Cultural Anthropology and Human Diversity Anthropology 104 Spring 2006 Tuesday and Thursday 9 55 10 45 AM 125 Agriculture Hall Prof Anatoly M Khazanov Course Description Cultural anthropology concerns itself with the entire range of human social and cultural experience by analyzing in depth the nature of human diversity Since the discipline s inception anthropologists have dedicated themselves to exploring differences between and within human societies We are interested in the distinct cultures politics economies and environments by and within which people have given shape to different ways of living working speaking and understanding While striving to understand ways of life that may be very different from our own cultural anthropology also calls into question what we assume to be natural rational or self evidently right in our own everyday lives This course will therefore introduce the fundamental concepts ideas issues and debates employed in the study of other societies and offer an introduction to various cultural worlds of past and present through lectures section discussion reading and ethnographic films Instructor Prof Anatoly M Khazanov Office Hours Tuesday 3 30 5 30 or by appointment Office 5408 Social Science Building Phone 262 4343 I would be happy to talk with you during my office hours You are welcome to come up and ask follow up questions about the lecture immediately afterward Teaching Assistants TA offices are located in 5127 Social Sciences Building Phone 262 2130 Because there are so many students in Anthropology 104 please contact your TAs first for all course related questions and problems Chris Butler cnbutler wisc edu Jared Cahners jfcahners wisc edu Elizabeth Lisa Jackson ebjackson wisc edu Renee Karl rekarl wisc edu Alex Nading nading wisc edu Kent Wisniewski omagakii yahoo com Hrag Varjabedian Head TA hvarjabedian wisc edu Required Texts To save money articles from two different books Peoples and Bailey and Nanda and Warms and a book by Ferraro have been selected and formed into a bangle The title of the bangle is Essentials Readings Cultural Anthropology It can be purchased in the University Bookshop on the State Street Classic Readings in Cultural Anthropology by Gary Ferraro The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down A Hmong Child Her American Doctors and the Collision of Two Cultures by Anne Fadiman In Search of Respect Selling Crack in El Barrio by Philippe Bourgois Student Responsibilities Attendance Attendance at discussion sections is required and attendance records will be kept by your teaching assistant You are expected to participate actively in discussion section Section attendance and participation will constitute 30 of your grade about 10 of which is attendance If prolonged illness or emergencies require you to miss several sections TAs will expect you to provide advance notice and documentation Attendance at lectures is strongly encouraged Many of the questions that will appear on the midterm and final exam will be drawn directly from lecture material If you miss lectures you are jeopardizing your success on exams Preparation All reading assignments should be completed BEFORE YOUR SECTION meeting for the week indicated on the class schedule below If possible you should finish readings before the lecture as well this will make the presentation easier to follow Collegiality It is expected that students will be attentive and respectful of their fellow students and of their instructor and TAs Please arrive at the lecture on time and wait until it has concluded before leaving Turn your cell phones off before you walk into the room Sometimes a film will run slightly longer than 50 minutes allotted If you must leave please keep in mind that others are watching and trying to listen and exit as quietly as possible Grading Reflective Summaries Students will write weekly assessments and reflective summaries of the ethnographic reading we do for the week minimum five sentences Note Do not try to paraphrase what you have read Try to write about the pertinent points and the issues involved You should be searching for meaning in what you have read In the following guideline written by Robert Borofsky are some of the steps that you should consider It points to techniques of reading and assessing articles chapters and books Assessing the author s argument After reading an article or a chapter assess the author s argument Understanding what the author intends to say you are now in a position to decide to what degree the argument makes sense to what degree it is supported by the author s data Does the author convincingly develop his or her position Or does the author leave you with unanswered questions Instead of conceiving of reading as a passive process taking in information presented to you think of reading as an active thinking process You are searching for meaning from various clues presented in the text Discovering the clues making sense of them in an intellectually stimulating process is the way to go There will be both a MIDTERM AND FINAL EXAM Sample Midterm questions htm or pdf Both exams are composed entirely of multiple choice questions The midterm exam will be held on March 2 and will draw from all of the material covered prior to that date in class lectures guest lectures discussion sections readings films and videos The final exam scheduled for 2 45 P M Thursday May 9 and will encompass everything covered since the midterm Fieldwork Project Lastly you are required to write a FIVE SEVEN PAGE interpretation analysis of a socio cultural event process structure situation condition etc that is based on at least four hours of fieldwork that you will conduct as a participant observer during the semester Topical domains have been assigned by section There are two short written assignments associated with this project description of a person and field notes You will be receiving instruction as to how to do this project both in lecture and in your section Fieldwork Guidelines htm or pdf version If you would like some help organizing ideas or some constructive advice on your draft make an appointment to see a Writing Center counselor by calling 263 1992 They have multiple locations throughout the campus Check their homepage at http www wisc edu writing Fieldwork project is due Week 12 to be turned in Tuesday lecture NO LATE PAPERS ACCEPTED In addition to your fieldwork project you will also be graded on your weekly reflective summaries description of a