Introduction to Cultural Anthropology

50:070:213:01
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:00-12:20
Armitage Hall, Room 121

Professor Cati Coe

405-407 Cooper Street, Room 214
Office hours: Tuesdays, 3-5pm 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 and on reserve at the circulation desk at Robeson library.

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: October 22nd and Wednesday, December 16th (2pm)
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: September 22nd, October 6th, October 27th, November 12th, December 1st
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, September 4th 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	Exams	Readings due
September 1-17	Some Concepts, A Bit of History, and a Guide to Reading the Texts and Viewing the Films
September 1	Orientation and Requirements Lec: What is Cultural Anthropology?
September 3	Lec: What to Look for in Assigned Texts		"The Body Ritual of the Nacirema" by Harold Miner American Anthropologist (1965) (on reserve) due Begin reading Nisa
September 10	Lec: The Concept of Culture and the Nature of Cultural Systems		Continue reading Nisa
September 15	Lec: The Concept of Culture and the Nature of Cultural Systems continued		Continue reading Nisa
September 17	Lec: On the Conduct of Inquiry in Cultural Anthropology		Continue reading Nisa
September 22-October 1	!Kung Bands of the Kalahari Desert
September 22	Lec: Intro to the !Kung	Quiz #1	Nisa completed Begin reading Guests of the Sheik
September 24	Lec: Hunting and Gathering Societies		Continue reading Guests
September 29	Lec: Changes among the !Kung		Continue reading Guests
October 1	Film: "N!ai: The Story of a !Kung Woman" (1980) and Conclusions		Continue reading Guests
October 6-20	A Shi'ite Village in Southern Irag
October 6	Lec: Intro to the Study of Shi'ites in Southern Iraq	Quiz #2	Guests of the Sheik completed Begin reading Wisdom Sits in Places
October 8	Lec: History of Islam and Shi'ism Film: "Shi'ism: Awaiting the Hidden Imam" (2005)		Continue reading Wisdom
October 13	Lec: Family Farming and Kinship		Continue reading Wisdom
October 15	Film: "Dadi's Family" (1988)		Continue reading Wisdom
October 20	Film: "A Veiled Revolution" (1982)		Continue reading Wisdom
October 22	Midterm Exam	Midterm
October 27-November 10	An Apache Community in the Southwest
October 27	Lec: Intro to the Study of the Apache	Quiz #3	Wisdom Sits in Places completed Begin reading Worker in the Cane
October 29	Lec: Ways of Speaking Link: Whiteriver Unified School District		Continue reading Worker
November 3	Lec: Morality		Continue reading Worker
November 5	Film: "Geronimo and the Apache Resistance" (1988)		Continue reading Worker
November 10	Conclusions		Continue reading Worker
November 12-24	A Capitalist Economy in Puerto Rico
November 12	Lec: Sidney Mintz and Fieldwork	Quiz #4	Worker in the Cane completed Begin reading Voyages
November 17	Lec: Cash Crop Production: The Case of Sugar		Continue reading Voyages
November 19	Film: "Mi Puerto Rico" (1995)		Continue reading Voyages
November 24	Lec: Politics & Gender, Medicine, Religion & Race, and Conclusions		Continue reading Voyages
December 1-10	A Pacific Island Community and its Diaspora
December 1	Lec: Introduction to Tonga	Quiz #5	Voyages completed
December 3	Lec: Rank & Political Organization
December 8	Lec: The US Economy, Transnational Migration and Tonga
December 10	Conclusions and Lec: Summary of the Themes of the Course
Dec. 16, 2pm	Final Exam	Final