Department of Anthropology Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology Anth 101 010 Spring 2011 Class Room 006 Kirkbride Class Time 11 00am 12 15pm Instructor Dr Donna Budani Office 138 Munroe Hall Office Hours Voice Mail 831 1859 Email budani udel edu Web Page www udel edu anthro budani COURSE DESCRPTION Anthropology is a social science humanities discipline with four sub disciplines Biological or Physical Anthropology Archaeology Cultural Anthropology and Anthropological Linguistics Each of the four sub disciplines study a facet of what it means to be human This course is about cultural anthropology and it will introduce you to the ways anthropologists study different cultures you will learn the key concepts terms and methods used by anthropologists in their studies of cultures We will also study the social political and economic organization of diverse cultures in the world Our studies will focus on how culture shapes human behavior and meaning This goal implies the development of a working knowledge of the concept of culture and an awareness of the significance of cultural variation in the world Culture can best be understood as a system of knowledge by which members of a culture interpret their own behavior and the behavior of others so that their behavior makes sense Through our class readings lectures and films students will learn about cultural knowledge system of cultures different from their own culture My aim is to encourage students to learn about the cultural diversity found worldwide This learning process involves a fascinating experience in which our western ideas and assumptions are revealed to us and challenged when we learn about the cultures in non western societies LEARNING OBJECTIVES 1 To grant students the opportunity to become aware of the relativity of human values and the roles that culturally defined values play in affecting the behavior and ideas of members of our own culture as well as members of cultures different from our own 2 To afford students the opportunity to think critically about your own values beliefs and assumptions that underlie your own cultural knowledge system 3 To give students the opportunity to obtain a greater degree of cross cultural awareness by attempting to promote an understanding of and appreciation for richness and diversity of human culture 4 To present students with the opportunity to correct their cultural biases and ethnocentric assumptions concerning the superiority of one s own culture the alleged biological basis of race and the existence of so called primitive peoples 5 To offer students with the opportunity to instill a fundamental respect for peoples of other cultures their ways of living and their ways of making sense of their own experiences REQUIRED BOOKS 1 MyAnthroLibrary Student Access Code Card available for purchase at UDEL bookstore Pearson Education 2 The Imagination of Unreasonable Men Inspiration Vision and Purpose in the Quest to End Malaria Bill Shore author 3 Creative Destruction How Globalization is Changing the World s Cultures Tylor Cowen author PART I PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS BOOK REVIEWS 200 POINTS See my web page www udel edu anthro budani for a file entitled How to Write Critical Book Review under the heading Spring 2011 Anthropology 101 wherein you will find very specific instructions about writing your book reviews Book reviews are written for the following books The Imagination of Unreasonable Men and Creative destruction Technical guidelines for the Critical Book Review include one inch margins all around and line spacing is 1 5 Use a font that is 12 point No need for a cover sheet Place your name in the upper left corner of the page with the class designation i e Anth101 drop two spaces and write the title of your book review The length of your book review should be 10 complete paragraphs long Submit your reviews to Sakai on the due date which is noted on your syllabus Each book review is valued at 100 points I WILL NOT ACCEPT YOUR BOOK REVIEWS IF IT IS SUBMITTED AFTER THE DUE DATE See my policy for legitimate late submission of work Carefully read the instructions for the book review so you know what I expect to see in your book review If you have any questions see me during office hours or send me an email An A scholarly book review cannot be done in 24 hours before the due date Such reports are easily recognized and will receive a 70 or less as its grade THREE SHORT ANSWER ESSAY QUESTION EXAMS 300 POINTS Three short essay exams will be administered in class during the semester See Course Schedule for Exam Dates Exam questions are drawn from lecture material films and assigned readings in MYANTHROLIBRARY Each exam is worth 100 points You will need to bring two or three blue books to class for the exam and a black or blue ballpoint pen Pencil written exams will have 10 points deducted from total exam points Students who do not bring the required number of blue books will have 10 points deducted from exam the total points Please write your answer on one side of the page I prefer the large blue books instead of the small blue books I will inform you of which case studies will be featured on the exams Write clearly especially if you have small handwriting so I can easily read your answer If I can t read your answer I will not grade your answer MYANTHROLIBRARY SITE READING TEST On the title page of the ethnographic reading assignment toward the left side of the exam there is a link that says TAKE TEST Once you have read the ethnographic case studies taken notes and feel confident about the material take the test The value of the test is based on the number of questions asked multiplied by 2 For example if there are a total of 10 questions the total value of the exam would be 20minus 2 points less for each wrong answer questions So be sure you are ready to take the test because too many wrong answer questions can reduce your score considerably There is a feature on the page which allows you to send me your test electronically I will record your grades and if possible send you your grades by email PUBLIC ANTHROPOLOGY PROJECT 15 30 POINTS A description of the PUBLIC ANTHROPOLOGY PROJECT will be posted on my web page www udel edu anthro budani sometime in February We are scheduled for the second project period I send an email containing the information about the project just as I receive it from the Center of Public Anthropology Project PAP is given each semester and is a requirement of