading Spirit
April 12, 12:20-1:20	Talk by Philippe Bourgois on his latest anthropological research, details TBA
April 16	Lecture: Agency and Structure, and Conclusions		Continue reading Spirit
April 18-30	Western Medicine as a Cultural System
April 18	Lecture: Introduction to Spirit Catches You	Quiz #5	The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down completed
April 23	Lecture: Western Medicine as a Culture Class resource: Shamans in Merced Hospital
April 25	Film: "Between Two Worlds: The Hmong Shaman in America" (1985) Class Resource: Interview with Anne Fadiman
April 30	Conclusions and Lecture: Summary of the Themes of the Course
May 7, 2-5pm	Final Exam	Final