Anthropology 301
Fall 2005
MW
DDH 101K
Dr. Karen Stocker Office Hours:
DDH CC 207 MF
654-6875 W
kstocker@csub.edu Or by appointment
Course Goals:
This course will introduce students to some of the predominant
theories of cultural anthropology, archaeology, biological anthropology, and
linguistic anthropology. Students will also become familiar with several of the
principal concepts and methods used in anthropology.
Course objectives:
Through readings, lectures, guest speakers, and videos, students
will gain understanding of theoretical paradigms and paradigm shifts,
ethnographic methods, theories including new archeology, middle range theory,
cultural ecology, cultural materialism, Marxist theory, functionalism,
postmodernism, the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, language ideology, evolution,
particularism, structural-functionalism, structuralism, interpretive and
symbolic anthropology, political economy, poststructuralism, postcolonialism,
feminist anthropology, critical race theory, and applied anthropology. Students
will demonstrate their understanding of these theories
through leading discussion, by writing about them, by testing them, and through
their application.
Course
requirements:
Students will be responsible for writing essays on
Hurston’s work and on Death By Theory, for writing two brief response
papers to films (out of four opportunities from which to choose) in which they
draw connections between readings and films or guest speakers, and for writing
a final paper in which they apply theory to a video clip. Students will also be
responsible for leading discussion on the theoretical readings two times during
the quarter (but only one will be graded). Finally, students will compare and analyze
theories from two subdisciplines or compare two from different eras within the
same subdiscipline.
Required texts:
Praetzellis, Adrian
2000 Death By Theory.
ISBN 0-7425-0359-3
Hurston, Zora Neale
1990 “Tell My
Horse”: Voodoo and Life in
Library.
ISBN 0-06-091649-4
Erickson, Paul A. and Liam D. Murphy, Eds.
2001
1-55111-411
Other required
readings will be placed on electronic reserve (online) through the Walter
Stiern Library. To access materials
on electronic reserve, visit www.lib.csub.edu
and click on “Course Reserves.” Find the reserve readings for Anth 301 by
course number or by my last name. Click on “Electronic Reserve
Recommended text:
Erickson, Paul A. and Liam D. Murphy, Eds.
2003 A History of
Anthropological Theory.
1-55111-526-3
Grading and
Assignments:
Leading discussion on theoretical readings 15 points
Write-up of discussion questions (see page 6 of syllabus) 15 points
Paper on Hurston (3-5 pages) 20 points
Response paper 1 (1-2 pages) 15 points
Response paper 2 (1-2 pages) 15 points
Paper on Death By Theory (2 pages) 20 points
Ritual observation write-up (3-5 pages) 25 points
Final paper (approximately 5 pages) 25 points
TOTAL 150 points
Grading scheme:
100 - 93 = A
92 - 89 = A-
88-86 = B+
85 – 83 = B
82 - 79 = B-
78-76 = C+
75 - 73 = C
72 - 69 = C-
68 - 66 = D+
65 – 63 = D
62 - 59 = D-
58 and below = F
Classroom policies:
1. I will not accept late papers unless you have a documented
excuse
(proving illness, death in the family, or
participation in university-sponsored events). See the guidelines below for
policies related to response papers. All papers are due at the beginning of
class on the date listed, and you must attend class that day to have your paper
received. Response papers are due at the beginning of the class period
following the event (movie or guest speaker) reported. In addition to turning
in a hard copy, please submit an electronic copy to www.turnitin.com before class begins. The
Class ID number is 1324278 and the password is Hurston (the author of the first
book we’ll read in this class). You will each need to get a free turnitin.com
account in order to do this. If you do not submit your paper to turnitin.com,
the grade for your paper will be reduced by 10%.
2. Do not come into class late or leave early, unless you have a
compelling reason that you have discussed with me prior to class.
3. If you miss class, it is your responsibility to find out what
you missed. Any more than three unexcused absences will negatively affect your
grade.
4. Please turn off your cell phones or pagers.
5. All students must adhere to CSUB’s policy on Academic
Integrity, as outlined under Rights and Responsibilities on page 37 of the Fall 2005 Class Schedule. Students who do not do so will
receive an F in the course and will face disciplinary sanction by Student
Discipline and Judicial Affairs. Please read the following for specifics about
what constitutes plagiarism: http://www.csub.edu/ssric/Modules/Other/plagiarism.htm
6. Qualified students with disabilities who need appropriate
academic adjustments should contact me soon as possible to ensure that your
needs are met in a timely manner. Any disability needs to be verified by
Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD). Upon such verification, all
handouts and assignments will be available in alternative accessible formats
upon request.
7. Students are responsible for tracking their own grade progress
(see “Grading and Assignments,” and “Grading Scheme” above).
8. When I grade your papers, I do not want to know who you are, so
as to avoid any unfair bias in grading. To this end, I request that you turn in
all papers with your name typed on the right corner of the first page only.
Fold over this corner of each paper toward the back before you turn in your
paper to assure your anonymity.
Assignments
are due on the day under which they are listed. For example, students must have read Hurston, Chapters 1-9 by Monday, September 19.
Topic: Introduction; The Anthropological Canon and Placing Zora Neale Hurston in Context; Unrecognized early anthropologists and revisionist anthropology
Assignment: Hurston, Chapters 1-9
Topic: Ethnographic methods
Assignment: Hurston, Chapters 10-13
Film: Divine Horsemen
Turnitin.com accounts will be explained Assignment: Hurston, Chapters 14-18 and Afterword
Small group discussions
Response paper to Divine Horsemen due
Wednesday, September
28
Paper due on Hurston
Topic: Paradigm shifts in anthropology, and introduction to linguistic anthropology
Assignment on electronic reserve:
Excerpt from:
Maggio, Rosalie
1997 Talking About People:
A Guide to Fair and Accurate Language.
Oryx Press.
Topic: Linguistic Anthropology
Assignment on electronic reserve:
Maltz, Daniel N. and Ruth A. Borker
2003 “A Cultural Approach
to Male-Female Miscommunication,” p. 51-66 in
Aaron Podolefsky and Peter J. Brown, eds., Applying Cultural
Anthropology.
and
Excerpts from
Lippi-Green, Rosina
1997 English with an
Accent: Language, Ideology, and Discrimination in the
Assignment: Death By Theory,
Chapters 1-4
Assignment: Death By Theory, Chapters 5-7
Death By Theory, Chapters 8-9
Paper due on Death by
Theory
Topic: Nineteenth Century Evolutionism and Anthropological Forerunners and the basis of biological anthropology
Assignment: Chapters 4 and 5 in Erickson and Murphy
Guest Speaker: Dr. Brian Hemphill
Response paper to Dr. Hemphill’s lecture due
Topic: Anthropological Forerunners and Nineteenth Century Evolutionism
Assignment: Chapters 1-3 in Erickson and Murphy
Topic Boasian Anthropology
Assignment: Chapters 8, 10 in Erickson and Murphy
Film: The Shackles of Tradition
Wednesday, October 26
Response paper to Boas film due
Topic: Boasians, continued (Mead and Benedict)
Assignment: Chapters 11-12, 26 in Erickson and Murphy
Film: Coming of
Age
Response paper to Mead
film due
Topic: Functionalism and Structural Functionalism
Assignment: Chapters 14 and 15 in Erickson and Murphy
Film: Off the Verandah
Response paper to Malinowski film due
Topic: Structuralism
Assignment: Chapters 19 and 20 in Erickson and Murphy; bring in notes for a myth or folktale from the culture of your choice.
Topic: Interpretive Anthropology and Symbolic Anthropology
Ritual Paper will be explained
Assignment: Chapters 21-22 in Erickson and Murphy
Topic: Cultural Materialism and Neo-Marxism, political economy, and World Systems Theory
Assignment: Chapter 24 in Erickson and Murphy
Ritual Paper due
Topic: Poststructuralism and Postcolonialism
Assignment: Chapters 30 and 31 in Erickson and Murphy
Topic: Postmodernism, Feminist Anthropology, and Critical Race Theory
Assignment: Chapter 34 in Erickson and Murphy and (on electronic reserve)
Ortner, Sherry B.
1974 “Is
Female to Male as Nature is to Culture?” pp. 67-87 in Michelle Zimbalist
Rosaldo and Louise Lamphere, eds., Woman, Culture, and Society.
Excerpts (pp. 1-35) from
Delgado, Richard and Jean Stefancic
2001 Critical
Race Theory.
Monday, November
21
Topic: Applied Anthropology
Assignment
(on electronic reserve):
Fishman,
Joshua
1996 “What Do You Lose When You Lose Your
Language?” pp. 80-91 in G.
Cantoni, ed., Stablizing Indigenous Languages.
2001 “The Key To
Cultural Survival: Language Planning and Revitalization in
the
Pueblo de Cochiti,” pp. 75-82 in Ken Hale and Leanne Hinton eds.,
The Green Book of Language Revitalization.
Press.
Your final paper
is due on our final exam date, Monday, November 28, at
Your task is to write a total of 2 reviews (no longer than 2 pages
each)
of the guest speakers or films that will be
presented in class. There
will be several such opportunities to choose from.
Each review must include the following:
• Name of film or speaker (1 point)
• A brief synopsis of the film or of the main points covered by
the speaker (3 points)
• An explanation of how what you heard or saw is related to
specific
discussions from class and
from your readings. Be specific and cite the pages of your readings
appropriately (5 points)
• Your reaction: What did you like or dislike and why? (3 points)
You will be graded on the completeness of your response (whether
or not you addressed each of the points above) and on your writing. Remember to
proofread your work for organization, clarity, spelling, and grammar (3
points).
Each review is due on the class session immediately following the
film or
speaker being reviewed. I will not accept late reviews
unless they are accompanied by documentation of illness, death in the family,
or participation in university-sponsored events. In that case, you must talk to
me as soon as possible to make arrangements for turning in your paper.
Guidelines for
leading discussion:
Your role, as discussion leader, is not to lecture, but to facilitate class discussion. Fill out this paper and turn it in on the day you lead discussion.
Theorist and work discussed:___________________________________
Terms that were unfamiliar or obscure and their definitions (be sure to note your source for definitions and also where you saw the term in the original work):
1.
2.
3
Attach a brief summary of the article’s main points to this sheet that you turn in. Present those main points in class.
Open-ended discussion questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.